This "Theme Page" has links to information about the History of Film (Cinema, Movies, etc.). Students and teachers will find curricular resources (information, content...) to help them learn about this topic. In addition, there are also links to instructional materials (lesson plans) which will help teachers provide instruction in this theme. Please read our disclaimer.

Academy Awards Database

You can search this Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences database by keyword, year, or award category. Make sure to check Oscar.com, the official Website of the 74th Academy Awards.

[The] Bill Douglas Centre for the History of Cinema and Popular Culture

Take a virtual tour through this British museum on the early history of cinema.

Classic Actor and Actresses Sites

A metalist of links to Websites that focus on specific famous actors and actresses - organized alphabetically.

Edison Motion Pictures

A detailed description of the role that Thomas Edison and his laboratory played in the development of the motion picture industry. Included within the site are hundreds of downloadable clips of early movies (RealMedia, MPEG, or Quick Time formats).

[The] Film 100

Learn more about the 100 most influential people in the history of cinema, including descriptions of their impact and links to further information about them and their movies. Caution: You'll get a lot of new windows opening up on your screen as you browse through the site.

Films: Research and Resources

This University of Minnesota page is the starting point for a series of commentaries on cinematic history organized into ten chronological chapters.

[The] Greatest Films

A focus in this site is on Hollywood's best 200 films, but don't miss learning about film genres, the greatest scenes, a section on film history (descriptions of major films organized by year), greatest roles ... and more. This is a 'must see' site with far too many resources to be properly identified and described in a short paragraph.

History

Brief descriptions of many of the significant events in the development of the film industry up to 1995.

The World Wide Web Virtual Library - Film History Index

This site provides Internet resources on the international history of cinema from different approaches.

Movie Database

Search TV Guide's Movie Database by film name or person's name to obtain a film review that includes a lengthy description of the film and a list of its cast and credits.

Origins of American Animation

A collection of 21 animated films and 2 fragments from 1900 to 1921 presented by the Library of Congress. Caution: advanced technology and connectivity are needed; long download times may be experienced.

[The] Palace

See the site's collection of "articles" for about twenty-five essays on the film industry. In addition, the site has lots of downloadable images of stars (organized primarily by decade) and some sound clips.

Search the Internet Movie Database

Here's another searchable film database (also for TV) that can be searched by title, cast name, or character name. Data on each film includes information on the plot, cast and credits, as well as a set of hyperlinked resources on each of the actors and actresses in the film and what other roles they played in movies and in TV. In addition, there are famous quotes from the movie, trivia, goofs, release dates, filming locations, and links to other sites that reference the movie.

Technology and Society: Related Essays

Scroll down to the section on "Cinema" for about thirty essays by different authors documenting the history of cinema, particularly its beginning.

Welcome to Silent Movies

Articles and facts about the silent movie era. There are also biographies of many of the starts (see "Silent Star of the Month") and a set of links to other Web resources (see "At The Movies").

Note: The sites listed above will serve as a theme page for the History of Film. For other resources in Media Literacy (e.g., curricular content, lesson plans, and theme pages), click the "previous screen" button below. Or, click here if you wish to return directly to the CLN menu which will give you access to educational resources in all of our subjects.