Encyclopædia Britannica Films

Every year, on June 27th, in a small village in New England, inhabited by no more than 300 people, a lottery is held in which a family is chosen as part of a ritual to ensure a good harvest.

A romantic tale of a young married couple who have little money to buy each other Christmas presents. And so she cuts off and sells her beautiful hair.

John Canaday analyzes the place of art among the humanities as an expression of man's attempt to define what it means to be a human being. Mr. Canaday shows how the masterworks of art and architecture have formed a visual history of man's thought, ideals, and most fondly-held beliefs.

Two eighth graders doing an assembly on cleanliness and neatness seek underclassmen. A look into Don and Mildred's hygienic endeavors.

Describes the making of a puppet in detail from the carving of the head to the fitting of the strings. Close-ups show how the movements of the various limbs are achieved and finally the film portrays a brief episode in the story of Hansel and Gretel.

Deals with the Old Testament as a collection of literary forms. Combines paintings with narrative sculptures to relate the saga of the creation, the expulsion from Eden, and the murder of Abel

Portrays the lakes as an important shipping route for a region of vast natural resources, major population centers and extensive industrial development. Shows the Welland Canal and the St. Lawrence Seaway as important links between the lakes and the ocean.

Dramatization short on British romantic poet John Keats.

This film describes the nature and impact of major religions in India, artistic monuments and contributions of each dynasty and cultural development of the people in different regions of the vast subcontinent.

Actor Pat Morita hosts three animated stories. Part of the Britannica series of animated films.

Hosted by Ubud's political leader Agung Jakarta Sulawesi Mas, William Deneen here visits important sites and describes the political, religious, and economic situation on the island of Bali in the Indonesia of 1959.

Follows contemporary American poet James Dickey on a three week lecture tour. Reveals the actual thoughts and feelings of the poet through his conversations and poetry readings. Later, he and fellow poet Robert Lowell discuss their dreams.

Marty, a "good boy," experiments with marijuana and experiences "profound mental and emotional disturbances." As in all anti-drug films of this vintage, marijuana leads straight to "H," and Marty's decline continues until he is busted, rehabbed and reformed. Drug Addiction's stilted view of the urban drug culture and unrealistic portrayals of stoned slackers make it entertaining viewing today. It belongs to that little-known "second wave" of anti-drug films, the postwar scare stories about middle-class kids overcome by junkiedom. What this wave of films reveals is that drugs were an issue for white adolescents long before the psychedelic Sixties, and that the official response to the threat expressed a general, not specifically targeted paranoia.

An interesting little short about the exploitative system of the 1930's-50's that used cheap Mexican workers (that "cross the border on temporary work permits to *help* with the harvest").

This educational documentary describes the political, social, and religious conditions of sixteenth century Europe. It also Interprets the reforms of Martin Luther as a part and/of these conditions as indications of future trends.

This 1971 color anti-drug use and abuse film was produced by Concept Films and directed by Brian Kellman for Encyclopedia Britannica. “Weed: The Story of Marijuana” combines time-lapse, montage, illustrations, animation (by Paul Fierlinger and emigre Pavel Vošický) and dramatized, documentary-style interviews to survey the evolving role of cannabis in U.S. society, with emphasis on the legal risks faced by young people. A unique score of experimental synthesizer music is provided by Tony Luisi on an EMS VCS 3 “Putney”

This short film offers a children's guide to anger management.

While visiting the laboratory where his brother works, Ed discovers that his brother is working on bacteria. Ed begins to wonder about bacteria--what exactly is it and can it be harmful or beneficial to humans and how exactly do they feed and reproduce.

A family goes to the local fair to compete with their livestock & produce.

Presents an overview of Pakistan--its geographic and climatic features, its methods of agricultural and industrial production, and its modes of travel.