The History of Film

An interview with Japanese media scholar Anne McNight about her new book Long Take. Long Take is a collection of interviews and other material by or about Akira Kurosawa, one of most famous and influential filmmakers in world history. These are being translated and published into English for the first time. You can find Dr. McKnight's new translation here: https://www.upress.umn.edu/9781517903299/long-take/ Support the show

An episode about Gance, covering his life and movies from birth to just before of the release of his monumental film J'accuse. Support the show

An episode all about proper (or not explicitly patriotic) melodrama as it was developing in France during the war. Who were these movies made for? What were they about? Well, let's find out. If you would like to email me you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com History of Film Discord: https://discord.gg/Ud8EcEzvSF Letter Boxed: https://boxd.it/3cZn3 Support the show

This episode is a little smaller in scope than usual. But like one my great podcasting heroes, my ambition for this show is to tell the history of film without any gaps. We cover two examples of an important, though ultimately short lived, sub-genre: The Patriotic Melodrama. We discuss and analyze the 1916 film Alsace, directed by Henri Pouctal, and the 1917 Mothers of Frances, directed by René Hervi . If you would like to email me you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com History of...

In this episode we cover just how, exactly, American cinema came to dominate Europe in the wake of WW1. We take a look at the economic practices that facilitated the "invasion" of American cinema onto French screens. We also examine one picture in particular, The Cheat, which exemplifies the technical sophistication of U.S. national cinema, and that film's reception by the City of Lights. If you would like to email me you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com History of Film Discord: ...

This week we cover the effect of The War on the French film Industry. While The Conflict's Titanic needs did a real number on French production, it did also help develop a new kind of documentary filmmaking: The Newsreel, which was then put to work in service to the Republic. If you would like to email me you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com History of Film Discord: https://discord.gg/Ud8EcEzvSF Letter Boxed: https://boxd.it/3cZn3 Support the show

This episode reexamines some topics we have already looked at, but this time as context for one of history's greatest butcheries, rather than as pure film history. The development of cinema is intertwined with the forces that defined the 20th century. Today we explore how the First World War and the movies are cut from the same fabric, as we set the stage for some of the screen's greatest epochs -- German Expressionism, French Impressionism, Soviet Montage, and the Golden Age of American Sile...

The History of Film Podcast has been on Haitus since May of 2022. This announcement officially ends that. Let's get back to it! If you have any ideas on how I can improve the show, you can email me at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com. See you soon! -Jake! Support the show

In this episode we finish up our series on early animation by covering Gertie the Dinosaur and The Sinking of the Lusitania, both animated by Winsor McCay. Next time it's back to Europe, where we will cover the the effect of the First World War on European film! I decided to end the Patreon, at least for the foreseeable future. It was a hard decision, but I wasn't in the position to devote the time that I wanted and needed to make the channel what I wanted it to be. A special thank you to a...

This is the first of two episodes (only two, I promise) about the great animator Winsor McCay. We cover his life before he became a filmmaker, and his two first movies: Little Nemo (1911) and How a Mosquito Operates (1912). The history of the film has a discord server, which you can access through this here link: discord.gg/Ud8EcEzvSF Thank you to my wonderful patrons who helped make this show possible! A special thank you to patron Ed & Shari for supporting this program in such a big w...

It's a new year, and the History of Film is back! In this episode, we cover the life and achievements of French animator Emile Cohl, as he creates the first paper film animation, and brings fluidity and grace to a medium he helped invent! Thank you to my wonderful patrons who helped make this show possible! A special thank you to patron Ed & Shari for supporting this program in such a big way. If you want to support this show, read your name down here in the credits, and get access to co...

The long promised day is finally here! We dive into the world of animation, examine ancient Iranian pottery, and meet animators named Charles-Emile Reynaud and James Stewart Blackton, as we begin our journey though a whole other kind of cinema. Thank you to my wonderful patrons who help make this show possible! A special thank you to patron Ed & Shari for supporting this program in such a big way. If you want to support this show, read your name down here in the credits, and get access t...

