Educationals from the world's archives
1,009–1,056 of 20,947 films, free to watch, from the world's open archives.
Where these films come from, and who sees what
Every film here plays from the archive that keeps it: the Internet Archive, Wikimedia Commons, the NASA Image and Video Library, the Library of Congress and Open Images (the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision). Nothing is copied to this site. Each film's page names its archive, links to its page there, and states its licence or status as the archive does.
Archive films carry no age ratings, so each is placed from the collections it sits in and the subjects the archive gives it, cautiously. Sexual content and nudity are left out altogether.
| Little Ones | Films for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool. |
|---|---|
| Kids | Cartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature. |
| Tweens | Documentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures. |
| Teens | Everything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower. |
| Adult | Sexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage. |
Internet Archive
Let My People Go
Richard Basehart Film editor, Nicholas Clapp ; music, Marc Lavry ; historical consultant, Ralph J. Kaplan ; research, Martin Cohan Traces the history of the…
Internet Archive
Bronze: River of Metal (1972)
Here, director Clifford B. West looks at the art of casting Renaissance bronzes as a historian, appreciator, critic, and craftsman. This film traces bronze…
Internet Archive
Black Woman
Poetess Nikki Giovanni, singer Lena Horne, Bibi Amina Baraka (wife of poet-playwright Leroi Jones) and other Black women discuss the role of Black women in…
Internet Archive
Learning about Light. 2nd Ed
This film shows experiments which illustrate the way in which light normally moves, how it bends and is refracted, how a prism separates white light into its…
Internet Archive
Filmstrip: "2. Paul's Story"
SOUND FILMSTRIP IS AN AT-RISK MEDIA FORMAT. I am the only person on earth preserving American filmstrips. The media format is largely forgotten and very…
Internet Archive
India: Machinery of Hope
Originally aired on the television program Nova Examines India's alternative to centralized industrialization, which attempts to bridge the wide gap between…
Internet Archive
The Regulators: Our Invisible Government
Title from data sheet Sequel to: An Act of Congress Intended audience: Senior high school through college students and adults Issued also as videorecording…
Internet Archive
The Family: lifestyles of the future
Discusses the effects that technology and social changes have had on the famuly institution. Comments by Dr. Margaret Mead Search Educational Film Journals at…
Internet Archive
Schizophrenia: Catatonic Type
Writer and director, Robert Anderson Demonstrates characteristic symptoms of stuporous catatonia. Presents three male patients showing such symptoms as lack…
Internet Archive
Crustaceans: Lobsters, barnacles, shrimp, and their relatives
Crustaceans SummaryDiscusses the ./ia metad, functions, habitats and economic value of crustaceans. Explains processes of food - gathering, reproduction,…
Internet Archive
Witch Doctor
8 min Full screen (1.37:1), HFA Item no. 12859 Full screen (1.37:1), HFA Item no. 11625 Full screen (1.37:1), HFA Item no. 13374 Full screen (1.37:1), HFA…
Internet Archive
The World at War: 6 -- Banzai! Japan 1931-1942
The World at War: 6 -- Banzai! Japan 1931-1942, Reel 2 Reel 1 available here An elderly Japanese couple are shown going through the religious ritual they have…
Internet Archive
Divide and Conquer (Part 1)
FDR Presidential Library Video 25 Divide and Conquer (Part 1) Frank Capra and the War Department. Divide and Conquer Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 Public Domain Footage on…
Internet Archive
Chicano from the Southwest.
Magnetic sound track With teacher's guide Collaborator, Julia Gonsalves Illustrates the life-style of a typical rural Mexican-American family, and examines…
Internet Archive
Duro Ladipo
Produced in collaboration with the Federal Film Unit of Lagos, Nigeria Executive producer, Lane Slate; editors, Itzhak Barouch, Henry Dor'e, Eugene Marner;…
Internet Archive
Incredible Turk
National Archives - Incredible Turk - National Security Council. Central Intelligence Agency. (09/18/1947 - 12/04/1981). - This film is about Mustafa Kemal…
Internet Archive
Gurkha country
Shows the work of a cultural anthropologist in the Bhuji River Valley of Nepal by examining a five-month expedition. Includes views of activities in the…
Internet Archive
Range Safety
Department of Justice Federal Law Enforcement Training Center Range Safety AVA18925VNB1, 1990 The video reinforces the firearms instructor's knowledge of…
Internet Archive
Six American Families: The Pasciaks of Chicago
Also issued as videotape Producer and director, Mark Obenhaus; writer and narrator, Paul Wilkes Documents the life of a blue-collar, Polish-Catholic family…
Internet Archive
Ways of Seeing: Camera and Painting
Title from Educational film locator. -- 1st ed. -- New York : Bowker, 1978 Writer and narrator, John Berger In this first part of his overall critique of…
Internet Archive
The Long Search: Protestant Spirit U.S.A.
