Choose the heading to each paragraph:
THE HISTORY OF CINEMA
пустоFilms began to tell stories
Can you imagine life without our television? Today we can watch TV 24 hours a day; we can go to the cinema or put a cassette into our video when we want. We can even make video films ourselves.
But imagine the surprise and the shock that people felt when they saw the first films in 1895. There was no sound, no colour and the films were very short. They did not tell a story. They were glimpses of real life: a running horse, the ocean… One of the first films showed a train coming towards the camera. The people were very frightened. The early films were shown in music halls, cafes, even shops.
пустоIs it art?
The cinema was very popular entertainment. It was not expensive and the audience consisted mainly of workers. The rich classes ignored it. They did not think it was art.
пустоThe birth of the seventh art
Gradually films became longer and started to tell stories. Edwin S Porter was one of the first directors who made such a film in 1903. It was «The great train robbery», the first Western in the history of the cinema. This 11-minute film became a sensational hit.
In the United States, «nickelodeons» began to appear. «Nickelodeons» were cinemas where people paid a nickel (5 cents) to see several short films. It was much cheaper than the other entertainments.
Silent films had orchestras, organists or pianists. Later, people invented printed titles.
пустоHollywood
In 1911, the first studio was opened in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Film-makers soon realised that California’s climate was perfect for shooting films all the year round. That area had mountains, desert and ocean. Soon nearly all important American studios were in Hollywood and it became the film-making capital of the world. The men who ran Hollywood studios were businessmen and their main aim was to make money. By the 1920s, 80 percent of films were produced in Hollywood.
Today, Hollywood is not what it was. Many studios have moved to other places. The film stars have also moved to areas like Beverly Hills and Malibu. But visitors to Hollywood can go to the famous Chinese Theatre and see the footprints and autographs of famous film stars. They can go down the Walk of Fame and see the golden stars on the pavement.
пустоMovie stars
As the industry developed, it created a new phenomenon: the international star. World travel was still slow and difficult in those days, but millions of people in different countries could see the same actors at the cinema. All over the world, from New York to Tokyo, from London to Paris, millions of people stood in long queues to see their favourite stars. A famous star could make any film a certain success. The studios made the stars. They gave an image, and often a name. They dictated the clothes the stars wore, where they lived.
Marilyn Monroe was a perfect example of a Hollywood studio star. Her great beauty made her a world-famous sex symbol. But in spite of her success in films she had a tragic life. She died at the age of 36 from an overdose of sleeping pills.
пустоTalkies
The era of the talking film began in 1927 with the enormous success of Warner Brothers «The Jazz Singer». The film had titles, but it had three songs and a short dialogue. There were long queues in New York… The silent film was dead within a year. The first 100% sound film, «Lights of New York», appeared in 1928.
The first colour films were made in the 1930.