Portal:Film

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Introduction

An animated sequence showing a horse galloping, with a jockey on its back

Sallie Gardner at a Gallop, made by Eadweard Muybridge in 1878, is sometimes cited as the earliest film.

A film, also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, or photoplay, is a series of still images that, when shown on a screen, create the illusion of moving images. (See the glossary of motion picture terms.)

This optical illusion causes the audience to perceive continuous motion between separate objects viewed in rapid succession. The process of filmmaking is both an art and an industry. A film is created by photographing actual scenes with a motion-picture camera, by photographing drawings or miniature models using traditional animation techniques, by means of CGI and computer animation, or by a combination of some or all of these techniques, and other visual effects.

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Fritz the Cat is a 1972 animated film written and directed by Ralph Bakshi as his feature film debut. Based on the comic books by Robert Crumb, the film was the first animated feature film to receive an X rating in the United States. It focuses on Fritz (voiced by Skip Hinnant), an anthropomorphic feline in mid-1960s New York City who explores the ideals of hedonism and sociopolitical consciousness. The film is a satire focusing on American college life of the era, race relations, the free love movement, and left- and right-wing politics. Fritz the Cat was the first independent animated film to gross more than $100 million at the box office. Fritz the Cat had a troubled production history and controversial release. Creator Robert Crumb is known to have had disagreements with the filmmakers, claiming in interviews that his first wife signed over the film rights to the characters, and that he did not approve the production. Crumb was also critical of the film's approach to his material. Fritz the Cat was controversial for its rating and content, which viewers at the time found to be offensive. Its success led to a slew of other X-rated animated films, and a sequel, The Nine Lives of Fritz the Cat, was made without Crumb's or Bakshi's involvement. Fritz the Cat was ranked as the 51st greatest animated film of all time by the Online Film Critics Society, and was also featured at number 56 on Channel 4's list of the 100 Greatest Cartoons.

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Credit: Bdorfman

The Sundance Film Festival is a film festival that takes place annually in the state of Utah, in the United States. It is the largest independent cinema festival in the U.S.

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Did you know...

...that Battlefield Baseball, a Japanese film, features elements of the sports, martial arts and horror genres, as well as including three musical numbers?

...that The Silent World, an Academy Award winning documentary film by Jacques Cousteau, was the first film to use underwater cinematography to show the ocean depths in color?

... that Safi Faye is a Senegalese film director whose work is better known in Europe than in her native Africa?

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Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born March 22, 1976) is an American actor who has won an Academy Award and established herself as one of the highest-paid female Hollywood actors in recent years. Witherspoon landed her first feature role as the female lead in the movie The Man in the Moon in 1991; later that year she made her television acting debut, in the cable movie Wildflower. In 1996, Witherspoon's performance in Freeway established her as a rising star and led to roles in three major 1998 movies: Overnight Delivery, Pleasantville, and Twilight. The following year, Witherspoon appeared in the critically acclaimed Election, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. 2001 marked her career's turning point with the breakout role as Elle Woods in the box office hit Legally Blonde, and in 2002 she starred in Sweet Home Alabama, which became her biggest commercial film success to date. 2003 saw her return as lead actress and executive producer of Legally Blonde 2. In 2005, Witherspoon received worldwide attention and praise for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line, which earned her an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress.

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Judy Garland received numerous awards and honors in the course of a career that spanned over 40 years. Garland won or was nominated for awards for her work in motion pictures, television, music recording and on stage. She was twice nominated for an Academy Award and was awarded a special Academy Juvenile Award in 1940. Garland won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for a second, and she received a special Tony Award for her record-breaking concert run at New York's Palace Theatre. Garland won two Grammy Awards for her concert album Judy at Carnegie Hall. Garland has also received a number of posthumous awards and honors. She was the recipient of a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award and several of her recordings have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. She has twice been honored on United States postage stamps and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. The American Film Institute has repeatedly recognized her talent, placing Garland eighth on its list of the top 100 female stars of all time and placing five of her recordings in its list of the 100 best songs from films, including "Over the Rainbow" at number one.

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Selected quote

It's what I've chosen to do ... I like to see people jump out of their seats. In that sense, I'm as much of a whore as the vaudevillians were, and proud of it.

— Steven Spielberg

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