An evening at the archives

Watch classic movies online for free.

Watch The Hitch-Hiker or The Great Train Robbery here through the Library of Congress’s official players. Compare all 6 presentations from BFI, Mosfilm and the Library of Congress by running time, music and viewing region.

6 films · Three institutions · Your choice of evening

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Only have 15 minutes? Choose A Trip to the Moon for painted fantasy (BFI Player, UK only), or The Great Train Robbery for a railway chase (Library of Congress). For a short Halloween visit, our horror guide starts with the Library’s free Frankenstein (1910) restoration, about 13 minutes.

A Trip to the MoonSci-Fi 11min
The Great Train RobberyWestern 12min
Battleship PotemkinDrama 72min
The Hitch-HikerFilm noir 71min
The Flying AceDrama 66min
The ItalianDrama 79min

Times belong to the linked presentations. Other editions can run differently.

01 / A little time, a whole new world

A Trip to the Moon

1902 · Georges Méliès · Sci-Fi

Start here for a brief burst of painted scenery and playful stage illusions. Méliès turns a journey to the Moon into a handmade fantasy.

11 min

BFI PlayerBFI Player presentation

Music & sound: Score not identified by BFI.
Subtitles & titles: BFI lists English subtitles; no dialogue.
Where you can watch: BFI Player UK. Available in the United Kingdom only.

Watch on BFI Player Read the film guide →

Presentation, rights & sources Recorded 27 July 2026

Official institutional presentation

BFI Player 11-minute presentation

1902 · France · 11 minutes on this presentation.

Destination: BFI
Viewing region: United Kingdom. BFI Player states that its films are not available to watch in the United States.
Music: BFI does not identify a score on this film page. No music or recording reuse rights are claimed.
Subtitles: No dialogue; BFI lists English subtitles.
Master: The BFI presentation is a specific hosted master. No transfer, restoration, or master reuse rights are claimed.

Watch on BFI Player

Rights note. The underlying 1902 film was exhibited and distributed in the United States before 1931; the U.S. Copyright Office says works published in the United States before 1931 are now in the public domain.

This finding concerns the underlying film in the United States, not every restoration, score, subtitle file, recording, or master.

This is a link to BFI Player, not permission to download, redistribute, edit, or rehost its presentation.

Rights & access evidence ↗ · Publication evidence ↗ · Availability evidence ↗

Watch on BFI Player. Monocurator does not embed, copy, or rehost the presentation. Checked 2026-07-27.

02 / A whole chase in twelve minutes

The Great Train Robbery

1903 · Edwin S. Porter · Western

A railway robbery turns into a pursuit across several locations. Choose this brisk early Western for moving trains, outdoor action and the way one scene sets the next in motion. Includes gunfire and physical violence.

12 min

Library of CongressLOC digital viewing copy

Music & sound: Silent film; accompaniment is not identified in the catalogue record.
Subtitles & titles: LOC lists English; subtitle and caption options are not documented in the consulted record.
Where you can watch: LOC presents its National Screening Room for viewers worldwide. Check the player for access in your location.

Watch here Watch on Library of Congress Read the film guide →

Watch here

YouTube player · Library of Congress

Open on YouTube

Presentation, rights & sources Recorded 12 September 2026

Official institutional presentation

Library of Congress digital viewing copy

1903 · United States · LOC digital viewing copy, 11:54 at 18 fps, rounded here to 12 minutes · silent · black-and-white.

Destination: Library of Congress
Viewing region: United States rights finding; LOC online destination. LOC describes its National Screening Room as freely accessible to viewers worldwide. This records the institutional listing; playback in individual countries has not been tested and foreign-country rights may differ.
Music: The catalogue describes a silent film but does not identify accompaniment in the consulted text. No score, performance or recording reuse rights are claimed.
Subtitles: LOC lists English. Subtitle and caption options are not documented in the consulted catalogue text; the player has not been tested.
Master: LOC distinguishes incomplete surviving materials in its holdings. No general completeness claim, named restoration or permission to reuse another master is inferred from this digital-copy record.

Watch on Library of Congress

Rights note. The Library of Congress includes The Great Train Robbery in its Public Domain Films from the National Film Registry selection. This finding concerns the underlying film in the United States.

This finding concerns the underlying film in the United States, not every restoration, score, subtitle file, recording, or master.

