Thirty Years of Motion Pictures (The March of the Movies)

(Otto Nelson, Terry Ramsaye, US 1927, 78 min., 35mm)

Silent Tuesdays | Rochester Premiere of a New George Eastman Museum Restoration. As early as 1925, the motion picture industry was reflecting on its own history, the development of its commercial and artistic aspects, and, on the cusp of sound, what was in store for the future of “the movies.” Thirty Years of Motion Pictures began as a “film presentation” entitled Early History and Growth of the Motion Picture Industry and tracking motion picture progress from pre-cinema technology to the present, including illustrated songs, Edison films from the 1890s, turn-of-the-century newsreels, aerial photography, Kinemacolor, Technicolor, animation, industrial films, stop-motion animation, high-speed photography, and narrative film. The National Board of Review became interested, additional work was done, and the revised, 14-reel version of this exhilarating self-portrait of the film industry was presented in January 1927. Live piano by Philip C. Carli. Special support provided by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.