5 Firsts in Film
Back to basics
1. The Sprinkler Sprinkled (1895) – First narrative film of all time.
There is no official inventor of cinema. However there is no denying the Lumière brothers were pioneers in an industry that was a mere fair attraction in 1895. You probably know of their projection of a train arriving at a train station in Le Salon Indien du Grand Café in Paris, or perhaps of their other shorts at their factory in Lyon. But those were simple shots of real life events; therefore considered documentary. The Sprinkler Sprinkled is the first staged sketch, or dare we say the first fiction film ever made. With a beginning, a middle and an end, it respects a basic narrative structure almost every following feature adopted.
2. A Trip to the Moon (1902) – First film using special effects.
Georges Méliès’ masterpiece resurfaced in 2011 when Martin Scorsese honored his work in his film Hugo. Few had remembered how important this piece was to the history of cinema. But in the series of “firsts”, this one has quite a few. Ex-illusionnist, Méliès had a few tricks up his sleeve, and it is said he used almost all of them in this technically complex science-fiction film. It was shot in his own studio in Montreuil, France, a greenhouse-like building that allowed natural light to light his scenes. Effects such as masks/counter-masks, dissolving transitions, matte painting, multiple exposures and stop tricks were used to create this impressive space odyssey story. He also painted the film roll and presented versions of the film in color. Needless to say : this was groundbreaking.
3. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) – First horror film.
Well, it’s actually much more than that. Not only is it considered the first horror film, it also marks the beginning of german expressionism in cinema as well as creating the first graphic fantastic aesthetic. The expressionist style is translated through sharp shadows (they we’re painted directly on the sets), intense contrast and diagonal-based image compositions, much like the well known modern Tim Burton look. Ideologically, expressionism reacted against the severe german society of the 1920’s: the film criticized and mocked a strict government through fantasy elements and is even said to be a metaphorical premonition of the rise of Hitler. The combination of a strong new graphic style and a subtle political denunciation makes The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari one of the boldest and most daring films of its era.
4. The Jazz Singer (1927) – First talkie
“You Ain’t Heard Nothing Yet” is the first ever talked line in the history of film, and it is iconic. Not only is it a plot-twist in a entirely (or thought so) musical film, it anticipates the ambitious development of sound in film history. Because indeed, “we hadn’t heard anything yet” ; the unimaginable was yet to come. In The Jazz Singer, the sound was still recorded separately from the image, to be added later in post-production (the simultaneous synchronization came a few years later), but it was the first time the sound was other than music or sound effects, and the words could not have been better chosen.
5. Citizen Kane (1941) – First timeless film.
Alright, we just HAD to put this classic in. Orson Well’s masterpiece is considered by many the best film of all time, and it’s the fact that it never grew old or outdated that proves its greatness. Today, we are still able to admire its complex narrative structure as well as be impressed by its extremely dynamic cinematography. If a majority of films already feel old a few decades after their release, this one doesn’t make its age, not one bit. The themes its story holds are as pertinent today as they were 75 years ago : the thirst for power and the american dream could not be more topical. Although it did not raise the attention it has today when it came out, it is safe to say that its overall reception is pretty unanimous : Citizen Kane is the film of a century.