Fascinating underwater documentary filmed with hand-held cameras by frogmen and mostly filmed in deep-water seas from within a special designed batiscaff, by the Cousteau family of sea explorers. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2010.
Jacques-Yves Cousteau

David Attenborough looks into the ocean's depths to discuss the coelacanth, a primeval fish hidden for 400 million years. Its mysterious movements reveal vital clues about life's journey from sea to land, as well as secrets of evolution and survival.
2026

Inspired by Rachel Carson’s 1955 book The Edge of the Sea, this short film is a cinematic ode to the myriad forms of marine life on the intertidal mudflats of Karachi. Between the ebb and flow of tides, the city’s exposed shoreline is home to a fish that walks on land, the mud crab that clings tenaciously to mangrove tree trunks, the mighty periwinkle, the bubbler crab that spits out sand balls and many other fascinating creatures. In and around mangrove forest creeks, amidst steaming vessels and a new skyline, the film takes you on a silent journey through a delicate wetland ecosystem on the shores of an industrial city that might soon disappear.
2022

40 years after inventing armored suits that protect divers from attacks by smaller shark species of sharks, marine biologist, Jeremiah Sullivan, faces off against hungry hammerheads and deadly tiger sharks to measure their bite force, body strength and ability to chew through his advanced materials before creating new armor he’ll test by putting himself inside the devastating jaws of a 14-foot tiger shark.
2019

This films reveals the extraordinary variety of life found in the vast blue expanses of the open ocean. Here, all the action takes place in a 10 metre deep band of water, just under the surface. Many species use this section of water to migrate and hunt while others use ingenious ways to stay hidden where there appears to be no shelter.
2016

Thanks to sophisticated equipment, marine biologists have managed to capture unprecedented scenes of the intimate life of humpback whales off the Australian coast. A spectacular immersion in the intimate life of this mysterious species. Off the coast of the Kimberley in northwestern Australia is a major breeding ground for humpback whales. Thanks to sophisticated equipment, such as aerial cameras on board quadrotors or innovative night vision technologies, Curt and Micheline Jenner, whale researchers, capture unprecedented scenes revealing the behavior of cetaceans.
2015

2009

The story of a little loggerhead turtle, as she follows in the path of her ancestors on one of the most extraordinary journeys in the natural world. Born on a beach in Florida, she rides the Gulf Stream up towards the Arctic and ultimately swims around the entire North Atlantic across to Africa and back to the beach where she was born. But the odds are stacked against her; just one in ten thousand turtles survive the journey.
2009

The waters of the North Pacific around Canada's Vancouver Island are a strange and little known world. The water is incredibly clean, the location is isolated and huge thermal vents heat the otherwise cold surrounding these factors combined have led to animals and plants that can grow to huge proportions. Humpback whales, orcas, wolf eels and bald eagles all thrive here. Our team of experts go in search of the elusive Pacific Giant Octopus. Growing up to 7.5 meters across with the power to kill sharks, it is a formidable creature, but also intelligent and incredibly shy. The dive team invites us into an alien world, where persistence is rewarded with encounters with three of these magnificent creatures.
2009

Deep Blue is a major documentary feature film shot by the BBC Natural History Unit. An epic cinematic rollercoaster ride for all ages, Deep Blue uses amazing footage to tell us the story of our oceans and the life they support.
2003

Join NOVA on a voyage beneath the waves, where you'll discover a bizarre, alien-like creature like no other. It's an animal with eight sucker-covered arms growing out of its head, three hearts pumping its blue-green blood, and a doughnut-shaped brain. It has the ability to change its color and shape to blend in with seaweed and rocks, and it has a knack for switching on electrifying light shows that dazzle its prey. Perhaps most surprising of all, this animal is quite intelligent, with a highly complex brain. In this program, underwater cameras capture the extraordinary powers of the cuttlefish.
1997

A documentary about four African-American comediennes set in 1984. Restored in 2021 by the Academy Film Archive.
1983
Experimental documentary using a train journey between New York City and Washington, D.C. as the framework for an exploration of American history. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2015.
1975

Short film about the Manzanar Japanese American internment camp. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2011.
1972

Satyajit Ray's poetic documentary was commissioned by the Chogyal (King) of Sikkim at a time when he felt the sovereignty of Sikkim was under threat from both China and India. Ray's documentary is about the sovereignty of Sikkim. The film was banned by the government of India when Sikkim merged with India in 1975. The ban was finally lifted by the Ministry of External Affairs in September 2010. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.
1971

A lyrical recreation of Lightnin’ Hopkins’ decision at age eight to stop chopping cotton and start singing for a living. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2013.
1969
An early short film by Penelope Spheeris about a boy enjoying the age-old pleasures of making a wish on a dandelion. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2016.
1968

Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to follow their subjects in a more intimate filmmaking style. This unconventional way of filming created a new look for documentary films where the camera’s lens was right in the middle of what ever drama was occurring. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1998.
1960

A film's art director is in charge of the set, from conception to construction to furnishing. This short film walks the viewer through art directors' responsibilities and the demands on their talents. They read a script carefully and design a set to capture the time and place, the social strata, and the mood. They must be scholars of the history of architecture, furnishings, and fashion. They choose the colors on a set in anticipation of the lighting and the mood. Their work also sets styles, from Art Deco in the 20's to 30s modernism. Then it's on to the next project. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.
1949

The Japanese attack on Midway in June 1942, filmed as it happened. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive, in partnership with Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, in 2006.
1942

Short documentary extolling the virtues and necessity for women to participate in America's preparation for war, showing women working in scientific, industrial, and voluntary-services activities. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2008.
1941