Week 1

Question 1

True or false: French cinema was the first to organize its own film industry and assert itself as a real art form

Answer 1

True

Question 2

What was the demographic of the first French film viewers?

Answer 2

Suburban, working-class people viewing films at fair attractions. The focus later became the middle class.

Question 3

What was the largest film studio in the world in the late 1800s/early 1900s and by whom & when was it created?

Answer 3

In 1896 Charles Pathe, a French man, created “Societe Pathe Freres Company”, which specialized in fast productions

Question 4

What were the 4 largest French film companies at the beginning of the film industry?

Answer 4

Pathe, Eclipse, Lux, and Eclair studios

Question 5

What was one of the key factors in financing the creation of film studios?

Answer 5

The organization of professional technical crews

Question 6

Where did Pathe’s business ventures first expand?

Answer 6

Europe (Berlin, Milan, and London) and the US (NYC)

Question 7

Pathe made the first French film stock in ______

Answer 7

1909

Question 8

In what year did Pathe implement the concept of film rentals? Why is this important?

Answer 8

1907 (August). Prior to this, films were largely only considered a fair attraction, but rentals allowed them to rent films to theaters, and price was determined by the film’s length in meters. The creation of the distribution company shortly followed.

Question 9

Pathe’s division of the film industry led to what 3 primary divisions?

Answer 9

Production, distribution, and exhibition

Question 10

During what years were French films very prominent in the global market? How big was the market share of Pathe?

Answer 10

The years preceding WWI; Pathe’s studio sold twice as many films as all US studios

Question 11

By 1910 almost ____ of the world’s films were French

Answer 11

2/3

Question 12

What led to the rise of American film?

Answer 12

WWI conflict in Europe and a rise in west-coast American investors

Question 13

What ensured the survival of Pathe in WWI?

Answer 13

A shift from production towards distribution and exhibition, and its American branch

Question 14

Describe the history of the Guamont Company

Answer 14

It rivaled the film studio Eclair for second place in the French film market, and originally focused on the sale of photographic cameras and film projectors, and in 1902, the Chronophone, which was essentially a record player synched to the film. The owner’s secretary (Alice Guy) began producing films and became the first female filmmaker, producing over 200 films.

Question 15

What genres were the first to become apparent in French film?

Answer 15

Documentary (Louis and Auguste Lumiere), comedy (Max Linder), melodrama (Ferdinand Zecca), crime series (Louis Feuillade), historical reconstruction, and science fiction (Georges Melies)

Question 16

What was the most popular genre in early French film?

Answer 16

Comedy

Question 17

Who was the first international film star from 1905-1924, and what genre did he act in?

Answer 17

Frenchman Max Linder

Question 18

What did Max Linder bring to the genre of comedy?

Answer 18

More intricate and less vulgar comedy plots, as well as the chase scene

Question 19

What did Max Linder bring to the genre of comedy?

Answer 19

More intricate and less vulgar comedy plots, as well as the chase scene

Question 20

What was the second most popular genre in early French film, and what film bolstered this popularity?

Answer 20

Historical reconstructions/ period dramas; its popularity was bolstered by the film “The Assassination of the Duc de Guise;” however, the film failed to distance itself enough from the stage

Question 21

What made the genre of period dramas and historical reconstructions lose popularity?

Answer 21

The advent of sound in film in the 1920s

Question 22

Describe the early history of French melodramas

Answer 22

One of its most famous early directors was Ferdinand Zecca, who shot the crime melodrama “Histoire d’un Crime” (1902), certain scenes of which were later censored by police (such as an execution scene). This film was innovative because it relied on a thematic approach to melodrama narratives and its social commentary.

Question 23

Describe the early history of French “cine-romans” or serials

Answer 23

They were typically crime serials, and evolved around either one subject matter or one character. Victorin Jasset was the first to create one in 1906 (Adventures de Nick Carter), which was based off a comic strip. The genre was later popularized by Louis Feuillade (who introduced the setting of suburbia) and Pathe’s American association (Pathe Exchange). The predominant theme of early French crime serials was the criminal eventually regretting his actions. Louis Feuillade also created Les Vampires, which was a shocking hit and created a fascination with vampires.

Question 24

What inspired surrealist artists and German expressionists? Why?

Answer 24

Early French crime serials (especially “Fantomas against Fantomas”, 1914). “Fantomas against Fantomas” had its own fanclub, and inspired surrealists due to a lack of logical scenario development due to an actor shortage (because of the war).

Question 25

When was Feuillade rediscovered and why?

Answer 25

After WWII his work was rediscovered by cinephiles, one of whom was Henri Langlois, who created the French film club