Research

Newsreels and Archival Footage

  • ABC News Video Source   Paid Subscription Required
    View over 100 years of video and newsreels from ABC's archives.
  • British Pathe Limited  
    British Pathe Limited makes available 75 years of English newsreel footage. Users can join the site at no cost and download the films for private usage. The database's search function allows user to search by keyword, title, or theme. Very highly recommended.
  • British Universities Newsreel Database  
    Get information about the history of moving image journalism in the UK. Search a database of stories and interviews with British news reporters, dating back to 1910.
  • British Universities Newsreel Database: Newsfilm Online  
    Watch newsreels from the collection. Clips can also be browsed by subject.
  • Films From the Home Front  
    An online exhibit of moving images from WWII Britain. Published by Moving History UK.
  • FOCAL International  
    Based out of England, "the Federation of Commercial Audiovisual Libraries [FOCAL] International Ltd, is a not-for-profit professional trade association providing excellent networking and marketing opportunities for content industry professionals". Although it is chiefly designed for members, FOCAL's website also contains a number of articles selected from its publication, Archive Zones.
  • Footage.NET   Paid Subscription Required
    Footage.net is a network of stock and archival footage distributors. While most of its services are provided for members, users can still look to its frequently updated news section relating to all aspects of motion picture preservation and archiving. A lengthy article by Rich Prelinger on the fundamentals of stock footage libraries can be found on the site's 'About Us' page.
  • German Newsreel Archive   Paid Subscription Required
    View clips of German newsreels online. In German.
  • Harappa Film Archive  
    This site hosts a collection of archival film from South Asia, with a particular focus on the Indian and Pakistani independence struggles and the early history of Pakistan. View short excerpts on the site or contact the archive to purchase a video transfer of any of this rare material.
  • History in Motion  
    This site features clips from newsreels, early documentary films, and early narrative films such as The Great Train Robbery. Browse clips by topic, title, and date. History in Motion is the moving image section of Eyewitness to History, a site that compiles photos, first person accounts, and other historical primary sources for students. The film section focuses primarily on American history.
  • Inside an American Factory: Films of the Westinghouse Works, 1904  
    A collection of 21 actuality films of the Westinghouse Works factories in 1904. The website, hosted by the Library of Congress, includes a history of Westinghouse Works and a timeline for the company and its founder.
  • ITN Video Source  
    Online archive of Path
  • Library of Congress: America at Work / America at Leisure  
    This collection, which includes some of the earliest extant films, is designed to showcase a broad range of American activities at the turn of the century.
  • Library of Congress: Before and After the Great Earthquake and Fire  
    The Library of Congress's American Memory project houses these 26 films dating from before, during, and after the great San Francisco disasters of 1906.
  • Library of Congress: The Spanish-American War  
    This collection contains 68 films documenting and reenacting the Spanish-American War.
  • Life of a City: Early Films From New York (Library of Congress)  
    A collection of 45 films made in New York from 1898 to 1906 by the American Mutoscope and Biograph Company or the Edison Company.
  • MovieTone Archive  
    The complete archive of MovieTone newsreels and documentaries. All are free for individuals to view.
  • Newsfilm Library (University of South Carolina)  
    A complete, searchable index of everything in the Fox Movietone News and Local Television News collections, as well as selected film clips (Quicktime format) available online.
  • Soviet Estonia: Film Clips  
    Clips from the 1950s Soviet newsreel archive. The main website gives more information about Estonian film and information on their national archive.
  • Through a Lens: Dieppe in Photography and Film  
    A site by the Library and Archives of Canada featuring Canadian Army newsreels and German newsreels from the period.