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Early Cinema
Reference used:
Film History: An IntroductionSecond edition
Kristin ThompsonDavid Bordwell
McGraw-HillInternational Edition
2003
Early cinema (1905-1912)
After 1905 – expansion and stabilisation of film industry
− permanent theaters− expanded production to meet increasing demand− new important producing countries like Italy &
Denmark− other countries: emergence of filmmaking on small
scale− films become longer with more shots & more
complex stories− exploration of new narrative techniques
French film industry
France still largest producer – rapid expansion in 1905-06
Workers win shorter workweek --> more time for leisure & entertainment
Pathé Frères vs Gaumont − Pathé – 3 studios with vertical integration (from
manufacture of cameras, projectors, film stock to theaters) & horizontal integration (studios in Italy, Russia & US) – largest company in 1906 – introduced newsreels
Film d'Art company (1908) Assassinat du Duc de Guise
Italian film industry Later start (1905) but rapid growth Poaching from French industry – imitations /
remakes of French movies (Cines company - 1905) Rapid expansion of exhibition with permanent
theaters Cinema won respect as new art form earlier Art films – Ambrosio company: The Last Days of
Pompeii (1908) 1910: Italian industry second to France worldwide Among the first to use more than one reel –->
long, expensive epics
Danish film industry 1906: Ole Olsen – Nordisk (NY branch in
1908: Great Northern) 1907: Lion Hunt 1908: started building four glass studios for
indoor production International reputation for excellent acting &
production values Specialised in crime thrillers, dramas,
sensationalistic melodramas...
Other countries England: Cecil Hepworth's production company
– Rescued by Rover (1905): big international hit Japan: earliest systematic production in 1908 –
kabuki plays in static long shots Germany: industry started flourishing in 1913 Russia: domination of Pathé (1909-1911:
Moscow branch produced half of films)
American film industry Concentration on domestic market - struggle for
power between US companies - flood of European films
1905-1907: rapid multiplication of theaters (small stores with < 200 seats) – Nickelodeons
Warner Bros, Carl Laemmle (Universal), Louis B. Mayer (MGM), Adolph Zukor (Paramount), William Fox started as nickelodeon exhibitors
1907-1908: control through litigation− Since 1897, Edison sued competitors for patent
infringement− 1907: Edison vs. AM&B (American Mutoscope &
Biograph)
Social pressures & self-censorship
Religious groups & social workers critical of nickelodeons seen as training ground for prostitution & robbery
1908: brief closure of NY nickeoledons by mayor + creation of local censorship boards in serveral towns
1909: Board of Censorship (private body to forestall passing of censorship laws) – voluntray submission of films for approval notice
Attempt to release more respectable films appealing to middle and upper classes
From 1908: building or conversion into larger theaters
− Musical accompaniments, ornate decorations, occasional educational lectures for more refined atmosphere
1909 – Rise of feature films (multi-reel) Rise of star actors through public demand 1910: companies started exploiting popular
actors for publicity 1911: first fan magazine (The Motion Picture
Story Magazine) – sale of photo postcards 1914: films start including credits
Moving to Hollywood
First film companies: New Jersey & New York Outdoor shooting favoured sunnier climes
(Florida) 1910's: Los Angeles established as major
production centre + suburb Hollywood From small open-air stages to sizable
complexes with large enclosed studios & numerous depts
Head offices remained in NY By 1920's Hollywood = 800 feature films
annually (82% of global total)
1908: cooperation between Edison & AM&B – created the MPPC (Motion Pictures Patents Company) – Edison owns Black Maria Studios
Strict restriction of imported films (Pathé, Méliès, Kleine, etc. were allowed) – decline in share of foreign films
Oligopoly over all 3 phases (production, distribution & exhibition) – all actors pay fees
1909-1915: Independents fight back – 2000 theaters refused to pay fees (out of 8000) – market for independents
1909: Laemmle turns in licence and creates Independent Motion Picture Company – later Universal
Series of lawsuits of MPPC against nearly all independent producers
Early film making
Silent era: 1895-1927 (use of intertitles)− Edwin S. Porter -> editing technique (basic unit =
shot) The Great Train Robbery (1903)− D.W. Griffith --> jump-cut, facial close-up - The Birth
of a Nation (1915)− Comedies --> Chaplin's The Tramp (1915) The Kid
(1921), Keaton's SteamBoat Bill Jr (1928)− Fantastic films (Murnau's Nosferatu (1922) & Faust
(1926))− Epics (Ben Hur (1907), 10 Commandments (1923))
World film
Influential alternatives: emphasis on aestheticism – non-linear narratives - abstraction
German Expressionism – emerging horror genre – dark & hallucinatory
Radical Soviet cinema – Segei Eisenstein – intellectual montage of attractions to provoke strong emotional reactions
Spanish surrealism – Louis Bunuel
Sound era
Hollywood all-talkie by 1929 Japan & China – co-existence with silent films
until 1930s Golden Age of Hollywood – big star actors
emerged (Gable, Hepburn, Bogart, Temple) – glamorous period
Birth of musicals with sound War & post-war period – cost-cutting led to devt
of sub-genres - gangster movies, detective films, jungle films...