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In 1878, Eadweard Muybridge conducted an experiment to determine if a running horse ever had all four legs lifted off the ground. Taking pictures at one-thousandth of a second, cameras were arranged alongside the horses track, being tripped by a wire when the horse’s hooves came in contact with it. It was a success for film development.
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In France, Auguste and Louis Lumière hold the first private screening. The brothers invent the Cinématograph, a combination camera and projector. The image of an oncoming train is said to have caused a stampede.
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In 1903, the ten-minute-long “The Great Train Robbery,” was shown, and it was the first Western narrative with a plot. Previously, films were just actions of mundane things like a short dance, a greeting or a kiss. Established the use of shots and editing in film. This also marks the growing popularity of story films, over daily life scenes or news.
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Edison invented the Kinetophone, making talkies an option. They would not become popular for more than 20 years, however.
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In the 1920s, film stars were being made, their face recognized and praised. Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford were regarded as the first film stars.
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Sergei Eisenstein makes Potemkin, a revolutionary portrait of mutiny aboard a battleship. In the hands of Eisenstein, montage is raised to the highest structural role in filmmaking, serving as the unifying element of the medium. Ben-Hur, costing a record-setting $3.95 million to produce, is released.
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The Academy Awards are handed out for the first time.
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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.
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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.
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Motion picture ratings were introduced in 1968, with G, PG, R and X. PG-13 came significantly later. The X rating will later be replaced by NC-17.
