Classical Hollywood cinema is a term used in film criticism to
describe both a narrative and visual style of film-making which became
characteristic of American cinema between the 1910s (rapidly after
World War I) and the 1960s. It eventually became the most powerful and
pervasive style of film-making worldwide. Similar or associated terms
include classical Hollywood narrative, the Golden Age of Hollywood,
Old Hollywood, and classical continuity.For centuries the only visual
standard of narrative storytelling art was the theatre. Since the
first narrative films in the mid-1890s, film-makers sought to capture
the power of live theatre on the cinema screen. Most of these
film-makers started as directors on the late 19th century stage, and
likewise most film actors had roots in vaudeville or theatrical
melodramas. Visually, early narrative films had adapted little from
the stage, and their narratives had adapted very little from
vaudeville and melodrama. Before the visual style which would become
known as "classical continuity", scenes were filmed in full shot and
used carefully choreographed staging to portray plot and character
relationships. Cutting was extremely limited, and mostly consisted of
close-ups of writing on objects for their legibility.Though lacking
the reality inherent to the stage, film (unlike stage) offers the
freedom to manipulate apparent time and space, and thus to create the
illusion of realism â€" that is temporal linearity and spatial
continuity. By the early 1910s, film-making was beginning to fulfill
its artistic potential. In Sweden and Denmark, this period would later
be known as a "Golden Age" of film; in America, this artistic change
is attributed to film-makers like David W. Griffith finally breaking
the grip of the Edison Trust to make films independent of the
manufacturing monopoly. Films worldwide began to noticeably adopt
visual and narrative elements which would be found in classical
Hollywood cinema. 1913 was a particularly fruitful year for the
medium, as pioneering directors from several countries produced
masterpieces such as The Mothering Heart (D. W. Griffith), Ingeborg
Holm (Victor Sjöström), and L'enfant de Paris (Léonce Perret) that
set new standards for film as a form of storytelling. It was also the
year when Yevgeni Bauer (the first true film artist, according to
Georges Sadoul) started his short, but prolific, career.In the world
generally and America specifically, the influence of Griffith on
film-making was unmatched. Equally influential were his actors in
adapting their performances to the new medium. Lillian Gish, the star
of The Mothering Heart, is particularly noted for her influence on
screen performance techniques. Griffith's 1915 epic The Birth of a
Nation was ground-breaking for film as a means of storytelling â€" a
masterpiece of literary narrative with numerous innovative visual
techniques. The film initiated so many advances in American cinema
that it was rendered obsolete within a few years. Though 1913 was a
global landmark for filmmaking, 1917 was primarily an American one;
the era of "classical Hollywood cinema" is distinguished by a
narrative and visual style which began to dominate the film medium in
America by 1917.
describe both a narrative and visual style of film-making which became
characteristic of American cinema between the 1910s (rapidly after
World War I) and the 1960s. It eventually became the most powerful and
pervasive style of film-making worldwide. Similar or associated terms
include classical Hollywood narrative, the Golden Age of Hollywood,
Old Hollywood, and classical continuity.For centuries the only visual
standard of narrative storytelling art was the theatre. Since the
first narrative films in the mid-1890s, film-makers sought to capture
the power of live theatre on the cinema screen. Most of these
film-makers started as directors on the late 19th century stage, and
likewise most film actors had roots in vaudeville or theatrical
melodramas. Visually, early narrative films had adapted little from
the stage, and their narratives had adapted very little from
vaudeville and melodrama. Before the visual style which would become
known as "classical continuity", scenes were filmed in full shot and
used carefully choreographed staging to portray plot and character
relationships. Cutting was extremely limited, and mostly consisted of
close-ups of writing on objects for their legibility.Though lacking
the reality inherent to the stage, film (unlike stage) offers the
freedom to manipulate apparent time and space, and thus to create the
illusion of realism â€" that is temporal linearity and spatial
continuity. By the early 1910s, film-making was beginning to fulfill
its artistic potential. In Sweden and Denmark, this period would later
be known as a "Golden Age" of film; in America, this artistic change
is attributed to film-makers like David W. Griffith finally breaking
the grip of the Edison Trust to make films independent of the
manufacturing monopoly. Films worldwide began to noticeably adopt
visual and narrative elements which would be found in classical
Hollywood cinema. 1913 was a particularly fruitful year for the
medium, as pioneering directors from several countries produced
masterpieces such as The Mothering Heart (D. W. Griffith), Ingeborg
Holm (Victor Sjöström), and L'enfant de Paris (Léonce Perret) that
set new standards for film as a form of storytelling. It was also the
year when Yevgeni Bauer (the first true film artist, according to
Georges Sadoul) started his short, but prolific, career.In the world
generally and America specifically, the influence of Griffith on
film-making was unmatched. Equally influential were his actors in
adapting their performances to the new medium. Lillian Gish, the star
of The Mothering Heart, is particularly noted for her influence on
screen performance techniques. Griffith's 1915 epic The Birth of a
Nation was ground-breaking for film as a means of storytelling â€" a
masterpiece of literary narrative with numerous innovative visual
techniques. The film initiated so many advances in American cinema
that it was rendered obsolete within a few years. Though 1913 was a
global landmark for filmmaking, 1917 was primarily an American one;
the era of "classical Hollywood cinema" is distinguished by a
narrative and visual style which began to dominate the film medium in
America by 1917.
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