History of Cinema: Development and Progress

Vocabulary flashcards covering the development and progress of cinema, including Hollywood pioneers, global film movements, and the history of Korean cinema.

Nicephore Niepce

Creator of the oldest surviving photo heliograph.

Edward Muybridge

The first to use photos to move in sequence with a zoopraxiscope, commissioned by Stanford.

George Eastman

Inventor of celluloid and film rolls and business partner of Thomas Edison.

Louis Le Prince

Creator of the oldest surviving motion pictures.

Kinetograph and Kinetoscope

Devices invented by Thomas Edison in the 1890s for recording and viewing early motion pictures.

Black Maria

The first movie studio, founded by Thomas Edison.

Lumiere Brothers

Inventors of the Cinematograph who conducted the first presentation of projected film and were the first documentarists.

The Great Train Robbery

The first film to use editing and a mobile camera, which signaled the beginning of the Western genre.

Pauvre Pierrot

The first animated feature, created in 1892 by Charles Emile Reynaud.

Alice Guy Blache

The first female filmmaker, who shot "The Cabbage Fairy" in 1896.

Hiralal Sen

The first Asian filmmaker from India, though all of his films were destroyed.

The Story of the Kelly Gang

The first full-length feature film, made by Australian Charles Tait in 1906.

Nickelodeon

An early 20th-century form of small-sized neighborhood movie theaters that catered to working-class audiences, women, and children.

The Birth of a Nation (1915)

A 3-hour long film by D.W. Griffith that is the highest-grossing film of the US silent era; it is admired for technical innovation but controversial for glorifying the KKK.

Studio System

A movie business model characterized by a factory assembly-line process focusing on production, distribution, and exhibition.

Big 5

The major production companies of the early studio system: Paramount, MGM, 20th Century Fox, RKO Radio Pictures, and Warner Bros.

Little 3

Secondary production companies in the studio system: Columbia, Universal, and United Artists.

French Impressionism

A film movement that maximized the beauty of images and the psychological stages of characters.

German Expressionism

A film movement utilizing tilting, impossible sets, high angles, and deep shadows/lighting.

United Artists

A studio formed by D.W. Griffith, Mary Pickford, Douglas Fairbanks, and Charles Chaplin to allow actors to pursue their own interests.

Lillian Gish

Nicknamed the "first lady of American cinema," she had a major role in "The Birth of a Nation."

Clara Bow

The first sex symbol in Hollywood history, known as "The It Girl."

MPA (Motion Picture Association)

An American trade association responsible for anti-file sharing and administering the US rating system (G, PG, PG13, R, NC-17).

Hays Code

A set of moral guidelines for films established by the first president of the MPAA, Will Hays.

Kino Drama

A combination of film and play that imitated Japanese shinpa melodramas, exemplified by "Fight for Justice" (1919).

Byunsa

Core performers in the Korean silent film era who narrated and provided voices and emotions for the characters.

Arirang (1926)

A film made by Na Woon Kyu that was a display of Korean pride and patriotism and popularized the national folk song.

Dansungsa

The first movie theatre owned by Korean business people and the longest-running.

Crossroads of Youth (1934)

The oldest surviving full-length silent film in Korea.

Sweet Dream (Lullaby of Death) (1936)

The oldest surviving talkie in Korean history, directed by Joonam Yang.

Flowers and Trees (1932)

The first ever color movie, produced by Disney as part of the "Silly Symphonies."

HUAC (House Un-American Activities Committee)

The committee responsible for blacklisting hundreds of Hollywood workers, including the Hollywood 10, due to suspected communist ties.

Italian Neo-realism

A post-WWII movement focusing on poverty and injustice, often shot on location with nonprofessional actors, such as "The Bicycle Thief" (1948).

French New Wave (Nouvelle Vague)

A movement based on andre bazin's "auteur" theory, utilizing creative editing and ad-libbed narratives.

Chungmuro Era

Beginning in the 1950s, this area was home to many Korean filmmakers and production companies.

Cinemascope

An anamorphic system used for showing widescreen movies starting in the 1950s.