Film encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects.
Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them. Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for educating — or indoctrinating — citizens. The visual elements of cinema gives motion pictures a universal power of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that translate the dialogue.
Traditional films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see the flickering between frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a psychological effect called beta movement.
The origin of the name "film" comes from the fact that photographic film (also called film stock) had historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion picture, including picture, picture show, photo-play, flick. A common name for film in the United States is movie, while the Europeans prefer cinema. Additional terms for the field in general include the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema and the movies.
Washington Times | The List: Top 10 Dickens' novels in movies or TV Washington Times By John Haydon To celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of British writer Charles Dickens, the List looks at the best adaptations of Dickens books on the silver screen and television. The oldest surviving film version of a work by Dickens, ... |
Comicbook.com (blog) | See 'The Amazing Spider-Man' Trailer And Why It Might Be 2012's Top Film Forbes Could this movie surprise everyone and be the biggest superhero film of 2012? Maybe, and I'll tell you why… but first, check out the new trailer! Everyone's placing bets on who will come out on top, and so far the smart money has been on Batman. Top Ten Things to Love About the AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Trailer The Amazing Spider-Man Trailer Preview: The Lizard And A Sarcastic Peter ... Why You're Going To Love The Amazing Spider-man |
TOP 7 WTF Movie Moments in 2011 Scorecard Review It's a fine movie and good enough for the mov... Piotr: If you like to sit back and be emotionally assaulted by a ridiculous story, this film is f... We start the Top 7. You finish the Top 10. I see a lot of movies. My fandom has a dark side too, ... |
Seattle Post Intelligencer | Best Super Bowl Movie Ads: The Avengers...and Star Wars?! E! Online In all, seven upcoming movies were hyped in ads that aired during Super Bowl XLVI. The commercial for Lucas' Star Wars 3-D rereleases came out on top in the MovieTickets.com sample as the most-memorable movie spot. But while football fans recalled the ... Super Bowl: Why are the best movie ads not actually for movies? 'Dictator' rules studio Bowl blitz Superbowl Trailer Roundup |
Moneycontrol.com | Box office: 'Chronicle,' 'Woman in Black' exceed expectations, grab top spots Green Bay Press Gazette It's the chronicles of creepy when Dane DeHaan succumbs to his dark superpowers in this week's top box office movie, "Chronicle." / AP photo The Associated Press Some unknown kids with superpowers have nudged out the actor who plays the world's most ... The top films at the North American box office 'Chronicle' earns a super powerful $22 million on Super Bowl weekend Unknowns of 'Chronicle' pull in $22M, edging Radcliffe's 'Woman in Black' at $21M |
Oscar's Animated Shorts: Zombies Are Out for Pixar's Blood Reuters That's the landscape in the Oscar Best Animated Short Film category, one of the three shorts categories that TheWrap will survey this week. The categories may still be the tie-breakers in everybody's Oscar pool, but they're easier to call than they ... |
Top 10 pirated movies in the world (infographic) CNET by Dara Kerr February 6, 2012 10:14 PM PST Follow @darakerr The top 10 most pirated movies in the world are either fantastical, involve superheroes, or have some serious fight scenes ("The Hangover" might have all three). According to data collected by ... |
USA TODAY | Oscar nominees luncheon: The top moments USA TODAY When Rigoberto Canela, a waiter at the Beverly Hilton for 22 years, served best actor nominee Demian Bichir his lunch, he insisted on shaking the A Better Life star's hand and told Bichir in Spanish: "I want to meet you because you made my wife cry. Silence...We're rolling! |
gulfnews.com | Meryl Streep's movie magic gulfnews.com Streep's first nomination, as best supporting actress, came with only her second film, The Deer Hunter, a Vietnam war story. Hers was a small role — as Christopher Walken's girlfriend — but she lit up every scene she was in, possibly because she ... |
// The Top 8 Found Footage Films 411mania.com From Paranormal Activity and The Blair Witch Project to Chronicle, Diary of the Dead and more, 411's Jeremy Thomas breaks down the top 8 found footage-style films of all-time! Welcome, one and all, to the 8 Ball in the Movie Zone! |