Educationals from the world's archives

2,977–3,024 of 22,173 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. Nothing is left out for being sexual: sexual content and nudity are for adults, placed by what the archive files a film as, never by a word of its title alone (The Naked City is a police film). A film filed as pornography is listed for adults without its picture and plays nowhere yet, as the law where it would play asks for a proof of age this site does not have. A sexual depiction of a child, drawn ones too, is listed nowhere.

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 content, pornography, nudity and nudism, striptease, sexual themes (such as the old "sex hygiene" films), gore, surgery, slaughter, beheadings, atrocity footage.
Internet Archive The Plow that Broke the Plains 1936 · Educational FDR Presidential Library Video 352 The Plow that Broke the Plains From the Wikipedia. he Plow That Broke the Plains (1936) is a short documentary film which… Internet Archive Children Are Creative 1953 · Educational Director, Frank Bach; creator of animation, Don Fenton; photographer, Harley Jones; editor, Nancy Ross In a series of animated cartoons describes outmoded… Internet Archive Macumba: Trance and Spirit Healing 1984 · Educational Title from data sheet Intended audience: Adults Issued also as videorecording Discusses spiritism, the belief that man can communicate with the… Internet Archive Sonic Boom 1984 · Educational CLICK HERE TO SEE THE STUDY GUIDE FOR THIS FILM This animated film describes the movement of sound as a succession of waves of compressed air. It shows how… Internet Archive Filmstrip: "Profits at Work" 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 Lumiere Years (Les Annees Lumiere: 1895-1900) 1974 · Educational Rare film footage shot under the direction of the legendary Lumier̀e Brothers during a round-the-world trip in the 1890's records such spectacular events as… Internet Archive Herod and Judaea 1982 · Educational · 25 min Produced by the BBC for the British Open University Surveys the architectural achievements of Herod the Great, a "client-king" of the Roman Empire in Judaea… Internet Archive The Music of Man: 2 -- The Flowering of Harmony 1979 · Educational · 29 min The growth of music from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. Medieval plainsong of the Christian Church was the basis for the development of a reliable… Internet Archive Big Picture: Army Satellites Educational National Archives and Records Administration ARC Identifier 2569665 / Local Identifier 111-TV-397 Big Picture: Army Satellites DVD Copied by Katie Filbert -… Internet Archive Stanislavsky: Maker of the Modern Theatre 1972 · Educational Narrator, Paul Rogers; editor, Michael Misch Explores the life, times, and ideas of the theatrical innovator, Constantine Stanislavsky, who created method… Internet Archive Zebra 1971 · Educational With teacher's guide Producer, Peter Chermayeff Describes the physical characteristics of the zebra, and tells of its mode of life. Shows how zebras wander… Internet Archive Introduction to Manual Heliarc Welding 1958 · Educational An introduction to the Heliarc (TIG) welding process. Includes an animated diagram of a TIG torch, showing how the welding current, shielding gas, and cooling… Internet Archive The Road to Gettysburg, The Civil War, Part I: 1861-1863 (1966) 1966 · Educational · 23 min Produced by NBC Examines the first years of the Civil War, focusing on the actions of the military leaders: Lee and Jackson of the Confederacy, and Farragut,… Internet Archive Make Mine Metric 1975 · Educational A light-hearted introduction to the metric system and the situations it will cause in our daily habits when driving speeds, supermarket purchases, dress… Internet Archive The Magic Tree 1970 · Educational A traditional folk tale animated by Gerald McDermott, in which a homely, unloved boy leaves his family and finds a secret paradise, then loses it all when he… Internet Archive The Phans of Jersey City 1979 · Educational · 20 min Title from data sheet Intended audience: Senior high school students through adults Issued also as videorecording A documentary which shows how the members… Internet Archive The Tsetse Trap 1978 · Educational Supplied by British Broadcasting Corporation, Sydney, N.S.W Note: Censorship rating: General Producer, writer, Edward Goldwyn; narrator, Paul Vaughan;… Internet Archive The Film Laboratory 1974 · Educational · 19 min Discusses and demonstrates the laboratory procedures involved in the production of a 16 mm. sound, color film. Part 1 follows the original film and a 1/4-inch… Internet Archive The Palestinian People Do Have Rights 1979 · Educational · 52 min Title from data sheet Also issued as videorecording Presenting the Arab perspective on Palestine, includes archival footage, maps, current film of refugee… Internet Archive A Pattern for Pleasure: 1660-1725 1980 · Educational · 27 min Producer, Diana Potter ; director, Richard Mervyn ; photographer, Frank Hodge ; graphic designer, Bernard Allum ; film editor, Rosemary Maclaughlin ; music,… Internet Archive Mao: Long March to Power 1978 · Educational Title from data sheet Originally shown in Canada on the television program entitled Portraits of power Director, Jeremy Murray-Brown; journalist, Harrison… Internet Archive Beginning of Life: The Mammalian Story 1970 · Educational · 24 min Describes the process of conception leading to the birth of a mammal. Covers the transformation of germ cells into sperm and ova; implantation of fertilized… Internet Archive Sun Flight 1966 · Educational With study guide Producer, Julien Bryan; director and designer, Gerald McDermott; music, Allan Miller Uses original graphics and music to recount the… Internet Archive The Grasslands 1962 · Educational · 16 min With teacher's guide Uses film sequences of a prairie fire to introduce the concept that much of the present-day grassland evolved as a result of fires which… Internet Archive The Sword 1967 · Educational Animated fantasy in which a sword falls to the earth and is transferred into a flower, a fountain, a harp, a baby, and finally itself No narration Internet Archive To Live to 140! 