2- Teens To The 1920's Flashcards
1915- birth of a nation?
Film made by DW Griffith. Focus on actual cinematography. Griffith understood the atmosphere and emotion he could create with different shots and angles. This movie was the Pinaccle of film at the time. People began to take film seriously and see it as an art form after birth of a nation.
1917- intolerance?
Griffiths follow up to birth of a nation. Invested everything he had into this film and it flopped, bankrupting him.
Mack Sennett?
Main gag man at biograph. Didn’t want real character relationships in his films, just wanted series’ of gags. In 1912, he went to Hollywood and formed keystone films. Signed many big actors to keystone where they got their start; Charlie Chaplin, fatty arbuckle, buster keaton, Mabel Norman. Chaplin didn’t stay with keystone long as he and Sennett didn’t see eye to eye, Chaplin wanted deep emotional character driven comedies, Sennett still just wanted gags.
Early Chaplin?
Started in vaudeville act “FRED: karno”. Toured America with his act and Mack Sennett saw him, hiring him onto keystone. Started in routine keystone fare, before developing his famous tramp character. Was a total perfectionist, usually forcing 3-400 takes. He was immediately popular, even before his tramp character. Developed a duality for his character.
Chaplin at First national?
Chaplin worked for first national in 1915, after keystone. He left however as he wanted more independence and to make longer features.
United artists?
Formed in 1919 by Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Douglas fairbanks and others. They made this company out of want to make totally independent film, distributed by themselves.
Business model of the first big studios?
- Star system- audiences wanted to know who actors were.
- 3 tiered business structure- early movie moguls understood you need control over production, distribution and exhibition.
Universal Studios?
Formed by Carl Laemmle, a bookkeeper from Chicago. Started buying up Nickelodeon’s and formed IMP production. Exhibitors and distributor. Carl merged his production house with a bunch of small NY production houses and renamed it Universal in 1915. Set up in Hollywood. Based out of the studio called Universal City. All inclusive studio. Production, stages, labs, prop and camera dept all in one building.
FOX?
Formed by William fox, an east coast businessman. Started buying Nickelodeon’s. Didn’t want to pay licensing companies and went independent, forming fox film Corp in 1915. In early 30’a merged with 20th century films becoming 20th century fox.
Paramount?
Formed by Adolf Zokor and Jesse Lasky. Formed in 1912 as famous players. Formed to bring euro film Queen Elizabeth to America by Zokor. Lasky formed Lasky feature players in 1914. Feature players was distributed by a small dist company called paramount. Famous and feature players merged and bought paramount dist. company, renaming themselves paramount pictures.
MGM?
Marcus Loew bought metro films, buying up theatres in the east coast. Then merged with Samuel Goldwyns company, Goldwyn pictures, becoming metro Goldwyn. Loew hired Louis. B Mayer to be production head. They then added Mayer to the name, becoming metro Goldwyn Mayer, or MGM.
Early German film?
Always portrayed dreary stories, reflecting a society in turmoil.
Realist
Psychological
Expressionist
UFA?
German government film corporation formed in 1917. Production, distribution and exhibition. Made to promote German propaganda vehicle, films for the war effort. Everyone took advantage and took their films to UFA. became general film production house. 1933, nazis seizes UFA, dedicating it only to propaganda afterwards.
Top three filmmakers in the teens in Germany?
Robert Weine
Paul wegener
Ernest Lubitsch
Drankov Film company?
1907 formed. Made newsreels. Beginning of soviet cinema.
