A History of film
The silent era
The world's first cinema opened in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 1905. Two years later there were 4000 cinemas across America. In 1914 Hollywood, in California, became the centre of the American film industry. However, at that time films were silent. There was no dialogue, the only sound came from a piano player, or even an orchestra, playing music in the cinema to accompany the film. The greatest movie of the silent era was The Birth of a Nation, in 1915.
The talkies
In 1927 the "talkies" arrived - movies with talking (and of course, music). More people started to go to the cinema and the studios became very rich. 1929 saw the first Oscars ceremony. The Oscars helped to advertise films across America. By 1930 there were five big film studios: MGM, Paramount, RKO, Warner Brothers and 20th Century Fox. These studios made all the films. They also owned all the cinemas. Famous talkies include The Jazz Singer (Warner Brothers) and Citizen Kane (RKO).
BLOCKBUSTERS
Today, there are many indipendent film studios, but the big film studios still dominate. They now produce "blockbusters". These are very expensive films to make, with famous actors in them and very good special effects. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial and After Earth are examples of Hollywood blockbusters.
SOME GREAT MOVIES
the birth of a nation
The Birth of a Nation (1915) is about the American civil war. It was the first film many Americans went to see. Most films at the time only lasted about ten or twelve minutes, but The Birth of a Nation was over three hours long! The film cost about $100.000, but it made $3 million. Some of the film was in colour and it had its own music.
the jazz singer
The Jazz Singer (1927) is the story of a boy who runs away from home to become a singer. It was the first film with talking and singing. The star of the movie was Al Jolson. Al Jolson was born in Russia and moved to the USA in 1894 when he was about five years old. After The Jazz Singer, he became famous all over the world.
citizen kane
Citizen Kane (1941) is about the life of a poor boy who becomes a succesful businessman. For many people it's the best in the history of cinema. Citizen Kane was Orson Welles' first film. He was only 25 years old, but he was both the star of the film and its director. The film had a big budget - more than half a million dollars - but it made millions of dollars more.
e.t. the extra-terrestrial
E.T. (1982) is the story of Elliot, a lonely boy who makes friends with an extraterrestrial (E.T.). Steven Spielberg directed the film and it was successful all over the world. E.T. won four oscars and was a huge blockbuster. It costs £10 million to make, but made hundreds of millions of dollars - more than any other movie at that time.