Film History

What this unit covers

This page sits in the Film History and Cinemas strand of Photography and film. Its resources follow cinema from its origins to modern directors. Early material includes the mind maps Preconditions of Motion Pictures, Muybridge and Filmmaking Origins, plus short-film maps such as Train Entering a Station (1897) and The Famous Box Trick (1898), which looks at how Méliès stopped the camera to add or remove something from the shot.

Movements and genres

Many resources are organised by style or genre. You will find maps on German expressionism, Soviet Montage, Italian Neo-Realism, Film Noir, French New Wave and Spaghetti Western, which covers the Dollars Trilogy. For American cinema, there are maps on Classical Hollywood Style, New Hollywood: Counterculture and New Hollywood: Blaxploitation. The Horror Movies deck pairs titles such as Psycho, Dracula and Nosferatu with their directors and years.

Where to start

1. Begin with a broad flashcard deck such as History of Film or Film II - History and Theory, which cover early cinema, continuity and editing ideas.
2. Move to the decade maps, from the 1930's to the 1990's, to place films in time.
3. Choose the movement or director you need, such as Charlie Chaplin or Park Chan Wook.
4. Finish with a quiz such as Film History Final Test or History of Motion Pictures Exam 1.

Using maps and quizzes together

Read a mind map first to see how a movement fits together, then close it and answer a quiz from memory. Any question you miss tells you which map to reopen. Flashcards such as movies/directors are handy for matching films to filmmakers.

University students can use the decks to fill gaps before seminars, school students can revise one movement at a time, and teachers can pick ready-made material for a lesson. Open a map that suits your course and see what you can recall.