The start of the movie industry is a difficult point to define as technology developed gradually and the definition of a movie changed rapidly over the decades until the emergence of modern film in the 20th century. However, the Lumière brothers are largely considered to have made the first recognizable movie in Paris in the late1800’s. These early films were often only minutes or even seconds long as not the cinematic masterpieces we are familiar with today.
At this early stage, movies were also merely a selection of movies pictures and had no constructed narrative or even sound. By the start of the 20th century, rapid developments in technology meant that the feature film was in its inception stages. Films at this stage were also silent films as the technology to capture sound and film together was still in its infancy.
Throughout the early 2oth century and into the First World War, the film became a popular form of entertainment and the industry exploded in both the United States. While France also has a popular film industry – with a cottage industry blooming in Germany, despite its politically turbulent circumstances, came to a halt due to the war. It was during this tumultuous time that Hollywood was truly born – a place that would forever remain the unquestionable home of the cinematic medium.
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>It was during the 1920s that Hollywood reached its peak, producing over 800 films a year which is more than the industry produces today. It was also the time when the famed and infamous studio system was developed and made stars of Hollywood’s legends. By the end of this decade, sound would dominate film with the end of the silent movie era.
The 1930s became the most successful decade of film to date, with color films becoming the norm and the latter part of the decade saw the production of some of history’s most iconic films including Gone with the Wind and the beloved Wizard of Oz starring a teenage Judy Garland.
The following decades saw several transitions in the film era from the propaganda war films in the 1940s to the sci-fi explosion of the 1970s. The 70s also saw the emergence of some of modern cinema’s popular filmmakers including Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, and Terrence Malick.
Recent decades have been noted both for their technological developments and also for their growth in inclusivity. While Hollywood is still dominated by a few overused narratives, since the 1990s, many more films about minorities such as black people and the LGBT community have entered the film canon.
As streaming has become popularized, the film industry is once again undergoing rapid and seismic shifts, with many in the film industry critical of platform such as Netflix who they argue divert revenues away from the industry.