In this episode we take a look at Griffith's second most famous movie, Intolerance, and examine its production, structure, and impact. We also (finally) finish the long arc of Griffith's story, and bring his career, and his time here on the podcast, to a close. I would like to give special credit to my wonderful patron Ed & Shari for supporting this episode and helping to make this show possible. If you want to support this show, read your name down here in the credits, and get access t...

This is the last of it. In this episode, we dig into how and why The Birth of a Nation was so influential, and who was influenced by it. I am happy to say that next week we will be moving on from here. So three cheers for that. If you would like to email me, you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com You can visit the show's website at historyoffilmpodcast.com and you can support the show at patreon.com/historyoffilm Thank you for listening! Support the show

A few words on exciting changes that are coming to "The History of film in very near future. historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com historyoffilmpodcast.com Support the show

When I write these, I never know just how long they will be. As it turns out, talking about a film that has had a huge impact on the development of film history, and made the world so much worse, is taking a lot of words. So, this is the second of what I hope to be three episodes of The Birth of a Nation. In this episode, we describe the plot of the movie in detail (though I still skipped a couple of things here and there for the sake of brevity, believe it or not), and talk about how the ide...

Well, where it is. The Birth of a Nation is an extremely important movie. It would be hard to overstate it. In this episode, we cover the original novel the film was based on, and the film-making process for the movie. So, spoilers for a 106-year-old movie, The Birth of a Nation is an evil film. other than the films that were created by the Nazi regime during WWII, I don't think there have been movies that have spread so much evil and hate that have been so widely received. We have to d...

This is the first of (hopefully) a recurring series of episodes on film critical theory. Today, with special guest Melissa Favara, we cover the idea of cultural production. This is kind of the broadest way of looking at movies, as a product of a culture rather only the work of an individual or group of filmmakers. This is a lens with witch to look at movies, and a tool for building context for the movies we will encounter throughout this series. I hope you enjoy it! You can email me at: hist...

Here it is! Its an episode and a subject that has been a long time coming, and it's one that is less important then people used to think, though perhaps a little more important than some people say it is now. D. W. Griffith was a filmmaker who invented nothing, innovated on much, and influenced many (including influencing people to commit acts of viscous evil and pernicious violence). In today's episode, we cover his early life and career, and talk about some of the movies that would lead hi...

Hello and welcome back! This is everything about early Italian films that we didn’t cover in the last two episodes. That means we talk a little about how Italian studios were run throughout the 1910s, Important actors not playing Maciste, influential directors (including another of the most prolific women of early film), and a film movement: Futurism. We talk about the movement’s origin, and its only surviving film – Thaïs – and how it, and the whole Italian film industry, entered a dec...

This week it's all about two movies Quo Vadis? from 1912 or 1913 and Cabiria from 1914. If you would like to visit the show's website, you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast.com. You can email me at historyoffilm@gmail.com. thank you so much for listening! I hope to see you next week! Support the show

This is the first of a planned three-episode series about Italian film from before the 1920's and the rise of fascism in Italy. In this very first episode, we cover the earliest origins of Italian film, though much more briefly than we did French film, mostly because there isn't as much written about it. We also go into some detail about the astonishing 1911 special effects wonderland The Inferno directed by a bunch of Italian guys whose names I struggle with. If you would like to con...

It is a little late, but it is also long! This is one I have been researching and working on for a long time. This week it's all about a new kind of serial film–one that takes us out of the light, and into the shadowy depths of a criminal and violent Paris. Louis Feuillade takes us to depths not before plumbed by this show, as we give some much-deserved attention to serial films made by the man whom Alice Guy hand-picked to be her replacement. Fantomas and Les Vampires are two excellent movi...

Forget movies that are a mere five reels long, how about three hundred!? In the United States during the "nickelodeon era" of film history, movies got longer in more ways than the ones we have been covering recently. Some became the first film series with continuing stories! We cover that transition and its greatest star in today's episode! Make sure to visit the website, historyoffilmpodcast.com, for this week's episode–there is some information there that is important but didn't make it int...