The on-page player uses the Library of Congress’s official YouTube upload. The LOC catalogue copy remains linked separately; no media file is copied or rehosted.

Rights & access evidence ↗ · Publication evidence ↗ · Availability evidence ↗

An official YouTube player is available on this page. The 11:54 catalogue timing above describes the LOC item copy, not a separately measured timing of the YouTube upload. Checked 2026-09-12.

03 / For the force of film editing

Battleship Potemkin

1925 · Sergei Eisenstein · Drama

Sailors, crowds and machinery gain urgency through the way Eisenstein cuts between them. Choose this for an explicitly political silent drama, with scenes of severe violence.

72 min

MosfilmMosfilm’s 1930 restoration presentation

Music & sound: Credits Dmitri Shostakovich and Nikolai Kryukov.
Subtitles & titles: Subtitle options are not documented on the film page.
Where you can watch: Territory limits are not stated on the film page. Check access on Mosfilm.

Watch on Mosfilm Read the film guide →

Presentation, rights & sources Recorded 27 July 2026

Official institutional presentation

Mosfilm 1930 restoration presentation

1925 film · Mosfilm lists a 1930 restoration · 72 minutes · silent · 1:1.37.

Destination: Mosfilm
Viewing region: Where Mosfilm’s official player is available. Playback availability may vary by territory and by the official player. No worldwide availability claim is made.
Music: Mosfilm credits Dmitri Shostakovich and Nikolai Kryukov. No reuse rights are claimed for the hosted music, recording, restoration, or master.
Subtitles: The Mosfilm film page does not document subtitle options; available controls may vary in the official player.
Master: The 1930 restoration and hosted Mosfilm master remain separate from the underlying U.S. public-domain film.

Watch on Mosfilm

Rights note. The underlying 1925 film is in the U.S. public domain; the U.S. Copyright Office records that works published in 1925 entered the public domain on January 1, 2021.

This finding concerns the underlying film in the United States, not every restoration, score, subtitle file, recording, or master.

This is a link to Mosfilm, not permission to download, redistribute, edit, or rehost its presentation.

Rights & access evidence ↗

Watch on Mosfilm’s film page. Monocurator does not embed, copy, or rehost the presentation. Checked 2026-07-27.

04 / A direct route into film noir

The Hitch-Hiker

1953 · Ida Lupino · Film noir

Two friends give a stranger a lift and become his captives. Ida Lupino turns an open desert road into a tense, confined space in this compact thriller.

71 min

Library of CongressLOC digital viewing copy

Music & sound: Sound film; music credited to Leith Stevens.
Subtitles & titles: Subtitles and captions are not identified in the presentation record.
Where you can watch: Check the Library of Congress player for availability in your location.

Watch here Watch on Library of Congress Read the film guide →

Watch here

YouTube player · Library of Congress

Open on YouTube

Presentation, rights & sources Recorded 27 July 2026

Official institutional presentation

Library of Congress National Screening Room digital viewing copy

1953 · United States · LOC resource 4,258 seconds (70:58), catalogued as 71 minutes · sound · black-and-white.

Destination: Library of Congress
Viewing region: United States rights finding; LOC online destination. LOC describes the National Screening Room as serving viewers worldwide, but availability can change and foreign-country rights may differ.
Music: The presentation credits music by Leith Stevens and musical direction by Constantin Bakaleinikoff. No separate music, synchronization, performance, or soundtrack-recording reuse rights are claimed.
Subtitles: The checked LOC resource metadata does not identify a caption or subtitle file. Monocurator does not claim subtitle availability or reuse rights.
Master: LOC does not identify a named restoration or the exact source element used for this digital file. The finding does not transfer to another restoration, remaster, colorization, or commercial master.

Watch on Library of Congress

Rights note. The Library of Congress states that all streaming films in its selected National Film Registry collection are public domain and identifies The Hitch-Hiker. This supports the underlying film in the United States.

This finding concerns the underlying film in the United States, not every restoration, score, subtitle file, recording, or master.

The on-page player uses the Library of Congress’s official YouTube upload. The LOC catalogue copy remains linked separately; no media file is copied or rehosted.

Rights & access evidence ↗ · Publication evidence ↗ · Availability evidence ↗

An official YouTube player is available on this page. The 70:58 catalogue timing and presentation details above describe the LOC item copy; the YouTube upload has not been established as the same digital master. Checked 2026-07-27.

