Edison - The Invention of the Movies (1888-1918)

While the invention of motion pictures can’t be totally credited solely to Thomas Edison and his team, Edison and his group were indisputably essential in the development of the movies. Bringing together a series of inventions; the camera, a viewing machine, the creation of long strands of film, the machine to punch sprocket holes in the film along with a method of developing the long reels, the Edison’s company made the moving picture a commercial reality.

Movies started out as a fad where a single person could watch a short scene on a coin operated machine. When this fad died, Edison helped pioneer the projecting of films so that audiences could simultaneously watch the same show. I addition to technological achievements, Edison’s company produced the first blockbuster hit movie (The Great Train Robbery, included in this set) and the first serial (What Happened to Mary? (1912) incorrectly labeled as What Happened to Jane in the notes on disc one. Unfortunately a chapter of this innovative type of film is not included with this set.) Edison’s company, largely thanks to director Edwin S. Porter, also helped develop a ‘language’ of film and establish the way stories would be told on the screen. Yet for all of these achievements, by the end of the teens the movie world had passed Edison’s company by. After losing money for three years, mainly due to low quality films and insufficient volume of product in addition to distribution difficulties, Edison sold off his motion picture company.

All told, Edison was in the motion picture business for nearly thirty years, from 1888 to 1918. This was a period that saw dramatic changes for moving pictures; method of exhibition, length, content and even the way that stories were told all underwent major evolutions during this period. Though today his studio’s output is generally glossed over, the history of the Edison studio is in a large part the history of early film.

Partage proposé par : Movie World DVD VO (140 films – 29 Go) Film rare

Lire aussi :
• Cinémathèque, Ciné Monde.
• Dossier documentaire Cinéma, Monde en Question.
• Veille informationnelle Cinéma, Monde en Question.