Find the source ofhistorical footage
Old war footage, colorized newsreels, upscaled street scenes — they go viral with no credit and a caption someone made up. We search the frames visually across the web and list the pages carrying the same footage: archive uploads, documentaries, museum channels. $0.90 a search, free to scan.
- Upload the clip, a screen recording, or a screenshot of one moment.
- Pasted links cover the first ~5 seconds; upload the file to cover all of it.
- Each match is labelled exact or visually similar, with how many frames agree.
A link checks the first ~5 seconds. To check the whole video, upload the file.
tiktok · facebook · instagram · x
Not a real result — try your own video above ↑ unlock every URL, page title and platform for $0.90
Look past the remaster, find the footage.
Give us the viral version
The colorized repost with music is fine. Uploading the file covers the whole clip; a link covers its first ~5 seconds.
We search the frames
Up to 24 distinctive frames are searched visually across the web. Colorizing and upscaling change the picture, so some moments match better than others.
Read the real context
Open the archive uploads and documentaries among the matches. Their titles and descriptions tell you what the footage shows and when — you judge it yourself.
Checking one old clip should not need a plan.
You want to know where one piece of footage comes from. A monthly subscription is the wrong shape for that.
$0.90 a search, a wallet from $1.90 that never expires, and nothing that renews. If a search finds nothing, half its price comes back.
- Retrace
- $0.90
- Competitor (1 month)
- $7.00
- Competitor (1 year,
never cancelled) - $84.00
Straight answers.
Run the free scan first: it tells you how many pages carry the footage before you pay anything.
Trace old footage free →How do I find where old war footage is from?
Upload the clip or a screenshot of a clear moment. We search its frames visually across the web and list the pages carrying the same footage — often archive uploads, documentaries and museum or archive channels. Their titles and descriptions usually say what the footage shows; compare them to date it yourself.
Does colorized or upscaled footage still match?
Often, but colorizing, upscaling and added borders change the picture, so exact matches can drop. Try several moments — screenshots of different scenes, or the whole file — and trust an exact match on several frames over a single visually similar one.
Can it find the uncolorized original?
If a black-and-white version is on a public, indexed page, it can show up among the matches — usually as visually similar rather than exact, because the colors differ. It is a lead to open and compare, not a guarantee.
Does Retrace tell me the date of the footage?
No. It shows the pages where the footage appears, with their links and titles. The date and context come from those pages — archive descriptions and documentaries are the ones worth reading.
Why do some results look similar but aren't the same?
Old footage shares a look: grain, uniforms, aircraft, ruined streets. Each match is labelled exact or visually similar and shows how many frames agree, so you can set aside the lookalikes.