Film Form and Film History: Film Form and Film History 464: Film content and form historically inflected Film movements Time period or nation Common production structure Technological shifts Influence of other artistic realms Still writing much Film history


Early Cinema (1893-1903): Early Cinema (1893-1903) Pictures in motion + light 1826: Invention of photography 1878: Eadweard Muybrdge—photo series of running horse 1882: Etienne-Jules Marey—first camera to use flexible film 1889: George Eastman—crude flexible film base—celluloid


Early Cinema (1893-1903): Early Cinema (1893-1903) Mechanized intermittent motion Marey used Maltese cross gear 1893: Edison’s assistant, W.K.L. Dickson made short 35mm films Edison felt movies were fad Louis and August Lumière invented camera/projector system Edison’s Black Maria—1st film studio Portion of roof opened to reveal light


Early Cinema (1893-1903): Early Cinema (1893-1903) George Méliès—filmmaker and magician Special effects 1897: glass-sided studio Built elaborate settings Early cinema moved freely between nations 1904—narrative form becomes dominant WWI restricted flow of films


Classical Hollywood Cinema (1908-1927): Classical Hollywood Cinema (1908-1927) 1908: Motion Pictures Patents Company Merger of 10 firms Attempt to regulate/control film production 1915: declared a monopoly 1910: Film companies move to California Great demand for film—could not be met A few large studies with individuals under contract Few peripheral producers


Classical Hollywood Cinema (1908-1927): Classical Hollywood Cinema (1908-1927) Smaller studios merged—conglomerates Today’s major studios exist by 1920 Oriented toward narrative 1903: The Great Train Robbery Prototype American film Clear linearity, space, logic 1905: The Kleptomaniac Simple parallel narrative


Classical Hollywood Cinema (1908-1927): Classical Hollywood Cinema (1908-1927) D.W. Griffith—great early American director May be over-credited Last-minute rescues Crosscutting between locales/times The Birth of a Nation (1915) Intolerance (1916) Facial expressions


Classical Hollywood Cinema (1908-1927): Classical Hollywood Cinema (1908-1927) 1909-1917: Basic continuity principles By 1920: Continuity standard Standardized—formulaic? Production companies followed same strategies and techniques 1919: Chaplin, Griffith, Pickford, and Fairbanks form United Artists


German Expressionism (1919-1926): German Expressionism (1919-1926) 1916: German government begins to support film industry—propaganda Compete with foreign films 1917: Universumfilm Akteiengesellschaft (UFA) State sponsored film company Talented people from across Europe Hitchcock


German Expressionism (1919-1926): German Expressionism (1919-1926) Expressionist style: avant-garde movement in painting, literature, etc. Emphasis on mise-en-scene Distorted shapes—exaggerated for expressive purposes Actors in heavy makeup Slow, jerky movements Interaction of elements of mise-en-scene


German Expressionism (1919-1926): German Expressionism (1919-1926) 1924: Germans begin to imitate American films Dilute Expressionist quality


French Impressionism (1918-1930): French Impressionism (1918-1930) Avant-garde art/film movement Initiated out of major French companies Result of WWI depression of film industry Vast importation of films after WWI Younger French directors encouraged to experiment Declared cinema “art” Cinema should be like music


French Impressionism (1918-1930): French Impressionism (1918-1930) Centrality of emotion in aesthetic Intimate psychological narrative Interactions of a few characters Psychological causes and depth in narrative Inner action—rather than external physical behavior


French Impressionism (1918-1930): French Impressionism (1918-1930) Manipulate plot time and subjectivity Flashbacks—may be bulk of film Characters’ dreams, fantasies, mental states Experimented with cinematography and editing Render mental states filmically Point-of-view cutting


French Impressionism (1918-1930): French Impressionism (1918-1930) Rhythmic editing to suggest pace New technology of frame mobility Moving camera Sound technology discouraged filmic experimentation


Surrealism (1918-1930): Surrealism (1918-1930) Outside commercial film industry Isolated artistry—more radical movement than Impressionism Perplexed/shocked audiences Belief in superiority of certain forms of association previously neglected Omnipotence of dreams Undirected play of thought


Surrealism (1918-1930): Surrealism (1918-1930) Present hidden elements of unconscious Automatic writing Bizarre or esoteric imagery/scenery Anti-narrative Attacks causality Absent narrative logic Evasive Dreamlike Non-existent character motivation or psychology


Surrealism (1918-1930): Surrealism (1918-1930) Free form of film Allow suppressed impulses of viewers to surface Eclectic filmic style Scenic influence of Dali Refused to canonize any one style


Soviet Montage (1924-1930): Soviet Montage (1924-1930) Pre-1924: Soviet cinema marked by slow-paced melodrama Post-Revolution film companies refused to supply state-theatres 1918: film subjection of State Commission of Education Strict controls on film supplies and film stock Producers hoarded supplies


