Film-Ucf

1. Beginning of the 20th Century

The American screenplay consisting of three acts came from British theatre:

1. Beginning/set-up

2. Middle/conflict

3. End/resolution

 Early American producers also borrowed the formula of “stars and stories” from the British.

 DW Griffith’s films (and the majority of films of this era) are based on an old testament point of view “what you see is what you get”, i.e. attractive people are good, unattractive people are bad, city is evil, country is good.

 Three venues of entertainment:

1. Theater-upper/middle class

2. Vaudeville-lower class

3. Nickelodeons immigrant/working class

NYC was the entertainment center.

Silent Comedy was held together by physical/slapstick elements of comedy.

* First movie ever filmed was a sneeze -1894

Thomas Edison claimed to invent film and copyrighted everything he could about film in hopes to monopolize it .

Edison formed the Trust- Monopoly of producers- trying to drive out the independent film producers. It drove them to Hollywood, where they flourished.

 After world war I – Hollywood became the center of movies. Europe fell apart, the only other nation making films were the Germans.

* Great Train Robbery First Short Narrative Film -EDWIN S. PORTER: prior to this documentary films were the main staple of nickelodeons.

* The Squaw Man 1914 – first feature film

* Directed by C.B. DeMille

* Set the trend for features, rather than shorts playing in nickelodeons.

After World War I – Hollywood becomes the center of movie making. European industry destroyed by war, with the exception of the Germans

The Roaring Twenties

New Market 1920’s- they wanted more sophistication, reflecting their own lives, new stars. First generation of film goers.

D.W. Griffith:

* Old Testament Filmmaker

* Biblical point of view resulted in sentimental and melodramatic films

* Was the first real independent filmmaker

* His favorite book was the bible,...