An Introduction to Film

in the novel and theater, the industry developed the
full-length narrative film. When the public wanted to
hear actors speak as they did on the stage, the indus-
try was transformed with sound recording. And so it
goes with other innovations: color film stock, images
with greater width and depth, genres to please virtu-
ally any audience, and a star system that created
every conceivable type of actor. At the same time,
there were major improvements in the techniques of
cinematography, editing, special effects, acting, and
sound recording, as well as new cameras, lenses, film
stocks, lighting equipment, and editing devices.
Today’s artists continue to create new techniques,
technologies, and cinematic conventions. They work
not just in Hollywood, London, Paris, or Berlin but
also in Calcutta, Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Moscow—
indeed, in virtually every country and culture in the
world. The result—a cinematic language that is
universally understood—means that the films of

Satyajit Ray, Ingmar Bergman, Steven Soderbergh,

Michelangelo Antonioni, or Andrei Tarkovsky speak

to an international audience.

The historical development of film is a dynamic

process that has created an art form that is con-

stantly evolving. As you will see in the next chapter,

the systems of production have kept pace with this

aesthetic evolution. In this short history of the

movies, we emphasize the films that explore every

aspect of this language and in many cases are

regarded as cinematic masterpieces. However, not

all movies are masterpieces. Film artists—like nov-

elists, painters, or composers—also produce work

that is mediocre, films that, despite their weak-

nesses, please vast audiences and produce the prof-

its that make the film industry a vital part of the

world’s economy. The history of the movies reveals,

among many other things, that art and commerce

can coexist.

Analyzing Film History

From this short history of the movies, we can reach

several conclusions. First, the movies—in their for-

mal qualities, modes of expression, technologies,

and audiences—have changed radically in the

course of a little more than hundred years. Second,

in many cases, the artists, technicians, and business-

people responsible for these changes adapted or

perfected the achievements of previous filmmakers

in order to reach the next level of development.

Third, working in different countries and cultures,

they produced an art that spoke to a diverse audi-

ence in a cinematic language that was universally

understood. While there are obviously other com-

mon threads unifying the complex course of film

history, these should encourage you—when you

become excited about a particular movie—to learn

more about its place in film history (if it’s an older

film) or to be alert to a contemporary movie’s

explicit or implicit connection to other eras of film

history and/or particular movies in that history. As

you continue to look at movies, whether in class or

on your own, you will see the rewards of appreciat-

ing, say, a 1927 masterpiece for what it is, where it

came from, and how it influenced subsequent film

history rather than thinking of it merely as an “old”

movie. Likewise, you will also be able to appreciate

the latest release for what it is, identifying how

those who made it were influenced by past masters

as well as what they contributed that seems new.

With this approach, you’ll understand that there are

no “old” or “new” movies, just a continuum of inno-

vation and tradition composed of those movies that

we treasure and others that we’d rather forget.

deals with the events of that period; the

means of production (e.g., studio, independent,

government-sponsored); the audience for which

it was intended; its reception by the public and

critics alike. Isolate and identify the movie as

closely as you can within this overall context.

✔As you study a particular film (or film artist,

style, or movement), learn as much as you can

about its historical context: the year in which it

was made/released; the country of origin; why, if

relevant, that year was important to that coun-

try’s history, and how, if relevant, the movie

Screening Checklist: Film History

SCREENING CHECKLIST: FILM HISTORY 477