The Long Search: Protestant Spirit U.S.A., Reel 2 Reel 1 available here Visits various Protestant churches in Indianapolis and observes how services are…
Internet Archive
The Medieval Manor
The Medieval Manor Points out the tensions and conflicts of the Middle Ages, and shows how the architecture of the cathedrals reflects the uneasy balance of…
Internet Archive
The Young art: children make their own films
Demonstrates how to set up and run a filmmaking class for young students. Shows students developing their ideas; shooting, splicing, and editing film; and…
Internet Archive
The Peter Tchaikovsky Story (1959)
Presents a biography of Peter Tchaikovsky which relates the struggles, loves, failures, and successes of his life. Includes excerpts from his music.
Internet Archive
Le Camping
Lesson 117 in Encyclopaedia Britannica's 'Je Parle Français' French languauge instruction series of 1961. Here, young women ride their bicycles to a…
Internet Archive
Physiology of reproduction in the rat
Title from container; production credits from other sources Richard J. Blandau and Anthony Canedo ; University of Washington School of Medicine Search…
Internet Archive
Psychics, Saints, and Scientists
Parapsychologist Thelma Moss introduces the field of psychic phenomena and acts as mistress of ceremonies for a discussion by scientists who are responsible…
Internet Archive
Follow My Leader
Based on the book of the same title by James B. Garfield The story of a young boy who must learn to cope with a handicap when he is permanently blinded by an…
Internet Archive
Filmstrip: "Ramona and Her Father by Beverly Cleary, Part 2"
SOUND FILMSTRIP IS AN AT-RISK MEDIA FORMAT. I am the only person on earth preserving American filmstrips. The media format is largely forgotten and very…
Internet Archive
The Ascent of Man: 4 -- The Hidden Structure
Also issued as videotape Producer and director, Adrien Malone; writer and narrator, Jacob Bronowski Chemistry is traced from its beginnings in Oriental…
Internet Archive
MEN WITH GREEN FACES
Department of Defense PIN 25371 MEN WITH GREEN FACES THIS PROGRAM DEMONSTRATES FUNCTIONS OF THE NAVY'S FROGMEN COMMANDOS, THE "SEALS." REFLECTS THE EXCITEMENT…
Internet Archive
Language By Gesture
Language By Gesture Ansel Adams and Beaumont Newhall of Eastman House analyze the photographs of Edward Weston, Cartier-Bresson, Edward Steichen, Alfred…
Internet Archive
Wheat Farmer, The (2nd Ed)
Portrays life, work and problems of a wheat farmer. Shows preparation of soil, planting and harvesting. Considers the farmer's role as an operator of a…
Internet Archive
Right Out of History: The Making of Judy Chicago's "Dinner Party"
Follows the creation of the Dinner party, a monumental artistic tribute to women of achievement throughout history. The exhibit consists chiefly of painted…
Internet Archive
Snowy, Chilly, Motley...and Me: A Personal View of Pets
Snowy, Chilly, Motley...and Me: A Personal View of Pets, Reel 2 Reel 1 available here Biologist/filmmaker John Paling captures the behavior of a pedigree…
Internet Archive
Nuremberg Trials
Views the war crimes trials at Nuremberg, evaluating the evidence that showed the involvement of the defendants and giving the verdict of the special…
Internet Archive
Totem
One of Emshwiller's experimental films utilizes split-frame photography and superimposition of images to show a complex modern dance interpretation of the…
Internet Archive
Printmaking: four artists, four media.
Illustrates the four main methods of printmaking: serigraph, woodcut, lithograph, and intaglio. Examines the techniques and materials used in each and shows…
Internet Archive
Diagnostic Procedures in Tuberculosis
This film courtesy of The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). DIRECTOR: Edgar Ulmer, Ph.D. SPONSOR: National Tuberculosis Association.…
Internet Archive
Another to Conquer
Film courtesy of The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) DIRECTOR: Edgar. G Ulmer. SPONSOR: National Tuberculosis Association / U.S. Office of…
Internet Archive
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad
Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad Reel 1 Reel 2 available here Discusses the Underground Railroad, emphasizing the role of Harriet Tubman in the…
Internet Archive
Filmstrip: "Filmstrip 2: Animals in the Forest"
SOUND FILMSTRIP IS AN AT-RISK MEDIA FORMAT. I am the only person on earth preserving American filmstrips. The media format is largely forgotten and very…
Internet Archive
Three approaches to psychotherapy. [motion picture]
Describes Client-centered therapy as practiced by Carl Rogers, Gestalt therapy as practiced by Frederick Perls, and Rational-emotive therapy as practiced by…
Internet Archive
Evidence For the Ice Age
This film examines many features of today's landscapes which cannot be explained by processes at work around them, and explains that observation of the work…
Internet Archive
The Belle of Amherst
Title from data sheet Julie Harris (Emily Dickinson) Adviser, Charles Nelson Reilly Adapted from the play: The belle of Amherst / by William Luce Intended…
Internet Archive
Strategy for productive behavior
With leader's guide Saul Gellerman discusses the approaches of behavioral science to motivation and how these approaches can be used by management
Internet Archive
Let My People Live
This film courtesy of The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA). DIRECTOR: Edgar Ulmer. SPONSOR: The National Tuberculosis Association.…
Internet Archive
The Drama of Steel
National Archives and Records Administration The Drama of Steel Department of the Interior. Bureau of Mines. Pittsburgh Experiment Station. (1934 -…