Amelia Earhart is the world’s favorite female pilot. In a newly released video, she stands tall and laughs. She climbs on her plane. She is preparing for a journey of a lifetime.

No one has ever seen this video before now. For more than 50 years, it sat in a box on a shelf. Then it sat in a drawer for another 20 years. But John Bresnik finally revealed it to the public. His father’s name was John too. John Bresnik Sr. is believed to have recorded the video. Mr. Bresnik’s film lets us see Ms. Earhart in action just before her final flights.

Ms. Earhart’s journey is famous because of the way it ended. In 1937, Ms. Earhart tried to fly all the way around the world. In fact, she tried twice. The first time, her plane crashed in Hawaii. The second time, she and her plane completely disappeared. What in the world happened to Ms. Earhart? Where did she crash? Did she survive? Why could no one ever find her?

The new film makes people curious all over again. The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery (TIGHAR) has begun another search. Maybe Ms. Earhart and her navigator landed on an island in the Pacific. TIGHAR’s team looked in the water around an island called Nikumaroro. Does plane wreckage lurk in the deep? They searched for signs. Did Ms. Earhart set up camp on the shore? But plants have overgrown the island. That makes evidence hard to find. So far, researchers haven’t found a plane in the nearby sea, either.

For now, Ms. Earhart remains one of the world’s greatest mysteries. Will she stay a mystery forever?