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Invention of Thaumatrope
The thaumatrope was invented by an English physician named John Ayrton Paris. It’s credited with being the first cinematographic device. -
Invention of Phenakistoscope
The Phenakistoscope was invented by a Belgian physicist Joseph Antoine Ferdinand Plateau in 1832. It used a spinning disc attached vertically to a handle -
Invention of Zoetrope
In 1834, William George Horner proposed a more convenient device based on Plateau’s Phenakistoscope which allowed several people to view the device at one time -
Sallie Gardner at a Gallop
"Sallie Gardner at a Gallop", also known as "The Horse In Motion", is a series of 24 photographs of a galloping horse created by Eadweard Muybridge on June 15, 1878.
In 1880, Muybridge first projected moving images on a screen when he gave a presentation at the California School of Fine Arts. This was the earliest known motion picture exhibition. -
Invention of zoopraxiscope
The zoopraxiscope is an early device for displaying motion pictures. Created by photographic pioneer Eadweard Muybridge in 1879, it is considered the first movie projector -
First recorded film
"Roundhay Garden Scene" is an 1888 short silent film recorded by French inventor Louis Le Prince. Shot at Oakwood Grange in Roundhay in the north of England, it is believed to be the oldest surviving film in existence, as noted by the Guinness Book of Records. -
Invention of Kinetoscope
The Kinetoscope is an early motion picture exhibition device. It was invented by Thomas A. Edison and William Dickson in 1891. The Kinetoscope was designed for films to be viewed by one individual at a time through a peephole viewer window at the top of the device. -
Invention of mutoscope
The Mutoscope was an early motion picture device. It did not project on a screen and provided viewing to only one person at a time. It was cheaper and simpler than the Kinetoscope. -
Invention of cinematograph
A cinematograph is a motion picture film camera, which also serves as a film projector and printer. It was invented in Lyon by Auguste and Louis Lumière -
First narrative film
"L'Arroseur arrosé" (also known as "The Sprinkler Sprinkled") is an 1895 French short black-and-white silent comedy film directed and produced by Louis Lumière. It was first screened on June 10, 1895.
It is considered to be the earliest known instance of comedy film, as well as the first use of film to portray a fictional story. -
First horror film
"Le Manoir du Diable" or "The House of the Devil", is an 1896 French short silent film directed by Georges Méliès. The film tells the story of an encounter with the Devil and various phantoms. -
First science fiction film
"A Trip to the Moon" (French: "Le Voyage Dans la Lune") is a 1902 French silent film directed by Georges Méliès.
The film follows a group of astronomers who travel to the Moon in a cannon-propelled capsule, explore the Moon's surface, escape from an underground group of Selenites (lunar inhabitants), and return to Earth with a captive Selenite -
First western film
The Great Train Robbery is a 1903 American silent short Western film written, produced, and directed by Edwin S. Porter. At twelve minutes long, The Great Train Robbery film is considered a milestone in film making. The film used a number of then-unconventional techniques, including composite editing, on-location shooting, and frequent camera movement. Some prints were also hand colored in certain scenes. -
First movie theater
The first movie theater opens in Pittsburgh. The theater was creation of Harry Davis and John P. Harris who moved 96 seats into an empty store, transforming it into the world's first movie theater. They named it the Nickelodeon. The name was based on the cost of admission to the theater (a nickel) and the Greek word for theater (odeon).
The theater was the first to show films all day long.
A few theaters from the nickelodeon era are still showing films today. -
First feature film is released
"The Story of the Kelly Gang" was the first dramatic feature film released.
In 2007, The Story of the Kelly Gang was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World Register for being the world's first full-length narrative feature film. -
First animated cartoon
"Fantasmagorie" is a 1908 French animated film by Émile Cohl. The film consists of a stick man moving about and encountering all manner of morphing objects, such as a wine bottle that transforms into a flower -
First Polish feature film
The earliest surviving Polish feature film, the "Antoś pierwszy raz w Warszawie" was made in 1908 by Antoni Fertner. The date of its premiere, October 22, 1908, is considered the founding date of Polish film industry. -
First feature-length adaptation
"Les Misérables" is a 1909 American silent historical drama feature film. The movie is based on the 1862 French novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. -
First movie shot in Hollywood
"In Old California" is a silent movie filmed in 1910. It was the first movie shot in Hollywood. The film is a melodrama about the Mexican era of California. -
Frankenstein
"Frankenstein" is a 1910 film made by Edison Studios. It was written and directed by J. Searle Dawley.
