Cinemas were born the day cinematography was born. Cinematography is an art designed to be seen by millions, and where better to do so than in a movie theater?
The world first saw the “cinematograph” on December 28, 1895 in Paris – thanks to the Lumiere brothers, and this day can be considered the beginning of the history of cinemas.
The film was shown in a cafe on Boulevard des Capuchins. This small café was the world’s first cinema.
On March 1, 1986, the first fixed cinema was already opened in Brussels.
Over the next few years, short films were shown in the capitals of all the major countries in which they began to open cinemas.
The first films were documentaries and lasted no more than 1.5 minutes. But the familiar nowadays genres of cinematography began to emerge back in those early days.
Improvements in cinema technology at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries made it possible to increase the length of films and the pleasure of cinema audiences to 20 minutes. For the unspoiled viewers of the cinemas of those times it was an unprecedented curiosity.
The early 20th century was a time of rapid development of cinema – filming technique became more complex and improved, the films were becoming longer, actors were learning skills, and directors experimented with techniques. Cinematography was becoming more and more popular and profitable – this prompted mankind to take a new step – the creation of numerous cinemas.[4, p.14]
After all, more and more people wanted to see movies, and cinemas allowed everyone to do so! After all, there were no televisions or computers, much less home cinemas at the time! Thus began the era of silent cinema. It peaked in the 20s of the 20th century. Without sound and in black and white, cinematic art still attracted crowds of fans to theaters. Moviegoers in cinemas did not consider the lack of sound a disadvantage of cinematography, because the movie had in its arsenal of many other means of expression.
The first color film was shown in cinemas in 1922. But a full-length film with a rich color palette, cinema viewers will see much later – in 1935.
The first dubbed film, which was wildly popular with audiences, premiered in cinemas in 1927. It was The Jazz Singer, produced by Warner Brothers.
In the mid-20th century, cinemas around the world show movies that no longer resemble the first creations of cinematography. Films are becoming high quality, the image is realistic, and the sound is three-dimensional. All this is shown on huge cinema screens, equipped with powerful (by the standards of those years) sound equipment.
The history of cinemas continues today. Modern cinemas are equipped with sound systems that can literally immerse the viewer in the atmosphere of the films and give an unforgettable experience. The size of the screens of cinemas reaches 30 meters, cinemas have several halls, each of which can accommodate up to 4000 spectators. Special coating of walls and ceilings, spectacular lighting, an opportunity to watch 3-D movies, and many, many other things – all this is present in the cinemas of the 21st century.