2.18. The birth of the "seventh art"

Read the text and say what the seventh art is.

Can you imagine life without films or television, cinema's little sister? Today we can watch television 24 hours a day, we can go to the cinema or put a cassette into our video when we want. We can even make video films ourselves.

But imagine the surprise and the shock that people felt when they saw the first films in 1895! There was no sound, no colour and the films were very short: they lasted from 60 to 90 seconds! Besides, they did not tell a story. They were glimpses of real life: a military parade, a running horse, a boxing match, the ocean ... One of the first films showed a train coming towards the camera. The audience panicked and ran away! The frightened people were sure that the train was coming into the theatre.

The early films were shown in music halls, theatres, cafes and even shops. Travelling projectionists brought the films to smaller cities and country towns.

The cinema was the perfect popular entertainment. It was not expensive and, at first, the audience consisted mainly of workers. The rich and intellectual classes ignored it. They didn't think it was art.

Gradually films became longer and started to tell stories. Edwin Porter was one of the first directors who made such a film in 1903. It was The Great Train Robbery, the first Western in the history of the cinema. This 11-minute film became a sensational hit.

As soon as the films learned to tell stories, they began to film the classics.

Silent films had orchestras or pianists. Later, printed titles were invented.

Film-makers soon learned how to use special effects. The first known special effect was created in 1895 by Alfred Clark in The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots. It was a simple trick: the camera was stopped and the actress replaced with a doll.

In 1911 the first studio was opened in Hollywood, Los Angeles. Film­makers soon realised that the place was perfect for shooting nearly any film -it had mountains, desert and ocean. Soon nearly all important American studios were in Hollywood. The next thirty years became Hollywood's greatest years.

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Exercise

Answer the questions:

1. What did people feel when they saw the first films?

2. Were the first films short?

3. Where were they shown?

4. Who were they shown by?

5. What film became a sensational hit?

2.19. The little tramp

Read and say why Chaplin’s films are still popular.

There were two cinemas in the town. In one there was а film which had cost millions оf dollars. The actors wеге handsome, the actresses beautiful. The film had won а prize for its use of colour. The songs were sung by some of the best known singers in the world. The cinema was nearly empty.

A few streets away in the other cinema there was а very different film. It was over fifty years old. It was black and white and there was nо sound. The hero of the film was а tramp, whose hat and coat were too small. His trousers and shoes were too big. He was а little man with а funny walk. In his hand he carried а walking stick. The cinema was ful1. There were roars of laughter each time the little tramp escaped from а difficult situation. And when things went badly, many cried.

I’m sure you have already recognized the "little tramp" — Charlie Chaplin. He has been making us laugh ever since his first film in 1914. The tramp is kind, always ready to help, dreaming of the girl that he secretly loves. All the time he has to struggle against those who are stronger and nastier — against а society which does not accept him. But nothing and nobody can keep him down — he always wins in the end.

Charlie Chaplin learned what it was to be small and poor in his early life. Не was born in 1889 in а poor area оf London. His parents were both stage actors. They separated and Charlie's mother had to struggle hard to support him and his brother. Once her voice broke when she was singing and Charlie, who was five years old, had to take her place. He copied her songs so well that the audience threw money on the stage. This was the beginning. The real success only came when Charlie went to America to make films.

Today "the little fellow" is known all over the world. His old silent film are shown again and again in cinemas and on television.

Exercise

Agree or disagree:

1. There were three cinemas in the town.

2. In one cinema there was а film which had cost millions оf dollars.

3. The first cinema was full of people.

4. In the other cinema there was а very old film.

5. The hero of the film was а tramp.

6. The tramp is kind, always ready to help.

7. The real success only came when Charlie went to America to make films.