It was the first motion picture adaptation of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. -
Quo Vadis
"Quo Vadis" is an Italian film directed by Enrico Guazzoni in 1913, based on the 1896 novel of the same name written by Henryk Sienkiewicz. It was arguably the first blockbuster in the history of cinema.
It premiered in Germany at the opening night of the Ufa-Pavillon am Nollendorfplatz (Berlin's first purpose-built, free-standing cinema), on 19 March 1913. -
First film sequel
The Fall of a Nation is a 1916 American silent drama film and it is a sequel to the 1915 film The Birth of a Nation. The Fall of a Nation is considered to be the first ever film sequel. -
First film remake
"The Squaw Man" is a 1918 American Western film. It is a remake of 1914 film of the same name, which is based upon a 1905 play. The film was reportedly made as an experiment to prove DeMille's theory that a good film is based on a good story. It cost $40,000 to make and grossed $350,000. It was remade again in 1931. -
First film prequel
"The Golem: How He Came into the World" (German: "Der Golem, Wie er in die Welt kam") is a 1920 silent horror film. The script was adapted from the 1915 novel The Golem by Gustav Meyrink. The film was the third of three films featuring the golem, the other two being "The Golem" (1915) and the short comedy "The Golem and the Dancing Girl" (1917). It is a prequel to The Golem and is the best known of the series. -
First sound film which included synchronized dialogue
"The Jazz Singer" is a 1927 American musical film. It was the first feature-length motion picture with lip-synchronized singing and speech. It was directed by Alan Crosland and produced by Warner Bros. The film, featured six songs performed by Al Jolson.
It is based on a play of the same name by Samson Raphaelson -
1st Academy Awards
The 1st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, took place on May 16, 1929, at a private dinner held at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in Los Angeles. 270 people attended the event. Awards were created by Louis B. Mayer, founder of Louis B. Mayer Pictures Corporation (at present merged into Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer).
It is the only Academy Awards ceremony not to be broadcast either on radio or television. -
First Disney animated feature film
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is a 1937 American animated musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Productions. Based on the German fairy tale by the Brothers Grimm, it is the first full-length cel animated feature film and the earliest Disney animated feature film. -
First Golden Globe Ceremony
The first Golden Globe award ceremony was held at the 20th Century Fox Studios in Los Angeles, California. -
Godzilla
"Godzilla" is a 1954 Japanese film featuring Godzilla. It is the first film in the Godzilla franchise. The film was directed by Ishirō Honda. -
Star Wars
The franchise began in 1977 with the release of the film Star Wars (later subtitled Episode IV: A New Hope in 1981), which became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon.
It is often regarded as one of the best films of all time. -
First feature-length computer-animated film
"Toy Story" is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy adventure film produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Toy Story was the first feature-length computer-animated film and the first theatrical film produced by Pixar. -
Titanic
"Titanic" is a 1997 American romance-disaster film.
It was the most expensive film made at that time, with an estimated budget of $200 million.
Upon its release on December 19, 1997, Titanic achieved critical and commercial success. It was nominated for fourteen Academy Awards, and won eleven. -
First feature film to consist of a single unedited take
"Russian Ark" (Russian: "Русский ковчег") is a 2002 historical drama film. It was filmed entirely in the Winter Palace of the Russian State Hermitage Museum using a single 96-minute Steadicam sequence shot. -
Avatar
"Avatar" is a 2009 American science fiction film.
The film made extensive use of new motion capture filming techniques and was released for traditional viewing, as well as 3D viewing.
Avatar premiered in London on December 10, 2009. During its theatrical run, the film broke several box office records and became the highest-grossing film of all time. It also became the first film to gross more than $2 billion. Avatar was nominated for nine Academy Awards, and won three.
