British and American Film

Silent filmsBefore the 1930s, all films were silent. They were just short clips of slapstick, sporting events or everyday activities of no more than 10 minutes.

Early pioneers of cinema include the Lumiere brothers, who directed short films composed of different photographic images placed together to create a motion picture. As the technology developed, other filmmakers like Georges Méliès and Luis Buñuel began to experiment with different techniques involving light, setting and camera angles.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dgLEDdFddk&feature=related

Contemporary audiences were astonished by the new technology. On the first screening of this early silent film, ‘Arrival of a Train..’, some members of the audience left the cinema in fear because they thought that the train would come right through the screen. Filmmakers enjoyed shocking their audiences!

Charlie Chaplin He was born in London, and then moved to USA, where he became the first Hollywood star in the 1910s.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufeMOIYUgBU

Other early classic films

The most famous early films include King Kong, Snow White and The Seven Dwarfs and the Wizard of Oz. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CuRQH_hLcTw

In the 1930s, films started to have sound. The first film to feature sound was Alan Crosland’s ‘The Jazz Singer’.

One of the pioneers of film and the most famous British director of this time was Alfred Hitchcock. He created many techniques used today in crime and horror films. He famously appeared in a cameo in all his films. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VP5jEAP3K4His most famous films are ‘North by Northwest’, ‘Psycho’, and ‘The Man Who Knew Too Much’.

Alfred Hitchcock

James DeanJames Dean remains an icon of cinema to this day. The American actor became famous for his acclaimed performances in hit films of the 1950’s, including ‘Rebel Without A Cause’. Tragically, the young actor died in a car crash in 1955, aged just 24.

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The 1960sDuring this time, technology had improved and many films were being made in both USA and Britain. In USA, the famous ones from this time are ‘The Sound of Music’, ‘Dr Strangelove’ and ‘Bonnie and Clyde’. Whilst in the UK, ‘Mary Poppins’ and the first James Bond were made. In 1967, the epic ‘Jungle Book’ was released. Brendon and James are both big fans!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9JDzlhW3XTM

Marilyn MonroeDespite her death at only 36 years old in the 1960s, Marilyn Monroe has remained one of the most recognisable characters in cinema history. She made her debut with the famous Marx Brother´s in 1949 and continued to make over 30 films until her death. Her most remembered film is ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ and she has been portrayed in many programmes since.

Sir Michael CaineAn English actor ,who won 2 Academy Awards, made his success through his roles in the popular 70s films ‘Alfie’ and ‘Get Carter’, but became a cult hero for ‘The Italian Job’ - famous for the Mini Cooper cars. He went on to appear in very successful films like the ‘Muppets Christmas Carol’, ‘Austin Powers’, ‘Batman’, ‘Cars’, and ‘Inception’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0nXDOr1r6A

Clint EastwoodA very famous filmstar of the 60s and 70s, Clint Eastwood starred in Westerns like ‘A Fistful Dollars’, ‘The Man With No Name’, ‘The Good, The Bad and The Ugly’, and ‘Dirty Harry’.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0-oinyjsk0

Woody Allen

One of the most famous comic actors and directors of American cinema, the New Yorker starred in popular 70s/80s films like ‘Annie Hall’, ‘Manhattan’, and ¡Hannah and Her Sisters¡, before later directing films like ‘Vicky Cristina Barcelona’ and ‘Scoop’.

The start of HollywoodThe 1970s led to a launch of new films. In Britain, ‘A Clockwork Orange’ is a cult classic. In the USA, ‘The Godfather’ films, ‘Indiana Jones’, ‘Star Wars’, and ‘Jaws’ began the start of popular film series. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPEHygqoKZU

Al PacinoAl Pacino emerged as a huge Hollywood star. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in ‘The Godfather’ trilogy, Tony Montana in ‘Scarface’, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in ‘Dick Tracy’ and Carlito Brigante in ‘Carlito's Way’. These films focused on mafia-themed storyline and were set in inner-city America. The storylines were adapted have been adapted for use in the Grand Theft Auto videogame series.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2I91DJZKRxs&feature=related

Famous films of 70s‘The Exorcist’ was one of the best horror films of the 70s, and is still widely considered as one of the most scary films.

