-
The view of women in film has shifted over its more than 100-year history. In 1905, the name of the actress was not printed on movie posters. Charlie Chaplin said that women were not important in his films. He had only met one or two actresses who were his equal, he said. The names of…
-
Across the U.S. and elsewhere, film festivals have been recognized as key cultural institutions on par with museums and performing arts organizations. As Wisconsin’s only eleven day international film festival and one of the fastest growing events of its kind in the nation, the mission of the non-profit Milwaukee International Film Festival (MIFF) is to…
-
BEST LOCAL FESTIVAL! Wednesday, February 1, 2006Milwaukee Short Film FestivalLocation: Milwaukee, WI Wednesday, February 1, 2006. When one thinks of great moviemaking hotspots, Milwaukee may not be the first city that springs to mind. But thanks to a growing moviemaking community and a hunger for creative art, Beer City is making its mark in the…
-
Back before the pornography industry took the wrappings and bow off the old tease and turned sexuality into carnality and corruption for the masses, bawdiness still had some humor attached to it. Burlesque offered Americans and Brits a thumb-to-the-nose challenge of those highbrow notions of respectability that we now clump together under the term “Victorian”–the…
-
The reason Adam and Eve felt the need to cover themselves after the Fall had to do with what was going on in their minds; the problem was not human nakedness, nor sexuality. The problem with the display of sexuality in film likewise has to do with the mind. Nudity in a film is wrong…
-
The history of blacks in film can be defined by the evolution of the characters. In 1903, blacks were played by whites in black face. By the roaring 20’s, the movie industry had shifted allowing blacks to appear in movies – but only as comic relief. In the 30’s, black actors appeared as field hands…
-
Warshaw Collection of Business Americana: Motion Pictures, 1896-1963 Motion pictures were first publicly exhibited in the United States at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois in 1893. While the films exhibited there were technically crude with little to no plot or story and far from the polished product of today, they immediately caught the…
-
Hats, hats, and more hats! Well-dressed women always wore hats and gloves. It was the proper attire for any occasion. From going grocery shopping to going out on the town, hats were in fashion. Nobody seems to wear hats these days unless it is a baseball cap or a hat to block the sun. I…
-
This is the “Souvenir” piece from W.D. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, the epic movie that changed the history of moviemaking and set a new course for film productions to come. The movie premiered on February 8, 1915, at Clune’s Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. This is the “program” or “souvenir” that went with the…
-
The year 1962 will bring a decided de-emphasis on sordid sex themes in U.S.-produced motion pictures, a swing toward the big musical show, a strong lineup of features based on best-sellers and successful Broadway plays, and a rising volume of quality box-office attractions. The year will not be marked by a trend toward any particular…
