The Birth of Cinema, 1874-1895
The Birth of Cinema: a review of the events and players who contributed to the development of the film industry from 1874-1895. Includes a YouTube playlist.
How the Cinema was Reborn in Dumbshow in 1907: Prodigal Sons and Shapely Calves
Historian David Bond explores the connection between French pantomime in the first decade of the 20th Century and one of Europe’s first feature-length films, L’Enfant prodigue (The Prodigal Son).
Tulipomania, Faunophobia and Copyright: a Pathé Mystery
A Pathé film of uncertain date has long been identified as Les Tulipes (1907).
Seven Days in May (1964)
“Every now and then a man on a white horse rides by, and we appoint him to be our personal god for the duration. For some men it was a Senator McCarthy, for others it was a General Walker, and now it’s a General Scott.”
The First Talkies – Part 1: 1900 “Le Phono-Cinéma-Théâtre”
Some of the most important early developments in “talking pictures” were stimulated by the Paris Exposition of 1900. One of the most notable cinematic events at the Exposition was the[…]
The Petrified Forest (1936)
I really enjoyed watching this film and looked forward to some scholarly insights on the commentary track by Eric Lax, co-author of a Humphrey Bogart biography and several other books.[…]
Shanghai Express (1932)
A film like this that deals openly with the subject of prostitution and pokes fun at conventional morality would be impossible to make in Hollywood after the Hays Code began to be rigidly enforced in 1934.
The Machinist (2004)
Though it seems sacrilegious to say so, I think this is a better film than anything Hitchcock made.
Early Film Pioneers: Alfred Clark and the Birth of the Historical Reconstruction Film
Alfred Clark began working for the Edison Manufacturing Company in 1895 and is the first film-maker known to have used the stop-motion technique and very probably the first to have filmed an historical reconstruction.
The Unbeliever (1918): Edison Bows Out of the Film Business
A wealthy young atheist finds God, love, and loses his sense of class distinction in one the Edison company’s final productions.