Soviet Montage (1924-1930): Soviet Montage (1924-1930) Young directors responded with experimentation Edited footage from eclectic sources into whole Creates impression of continuity Develop first school of film criticism Theorized editing and continuity Film exists not in individual shots but via combination/continuity


Soviet Montage (1924-1930): Soviet Montage (1924-1930) 1921: Lenin’s New Economic Policy Allowed private management of business for several years Promoted reappearance of film stock and equipment Sergei Eisenstein Strike(1925) Battleship Potemkin (1925)


Soviet Montage (1924-1930): Soviet Montage (1924-1930) Distinct approach to narrative form Downplayed psychology Emphasis on social causes/reactions Not always a clear protagonist Collective hero Often avoided well-known or trained actors Typage—cast by appearance of type of character


Soviet Montage (1924-1930): Soviet Montage (1924-1930) Stalin encouraged simple and understandable films 1934: Socialist Realism Government-instituted artistic policy Dictated that all artworks must depict revolutionary energies grounded in realism


Classical Hollywood Cinema—Sound : Classical Hollywood Cinema—Sound Sound develops via efforts of firms to increase power Popularized by Warner Brothers Must make sound compatible with theatres 1930: Most cinemas wired for sound Sound initially created setback for American film—static films


Classical Hollywood Cinema—Sound: Classical Hollywood Cinema—Sound Use of diegetic sound with Classic Hollywood style Studios developed reputations/styles MGM—prestige studio (big stars) Warner Bros. (genre pictures) Universal (experimental) Rise of the Musical


Classical Hollywood Cinema—Sound: Classical Hollywood Cinema—Sound 1930s: Common use of color film stock Technicolor—process of color film stock exposure using two colors Created odd tones 1930: Technicolor using three primary colors Technicolor used until 1970s Needed vast amount of light Allowed directors to capture greater depth of field Tend toward deep-focus style


Classical Hollywood Cinema—Sound: Classical Hollywood Cinema—Sound Deep-focus style Popularized by Citizen Kane (1941) Use of foreground and background simultaneously in focus


Italian Neorealism (1942-1951): Italian Neorealism (1942-1951) Ambiguous term Younger generation Mussolini encouraged firm industry to create historical epics New goal of revealing current social realities Filmed on location—out of necessity New developments in mise-en-scene


Italian Neorealism (1942-1951): Italian Neorealism (1942-1951) Used non-actors Avoided Hollywood lighting system Italian cinema tradition of dubbing Allowed for extensive camera movement Innovative sense of narrative form Loose narrative relations Non-causal motivation and detail Refuses to provide omniscient perspective of events—simply unknowable Slice-of-life plot


The French New Wave (1959-1964): The French New Wave (1959-1964) 1960s-1970s: New generation of filmmakers worldwide 1950s: writers for Cahiers du cinéma critical of respected French filmmakers Rejected French film establishment but loved commercial Hollywood Promoted auteurism—personal stylistic influences of director/author/actor


The French New Wave (1959-1964): The French New Wave (1959-1964) Tremendous output of New Wave Casual style—sloppy? Admired Neorealists Used actual Paris locations and available light Panning and tracking to develop character Lightweight handheld camera—new freedom seen in films


The French New Wave (1959-1964): The French New Wave (1959-1964) Casual humor Esoteric references to other films Gags removed solemnity from film-viewing Loose causal connections Lacked goal-oriented protagonists Jolting shifts in tone Discontinuous editing


The French New Wave (1959-1964): The French New Wave (1959-1964) Jump cuts Ambiguous endings—uncertainty French film industry not hostile to New Wave


The New Hollywood: The New Hollywood Hollywood successful through early 60s American movie attendance declines 1969: Hollywood firms losing $200 million annually Counter-culture films Easy Rider (1969) M.A.S.H. (1970) Rise of Movie Brats—trained in film school


The New Hollywood: The New Hollywood Movie Brats knew film form, style, and history Personal/auteur style Female directors Minority directors No single coherent style Special effects Digital technology


The New Hollywood: The New Hollywood Emerging Independent Film movement Many subverted by major conglomerates Test studios


Contemporary Hong Kong Cinema: Contemporary Hong Kong Cinema Pre-WWII cinema—war halted production 1970: Bruce Lee Martial arts and acrobatics 1980: Jackie Chan Reckless energy Rushed production schedules—limited plots/development Episodic with elaborate fight scenes


Contemporary Hong Kong Cinema: Contemporary Hong Kong Cinema Abrupt sequencing and ending Exciting visual style Florid color designs Deep, rich colors that emanate forth Much (if not all) sacrificed for elaborate action