Films For Filmmakers
Films For Filmmakers
These are films filmmakers should be aware of. Many of these can be found on You Tube, Hulu, Amazon or Netflix.
Embedded Files
Fred Ott's Sneeze
Release Date: 1894
Directed by William Dickson
Black and White
Silent
5 seconds
Known for: One of the earliest motion pictures still available today and the first to be Copyrighted in the United States.
The Lumiere Brother’s Films
Release Date: 1896
Directed by August and Louis Lumiere
Black and White
Silent
6:35 minutes total
Known for: Some of the earliest known short films. Produced by the brothers who are often created with being the founders of cinema.
The Kiss
Release Date: 1896
Directed by William Heise
Black and White
Silent
1 minute
Known for: One of the earliest films still available today.
Gradma’s Reading Glasses
Release Date: 1900
Directed by George Albert Smith
Black and White
Silent
2 minutes
Known for: First known film to use a close-up and minor editing.
Oldest Color Film
Release Date: 1900-1901
Directed by Edward Turner
Color
Silent
24 seconds
Known for: First known film to use a chemical color process to create color film
.
Trip to the Moon
Release Date: 1902
Directed by Georges Méliès
Black and White and Color (Depending on which version you watch. Color was hand tinted frame by frame.)
Silent
15 minutes
Known for: One of the first special effects films, first to use frame by frame colorization, and one of the first narrative films with actors and editing.
Life of an American Fireman
Release Date: 1903
Directed by Edwin S. Porter & George S. Fleming
Black and White
Silent
6:03 minutes
Known for: First film to use extensive editing, including cross cutting.
The Great Train Robbery
Release Date: 1903
Directed by Edwin S. Porterl
Back and White
Silent
11 minutes
Known for: One of the first films to use extensive editing.
The Story of the Kelly Gang
Release Date: 1906
Directed by Charles Tait
Back and White
Silent
70 minutes
Known for: First feature length film.
Birth of a Nation
Release Date: 1915
Directed by D.W. Griffith
Back and White
Silent
165 minutes
Known for: First epic film. Large crowd scenes. Massive battle scenes. First extensive use of close-ups. Racist overtones.
Intolerance
Release Date: 1916
Directed by D.W. Griffith
Back and White
Silent
197 minutes
Known for: One of the first films with large crowd scenes and huges sets. One of the first to show non-linear storytelling.
Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
Release Date: 1920
Directed by Robert Wienne
Black and White
Silent
67 minutes
Known for: Best known example of German Expressionism in film
Nosferatu
Release Date: 1922
Directed by F.W. Murnau
Black and White
Silent
81 minutes
Known for: Early version of Bram Stoker's Dracula; German Expressionism
Nanook of the North
Release Date: 1922
Directed by Robert J. Flaherty
Back and White
Silent
79 minutes
Known for: First full length documentary.
Greed
Release Date: 1924
Directed by Eric Von Stroheim
Black and White
Silent
1:4o minutes
Known for: Shot eniterly on location. Stroheim built a fake town and had his actors live in it for the duration of the shooting.
Gus Visser and his singing duck
Release Date: 1925
Directed by Theodore Case
Black and White
Sound
1:32 minutes
Known for: Early sync sound test
Napoleon
Release Date: 1927
Directed by Abel Gance
Back and White
Silent
240 minutes
Known for: Extensive use of moving camera, sometimes hanging from a cable.
The Jazz Singer
Release Date: 1927
Directed by Richard Fleischer
Black and White
Silent
88 minutes
Known for: First feature film to contain sync sound.
Sunrise
Release Date: 1927
Directed by F.W. Murnau
Black and White
Silent
94 minutes
Known for: Cinematography ahead of its time.
Steamboat Willie
Release Date: 1928
Directed by Walt Disney, Ubi Werks
Back and White
Silent
8 minutes
Known for: First cartoon with sync sound. Debut of Mickey Mouse.
Blackmail
Release Date: 1929
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Black and White
Silent
85 minutes
Known for: First successful Brittish talkie. Intersting use of sound to tell the story.
Un Chien Andelou
Release Date: 1929
Directed by Luis Bunuel
Black and White
Sound
16 minutes
Known for: Experimental film with shocking imagery.
Vampyr
Release Date: 1932
Directed by Carl Dryer
Black and White
Sound
75 minutes
Known for: Classic horror; German Expressionism
Triumph of the Will
Release Date: 1935
Directed by Leni Riefenstahl
Black and White
Sound
1:45 minutes
Known for: One of the best known examples of the use of propaganda.
Stage Coach
Release Date: 1939
Directed by John Ford
Sound
Black and White
minutes
Gone With the Wind
Release Date: 1939
Directed by Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood
Color
Sound
139 minutes
The Wizard of Oz
Release Date: 1939
Directed by Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Mervyn LeRoy, Norman Tauron, King Vidor
Sound
Color
102 minutes
High Noon
Release Date: 1952
Directed by Fred Zinneman
Black and White
Sound
85 minutes
The Sound of Music
Release Date: 1952
Directed by Robert Wise
Black and White and color
Sound
174 minutes
The Seventh Seal
Release Date: 1957
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Black and White
Sound
96 minutes
Known for: Classic allegory
The 400 Blows
Release Date: 1959
Directed by Francois Truffaut
Black and White
Sound
99 minutes
Known for: Monumental French New Wave film from the director who came up with the Autuer Theory
Ben Hur
Release Date: 1959
Directed by William Wyler
Color
Sound
212 minutes
Known for: Classic allegory
Breathless
Release Date: 1960
Directed by Jean Luc Godard
Black and White
Sound
90 minutes
Known for: One of the best examples of French New Wave cinema.
La Dolce Vita
Release Date: 1960
Directed by Fedrico Fellini
Black and White
Sound
174 minutes
Last Year at Marienbad
Release Date: 1961
Black and White
Sound
94 minutes
8 ½
Release Date: 1963
Directed by Fedrico Fellini
Black and White
Sound
138 minutes
Release Date: 1963
Alphaville
Release Date: 1965
Directed by John-Luc Godard
Black and White
Sound
99 minutes
Known for: French New Wave Sci-Fi
The French Connection
Release Date: 1971
Directed by William Friedkin
Color
Sound
104 minutes
Eraserhead
Release Date: 1977
Directed by David Lynch
Black and White
Sound
89 minutes
Known for its bizarreness
The Elephant Man
Release Date: 1980
Directed by David Lynch
Black and White
Sound
124 minutes
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