Warbird Information Exchange

National Archives Makes Universal Newsreels Available to Public through Amazon

Summary: The National Archives and Records Administration has partnered with Amazon to make available to the public thousands of historic films, newsreels, documentaries and more from the National Archives collection, including "documentaries, newsreels, instructional films, combat footage, research and development films, and many other formats that provide an unequalled visual history of the United States."

The National Archives and Records Administration has partnered with Amazon to allow the public to purchase copies of “thousands of historic films” from the National Archives collection, including “documentaries, newsreels, instructional films, combat footage, research and development films, and many other formats that provide an unequalled visual history of the United States.”

The service is being offered as a joint effort between the National Archives and Records Administration and CreateSpace.com, formerly known as CustomFlix, the on-demand (meaning it’s created per-piece as it’s ordered) fulfillment arm of Amazon.

First up - and available right now through Amazon - are a series of Universal Newsreels, from as early as 1929, through 1967. According to the National Archives and Records Administration, the Newsreels cover “worldwide events in politics, entertainment, fashion, sports and technology. Historic moments in world history, such as the death of FDR, the end of WWII, the famous 1960 Nixon-Kennedy debate and the royal wedding of Princess Margaret, are all chronicled.”

“Thousands of public domain films and other U.S. Defense Department and U.S. Information Agency titles from the National Archives motion picture holdings will also become available in the near future,” says the agency.

Explains Allen Weinstein, Archivist of the United States (now there’s an interesting title), “While the public can come to our College Park, MD research room to view films and even copy them at no charge, this new program will make our holdings much more accessible to millions of people who cannot travel to the Washington, DC area.

“The National Archives and Records Administration houses an amazing collection of motion picture titles that historically have been hard for the general public to access. Our DVD on Demand service will make these titles readily available for purchase on Amazon.com to be enjoyed by history buffs today, as well as for future generations to come,” elaborated the managing director of the CustomFlix service, Dana LoPiccolo-Giles.