The Early Days of the Cinema

The cinema gives pleasure to many people, but when we go to see a film, we do not often think about the people who made it.

One of the first cinema films was made by Edison, a great American engineer. He also made a machine to show films.

Some people in France made another machine that could show films too. The first real film show was in Paris in 1895. A group of thirty-three people saw a short film about a train coming to a station.

In 1903 one of Edison’s engineers joined many short films into one longer film. People liked it and asked for more films like this, so more were made.

The viewers could see the actors in the film doing things and talking, but they could not hear any sound. Words on the screen explained the situation and what the actors were saying. Usually, music was played during the film.

Now, millions of people go to the cinema, but very few of them think about the hard work that goes into making a film.