History considers that they were the tapes shown by the brothers Auguste and Louis Lumière at the first public session of the cinematograph, in 1895, in Paris. For about 20 minutes, the public marveled at the device, watching images of Employees Leaving the Lumière Factory it’s from Arrival of a Train at the Station de la Ciotat. But, if we’re talking about feature films, the honor belongs to Australia. The Story of the Kelly Gang, from 1906, tells, in 70 minutes, the story of Ned Kelly, an outlaw who defied prejudiced colonial Australia, transforming himself into a national hero. The character was the subject of another more recent production, from 2003, with Heath Ledger.
THE PIONEERS
The first films in some popular genres
Documentary
FILM Nanook the Eskimo
WHEN 1922
Although many of the first shorts that circulated in movie theaters were everyday scenes, it was only in 1922 that the American Robert J. Flaherty produced a film along the lines of what we now call a documentary. Filming in the Arctic lasted a year.
Science fiction
FILM Trip to the moon
WHEN 1902
The French illusionist and filmmaker Georges Méliès, considered the creator of the main narrative techniques of the seventh art, directed this adventure about scientists sent into space. was inspired by From Earth to the Moonby Jules Verne, and The First Men on the Moonby HG Wells
Horror
FILM The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
WHEN 1920
It is a landmark of German expressionism, directed by Robert Weine. The film tells the misadventures of a mysterious duo: the hypnotist Dr. Caligari and the somnambulist Cesare, who divines the future. After a man’s death is predicted, the two become prime suspects in the crime.
Animation
FILM the apostle
WHEN 1917
For a long time, it was believed that the first animated feature had been Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) by Walt Disney. However, in the 1980s, this work by Argentine Quirino Cristiane, from 1917, was discovered. The 70-minute film mocked the then president of Argentina, Hipólito Yrigoyen
Western
FILM The Great Train Robbery
WHEN 1903
The public’s fascination with stories with crimes, chases and shootings began at an early age. Director Edwin S. Porter not only launched this style of film (inspired by cases like Butch Cassidy) but also created techniques such as parallel editing, which made cinema look less like filmed theater
musical
FILM The Jazz Singer
WHEN 1927
There were several experiments trying to synchronize sound and image in a film, but this only really happened with this film by Alan Crosland, which became the first sound film of all time. The story follows a Jewish man who runs away from home to pursue his passion, jazz.
Colorful
FILM vanity and beauty
WHEN 1935
Since the origin of cinema, there have been attempts to simulate colors on film. Some filmmakers painted each frame by hand. Others used the “turning” technique to put one tone (and only one) in certain sequences. Only with the emergence of the Technicolor process could reality be registered with all its nuances. The first film to benefit from this was the romantic drama vanity and beauty
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