History of cinema in 12 films

Film critic and film historian Volodymyr Myslavskyi illustrated the history of world cinema with twelve landmark films during a master class for the finalists of the XII DYTIATKO International Children’s Media Festival.

Volodymyr Myslavskyi presented to the audience 12 films created from the beginning of the last century to the present. Each of the selected movies, thanks to innovations in shooting techniques and approach to production, marks decades and a stage in the history of cinema.

During the workshop, the following films were considered: “Flight to the moon”, “Secluded manor”, “Man with a movie camera”, “King Kong”, “Rope”, “Ben Hur”, “2001. Space Odyssey”, “Duel”, “Radiance”, “Titanic”, “Avatar”, “1917”.

Consistently reviewing films, the film critic clearly demonstrated how visual means in the cinematic art developed and improved: combined shooting, editing, time-lapse shooting, directing and camerawork techniques, attracting advanced technologies, the emergence of new genres, and so on. In addition, analyzing the artistic features of films, Volodymyr Myslavskyi showed their place in the cultural context of the era.

According to the expert, each film is valuable not only as a work of art, but also an actual guide for modern novice filmmakers. Dzyga Vertov’s “Man with a movie camera” is still one of the most popular films for avant-gardists all over the world. But at the same time, this is a real school for montage techniques,” he said.

“I recommend carefully watching the films of Alfred Hitchcock, from whom you can learn a lot as a Director,” Volodymyr Myslavskyi said. He noted that at the time of its birth, cinema was an attraction. In the future, directors tried to do everything to make it an art, a way to convey a story to the audience. Alfred Hitchcock in his films showed that it is possible to tell a story and still leave the elements of the attraction. Hitchcock’s follower Steven Spielberg developed this approach, starting with the movie “Duel”.

Volodymyr Myslavskyi is convinced that cinema as an art belongs to the “silver” screen: “Movies should be watched in a dark room on a large screen, home viewing does not impress the viewer fully and does not allow it to reveal all the artistic power.”