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History of Film
The motion picture, also called film or movie, is a remarkably effective medium in conveying drama and especially in the evocation of emotion. The art of motion pictures is exceedingly complex, requiring contributions from nearly all the other arts as well as countless technical skills (for example, in sound recording, photography, and optics). Emerging at the end of the 19th century, this new art form became one of the most popular and influential media of the 20th century and beyond.
"motion picture." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica Academic. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2016. Web. 07 Apr. 2016.
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Search Tips
Search for books on your topic in the library catalog. In addition to searching for books on your topic, you may also want to search by broader terms to include the cultural and/or historical context of the film.
Sample keywords include:
- motion pictures AND history
- motion picture industry AND history
- motion pictures AND Germany OR Weimar AND history
- Weimar cinema
- motion pictures AND Soviet Union OR Russia AND history
- Soviet films
- motion pictures AND United States AND history
Select 'Request Item' to have books from other NOVA libraries sent to Loudoun for pick up. If your book is at Loudoun be sure to write down the call number in order to locate the book on the shelf.
E-books and are accessible through the catalog. If you see any in your search results, click 'Online access' to open.
Library Databases
The best way to locate articles is through the library databases. Go to Databases by Subject and look under Communication Studies, Film, & Theatre (CST) to find a list of relevant databases. You can also perform a search in the databases below.
Remember not to write sentences in the search box. Search by keyword, film title and/or name of director.
Look for additional keywords or subjects offered. Also make sure to look for toolbars that provide print, email, and citation options.
- Academic Search Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new windowA multi-disciplinary database which offers information in many areas of academic study. This database supports high-level research in the key areas of academic study by providing access to journals, periodicals, reports, books and more. (VIVA)
- Communication & Mass Media Complete (EBSCO) This link opens in a new windowJournal articles related to communication and mass media studies. (VIVA)
Suggested Resources
Film: A Very Short Introduction by
Film: A Very Short Introduction is a brief history and examination of the medium of film, studying its role and impact on society, as well as its future in the digital age.
A Short History of Film by
A Short History of Film provides an accessible overview of the major movements, directors, studios, and genres from the 1880s to the present.
The Film Book by
The Film Book is a unique treasure trove of a guide that will appeal to anyone who loves movies. From the history of the art form to techniques, and then the films themselves, The Film Book provides an overview of cinematic styles and genres; the industry's greatest and most influential directors, and their key works; as well as looking at filmmaking around the world, from Hollywood to Bollywood.
Call Number: PN1994 .B434 2011
From Peep Show to Palace: The Birth of American Film by
From Peep Show to Palace recounts the enchanting early years of film, beginning with the primitive motion of the "magic lantern" in the fifteenth century and continuing, most significantly, with the explosion of research from 1893 to 1913, when the modern motion picture was born.
Call Number: PN1993.5.U6 R59 1996
Historical Dictionary of American Cinema by
One of the most powerful forces in world culture, American cinema has a long and complex history that stretches through more than a century. This history not only includes a legacy of hundreds of important films but also the evolution of the film industry itself, which is in many ways a microcosm of the history of American society as a whole. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the history of American Cinema.
Historical Dictionary of German Cinema by
German film is diverse and multi-faceted; its history includes five distinct German governments, two national industries and a myriad of styles and production methods. The book's broad canvas will lead students and scholars of cinema to appreciate the complex nature of German film.
Call Number: PN1993.5.G3 R417 2008
Historical Dictionary of Russian and Soviet Cinema by
Russian and Soviet cinema occupies a unique place in the history of world cinema. The Soviet film industry was different from others because its main criterion of success was not profit, but the ideological and aesthetic effect on the viewer. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about Russian and Soviet Cinema.
- Early Days in the Movies Hughes, Rupert. "Early Days In The Movies." Saturday Evening Post 207.40 (1935): 18-44. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Apr. 2016. Traces the early history of filmmaking in the U.S. Attempt of Thomas A. Edison to create talking pictures; Integration of the phonograph with the kinetoscope; Synchronization of sound and light; Dramatization of novels; Utilization of celluloid; Recruitment of actors and actresses.
- Lights, Camera... Edison! Corliss, Richard. "Lights, Camera... Edison!" Time 176.1 (2010): 50-54. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Apr. 2016. The article discusses the early motion picture devices invented by American inventor Thomas Edison. In the early 1890's Edison created a primitive movie camera, the kinetograph, and a film exhibition device, the kinetoscope. The kinetoscope only allowed one viewer at a time to watch a film and Edison did not foresee any expanded use for the device, although many of his assistants did. Because Edison was involved in other projects at the time, his assistant William Kennedy Laurie Dickson was left to help create some of the world's first motion pictures.
- Soviet Hollywood: The Culture Industry That Wasn't Belodubrovskaya, Maria. "Soviet Hollywood: The Culture Industry That Wasn't." Cinema Journal 53.3 (2014): 100-122. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Apr. 2016. This article details the history of a project to reform the Soviet film industry based on the Hollywood model and to construct a "cine-city," a Soviet Hollywood, in Soviet Russia in the mid-1930s. It argues that with the project's abandonment, the Soviets missed an opportunity to create a culture industry. Instead of a Hollywood-style production machine, they ended up with an exclusive, event-based cinema in which every film was distributed in hundreds of prints, but in which filmmaking was never routine enough to effect a subjectifying mass culture.
- Soviet Cinema - The Path to Stalin Taylor, Richard. "Soviet Cinema--The Path To Stalin." History Today 40.7 (1990): 43. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Apr. 2016. Describes the contributions of Soviet cinema after 1917 and its importance to the Bolsheviks. Soviet visual propaganda; Soviet cinema in the 1920s and 1930s; Preferences of Soviet film-goers.
- The Great Way Roberts, Graham. "The Great Way." History Today 47.11 (1997): 39. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Apr. 2016. Reveals the techniques displayed in an early example of Soviet film propaganda made to celebrate the anniversary of the October revolution. Importance of the year 1927 on the history of Soviet Union and its film industry; Significance of film maker Esfir II'inichna Shub on Soviet film; Making of the `Fall of the Romanov,' and `The Great Way'; Focus of films topic.
- Weimar Cinema's Greatest Hits Liebman, Stuart. "Weimar Cinema's Greatest Hits." Cineaste 21.3 (1995): 50. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Apr. 2016. Focuses on the films of the Weimar Republic, which are available on homevideo. German film industry during 1918-1933; `The Blue Angel,' directed by Josef von Sternberg; `The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,' directed by Robert Wiene; `Pandora's Box,' directed by G.W. Pabst.
- Weimar Film: Shadows, Yes, but Also Light Kehr, Dave. "Weimar Film: Shadows, Yes, but Also Light." New York Times 12 Nov. 2010: 12. Academic Search Complete. Web. 5 Apr. 2016. German cinema of the Weimar years has given us some of the most famous images in film history: Cesare the somnambulist (Conrad Veidt) loping through the crooked alleys of ''The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,'' the proud hotel doorman (Emil Jannings) reduced to a quivering washroom attendant in ''The Last Laugh,'' the robot Maria (Brigitte Helm) coming to life circled by rising rings of electricity in ''Metropolis.'' Yet these represent only a narrow sample of a vast national industry, which at its height was second only to Hollywood in the number of films it produced, some 200 to 500 a year.
How Hollywood Does It - Film History & Techniques of Early Cinema. Films On Demand. Films Media Group, 2013. Web. 7 Apr. 2016.