05 / A mystery with room to take flight

The Flying Ace

1926 · Richard E. Norman · Drama

A railway detective follows a missing payroll into an aviation adventure. An all-Black cast, mechanical ingenuity and a brisk mystery give this silent feature its momentum.

66 min

Library of Congress2016 Kino Lorber digital viewing copy

Music & sound: Photoplay score performed by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra.
Subtitles & titles: English intertitles; no separate captions identified.
Where you can watch: Check the Library of Congress player for availability in your location.

Watch on Library of Congress Read the film guide →

Presentation, rights & sources Recorded 27 July 2026

Official institutional presentation

Library of Congress National Screening Room — 2016 Kino Lorber digital viewing copy

1926 film · 2016 Kino Lorber digital viewing copy · LOC resource 3,950 seconds (65:50), catalogued as 66 minutes · black-and-white.

Destination: Library of Congress
Viewing region: United States rights finding; LOC online destination. LOC describes the National Screening Room as serving viewers worldwide, but availability can change and foreign-country rights may differ.
Music: LOC identifies a score compiled from historic photoplay music by the Mont Alto Motion Picture Orchestra and names its performers. The score, performance, and recording remain separate from the underlying film and are not cleared for reuse.
Subtitles: The presentation uses English intertitles. The checked LOC resource metadata does not identify a separate caption or subtitle file.
Master: LOC does not identify the precise preservation or source element behind the hosted file. The 2016 Kino Lorber transfer and hosted master remain separate from the underlying U.S. public-domain film.

Watch on Library of Congress

Rights note. LOC records the underlying film as originally released in the United States in 1926. The U.S. Copyright Office says works published in the United States before January 1, 1931 are in the public domain.

This finding concerns the underlying film in the United States, not every restoration, score, subtitle file, recording, or master.

Use the LOC item/player link. Monocurator does not embed the direct media file or claim permission to redistribute, edit, extract, or rehost the transfer, score, performance, or recording.

Rights & access evidence ↗ · Publication evidence ↗ · Availability evidence ↗

Watch on the Library of Congress item page. Monocurator does not embed, copy, or rehost the presentation. Checked 2026-07-27.

06 / An early feature with a darker turn

The Italian

1915 · Reginald Barker · Drama

An immigrant’s hopeful arrival in New York turns into a harsh family melodrama. This is the sombre choice, with poverty, prejudice and grief at its centre.

79 min

Library of CongressLOC digital viewing copy

Music & sound: Silent film; score not identified in the presentation record.
Subtitles & titles: English intertitles; no separate captions identified.
Where you can watch: Check the Library of Congress player for availability in your location.

Watch on Library of Congress Read the film guide →

Presentation, rights & sources Recorded 27 July 2026

Official institutional presentation

Library of Congress National Screening Room digital viewing copy

1915 · United States · LOC resource 4,732 seconds (78:52), rounded here to 79 minutes · silent · black-and-white · appears complete in six reels.

Destination: Library of Congress
Viewing region: United States rights finding; LOC online destination. LOC describes the National Screening Room as serving viewers worldwide, but availability can change and foreign-country rights may differ.
Music: LOC describes the film as silent, but the checked resource metadata names no score or performers. Monocurator does not claim that playback is music-free or that any audible soundtrack is cleared for reuse.
Subtitles: English intertitles are part of the image. The checked LOC resource metadata does not identify a separate caption or subtitle file.
Master: LOC says sources disagree on the original length, but the film appears complete in six reels. It does not name a restoration or the exact source element used for the hosted digital file.

Watch on Library of Congress

Rights note. LOC records U.S. publication and copyright registration in 1915. The U.S. Copyright Office says works published in the United States before January 1, 1931 are in the public domain.

This finding concerns the underlying film in the United States, not every restoration, score, subtitle file, recording, or master.

Use the LOC item/player link. Monocurator does not embed the direct media file or claim permission to redistribute, edit, extract, or rehost it.

Rights & access evidence ↗ · Publication evidence ↗ · Availability evidence ↗

Watch on the Library of Congress item page. Monocurator does not embed, copy, or rehost the presentation. Checked 2026-07-27.

Continue through the catalogue

More films to explore

Read the guides for these next choices; viewing options differ from the free presentations above.