Question

LOUIS AND AUGUSTE LUMIÈRE ‘The Lumière Cinematograph’ allowed large audiences to watch ‘moving pictures’. Its début took place on 28 December 1895 in a Paris café. That day the Lumière showed several short films. They were all documentaries and one of them was called ‘Arrival of Train Station’. Afterwards, Auguste Lumière talked to reporters about his invention. ‘It can be exploited for certain time,’ he said, ‘but apart from that it has no commercial value at all.’ Well, he was completely wrong. In less than a year, cinemas had started to open in Europe and America. The public’s appetite for films was instant and enormous – which meant that more and more had to be made. By 1905 movie-making wasn’t just an interesting idea – it was a successful new industry. And by 1915 it was an industry with a capital – Hollywood, USA. THE SILENT ERA Hollywood was established in 1912. That’s when a group of New York film producers decided to open a new studio in California. Why California? Because the climate was good, labour was cheap and there were lots of beautiful locations nearby. As a result of their decision, Hollywood soon attracted film actors and technicians from all over the country. While World War One was fought in Europe, and for several years after, these cinema pioneers made thousands of black and white films – comedies, tragedies, fantasies, romances and historical dramas. This was ‘the silent era’ – the era of Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Douglas Fairbanks and Buster Keaton. It was called ‘silent’ because there was no recorded sound. Instead, the actors’ dialogue appeared on cards shown every 15 or 20 seconds. At the time it seemed perfectly normal. That’s simply how films were. In fact, even as late as 1924, director D W Griffith declared ‘There will never be speaking pictures’. But Griffith, like Auguste Lumière 29 years before, was wrong. A revolution was coming, and its name was… A. Read the text and put the correct subheading for each paragraph. There is an EXTRA one. 1. REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN 2. CASTING FOR SUCCESS 3. MASSIVE SUCCESS 4. FIRST STARS 5. CRADLE OF EMERGING INDUSTRY 6. NO EXPECTATIONS B. Read the text again and answer the questions about it. 1. What types of films were shown at the beginning? 2. Was Auguste Lumiére positive about the future of their invention? 3. What was people’s reaction to motion pictures? 4. Why were film actors and technicians attracted to Hollywood? 5. Why do you think Lumière and D W Griffith were wrong?

Answer 1

A. 4, 5, 2, 3, 6
B.
1. documentaries
2. no, he said that it has no commercial value
3. The public’s appetite for films was instant and enormous
4. because the climate in the new studio in California was good, labour was cheap and there were lots of beautiful locationd nearby.
5. because they underestimated potential of cinematograph

Answer 2

A. Subheadings for each paragraph:

1. NO EXPECTATIONS (Talking about the debut of 'The Lumière Cinematograph' and Auguste Lumière's initial skepticism about its commercial value)
2. CRADLE OF EMERGING INDUSTRY (Describing the establishment of Hollywood in 1912 by New York film producers)
3. FIRST STARS (Referring to the era of silent films and mentioning prominent actors like Charlie Chaplin, Rudolph Valentino, Clara Bow, Douglas Fairbanks, and Buster Keaton)
4. MASSIVE SUCCESS (Discussing the instant and enormous public appetite for films leading to the rapid growth of the movie-making industry)
5. CASTING FOR SUCCESS (Referring to the influx of film actors and technicians to Hollywood due to favorable conditions like climate, cheap labor, and beautiful locations)
6. REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN (Teasing the upcoming revolution in the film industry with the introduction of "speaking pictures.")

B. Answers to the questions:

1. At the beginning, short films shown were all documentaries, including one called 'Arrival of Train Station.'
2. No, Auguste Lumière was not positive about the future of their invention. He believed it had no commercial value apart from being exploited for a certain time.
3. People's reaction to motion pictures was instant and enormous. The public's appetite for films was massive, leading to the rapid growth of the movie-making industry.
4. Film actors and technicians were attracted to Hollywood because of favorable conditions such as good climate, cheap labor, and beautiful nearby locations.
5. Lumière and D W Griffith were wrong because they failed to anticipate the future developments in the film industry. Despite initial skepticism about the commercial value and belief that there will never be speaking pictures, the industry experienced a revolution with the introduction of sound, leading to the era of "talking pictures."