The History of Film

Thomas Edison
Kinetoscope debuted in
1893 at the Chicago
worlds fair
1894, Fred Otts Sneeze is
the 1st copyrighted film
Robert William Paul
invented the film
projector, 1895
Edison then invented
the Vitoscope
Nickelodeons
People went to amusement parks,
carnivals, or storefronts to watch
short films
Cost a nickel
Initially were individual viewing
machine
Moving pictures lasted about a
minute
Later, they were theatres with
pianos or organs
Movies were of every day
activities, sporting events, or misc.
movies
 The Silent Era
Georges Melies A Trip to
the Moon, 1902
Pioneered editing,
special effects, and
story telling
Edwin S. Potters The
Great Train Robbery,
1903
1st western
Had a story, action, and
editing
The Silent Era cont.
Standard length of films was
about one reel or 10-15 minutes
Feature films started in Australia
D.W. Griffith picked up on it
Made Birth of a Nation in
1915
Most popular film of the
1910s
Extremely racist
1911, 1st animated film released
Winsor McCays Little Nemo
in Slumberland
 The Silent Era cont.
New York (Queens) led early Safety Last
film making
By the 1920s, Hollywood
emerged as the worlds film
leader
Almost 800 films a year
Great climate and room to
work
Era dominated by Tom Mix,
Charlie Chaplin, Buster
Keaton, Douglas Fairbanks,
and Clara Bow
Talkies
Al Jolsons The Jazz Singer
was the 1st film with sound,
1927
Used the Vitaphone
system
By 1929, almost all films
were talkies
Many silent film stars and
directors couldnt adapt
Started the Golden Age of
Hollywood
Lasted until the 1950s
 The Golden Era Of Hollywood
1929, the 1st Academy
Awards are given out
The Oscars
1929, the 1st full-length all
color films are released
Movies thrived during the
Great Depression
Offered Realism or
Escapism
The Golden Era Of Hollywood
King Kong, 1933
It Happened One Night, 1934
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, 1937
Gone With the Wind, 1939
The Wizard of Oz, 1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939
Wuthering Heights, 1939
Stagecoach, 1939
Citizen Kane, 1941
Casablanca, 1942
HUAC investigates Hollywood for
communist activities
19 are blackballed
TV emerges in the 1950s as studios are
broken up for being monopolies
Ends the Golden Era
 The 1950s
Decline in popularity led
to innovations to lure
audiences back
More color, wide angle
shots, 3D films, sex
appeal, and epic films
The Ten
Commandments, 1956
Ben-Hur, 1959
Spartacus, 1960
 The 1950s
Decline in popularity led
to innovations to lure
audiences back
More color, wide angle
shots, 3D films, sex
appeal, and epic films
The Ten
Commandments, 1956
Ben-Hur, 1959
Spartacus, 1960
The 1960s
Hollywood declines more
More films made on location
Still family oriented early in the
decade
Innovators led to a rekindling of
film
Dr. Strangelove, 1964
The Graduate, 1967
2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968
Midnight Cowboy, 1968
Easy Rider, 1969
Led to a New Hollywood
 The 1970s and the New Hollywood
A New Group of filmmakers
emerged
Francis Ford Coppola,
Steven Spielberg, George
Lucas, and Brian de Palma
The Godfather, 1972
The Exorcist, 1973
Jaws, 1975
Star Wars, 1977
Animal House, 1978
Jaws and Star Wars led to
blockbuster films
The 1980s to the Present
Blockbusters continue to
be made
The industry has adapted
to home viewing: VCR
and DVD
Digital effects
More sequels, remakes,
and adaptations recently
Independent films are
gaining larger audiences