Educationals from the world's archives

193–240 of 22,182 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 OnesFilms for young children by name: nursery rhymes, lullabies, preschool.
KidsCartoons and animation, children's and family films, and educational films, unless they deal with war, propaganda, crime, horror or drugs, or carry racial caricature.
TweensDocumentaries, science, nature and space, classic comedies, newsreels, commercials and lectures.
TeensEverything else, including anything we cannot tell about; war, crime, horror and westerns go no lower.
AdultSexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, atrocity footage.
Internet Archive Shaw vs. Shakespeare I: The Character of Caesar 1970 · Educational · 30 min This is the first film in Barnes' 'Shaw vs. Shakespeare' series, considered by experts to be among the finest educational films ever made. Here is wonderful… Internet Archive Black Shadows on a Silver Screen 1975 · Educational · 53 min · Subtitles Executive producer, Ray Hubbard; writer, Thomas Cripps; director, Steven York; narrator, Ossie Davis This history of black filmmakers between 1900-1950… Internet Archive How blood clots. 1969 · Educational · 12 min · Subtitles Human circulatory system and functions are illustrated through animation and cinemicroscopy. Time-lapse photography reveals composition of blood and its… Internet Archive Connections 7 -- the Long Chain 1979 · Educational · 40 min · Subtitles Connections 7 -- the Long Chain Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Traces the connection between… Internet Archive Centinelas del Silencio 1971 · Educational · 18 min The real star here is the late aerial photographer James Freeman, whose breathtaking helicopter shots of Mayan and Aztec ruins at sunrise and sunset won an… Internet Archive Solo 1971 · Educational Producers, David Adams, Mike Hoover; director and writer, Mike Hoover Portrays the efforts and exhilarations that are experienced by the solo mountain… Internet Archive Roots: 12 -- Freedom, Part 2 1977 · Educational · 30 min · Subtitles Roots: 12 -- Freedom, Part 2, Reel 1 Reel 2 available here The long awaited return of Chicken George after the Civil War, bringing news of a promised land and… Internet Archive Journey to the Outer Limits 1974 · Educational · 7 min · Subtitles Also issued as videocassette Shows students of the Colorado Outward Bound School as they confront themselves and some of nature's greatest challenges.… Internet Archive Tipping the Scales 1981 · Educational · 51 min Discusses the problems that arise when food intake is not coordinated with energy output, examining both obesity and anorexia nervosa. Shows how the body… Internet Archive The Shock of the New: Culture as Nature. 1980 · Educational · 31 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Writer and narrator, Robert Hughes Discusses why the 20th century brought about a major change in the… Internet Archive The Child In The Middle 1956 · Educational · Subtitles UCLA Department of Theater Arts thesis film on the importance of parent-teacher conferences and how they can help identify behavioral problems in school and… Internet Archive Permutations 1969 · Educational Computer program by Jack Citron ; music by Balachander A computer-designed graphics film, creates series of mathematical forms that resemble fireworks,… Internet Archive Symmetry 1966 · Educational · 10 min 'Symmetry' (1966) 10m, dir. Philip Stapp Stapp was one of the greatest animators working in the 1950-1975 era, using stylized, often pointillist abstract… Internet Archive True Glory 1945 · Educational Department of War True Glory AVA02725VNB1, 1945 General Eisenhower introduces this joint US/British Government film that surveys the entire campaign in… Internet Archive The Shock of the New: The View from the Edge 1979 · Educational · 31 min · Subtitles Robert Hughes Profiles selected 19th century European and 20th century American and European artists, with emphasis on expressionism Internet Archive Help, My Snowman's Burning Down 1964 · Educational · 10 min Fourteen international awards, including an Academy Award, Nomination and the Special Prize of the Jury, Cannes Intl Festival. Presents a surrealistic and… Internet Archive Split brain. 1964 · Educational · 12 min · Subtitles Demonstrates and explains experiments performed by the California Institute of Technology utilizing animals and humans in which the two cerebral hemispheres… Internet Archive Last Vikings 1972 · Educational · 46 min · Subtitles Last Uikings Summary Explains that the Scandinavians of ten centuries ago were pirates and plunderers and points out that today their descendents are still… Internet Archive Schizophrenia: The Shattered Mirror 1966 · Educational · 58 min Schizophrenia: The Shattered Mirror Demonstrates secondary flows caused by the imposition of primary-flow pressure gradients on low-momentum fluid in sheer… Internet Archive The Nuer 1970 · Educational Presents the most important relationships and events in the lives of the Nuer, Nilotic people in Sudan and on the Ethiopian border. Demonstrates the vital… Internet Archive The Hydrogen atom 1963 · Educational · 12 min · Subtitles A CHEM Study film Longer version (20 min.) also issued Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Describes… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Part 2: Toward Clearer Skin" 1980 · Educational 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 Grand Canyon chronicles 1982 · Educational · 49 min · Subtitles Combining science with the creativity of talented filmmakers, this is perhaps the most colorful and fascinating film ever made on the Grand Canyon. Narrated… Internet Archive The Lorax 1972 · Educational · 24 min With study guide Presents the story from the book The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss. A fanciful tale with a serious theme: clean up the environment before it's too… Internet Archive Papua New Guinea: Anthropology on Trial 1983 · Educational Narrated by Ruby Dee Produced by WGBH for the Nova series Travels to Papua New Guinea for a look at anthropology from "the other side," making the point… Internet Archive Natural history of psychotic illness in childhood. 