Film History

  • inventions

    In the 1880s, multiple inventors began working on various sorts of moving picture cameras or motion picture cameras. The first films were created by the end of the decade.
  • First Public Displays

    The first public showings of films took place in the 1890s. The first theater was built in Philadelphia in 1899. Film companies began building film studios around 1900.
  • Edison's Kinetophone

    Edison invented the Kinetophone, making talkies an option.
  • Technicolor

    With the release of Becky Sharp, audiences could now see films in technicolor. Two-color film technology had been available, but rarely used since 1922.
  • Wide Screen

    With the invention of television, film needed to up its game. New widescreen processes to produce bigger and more exciting films were the answer.
  • First 3-D Film

    The first 3-D film, relying upon stereoscopic technology, achieved wide release in 1953. Earlier attempts had been made, but the 1950s saw the popularity of 3-d.
  • New Hollywood Filmmakers

    The mid-1970s a group of American filmmakers emerges on the scene with a cutting-edge style. These include Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Brian DePalma, and George Lucas.
  • VHS

    The first VHS recorder was released to the public in Japan by
    JVC.
  • Home Entertainment Revenues Exceeded Box Office

    In 2003, for the first time, home entertainment revenues exceeded the box office. The DVD took over for the video cassette in 2003 as well.
  • Disney buys Pixar

    The Walt Disney Co. pays $7.4 billion for Pixar Animation Studios.
  • Highest grossing film of all time

    James Cameron’s 3D film Avatar became the highest-grossing film of all time.
  • 48pfs

    Director Peter Jackson films 'The Hobbit' at 48 frames per second