Acervo PVCA

How to download a film from the Internet Archive

  1. Go to the film’s page

    On the film’s page here in the collection, use the Internet Archive link: it opens the right page and you can skip to step 2. Otherwise, open the pv_ca profile and look for the title in the “Search uploads” box.

    The pv_ca profile on the Internet Archive with its list of uploads
    Search for the title here
    The profile lists every uploaded film, from newest to oldest.

  2. Check the size before downloading

    On the film’s page, check the Item Size. Films in the collection are usually high quality, but the size changes from film to film: it can be small, large or very large. Knowing beforehand keeps you from running out of disk space mid-download.

    The Black Orpheus film page showing Item Size 24.6G
    Item Size: 24.6G (for this film)

  3. Look at the options under “Download Options”

    The panel on the right lists the formats available for that film. Not every film has the same options, and MATROSKA (.mkv), which appears in this example, may not be the only one. See what exists and check the size of each option to be sure you are downloading the right thing.

    The Download Options panel with ITEM IMAGE, ITEM TILE, MATROSKA, TORRENT, 7 Files and 7 Original
    Available formats
    OptionWhat it is
    MATROSKA, MPEG4…The film as a single video file. There may be more than one format; compare the sizes.
    TORRENTAlways available. Downloads the film through a torrent program, good for large files and unstable connections.
    7 OriginalLists only the originally uploaded files, each with its size.
    7 FilesLists every file in the item, including those generated by the Archive.
    ITEM IMAGE, ITEM TILEOnly the film’s poster. Not the film.

  4. Save the file

    Clicking a format (or “7 Original” or “7 Files”) opens the file list in your browser, with each file’s size in the “Size” column. Click the name of the film file, which here ends in .mkv, and the download starts. If the browser tries to open it instead of downloading, right-click the link and choose Save link as….

    The item’s file list with the .mkv file highlighted
    black-orpheus-1959-1080p-pvca.mkv · 24.6 GB
    The .torrent file, just below, is the alternative for downloading with a torrent program.

    Done. The file goes to your Downloads folder. If the connection drops, click the same link again: the browser usually resumes where it stopped.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take?

It depends on the film’s size and your internet: a 24 GB file on a 100 Mbps connection takes about 35 minutes. Keep the computer on and do not let it sleep.

How do I open an .mkv file?

Use VLC, which plays .mkv on computer and phone. No extra codec is needed.

How do I turn on subtitles?

Subtitles are already inside the file. In VLC, open the Subtitle menu → Sub Track and choose the language (the film’s page lists which exist).