Film History Teacher Resources

The seventh episode in the a film history playlist takes a close look at the rise and fall of German cinema of the post-World War I period. The narrator uses The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and its expressionistic use of mise-en-scene to...

The second episode in a playlist on the history of film focuses on the role the Kinetograph and the Kinetoscope played in film history. The video also includes information about the contributions of scientists, Vaudeville performers, and...

What is a talkie? I bet most of your class doesn't even know that movies used to come in two colors, black and white. Help them explore the wonders of film history through a group research project. Each small group will research a...

Some of the boldest films in history have been documentaries or experimental films. Explore non-narrative cinema and its avant-garde techniques with a short video about a creative faction in film history. Additionally, the video...

New ventures and new technologies require new ways of referring to things. In stepped Edwin S. Porter, whose films Life of an American Fireman and The Great Train Robbery used parallel action and cross-cutting to develop his narratives....

A film history video examines how Thomas Edison, George Eastman, and the major film companies formed the Motion Picture Patents company (MPPC) and created a monopoly that controlled the production, distribution, exhibition of films. In...

Light up your film history instruction with an examination of the contributions of the Lumière brothers. Their cinématograph, as well as the devices of other inventors, are the focus of the third episode from a playlist on film history.

An episode of a film history playlist looks at camera technology and the roles of the various operators. The narrator presents an overview of different types of film camera lenses, apertures, shutter speed, frame rates, ISO, and codex....

Persistence of Vision? The Phi Phenomenon? Zoetropes? Camera Obscura? Kinetograph? What part do these concepts and inventions play in the history of movies? Find out with a short video that launches an informative playlist on film history.

Pupils are introduced to the routine of film studies class. They view a short film from Jiri Trnka called "The Hand" and write out a response. They also complete a film survey to identify and discuss their film viewing habits.

Youngsters view the silent classic Metropolis as they discuss film history and editing techniques. They develop film literacy skills as they learn to enjoy film in a more complex way. The instructional activity is intended for elementary...

Hollywood is the place to go if you want to make movies—right? Not necessarily. A fascinating video about the history of 20th century Asian cinema discusses the reflections of Japanese culture in the works of directors Yasujiro Ozu,...

The formulaic films that once thrilled audiences in the early part of the 20th century now seemed stale after the stark reality of World War II. Foreign films and American independent cinema answered the call for authenticity, leading to...

Explore the rich history of African, Middle Eastern, and South American cinema with a video summary of the most prominent filmmakers from these regions in the 20th and 21st centuries. It discusses Egyptian filmmakers Asmaa El-Bakry and...

The 2014 film Selma is the focus of a film criticism video.  The narrator examines how director Ava DuVernay brought to the screen the story of the voting rights marches from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama and how she uses the tools of...

The focus of a playlist on the history of film shifts from the development of early film technology to techniques used by filmmakers like Georges Melies. Melies, a former magician, used dazzling illusions and tricky editing to create...

Why are film montages in movies so compelling? Learn about the origins and effectiveness of the Soviet montage, as well as discontinuity editing and other filmmaking techniques—and political statements—that arose from the 1917 Bolshevik...

Home movies have come a long way from projecting 8mm film onto a wrinkled sheet on the living room wall. Learn about the ways home movie technology has evolved alongside the film industry with a video that covers techniques such as the...

The most impressive movie you've ever seen can't compare to the astonishment audiences felt when feature films began to synchronize sound with the picture. Learn about the complex path to the talkie, including the invention of the...

The job of the editor is surely one of the most demanding in film production. Viewers of an episode from a film production playlist are introduced to the editor's many responsibilities, the history of editing, and the various types of...

What's your favorite movie? Citizen Kane (1941) leads off a playlist on film criticism playlist that examines films that hold up due to their historical context and/or quality and deserve a spot on a best films list.

Did Mookie do the right thing? Spike Lee's film Do The Right Thing, which discusses race violence and community, leaves viewers to decide. The cogent analysis of a film criticism video examines not only Lee's filmmaking techniques but...

Guillermo del Toro's beautiful and bloody Pan's Labyrinth, a fantasy adventure/political drama, is the focus of the ninth episode of a film criticism playlist. The narrator looks at the film through two interpretative lenses: as a story...

Young filmmakers watch a short overview of the major studios, players, and political events of the period between 1894 and 1929. In addition, the video narrator briefly outlines the Hollywood scandals that lead to the development of the...