The history of Movies does not go back as far as one might think. It also depends on what one might call a movie. If you consider a 16 frame shot of a horse galloping the first motion picture ever made, the movie industry started in 1878. Much early movie history is lost to time, but the oldest film surviving is thought to be the Roundhay Garden scene, made in 1888. It lasts about two seconds, and features people walking around a garden. The first movie thought to be filmed on one continuous strip of film, was called Monkey Shines No.1, and was a test of an Edison invention.
The films I mentioned in the first paragraph, are all films that could only be viewed by one person at a time. They were shown in Kinetoscope machines, invented by Edison. The first movie made for projection was Workers leaving the Lumiere factory, but the first movie made to be projected to an audience was Berlin Wintergarten Novelty Program.
Around the year 1894, the era of movies known as the silent era, the art of motion picture making grew to maturity. This era lasted until the year 1929, two years after the Jazz Singer came out, the first talking picture. In 1910, the highest grossing film was Birth of a Nation at 10 million dollars. One of the funniest yet scariest sequences ever filmed was in Harold Lloyd's climb up the outside of a skyscraper in the film Safety Last in 1923. Rudolph Valentino became an exotic heart-throb and with his sudden death at the age of 31 sent a wave a hysteria that remains untouched. William S. Hart was the cowboy that gave the westerns an uncommon realism, and he was the first good-bad man, a figure in search of redemption. He came into movies at the age of 49, and he bowed out in 1925, with the epic movie Tumbleweeds.
The sound era of movies began with The Jazz Singer. The Marx Brothers came into pictures in the thirty's and the first talking animated feature came out, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Some of the best movies ever came out of the thirty's, Wizard of Oz, and Gone with the Wind. It's a Wonderful Life came out in the forty's, and it was an instant classic that is still watched doing the holidays today. The fifties were known for the amazing epics that were filmed during this time. During the sixties the movie industry declined because of the Cuban Missile crisis, and many stars went overseas to entertain troops at war.
The seventies were a kind of revival for Hollywood. Hitchcock became a big director of horror movies. There were controversial films filmed such as: The Clockwork Orange, The French Connection, and Dirty Harry. One of the most successful series of films to come out of the seventies was the Godfather series. The Lucas-Spielberg team dominated Hollywood in the 80's and lead to many sequels of their many successes, and videotapes were a huge thing in the industry. Special effects, dvd's, and independent films made their marks in the 90's. To bring in the new decade and millennium, the Harry Potter series started, and IMAX theaters became popular.
The highest grossing movies ever are:The Birth of a Nation from 1915 to 1940; Gone with the Wind from 1940 to 1963 and again in 1971; The Sound of Music in 1966; The Godfather in 1972; Jaws in 1976; Star Wars from 1978 to 1982; E.T. The Extraterrestrial from 1983 to 1993; Jurassic Park in 1993; Titanic in 1998; and Avatar in 2010. The highest grossing film franchise of all time is the Harry Potter series. The highest grossing film of 2012 was The Avengers, and the highest one for 2013 so far is Iron Man 3.
So, to conclude, the movie industry is always updating and changing. There will always be new and exciting adventures that the movies will take us on.
The films I mentioned in the first paragraph, are all films that could only be viewed by one person at a time. They were shown in Kinetoscope machines, invented by Edison. The first movie made for projection was Workers leaving the Lumiere factory, but the first movie made to be projected to an audience was Berlin Wintergarten Novelty Program.
Around the year 1894, the era of movies known as the silent era, the art of motion picture making grew to maturity. This era lasted until the year 1929, two years after the Jazz Singer came out, the first talking picture. In 1910, the highest grossing film was Birth of a Nation at 10 million dollars. One of the funniest yet scariest sequences ever filmed was in Harold Lloyd's climb up the outside of a skyscraper in the film Safety Last in 1923. Rudolph Valentino became an exotic heart-throb and with his sudden death at the age of 31 sent a wave a hysteria that remains untouched. William S. Hart was the cowboy that gave the westerns an uncommon realism, and he was the first good-bad man, a figure in search of redemption. He came into movies at the age of 49, and he bowed out in 1925, with the epic movie Tumbleweeds.
The sound era of movies began with The Jazz Singer. The Marx Brothers came into pictures in the thirty's and the first talking animated feature came out, Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. Some of the best movies ever came out of the thirty's, Wizard of Oz, and Gone with the Wind. It's a Wonderful Life came out in the forty's, and it was an instant classic that is still watched doing the holidays today. The fifties were known for the amazing epics that were filmed during this time. During the sixties the movie industry declined because of the Cuban Missile crisis, and many stars went overseas to entertain troops at war.
The seventies were a kind of revival for Hollywood. Hitchcock became a big director of horror movies. There were controversial films filmed such as: The Clockwork Orange, The French Connection, and Dirty Harry. One of the most successful series of films to come out of the seventies was the Godfather series. The Lucas-Spielberg team dominated Hollywood in the 80's and lead to many sequels of their many successes, and videotapes were a huge thing in the industry. Special effects, dvd's, and independent films made their marks in the 90's. To bring in the new decade and millennium, the Harry Potter series started, and IMAX theaters became popular.
The highest grossing movies ever are:The Birth of a Nation from 1915 to 1940; Gone with the Wind from 1940 to 1963 and again in 1971; The Sound of Music in 1966; The Godfather in 1972; Jaws in 1976; Star Wars from 1978 to 1982; E.T. The Extraterrestrial from 1983 to 1993; Jurassic Park in 1993; Titanic in 1998; and Avatar in 2010. The highest grossing film franchise of all time is the Harry Potter series. The highest grossing film of 2012 was The Avengers, and the highest one for 2013 so far is Iron Man 3.
So, to conclude, the movie industry is always updating and changing. There will always be new and exciting adventures that the movies will take us on.