This is the first of two episodes (only two, I promise) about the great animator Winsor McCay. We cover his life before he became a filmmaker, and his two first movies: Little Nemo (1911) and How a Mosquito Operates (1912). The history of the film has a discord server, which you can get access through this here link: discord.gg/Ud8EcEzvSF Thank you to my wonderful patrons who help make this show possible! A special thank you to patron Ed & Shari for supporting this program in such a big...

It's a new year, and the History of Film is back! In this episode, we cover the life and achievements of French animator Emile Cohl, as he creates the first paper film animation, and brings fluidity and grace to a medium he helped invent! Thank you to my wonderful patrons who help make this show possible! A special thank you to patron Ed & Shari for supporting this program in such a big way. If you want to support this show, read your name down here in the credits, and get access to cool...

The long promised day is finally here! We dive into the world of animation, examine ancient Iranian pottery, and meet animators named Charles-Emile Reynaud and James Stewart Blackton, as we begin our journey though a whole other kind of cinema. Thank you to my wonderful patrons who help make this show possible! A special thank you to patron Ed & Shari for supporting this program in such a big way. If you want to support this show, read your name down here in the credits, and get access...

This episode we take a look at Griffith's second most famous movie, Intolerance, and examine its production, structure, and impact. We also (finally) finish the long arc of Griffith's story, and bring his career, and his time here on the podcast, to a close. I would like to give special credit to my wonderful patron Ed & Shari for supporting this episode and helping to make this show possible. If you want to support this show, read your name down here in the credits, and get access to...

This is the last of it. In this episode, we really dig into how and why The Birth of a Nation was so influential, and who was influenced by it. I am happy to say that next week we will be moving on from here. So three cheers for that. If you would like to email me, you can do so at [email protected] You can visit the shows website at historyoffilmpodcast.com and you can support the show at patreon.com/historyoffilm Thank you for listening! Support the show...

When I write these, I never know just how long they will be. As it turns out, talking about a film that has had a huge impact on the development of film history, and made the world so much worse, is taking a lot of words. So, this is the second of what I hope to be three episodes on The Birth of a Nation. In this episode, we describe the plot of the movie in detail (though I still skipped a couple of things here and there for the sake of brevity, believe it or not), and talk about how the...

Well, where it is. The Birth of a Nation is an extremely important movie. It would actually be hard to overstate it. In this episode, we cover the original novel the film was based on, and the film-making process for the movie.  So, spoilers for a 106 year old movie, the birth of a nation is an evil film. other than the films that were created by the Nazi regime in during WWII, I don't think there have beer been movies that have spread so much evil and hate that have been so widely received....

This is the first of (hopefully) a recurring series of episodes on film critical theory. Today, with special guest Melissa Favara, we cover the idea of cultural production. This is kind of the broadest way of looking at movies, as a product of a culture rather only the work of an individual or group of filmmakers. This is a lens with witch to look at movies, and a tool for building context for the movies we will encounter throughout this series. I hope you enjoy it! You can email me...

Here it is! Its an episode and a subject that has been a long time coming, and it's one that is less important then people used to think, though perhaps a little more important than some people say it is now. D. W. Griffith was a filmmaker who invented nothing, innovated on much, and influenced many (including influencing people to commit acts of viscous evil and pernicious violence). In today's episode, we cover his early life and career, and talk about some of the movies that would lead...

Hello and welcome back! This is everything about early Italian films that we didn’t cover in the last two episodes. That means we talk a little about how Italian studios were run throughout the 1910’s,  Important actors not playing Maciste, influential directors (including another of the most prolific women of early film),and a film movement: Futurism. We talk about the movement’s origin, and it's only surviving film – Thaïs – and how it, and the whole Italian film industry, entered a decline...

A few words on exciting changes that are coming to "The History of film in very  near future. [email protected] historyoffilmpodcast.com

This week its all about two movies Quo Vadis?  from 1912 or 1913 and Cabiria from 1914. Both are amazing movies in their own right, and in many ways are the first "real" silent films we have seen on this show so far! At least to me, they seem to check all the boxes. If you would like to visit the show's website, you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast.com.  You can email me at [email protected]. thank you so much for listening! I hope to see you next week!

This is the first of a planned three episode series about Italian film from before the 1920's and the rise of fascism in Italy. In this very first episode, we cover the earliest origins of Italian film, though much more briefly than we did French film, mostly because there isn't as much written about it. We also go into some detail about the astonishing 1911 special effects wonderland The Inferno directed by a bunch of Italian guys whose names I struggle with.  If you would like to contact...

It is a little late, but it is also long! This is one I have been researching and working on for a long time. This week its all about a new kind of serial film–one that takes us out of the light, and into the shadowy depths a criminal and violent Paris. Louis Feuillade takes us to depths not before plumbed by this show, as we give some much deserved attention to serial films made by the man who Alice Guy hand picked to be her replacement. Fantomas and Les Vampires are two excellent movie...

Forget movies that are a mere five reel long, how about three hundred!? In the United States during the "nickelodeon era" of film history, movies got longer in more ways than the ones we have been covering recently. Some became the first film series with continuing stories! We cover that transition and its greatest star in today's episode! Make sure to visit the website, historyoffilmpodcast.com, for this weeks episode–there is some information there that is important but didn't make it into...

Just as promised in episode 15, this week we begin our journey through the early influences of feature length movies that will eventually take us into the studio era of the U. S. film industry and D. W. Griffith. Film D'art is more important for what it inspired than what it accomplished, and funnily enough is skipped over entirely in a book I have on the History of French film, but is still worth discussing. It represents the last holdouts from the Edison/Black Maria style of film making....

16- The Stars are Born Here it is, episode 16, which in my heart, is the Kill Bill Vol. II of the podcast. This one pares a lot with episode 15, so I have a couple of brief recaps to the last episode to make the episode flow a little better. I played a clip from Jim Henson’s The Dark Crystal from 1982, and was very tempted to play the emperor’s death sounds again when I was talking about the downfall of Edison’s trust. If you would like to contact me you can email me at...

This episode is actually a bonus episode, rather than the other “bonus” episode I’ve released, which were 30 minutes long and took weeks to make.  This episode gets a little heavy, but suicide is a heavy subject. If you, or someone you know, is having suicidal thoughts, know that there is help. In the United States, you can visit https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org to make contact with people who are here to help you right now. You can also call them on the phone, just dial...

This is actually the first of a two party episode that I was originally going to call "Trustbusters." This week, we cover the early events of Carl Laemmle's life, and see the feature film become the dominate form of cinematic presentation in the United States.  Next week its the star system and the exodus to California, where the center of film production has stayed (in the U.S. at least) ever sense. If you would like to contact me, you can do so at [email protected] and you...