-
First Photograph taken
The first photograph was a picture from a Window at Le Gras took nearly eight hours to expose. -
Eadweard Muybridge captures movement.
Eadweard Muybridge achieves success after five years of trying to capture movement. Muybridge was asked, in 1873, by the ex-governor of California - Leland Stanford to settle a bet as to whether horses hooves left the ground when they galloped. He did this by setting up a bank of twelve cameras with trip-wires connected to their shutters, each camera took a picture when the horse tripped its wire. Muybridge developed a projector to present his finding. He adapted Horner's Zoetrope to produce his -
Hanibal W. Goodwin invents film.
Hanibal W. Goodwin invents film. George Eastman buys the invention and begins mass producing it. -
Kinetograph
The Kinetograph introduced by Thomas Edison in 1889 consisted of two parts. The first was a stop motion device that held the film in a fixed position while it was exposed. The second important part conisisted of perforated film strips that were held in place by reels and spools. Together, these items plus a system for moving the film past the shutter, frame by frame at a fixed speed, kept the image on the film from being blurred.
Though the Kinetograph was the best moving picture camera availabl -
first public showing of the Cinematographe,
Auguste and Louis Lumiere give the first public showing of the Cinematographe, a device that projects motion pictures on a screen. -
the first narrative film.
Edwin S. Porter produces The Great Train Robbery, the first narrative film. -
first nickelodeon
The growing popularity of movies increased the need for a place to show them. The first theater designed solely for motion pictures opened in Pittsburgh, PA in 1905. Called a nickelodeon because the price of admission was a nickel, it was a big step up from the previous places where movies had been shown. The Pittsburgh nickelodeon had 199 seats. The films were 20 minutes in length total. -
Technicolor
In 1917, filmmakers were experimenting with Technicolor but it still had too many problems to be used. The colors were not very realistic looking. Red and green were the only colors used. This caused eyestrain on viewers. Color film was much more expensive than black and white. It also cost 50 percent more to shoot a movie in color. -
Radio is invented
Radio is invented and preferred over silent films by public. Film industry begins to decline. -
Walt Disney's first cartoon
Walt Disney creates his first cartoon, "Alice's Wonderland." -
The first Academy Awards
The Academy Awards are handed out for the first time. Wings wins Best Picture. -
The first cartoons with sound.
Walt Disney introduces Galloping Gaucho and Steamboat Willie, the first cartoons with sound. -
Period: to
Motion pictures were at their peak during this time.
Movie ticket prices and attendance were strongest in the 30's and early 40's but began declining due radio and television. -
Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature
Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, hits theaters and becomes an instant classic -
Gone with the Wind premieres
The big-screen adaptation of Gone with the Wind premieres, and will go on to gross $192 million, making it one of the most profitable films of all time. It's also one of the longest films, clocking in at 231 minutes. -
Motion picture industry was monopolized by film studios.
By 1946, the studios controlled the entire motion picture industry. These studios regulated everything down to the admission prices of theater tickets and were earning enormous profits. This was the industry's best year. Within four years, the studios' hold on the film business would be over. -
U.S. Supreme Court ruled that studios could not own theaters.
The first blow to the reign of the studios came in 1948 when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that studios could not own theaters. The court decided that the practice of owning both the product and distribution units was illegal because it gave studios a monopoly, or exclusive control, over making and selling movies. -
CinemaScope
To counteract the threat of television, Hollywood thinks big and develops wide-screen processes such as CinemaScope, first seen in The Robe. -
West Side Story
West Side Story is adapted for the big screen, and will go on to win Oscars for Best Picture, Supporting Actor (George Chakiris), Supporting Actress (Rita Moreno), and Directing (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins). -
Marilyn Monroe dies
Marilyn Monroe dies of a drug overdose at age 36.
Government regulations force studios out of the talent agency business -
rating system debuts
The motion picture rating system debuts with G, PG, R and X. -
Midnight Cowboy
Midnight Cowboy wins the Best Picture Oscar, the first and only time an X-rated movie received the honor. -
The Steadicam is used for the first time
The Steadicam is used for the first time in Rocky. -
Star Wars
Star Wars hits theaters—for the first time—and will go on to be the second highest-grossing film of all time. -
The X rating is replaced by NC-17
The X rating is replaced by NC-17
