History of film - Transition to the 21st century

history of film

Table of Contents

Introduction
Early years, 1830–1910
- Origins
- Edison and the Lumière brothers
- Méliès and Porter
- Early growth of the film industry
The silent years, 1910–27
- Pre-World War I American cinema
- Pre-World War I European cinema
- D.W. Griffith
- Post-World War I European cinema
  - Germany
  - The Soviet Union
- Post-World War I American cinema
The pre-World War II sound era
- Introduction of sound
  - Conversion to sound
  - Postsynchronization
  - Nontechnical effects of sound
- Introduction of color
- The Hollywood studio system
- International cinema
  - Great Britain
  - France
  - Germany and Italy
  - Soviet Union
  - Japan
  - India
The war years and post-World War II trends
- Decline of the Hollywood studios
- The fear of communism
- The threat of television
- Cinema around the world
  - Italy
  - France
  - Great Britain
  - Germany
  - Africa
  - Japan
  - China, Taiwan, and Korea
  - India
  - Australia
  - Russia, eastern Europe, and Central Asia
  - Spain and Mexico
  - Sweden
  - United States
    - The youth cult and other trends of the late 1960s
    - The effect of new technologies
Transition to the 21st century
- The expansion of media culture
- Asian cinema
  - China
  - Taiwan
  - Hong Kong
  - Iran
  - Japan
  - South Korea
- European cinema
  - France
  - Great Britain
  - Eastern Europe and Russia
- Australia, New Zealand, and Canada
- Mexico
- United States

References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics

Images & Videos

Watch a motion picture of a sneeze as captured by a strip Kinetograph

Watch the early movie The Great Train Robbery

For Students

history of film summary

Read Next

Screen with https for internet security. (encryption, privacy, websites)

Inventions that Helped Shape How We Interact with Knowledge and Information

Tom Cruise as Maverick in Top Gun(1986) directed by Tony Scott.

Can You Guess the Movie by the Scene?

Vandalized Art list. Combo of EB owned illustration (top) and parent Asset 182294. 4 of 11 The Rokeby Venus by Diego Velazquez was hit with a meat cleaver by Mary Richardson

Art Abuse: 11 Vandalized Works of Art

Painting palette with oil paints and brushes. Rainbow colored paints, arts and entertainment

Art History: The Origins of 7 of Your Favorite Art Supplies

Bag end on Bagshot row from the movies Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit in Hobbiton, New Zealand, Australia

You Ought to Be in Pictures: 8 Filming Locations You Can Actually Visit

Discover

Facsimile of one of William Henry Ireland's forgeries, a primitive self-portrait of William Shakespeare(tinted engraving). Published for Samuel Ireland, Norfolk Street, Strand, December 1, 1795. (W.H. Ireland, forgery)

The Time a Law Clerk Successfully Forged a New Shakespeare Play to Impress His Dad

Saint Lucia Day. Young girl wears Lucia crown (tinsel halo) with candles. Holds Saint Lucia Day currant laced saffron buns (lussekatter or Lucia's cats). Observed December 13 honor virgin martyr Santa Lucia (St. Lucy). Luciadagen, Christmas, Sweden

7 Winter Solstice Celebrations From Around the World

Is Australia an Island?

Coriander leaves, fresh green cilantro on wooden background, herbs

Why Does Cilantro Taste Like Soap to Some People?

What's the Difference Between a Solstice and an Equinox?

9 of the World’s Deadliest Snakes

Monitor. Varanus salvadorii is a monitor lizard found in New Guinea can grows to 2.7 metres (9 ft.) aka Tree crocodile, Crocodile monitor, Salvadori's monitor, artellia, reptile

7 of the World’s Most Dangerous Lizards and Turtles

The history of film in the last period of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st was shaped in part by new technologies and the expansion of media culture that such technologies fostered. In the 1980s, for example, the widespread adoption of the videocassette recorder (VCR) opened up new possibilities for the distribution of films as videocassettes, giving wider circulation and easier access to works made throughout the world. In the same manner, new cable and satellite television systems that delivered media directly to homes created additional markets for film distribution and income sources for film producers. With ...(100 of 44918 words)

Access the full article

Help support true facts by becoming a member.