Just as promised in episode 15, this week we begin our journey through the early influences of feature-length movies that will eventually take us into the studio era of the U. S. film industry and D. W. Griffith. Film D'art is more important for what it inspired than what it accomplished, and funnily enough, is skipped over entirely in a book I have on the History of French film, but is still worth discussing. It represents the last holdouts from the Edison/Black Maria style of filmmaking. Th...

This episode is actually a bonus episode, rather than the other “bonus” episode I’ve released, which was 30 minutes long and took weeks to make. This episode gets a little heavy, but suicide is a heavy subject. If you, or someone you know, is having suicidal thoughts, know that there is help. In the United States, you can visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org to make contact with people who are here to help you right now. You can also call them on the phone, just dial 800-273-8255...

16- The Stars are Born Here it is, episode 16, which in my heart, is the Kill Bill Vol. II of the podcast. This one pares a lot with episode 15, so I have a couple of brief recaps of the last episode to make the episode flow a little better. I played a clip from Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal from 1982 and was very tempted to play the emperor’s death sounds again when I was talking about the downfall of Edison’s trust. If you would like to contact me you can email me at historyoffilmpodcast@...

This is actually the first of a two-part episode that I was originally going to call "Trustbusters." This week, we cover the early events of Carl Laemmle's life and see the feature film become the dominant form of cinematic presentation in the United States. Next week it is the star system and the exodus to California, where the center of film production has stayed (in the U.S. at least) ever since. If you would like to contact me, you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com and y...

This was a wonderful episode to produce, even if it was tricky. If you would like to learn all of the things that I didn't get to in this episode, like some of the wonderful names nickelodeon’s had, I really can't recommend At The Picture Show: Small-Town Audiences and the Creation of Movie Fan Culture by Kathryn Fuller enough. I wish there was an audiobook for it (but I feel that way about every book). A couple of clarifying points– I assume the "Latin races" that were talked about in the ...

The reason my voice sounds just a little off is because I have been pretty sick for more than a week now. This is far and away the best I have sounded in a while though, so I went into the makeshift recoding booth and gave you my best! This week's show its all about the growth of cinemas's audiences and industry, and attempts by powerful people (mostly Thomas Edison) to control that industry. Towards the end of the show I use a few seconds from the 1977 film Star War's directed by George Luc...

It’s a big one again this week! We complete our second and Gil episode focused on filmmaker Edwin S. Porter, and discuss how his movies relate to film history. This includes technical innovations, genre development, and early examples of voyeurism in film. There are several movie clips used in the show, but one of them is unusual for this program. It’s an excerpt from an IGN video review. The link for you to watch the whole review yourself is this here: https://youtu.be/_ee8aFnRvgY If y...

Edwin S. Porter and some of his early films and achievements are highlighted here, as well as some achievements that he did not... well, achieve. There are a couple of references that didn't fit into the flow of the show that I would like to put here: All of the definitions I used in todays episode were taken directly from the third edition of Film: A Critical Introduction by Maria Pramaggiore and Tom Wallis published by Person in 2011. I felt it would be tedious to say that three ti...

It's the second part of episode 11, in which we cover Alice Guy's movies. Movies, after all, are just as much a part of film history as the people who made them (more actually). In this episode, we discuss: Faust et Méphistophélès (1903) A Story Well Spun (1906) The Drunken Mattress (1907) A Sticky Woman (1906) Madame’s Cravings (1906) The Consequences of Feminism (1906) La Esmerelda (1905) The Barricade (1907) The Girl in the Armchair (1912) A House Divided (1912) A Fool and His Money ...