1976 · Educational Title from data sheet Made in Canada A documentary on the phenomenon of longevity in the village of Vilcabamba, Ecuador, where 9 out of every 800 people are… Internet Archive Dick Whittington and His Cat 1963 · Educational Narrator, Stanley Jackson An animated puppet film about the story of Dick Whittington and his kindness to a cat Internet Archive The Correctional Officer: If You're Taken Hostage 1981 · Educational Dramatizations demonstrate how correctional officers and prison guards and workers should respond if they are taken hostage. Discusses some of the reasons… Internet Archive Song of the Paddle 1978 · Educational Producer, Arthur Hammond; director, Bill Mason; narrators, Joyce and Bill Mason A family's canoeing holiday on the ancient Ojibway waterways of Lake Superior Internet Archive Water: A Clear and Present Danger 1983 · Educational Title from data sheet Originally broadcast on the ABC television program: Close-up Issued also as videorecording Looks at the potential medical hazards… Internet Archive FOUR SEASONS OF YELLOWSTONE 1970 · Educational National Archives and Records Administration FOUR SEASONS OF YELLOWSTONE U.S. Information Agency. (1982 - 10/01/1999) ARC Identifier 52645 / Local Identifier… Internet Archive GENERAL EFFECTS OF ATOMIC BOMB ON HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI, THE 1975 · Educational Department of Defense PIN 27308 GENERAL EFFECTS OF ATOMIC BOMB ON HIROSHIMA AND NAGASAKI, THE DESCRIBES EFFECTS AND PROVIDES ANALYSIS OF EFFECTS ON VARIOUS… Internet Archive Effective Learning In The Elementary School 1956 · Educational A fifth grade teacher explains how properly motivated unit study projects which are planned and developed by her class contribute to the students' knowledge… Internet Archive Music Is Melody 1977 · Educational · 28 min Hosted by noted conductor Murry Sidlin, the film explains that melody is the basic idea of a song, those notes which give a song its sound and direction,… Internet Archive The Moonbeam Princess 1965 · Educational · 17 min "The Moonbeam Princess" is an animated cut-out paper puppet film adaptation of a Japanese fairy tale, directed by Kazuhiko Watanabe, produced by the Gakken… Internet Archive Age of Uncertainty: 11 -- The Metropolis 1977 · Educational · 57 min Also issued as videocassette Features economist John Kenneth Galbraith discussing some of the ideas and views that are presented in his book entitled The age… Internet Archive Hockett's Design Features of Communication 1974 · Educational 787 feet Executive producer, Michael Philps; producer, Victor Lockwood; photographer, Roger Twyman; editor, Ron de Mattos; sound, Mervyn R. Broadway;… Internet Archive Profiles of Nature: The Great Gray Owl 1984 · Educational Title from data sheet A foreign film (Canada) Ages 12 through adults Three Canadian naturalists set up a tower blind after building a nest to attract great… Internet Archive Safety Demonstration on the Wood Lathe 1970 · Educational CLICK HERE TO SEE THE STUDY GUIDE FOR THIS FILM Close-up photography is used to illustrate basic safety points and operational procedures for the wood lathe.… Internet Archive The Study of Drawings 1979 · Educational · 25 min Produced by the BBC for the British Open University Reviews a selection of the finest drawings by Italian artists of the Renaissance in a variety of media,… Internet Archive Hearts and Hands 1987 · Educational Cataloged from contributor's data Editor, Jennifer Chinlund ; music, Janice Giteck, Todd Boekelheide Ages 14 through adult Takes a look at the role played… Internet Archive What About McBride? 1974 · Educational Producer, director, and writer, Tom Lazarus Don Stark, Gary Marsh Presents a discussion by two young boys of the possibility of their mutual friend's… Internet Archive The Columbia 1949 · Educational FDR Presidential Library Video 353 The Columbia Historic look at the Columbia River and its development. Woody Guthrie was hired by BPA in 1941 to write the… Internet Archive Home Free: Return of the Bald Eagle 1984 · Educational Sponsored by Massachusetts Audubon Director, Christopher G. Knight Documents the efforts of Jack Swedberg, a wildlife photographer, to restore the nesting… Internet Archive Astronauts: United States Project Mercury, ca. 1960 Educational National Archives and Records Administration - ARC Identifier 1151850 / Local Identifier 255-HQ-9 - Astronauts: United States Project Mercury, ca. 1960 -… Internet Archive Roger Williams: Founder Of Rhode Island 1956 · Educational · 27 min Recreates the conflict of Roger Williams with the Puritan leaders of New England, including his attempts to achieve separation of church and state, freedom of… Internet Archive The Battle of Vieques 1986 · Educational Directed and produced by Zydnia Nazario Since 1941 nearly 70 per cent of the Isla de Vieques, a small island off the coast of Puerto Rico, has been… Internet Archive Golden Eagle: No Natural Enemy 1972 · Educational · 21 min Depicts the golden eagle in its natural habitat and describes its major characteristics, life-cycle, nesting and feeding habits. Noted for its size, strength…