The 70s also brought the rise of John Travolta with ‘Saturday Night Fever’ and later on ‘Grease’.

The 1980sIn the 1980s, films like ‘Batman’ with Jack Nicholson, ‘The Shining’, ‘Scarface’ and ‘Raging Bull’ were new films, but the most popular were the sequels to the Godfather films, Star Wars and Jaws.

Popular films of 80s

‘Ghostbusters’ was one of the highest grossing films of the 1980s. It´s a cult classic and starred the popular actor Bill Murray. It´s about a group of people who catch ghosts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-sALU_hveA

‘Back to the Future’ is a film made in the 80s that is still shown today around Christmas time. It´s about a boy who travels back in time in a car, which has now become a famous icon.

Some popular comedies included ‘Naked Gun’ and ‘Airplane’ starring Leslie Nelson, ‘Beverly Hills Cop’ starring Eddie Murphy and ‘Honey I Shrunk The Kids’.

The 80s was the beginning of action films like ‘Rocky’, ‘Terminator’ and ‘Die Hard’.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NubH5BDOaD8

The 1990sThe 1990s produced many famous films, some of which you may have seen. The highest grossing film was ‘Titanic’ but films like ‘Jurassic Park’, ‘The Matrix’, ‘Fight Club’ and ‘Forest Gump’ were very popular as well. The 1990s also saw the release of Danny Boyle´s cult classic ‘Trainspotting’, which signalled the emergence of British independent film. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2-MCPa_3rUhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Xkq8-bQuB4&feature=related

‘Home Alone’ is an iconic Christmas film. Starring Macaulay Culkin as a boy left at home for Christmas. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3Tyy-gLMG4

It was also the big start for Disney Pixar with ‘Toy Story’, ‘Aladdin’, ‘Lion King’ and ‘A Bugs Life’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9VLxlccx4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBldeX565xw

Three of the most popular genres of the 90s were romance, romantic comedies and dramas like ‘Thelma and Louise’. Meg Ryan was the star of hit films of this era like ‘When Harry Met Sally’ and ‘You´ve Got Mail’, whilst Julia Roberts was in films like ‘Pretty Woman’ and ‘Notting Hill’ with Hugh Grant. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4z88U915uq8

Sandra Bullock was a break away star of this era, with films like ‘While You Were Sleeping’ and ‘Miss Congeniality’ but she also won awards for her performances in the action thrillers ‘Speed’ and ‘A Time To Kill’.

Quentin TarantinoTarantino is one of the most celebrated directors in cinema history. He began to create independent films in the early 1990s, and went on to record popular success with Reservoir Dogs (1992), Pulp Fiction (1994), Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill (2003, 2004), Death Proof (2007), and Inglourious Basterds (2009). He has won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA and the Palme d'Or, as well as Emmy and Grammy nominations. He is famous for experimenting with traditional filmmaking techniques, with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence.

James BondJames Bond is one of the best British film series, famous around the World. It spans 4 decades, making it the longest running film series ever, with 22 films and it has made over $5billion. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A99k_raQogg&feature=relatedThe most recent one is Quantum of Solace with Daniel Craig, but the other 5 James Bond actors are Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.

Guy Ritchie

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nG_Nwp0wZc0

British filmmaker Guy Ritchie´s gangster-inspired storylines and dark comedy won him legions of admirers in the 1990s and 2000s. His most famous films are ‘Snatch’ and ‘Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels’.

2000s

In the noughties, supernatural films like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and Twilight have been very popular.

As technology improves, animations are becoming more and more popular. The Shrek series, Toy Story, The Incredibles, Wall-E and Monsters INC are some of the most popular films of this decade. As well as the British Classic: Wallace and Gromit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk6zbY8i4_8

Christopher Nolan

Director Christopher Nolan has produced some of the most popular and money-spinning films of recent times. His successful productions include ‘The Dark Knight’ and ‘Inception’.

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Hollywood comedy films like The Hangover, Superbad, American Pie, Wedding Crashers, Meet the Parents and the British film Shaun of the Dead are some of notable comedy films of the noughties. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkNz9a8Wclg

Which of these films have you seen, do you like or would like to see?

How is Spanish cinema different from British and American?

Which actors/actresses do you like?