History of Film

By Smith Caleb

  • short film

    ten of Lumière brothers' short films in Paris on 28 December 1895

  • circuit courts decision

    March 10 - Circuit Court's decision disallows Thomas Edison from having a monopoly on motion picture technology.

  • first colored newsreel

    The newsreel footage of the funeral of Edward VII is shot in Kinemacolor, making it the first color newsreel.

  • The Chicago Thetare

    The Chicago Theatre, which will be the oldest surviving French-style Baroque Revival grand movie palace, opens.

  • Sol M. Wurtzel is released

    Fox releases the Sol M. Wurtzel production of Bright Eyes, starring their hot new property, Shirley Temple. Shirley sings "On the Good Ship Lollipop", and wins the first Academy Award ever given to a child, for her endearing portrayal of Shirley Blake.

  • World premiere of Walt Disney's Fantasia at the Broadway Theatre in New York City

    World premiere of Walt Disney's Fantasia at the Broadway Theatre in New York City, the first film to be released in a multi-channel sound format (see Fantasound). The film also marks the first use of the click track while recording the soundtrack, overdubbing of orchestral parts, simultaneous multitrack recording and is cited as a key chapter in the conception and development of the multi-channel surround system.

  • realizing censoring was needed

    Decision reached in Joseph Burstyn, Inc. v. Wilson determining that certain provisions of the New York Education Law allowing a censor to forbid the commercial showing of any non-licensed motion picture film, or revoke or deny the license of a film deemed to be "sacrilegious," was a "restraint on freedom of speech" and thereby a violation of the First Amendment.

  • David Leans film adaption

    David Lean's film adaptation of Boris Pasternak's Doctor Zhivago, starring Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Rod Steiger, and Alec Guinness, premieres and, like The Sound of Music, quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. Its moral story and message of a love and human spirit that defied the communist Soviet Union have made the film a true classic with critics and audiences.

  • The Magic Christian premieres in New York

    The Magic Christian, starring Peter Sellers and Ringo Starr, premieres in New York City. The film's soundtrack album, including Badfinger's "Come and Get It" (written and produced by Paul McCartney), is released on Apple Records.

  • 53 and 2 child actor are died

    During production of Twilight Zone: The Movie, 53-year-old American actor Vic Morrow and two child actors are accidentally killed during a scene involving an operated helicopter. The accident leads to reforms in filmmaking safety and child-labor laws.

  • TMNT is relesead

    Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is released to massive box office success. At the time, it is the highest-grossing independent film in history.

  • Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones opens in theaters

    Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones opens in theaters. Although a huge success, it was the first Star Wars film not to be the highest-grossing of the year.