The History of Film – Details, episodes & analysis

An episode about Gance, covering his life and movies from birth to just before of the release of his monumental film J'accuse.

Support the show

An episode all about proper (or not explicitly patriotic) melodrama as it was developing in France during the war. Who were these movies made for? What were they about? Well, let's find out.

If you would like to email me you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com

History of Film Discord: https://discord.gg/Ud8EcEzvSF
Letter Boxed: https://boxd.it/3cZn3

Support the show

The long promised day is finally here! We dive into the world of animation, examine ancient Iranian pottery, and meet animators named Charles-Emile Reynaud and James Stewart Blackton, as we begin our journey though a whole other kind of cinema.

Thank you to my wonderful patrons who help make this show possible! A special thank you to patron Ed & Shari for supporting this program in such a big way. If you want to support this show, read your name down here in the credits, and get access to cool bonus content, you can! By visiting patreon.com/historyoffilm and becoming a patron, you can play an integral part in actually making this show exist.

If you would like to contact me, you can email me at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com.
You can visit historyoffilmpodcast.com to access helpful resources for this episode.

You can join the History of Film discord server by using this link;
discord.gg/Ud8EcEzvSF

Support the show

In this episode we take a look at Griffith's second most famous movie, Intolerance, and examine its production, structure, and impact. We also (finally) finish the long arc of Griffith's story, and bring his career, and his time here on the podcast, to a close.

I would like to give special credit to my wonderful patron Ed & Shari for supporting this episode and helping to make this show possible. If you want to support this show, read your name down here in the credits, and get access to cool bonus content, you can! By visiting patreon.com/historyoffilm and becoming a patron, you can play an integral part in actually making this show exist.

If you would like to contact me, you can email me at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com.
You can visit historyoffilmpodcast.com to access helpful resources for this episode.

Support the show

This is the last of it. In this episode, we dig into how and why The Birth of a Nation was so influential, and who was influenced by it. I am happy to say that next week we will be moving on from here. So three cheers for that.

If you would like to email me, you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com
You can visit the show's website at historyoffilmpodcast.com
and you can support the show at patreon.com/historyoffilm

Thank you for listening!

Support the show

When I write these, I never know just how long they will be. As it turns out, talking about a film that has had a huge impact on the development of film history, and made the world so much worse, is taking a lot of words. So, this is the second of what I hope to be three episodes of The Birth of a Nation. In this episode, we describe the plot of the movie in detail (though I still skipped a couple of things here and there for the sake of brevity, believe it or not), and talk about how the ideas present in the story interact with each other.

The clip I play toward the end is from the 1993 Documentary D. W. Griffith: The Father of Film, directed by Kevin Brownlow and David Gill. 

You can contact me at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com, and you can visit the show's website: historyoffilmpodcast.com to view resources for each episode.

Support the show

Well, where it is. The Birth of a Nation is an extremely important movie. It would be hard to overstate it. In this episode, we cover the original novel the film was based on, and the film-making process for the movie. 
So, spoilers for a 106-year-old movie, The Birth of a Nation is an evil film. other than the films that were created by the Nazi regime during WWII, I don't think there have been movies that have spread so much evil and hate that have been so widely received. We have to deal with it, so we will do so now.

If you would like to email me, you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com.

Support the show

This is the first of (hopefully) a recurring series of episodes on film critical theory. Today, with special guest Melissa Favara, we cover the idea of cultural production. This is kind of the broadest way of looking at movies, as a product of a culture rather only the work of an individual or group of filmmakers. This is a lens with witch to look at movies, and a tool for building context for the movies we will encounter throughout this series. I hope you enjoy it!

You can email me at:
historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com

Support the show

Here it is! Its an episode and a subject that has been a long time coming, and it's one that is less important then people used to think, though perhaps a little more important than some people say it is now.
D. W. Griffith was a filmmaker who invented nothing, innovated on much, and influenced many (including influencing people to commit acts of viscous evil and pernicious violence). In today's episode, we cover his early life and career, and talk about some of the movies that would lead him to making  The Birth of a Nation. You can learn more about some of Griffith's movies in Episode 13, 15, and 16a of this show.

If you would like to email me, you can do so at historyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com.

I hope you enjoy thew show!
-Jake

Support the show

Hello and welcome back! This is everything about early Italian films that we didn’t cover in the last two episodes. That means we talk a little about how Italian studios were run throughout the 1910s,  Important actors not playing Maciste, influential directors (including another of the most prolific women of early film), and a film movement: Futurism. We talk about the movement’s origin, and its only surviving film – Thaïs – and how it, and the whole Italian film industry, entered a decline throughout the 1920s.

If you would like to contact me, you can email me at
histoeyoffilmpodcast@gmail.com

And you can visit the show's website at
Historyoffilmpodcast.com

Support the show