After viewing two short films by Charlie Chaplin & Buster Keaton this morning, let's end our silent film era with the invention of sound (which was also conveniently your homework!)
Joseph P. Maxfield (AT&T’s Bell Laboratories) invented the first phonograph linked to film (licensed by Victor as the Orthophonic Victrola) which became the basis for the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
The Vitaphone allowed actors to lipsync their performance while the sound was recorded after; (This helped to popularize animation!)
The first sound film was Don Juan in 1926. The Jazz Singer (cantor); The Jazz Singer (1927), directed by Alan Crosland, starring famous vaudeville actor, Al Jolson is popularly given this award. Really both films were songs or music in Don Juan's case, that were played along and synched with the film. The Jazz Singer gave birth to the Hollywood musical genre.
Warner Bros. and Fox Film began wiring their theatres for sound as early as 1926. By 1928, Western Electric developed a sound-on-film system, which later developed a new competitive major studio: Radio-Keith-Orpheum or RKO.
The conversion to sound created both positive and negative effects for film:
Positive:
Eligible films:
Joseph P. Maxfield (AT&T’s Bell Laboratories) invented the first phonograph linked to film (licensed by Victor as the Orthophonic Victrola) which became the basis for the Vitaphone sound-on-disc system.
The Vitaphone allowed actors to lipsync their performance while the sound was recorded after; (This helped to popularize animation!)
The first sound film was Don Juan in 1926. The Jazz Singer (cantor); The Jazz Singer (1927), directed by Alan Crosland, starring famous vaudeville actor, Al Jolson is popularly given this award. Really both films were songs or music in Don Juan's case, that were played along and synched with the film. The Jazz Singer gave birth to the Hollywood musical genre.
Warner Bros. and Fox Film began wiring their theatres for sound as early as 1926. By 1928, Western Electric developed a sound-on-film system, which later developed a new competitive major studio: Radio-Keith-Orpheum or RKO.
The conversion to sound created both positive and negative effects for film:
Positive:
A. Led to a revival of national film elsewhere in the worldNegative:
B. Cinema owners did not have to hire musicians for an in-house orchestra
C. Silent films were easier to distribute across the world (no need to translate) which later creates the need for dubbing (1932 -- ex. Paramount studios); before this, multi-lingual films make stars like Marlene Dietrich, Maurice Chevalier, Bela Lugosi, Ingrid Bergman, Greta Garbo, and Peter Lore more important--since they can speak different languages (and therefore sync their voices to film).
D. Film became a single media event
E. Films came to the theatres as final products, whole and complete
F. The immersive qualities of film and the viewer become inseparable
G. Dialogue became a necessity to tell the plot of a film
A. Produced panic and confusion in HollywoodHOMEWORK: Extra Credit films. Watch a film or many films from this list (many--but not all--) can be found on Netflix, the internet (Youtube) or from the public library, etc. And write a film review/critique for that film. Extra credit can be turned in any time before the end of the marking period. Please note: Extra credit is NOT a replacement for projects, tests, or other assignments. It is the icing on the cake, not the cake itself.
B. Many musicians lost their jobs
C. Early sound films from America were boycotted by certain countries; films were not as widely distributed, more costly to translate.
D. Silent film culture was destroyed
E. Films did not require additional music, some ambiance was lost -- sound film was seen as the killer of “film as the seventh art form”
F. Film was no longer a “theatrical” or “artistic” event
G. Dialogue became a necessity to tell the plot of a film
Eligible films:
- The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), horror
- Nosferatu (1923) Murnau, horror
- Faust (1926) Murnau, horror
- The Thief of Baghdad (1924) Douglas Fairbanks, adventure
- Dr. Jeckyl & Mr. Hyde (1920) Barrymore, horror
- The Beloved Rogue (1927) Barrymore, adventure
- The Cat and the Canary (1927), horror
- Warning Shadows (1923), horror/suspense
- Wings (1927) Clara Bow, romance
- Intolerance (1916) Griffith, epic
- Birth of a Nation (1915) Griffith, epic
- Broken Blossoms (1919) Lilian Gish, romance
- Way Down East (1920) Lilian Gish, romance
- The General (1926) Keaton, comedy
- Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) Keaton, comedy
- Seven Chances (1925) Keaton, comedy
- 3 Ages (1923) Keaton, comedy
- Go West (1925) Keaton, comedy
- Sherlock Jr. (1924) Keaton, comedy
- The Kid (1921) Chaplin, comedy
- The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1923) Chaney, horror/romance
- Battleship Potemkin (1924) Eisenstein, epic/war
- Strike (1925) Eisenstein, war
- Die Nebelungen (1924) Lang, epic
- Woman in the Moon (1929) Lang, science fiction
- Dr. Mabuse (1924) Lang, suspense
- The Hands of Orlac (1924) Lang, horror/suspense
- Man With a Movie Camera (1929), drama
- I Don't Want to be a Man (1918), drama
- The Man From Beyond (1922), Harry Houdini
- Cabiria (1914), epic
- Fantomas (1913) (early serial)
- A Throw of Dice (1929), drama, epic
- Anna Bolyn (1920), drama
- Sally of the Sawdust (1925), drama
- Within Our Gates (1919), drama
- The Jazz Singer (1927), drama
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