1960 · Educational · 19 min · Subtitles Produced by the University of London's Institute of Psychiatry Traces the gradual unfolding of the psychotic process in childhood reconstructed from three… Internet Archive African Pygmy Thrills 1930 · Educational · 10 min Castle Films, whose series ‘The Adventure Parade’ resulted in a number of commercially exotic films on ethnic traditions and cultures, actually utilized… Internet Archive Prehistoric man in Europe. 1965 · Educational · 23 min · Subtitles Producer, D. C. Chipperfield Surveys the early development of mankind in Europe, showing aspects of the paleolithic period, followed by a look at the tools… Internet Archive Chinese X-ray film. 1962 · Educational · 16 min · Subtitles Material is selected to show the various ways that tongue and lips are used in order to contrast the principal syllable types of Peking Chinese. X-ray… Internet Archive Barbara's Problem Dogs 1982 · Educational · 27 min · Subtitles Barbara's Problem Dogs Reel 1 Reel 2 available here Dog trainer Barbara Woodhouse demonstrates remedies for common canine behavior problems such as car… Internet Archive The Golden Fish 1959 · Educational · 20 min The Golden Fish SummaryPortrays a young boy who yearns for a goldfish he sees at a Paris street fair. Depicts a kind of communication between the boy and the… Internet Archive The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth: 1--Building of the Earth 1984 · Educational · 58 min · Subtitles The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth: 1--Building of the Earth reel 2 Part one of a twelve-part study of how organisms have adapted to their physical… Internet Archive Duck and Cover 1951 · Educational · Subtitles Federal Civil Defense Administration Duck and Cover ( Wikipedia ) NTIS AVA11109VNB1 From the Wikipedia: Duck and Cover was a social guidance film produced in… Internet Archive The Displaced Person 1977 · Educational · 58 min · Subtitles An adaptation of the short story of the same title by Flannery O'Connor John Houseman Executive producer, Robert Geller; director, Glenn Jordan Portrays… Internet Archive Madness and Medicine 1977 · Educational · 22 min · Subtitles Madness and Medicine Reel 1 Reel 2 available here A critical look at mental institutions and their diverse treatment programs which help some patients but… Internet Archive Mark Twain (1963) 1963 · Educational · 26 min Presents a biography of Mark Twain showing his experiences and varied environments which furnished material for his stories, essays and novels. Internet Archive Senses of man. 1965 · Educational · 18 min · Subtitles -----Another issue. b&w Discusses the senses of man, describing the importance of external and internal sense receptors, illustrating the general sense… Internet Archive The Living Planet a Portrait of the Earth 8 Sweet Fresh Water 1984 · Educational · 57 min · Subtitles Title from data sheet Intended audience: Ages 16 through adult Issued also as videorecording Host David Attenborough follows the Amazon River, the world's… Internet Archive A Season in the Sun 1989 · Educational · 55 min · Subtitles A Season in the Sun Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Summary Visits East Africa which has only two… Internet Archive The Living Planet A Portrait of the Earth: 9 - the Margins of the Land 1984 · Educational · 58 min · Subtitles Intended audience: Ages 16 through adult Host David Attenborough talks about the animals and plants that make their homes in the shifting world of mud and… Internet Archive BATTLE OF MIDWAY 1942 · Educational National Archives and Records Administration BATTLE OF MIDWAY Department of the Navy. Office of the Chief of Naval Operations. Naval Observatory. (1942 -… Internet Archive The Ancient Egyptian 1964 · Educational · 26 min Shows Egyptian history from 2700 B.C. to the Roman conquest. Portrays the religion and daily activities of the Pharaohs and citizens of ancient Egypt.… Internet Archive Japan - Miracle in Asia 1963 · Educational Explains how Japan's rapid industrial growth has influenced the way of life in the country and has affected the international political and economic position… Internet Archive Beginners Guide To The Internet Starring John Turturro 1999 · Educational "Learn how easy it is to use the Internet. Let Lycos ® show you the wonders of the Web with acclaimed actor John Turturro." -- description from box. Internet Archive Methodology: The Psychologist and the Experiment 1975 · Educational · 29 min Methodology: The Psychologist and the Experiment Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film Shows various types of… Internet Archive Shoplifter 1975 · Educational · 19 min This film details the techniques used by amateur and professional shoplifters to steal over $6 billion in merchandise annually. Emphasizing how much of this… Internet Archive Les Miserables 1946 · Educational · 42 min Les Miserables Search Educational Film Journals at Media History Project for references to this film SummaryAn excerpt from the 1935 feature film of the same… Internet Archive The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth: 2--The Frozen World 1984 · Educational · 58 min · Subtitles The Living Planet: A Portrait of the Earth: 2--The Frozen World Explores the snowy peaks of the Andes, Antarctica, and the Arctic to show how plants and…