The Growth of an Industry

This chapter examines the second decade of cinema, which runs approximately from 1905 to the start of World War I in 1914. This period sees the establishment of an industrial organisation for film, both in Europe and the USA. The development of the industry involves two key concepts in film studies: vertical and horizontal integration. Essentially, as the industry developed and firms grew larger, they attempted to exert ever greater control on the market. The key was exhibition, which is where the actual money from admissions was made. Both France and the USA are interesting models for study in this development, and each has distinctive features. The study should include as many of the key factors that enabled this growth in monopoly. These include the development of the dedicated film theatre, the introduction of a rental system, and the developments in programming and film form. Also, there is the rich area of stardom as this period sees the establishment of the film centre Hollywood.

Alternative Cinemas

This chapter assesses alternative cinemas. In the 1920s, there were a series of film movements that were motivated by very different interests than mainstream cinema, primarily political. The most important at the time and the one that has had an enduring influence in world cinema became known as Soviet Montage. Because of their influence, there is an extensive selection of Soviet Montage films available. The chapter then considers filmmakers Sergei Eisenstein and Dziga Vertov. It also looks at the avant-garde and the late silents. Meanwhile, documentary film and especially animation crossover with the mainstream cinema. The developments in the 1920s and John Grierson's founding of the British Documentary Film Movement initiates an important trend in documentary film that still influences film and television today. It also feeds into an idea of ‘British realism’ still apparent in British films.

The Birth of Cinema

This chapter discusses the technical and inventive basis for cinema, and briefly describes the important pioneers. It covers the developments prior to the invention of cinema and the first decade of its development, approximately 1895 to 1905. This is a distinct period in film, sometimes characterised by the term ‘primitives and pioneers’. Not all scholars are happy with the term primitive. The films seem simple compared with the complexities of late silent features, but they are also sophisticated in their own way. The screening of a good quality copy of a Georges Méliès' film would emphasise this point of view. There are three clear avenues for study: the technology itself, technique and language, and the idea of the ‘cinema of attractions’. It should be clear that even though these early films are not strictly narratives in the accustomed sense, they are full of opportunities for the study of representations and value systems.

Prologue: What was Silent Cinema?

This prologue provides an overview of silent cinema. Our sense of cinema as a site of commercial entertainment can be traced back to the Lumière brothers. In December of 1895, they attracted a fee-paying public in Paris to sit and watch flickering images on an illuminated screen. The commercial Pandora's Box they opened was to blossom in a few years into a world cinema industry and, at its peak, the fantastical Hollywood. Yet in the 30 years in which this miraculous construction was accomplished, audiences rarely had to listen to films, only watch them. Hence, the early decades of cinema were characterised by the title ‘silent’. In fact, there was a lot of noise, machinery, audiences, musicians, and commentators. Even so, the absence of the human voice and dialogue make the films seem rather strange when viewed by a modern audience. Nevertheless, while they lack the audio impact of the sound film, the photographic quality of many silents is superb. Not only had the film-makers mastered the main techniques of photography, but as the industry developed they also added a whole range of techniques for editing and movement.

The Wider Context

This chapter explores the topics of silent film, censorship, and the development of cinematic technology. The roots of all the major film censorship systems lie in the silent era. As such, it helps one to understand the peculiarities of the British system by explaining how the system emerged, and in particular the odd role of local authorities, which produces idiosyncratic exceptions to this day. Equally, the US Hays Code, while its enforcement really dates from the sound era, was formed and moulded in the silent days. Many of the motifs and generic elements of film music also go back to silent roots. The chapter then examines the widespread variety and diversity of silent world cinema. It also considers the return to classical Hollywood for film plots and narratives in contemporary Hollywood.

Epilogue: Death and Resurrection

This epilogue describes how silent film was not only replaced by sound after 1930, it disappeared. Sadly, this was in many cases literally. The nitrate film stock used in the silent era contained valuable materials including silver. Old film stock was frequently pulped in order to extract these. At the same time as the old silent reels were being dumped and destroyed, however, people were also starting to save them. The two important groups in this process were collectors and professional archivists. The silent era has also figured as a setting and plot line in popular sound films. The most famous and successful would be Singin' in the Rain (1952), a humorous picture of a fictional Hollywood studio facing the disruption of the new sound technology. In addition, great silent cinema moments influence later film-makers, who frequently include homage to their predecessors.

The Teen Years of Cinema

This chapter evaluates the teen years of cinema, which roughly corresponds to World War I, 1914–1918. Many of the changes were under way before the war and only reached full development afterwards. Thus, the Hollywood studio system had its roots at the start of the teens, and it is only considered fully developed with the arrival of M-G-M in 1924. It was in these years that Hollywood first became synonymous with ‘the movies’ for the large majority of filmgoers, at home and abroad. The development and increasing sophistication of Hollywood film-making are clear subjects of study. In terms of film-makers, D. W. Griffith and Cecil B. De Mille are key examples; both directors can be studied in order to understand the development of Hollywood's narrative and continuity system. While this was not fully developed until the end of the teens, the conventions on which it is built can be clearly identified in the work of both directors. Outside the USA, there are many interesting developments and changes. However, it is quite difficult to access copies of the films from this period.

The Mature Silent Cinema

This chapter details how, from the end of the World War I until the end of the silent era in 1927 (and beyond), Hollywood dominated the international film industry. The Hollywood studios reached their peak, both in their organisation and efficiency, and in the sheer quality of their product. But this quality was fed from both within and without. Part of the response to Hollywood dominance was for other film industries to develop and exploit their own distinctive features, ranging from English idiosyncrasy, through art films in Germany and France, to complete contradiction in the Soviet Union. The chapter discusses those cinemas which were part of an international industry dominated by commerce. Of the other European industries, the country with most material available on DVD is Germany, in particular the expressionist cinema. This has the advantage that the influence of its conventions can still be seen clearly in modern horror, one reason being the long shelf life of Nosferatu (1922), directed by F. W. Murnau.