A longer episode this week, and we aren't even done yet! In this exciting episode, we cover the early career of Leon Gaumont and his first star director Alice Guy, the first female filmmaker. It was worth the wait, and I will see you next week! -Jake Support the show

CORRECTION: Okay, it turns out Max Linder is much more remembered than I thought he was. Not only is he featured, albeit briefly, in many of the texts I didn't initially find him in, but he is even mentioned in the 2009 film Inglorious Bastards directed by Quinten Tarantino. The reason I thought he wasn't in many film history books were: A) I had a lot less of them, and B) He is usually featured much later, sometimes even after Chaplin and Silent Hollywood because many textbooks follow an ord...

We cover the life and accomplishments of Charles Pathé! This is actually the first in a series of at least two episodes, as I hope to upload one about Leon Gaumont and Alice Guy within two weeks. Thank you all for staying with me through my December 2020 hiatus. Look forward to exciting shows this upcoming year! Also, I accidentally said that my email was historyoffilm@...com (I wish) it is actually historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com. Thank you for listening! Support the show

It was a big episode this time, and it took me a long time to write. But here it is! As I said at the end of the episode, a huge thanks to Stephen Herbert and Luke McKernan, whose work has proved to be the single most referenced resource I have used in making the show so far. You can their website here: https://www.victorian-cinema.net The definition I used for "tracking Shot" came from the third edition of Film: A Critical Introduction by Maria Pramaggiore and Tom Wallis, which has a v...

In the most dramatic and magical episode of the show so far, we cover the life and achievements of cinemas first great magician, Georges Méliès. The only movie clip is from the 2011 film Hugo, which touches on subjects of film history and Méliès specifically. I cover the origins of edition, and the first special effects, called "in camera effects." As of 21 October, 2020, the website still isn't up yet, but I am working on it, I promise! you need to see Georges Méliès' movies to underst...

This week we look at some of the "firsts" in film history as they occurred in the Lumiere's early projections. We also describe a few advancements in film technology, including the Latham Loop, and the Geneva Drive. I have had to take the website down for a little while. There were just too many tech issues. But you can still listen at historyoffilm.buzzsprout.com. But I will return with a website soon. You can email me still at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com Movie Recommendation: Have you...

This episode we cover an exciting, but ultimately unfruitful, film made in the Black Maria, and voyage to Europe to meet the Lumiere family, and their incredible contributions to cinema. I told you the clips would start becoming useful just as soon as I could make them do it! This week we have sound clips from The Edison-Dixon Experimental Sound Film (1895?) Singing in the Rain (1954) Amelie (2001) (the only one that isn't applicable to the episode) Hugo (2011) Support the show

Let's all go to the movies! Sorry, I am two days late. Today we discuss the kinetograph, and the movies made on it, including Fred Ott's Sneeze, Comic Boxing, Serpentine Dance, and more. If you want to contact me, my email is historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com. The website for the show is historyoffilmpodcast.com. I am using soundbites from movies as transitions, reminders of what this is all leading up to, and for my enjoyment (I hope yours too). Once we reach sound film, these clips will be r...

Kodak, Edison, and Dixon are introduced, as are their first roles in the story of film history. Next week we cover movies they made. I use movie clips as transitions in this show. Once we reach sound film, all the clips will be very pertinent, but for now, it is just for the joy of movies and as a reminder of where we are eventually headed. This week the movies were: Iron Man (2008) Sabrina (1954) Jaws (1975) Brining up Baby (1938) If you want to contact me, please email me at historyoffilmpo...

Cinema was not born of void. Earlier inventions, including, but not limited to, the magic lantern, diorama theater, the photograph, and vaudeville contributed to what went on in front of the camera in the earliest days of film history. Visit the show's website, historyoffilmpodcast.com for show notes, and contact me at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com. Enjoy the show! I am using soundbites for movies as transitions, reminders of what this is all leading up to, and for my enjoyment (I hope yours...

The foundations of cinema from cave paintings to the invention of the chronophotographic gun. Visit the show's website at historyoffilmpodcast.com. If you want to get in touch, I would love to hear from you! My email is, predictably, historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com. Audio from movies are used here as transitions, to spice up the show and to remind us where the show is going; clips are from Casablanca (1942), The Maltese Falcon (1941), and Rushmore (1999). Jake from the future here...