Movies |  |
Chapter Summary| Movies have undergone many changes through the years, both in terms of technology and content.
In terms of technology, the first moving pictures were stroboscopic toys that utilized persistence of vision. Thomas Edison and his assistant, W. K. L. Dickson, invented the film camera and the Kinetoscope for viewing films. They made movies in a studio called The Black Maria. The Lumière brothers of France made the first projector and eventually nickelodeons and elaborate theaters appeared to show the movies. There were so many companies with competing film patents that in 1909 the Motion Picture Patents Company was created with New York companies Edison, Biograph, and Vitagraph as the main participants.
Equipment continued to improve, and film companies moved to California where they could take advantage of the sunny weather. Sound was developed and became very popular after the 1927 showing of The Jazz Singer. Several different forms of color were developed in the 1920s and 1930, but color did not become stable until the 1970s.
During the 1950s, the movie industry tried technological wizardry to stem the erosion of the audience to television. Cinerama, CinemaScope, and 3-D were tried, but to little avail. People have been more receptive to the technology of later decades that has centered on special effects. Computer-generated imagery is particularly popular. Electronic editing has become part of the production process, and electronics will probably play a big role in the future of distribution and exhibition.
In terms of content, the stroboscopic "movies" were simply moving images, such as a parrot in a cage. Edison and Dickson's movies were mostly vaudeville acts, while the Lumières took the camera outside and filmed everyday events. Early filmmaker George Méliès experimented with special effects, and Edwin S. Porter cut back and forth between scenes. D. W. Griffith developed the narrative film and produced the controversial The Birth of a Nation in 1915. Charlie Chaplin developed comedy with his Tramp character. During the silent film era of the 1920s, movie stars came to the fore and fans became interested in their lives. Movie content was somewhat risqué, and Will Hays was brought in to head the MPPDA and clean up movies.
When film studios were set up in California, they began filming westerns because the land and climate lend itself to this genre. Once sound was introduced, the studios were able to produce musicals and fare that was more dramatic than in the past. The MPPDA Code's moral restrictions influenced movie content, but people flocked to the movies in record numbers. Two important directors of the studio era were Alfred Hitchcock, who used editing to increase the sense of horror, and Orson Welles, who used camera angles and focus to accentuate emotion.
When the movie industry hit bad times because of television and the outlawing of vertical integration, movie content changed. Independent producers came to the fore who made cheaper films by hiring people for only one film at a time, thereby reducing overhead. Their films, released mainly in the 1960s, were more artistic and personal and contained the stamp of the auteur (author). A court ruling put movies under the First Amendment so they were able to contain more sex and violence.
Movies of the 1970s reverted back to more positive themes and happy endings. Lucas and Spielberg led the way with Star Wars and the Indiana Jones films. Today the content of films is affected by the needs of the aftermarket and the influence of other countries.
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