Crash Course: Film History

Well they're not really "magic." Maybe "illusion" is a better way to say it. As we begin this journey of the history of cinema we need to understand how movies trick our brains into even understanding that a movie is a movie.

After serial photography became a thing it wasn't long before motion pictures started to develop. And at the front of that development was Thomas Edison who you may know as an inventor and business person.

As cinema started to take off things like "single viewer" devices weren't going to cut it as the medium advanced. In this episode of Crash Course Film History Craig talks to us about the Lumiere brothers their invention of the Cinematographe and the idea of projecting a movie to an audience.

After the Lumiere brothers and Thomas Edison got the ball rolling with Vaudeville acts and Actualites the time was coming for movie magic and fiction to make an appearance. The time was coming for filmmakers like Georges Melies and Alice Guy-Blache.

In this episode of Crash Course Film History we talk about the development of the language of films by filmmakers like Edwin S. Porter and his films; Life of an American Fireman and The Great Train Robbery.

Movies didn't always look like they do now. There was a period (kind of a problematic one) where movies transitioned from short novelties to big epic feature films. That's our focus this week as Craig talks to us about the birth of the feature film and the work of D.W. Griffith.

In this episode of Crash Course Film History we're going to focus on Germany and how they got a bit expressive with film.

Russia went and had a revolution in 1917 and cinema was a big part of its aftermath. Even though film stock was hard to come by we saw the first film school started and the study of film became hugely important.

The Silent Era of Hollywood set a lot of things into motion in terms of how movies were made and sold. Big stars were one of the main ways studios tried to make their movies stand apart from one another and get the public to make choices at the cinema.

Nothing changed movies like the arrival of synchronous sound. NOTHING! Acting directing cinematography and presentation all had to be rethought. Some studios were quicker to take on the challenge while others waited until the last moment.

It's time for the glitz and the glamour of big motion pictures that helped keep American spirits up during and after the Great Depression. Sound was a huge change to motion pictures but there were still a few technological innovations to come like color and aspect ratio.

Hollywood was riding high until their formula got to be stale. In places like Italy and France (as well as other places in the world we'll talk about soon) filmmakers were starting to break out of the mold and make daring films that challenged the idea of what movies were and what audiences wanted.

As the New Hollywood gained steam in the late 70s and early 80s another revenue stream opened its doors: home video. From Betamax to Laserdisc to Bluray to streaming services home video revolutionized how we ingest movies.

The world is a big place and cinema isn't limited to just the U.S. and Europe. There are a lot of vibrant and influential film movements and cultures from all over the world.

Africa the Middle East and South America have their own vibrant film communities and filmmakers. From social and political commentary to experimental films these regions have made some very important pieces of cinema over the last century.

Experimental and Documentary films could each take up their own Crash Course series. The different styles and intents of different filmmakers make each film unique. So let's settle in and have a look at how Experimental and Documentary films have evolved.