American Cinema

Реферат на тему: American Cinema
 
The contents
 
Introduction. 2
 
American Cinema 3
 
The earliest history of film. 4
 
The earliest movie theatres. 4
 
The growth of the film industry. 5
 
Popcorn 7
 
The Oscar. 7
 
Hollywood. 7
 
Beverly Hills. 9
 
The major film genres. 9
 
Film Companies 10
 
Film Directors and Producers 10
 
Films. 12
 
Actors and Actresses. 12
 
Marilyn Monroe. 16
 
Walt Disney 18
 
Titanic. 19
 
Literature. 20
 
Vocabularly. 21
 
Introduction.
 
I’m a cinema goer. And also I like watching films on TV or video.
 
But I think, that watching a good film is the best relaxation. It is
 
thought-provoking and entertaining. Now a growing number of people prefer
 
watching films on TV to attending cinemas. There are wonderful comedies,
 
love stories, science fiction, horror films, detective stories, and
 
historical films on. There’s a variety of films available today. It is
 
difficult to live without cinema. One fact is clear for everyone: cinema
 
makes our life better. Cinema helps us to forget different problems. When
 
people watch films, they have a rest. Some films take people into another
 
world. I think it is a pure world, where usual problems do not even exist.
 
Cinema is a great power, it helps us to understand our complex well. Cinema
 
can leave nobody indifferent. It is so powerful that it provokes complex
 
feelings. We meet a lot of people. Everyone has his own opinion about
 
something and like most of us I have my own opinion too, for example, about
 
cinema. Cinema is a necessary and important part of my life. It is my
 
essence, my mode of life and my happiness. Cinema helps me to cope with
 
difficulties and with incorrigible problems. So that’s why I have chosen
 
the topic ‘Cinema’.
 
American Cinema
 
The world of American cinema is so far-reaching a topic that it
 
deserves, and often receives, volumes of its own. Hollywood (in Los
 
Angeles, California), of course, immediately comes to mind, as do the many
 
great directors, actors and actresses it continues to attract and produce.
 
But then, one also thinks of the many independent studios throughout the
 
country, the educational and documentary series and films, the socially-
 
relevant tradition in cinema, and the film departments of universities,
 
such as the University of Southern California (USC), the University of
 
California at Los Angeles (UCLA) or New York University.
 
For over 50 years, American films have continued to grow in popularity
 
throughout the world. Television has only increased this popularity.
 
The great blockbusters of film entertainment that stretch from "Gone
 
with the Wind" to "Star Wars" receive the most attention. A look at the
 
prizes awarded at the leading international film festivals will also
 
demonstrate that as an art form, the American film continues to enjoy-
 
considerable prestige. Even when the theme is serious or, as they say,
 
"meaningful", American films remain "popular". In the past decade, films
 
which treated the danger of nuclear power and weapons, alcoholism, divorce,
 
inner-city blight, .the effects of slavery, the plight of Native Americans,
 
poverty and immigration have all received awards and international
 
recognition. And, at the same time, they have done well at the box-office.
 
Movies (films), including those on video-cassettes, remain the most
 
popular art form in the USA. A book with 20,000 readers is considered to be
 
a best-seller. A hit play may be seen by a few thousand theatergoers. By
 
contrast, about a billion movie tickets are sold at movie houses across the
 
USA every year.
 
There are three main varieties of movie theaters in the USA: 1) the
 
"first-run" movie houses, which show new films; 2) "art theaters", which
 
specialize in showing foreign films and revivals; 3) "neighborhood
 
theaters", which run films — sometimes two at a time — after the "first-
 
run" houses.
 
New York is a movie theater capital of the country. Many of the city's
 
famous large movie theaters, once giving Times Square so much of its
 
glitter, have been torn down or converted (in some cases into smaller
 
theaters), and a new generation of modem theaters has appeared to the north
 
and east of the area. Most of them offer continuous performances from
 
around noon till midnight. Less crowded and less expensive are the so-
 
called "neighborhood theaters", which show films several weeks or months
 
after the "first-run" theaters. There are several theaters that specialize
 
in revivals of famous old films and others that show only modernist, avant-
 
garde films. Still others, especially those along 42nd Street, between the
 
Avenue of Americas and Eighth Avenue, run movies about sex and violence.
 
Foreign films, especially those of British, French, Italian and Swedish
 
origin, are often seen in New York, and several movie theaters specialize
 
in the showing of foreign-language films for the various ethnic groups in
 
the city.
 
The earliest history of film.
 
The illusion of movement was first noted in the early 19th century. In
 
1824 the English physician Peter Mark Roget published an article ‘the
 
persistence of vision with regard to moving objects’. Many inventors put
 
his theory to the test with pictures posted on coins that were flipped by
 
the thumb, and with rotating disks of drawings. A particular favorite was
 
the zoetrope, slotted revolving drum through which could be seen clowns and
 
animals that seemed to leap. They were hand drawn on strips of paper fitted
 
inside the drum. Other similar devices were the hemitrope, the phasmatrope,
 
the phenakistoscope, and the praxinoscope. It is not possible to give any
 
one person credit for having invented the motion picture. In the 1880s the
 
Frenchman Etienne Jules Marey developed the rotating shutter with a slot to
 
admit light, and George Eastman, of New York, developed flexible film. In
 
1888 Thomas Edison, of New Jersey, his phonograph for recording and playing
 
sound on wax cylinders. He tried to combine sound with motion pictures.
 
Edison’s assistant, William Dickson, worked on the idea, and in 1889, he
 
both appeared and spoke in a film. Edison did not turn his attention to the
 
projected motion picture at first. The results were still not good enough,
 
and Edison did not think that films would not have large appeal. Instead he
 
produced and patented the kinetoscope, which ran a continuous loop of film
 
about 15 meters (50 feet) long. Only one person could view it at a time. By
 
1894, hand-cranked kinetoscope appeared all over the United States and
 
Europe. Edison demonstrated a projecting kinetoscope. The cinematograph
 
based on Edison’s kinetoscope was invented by two Frenchmen, Louis and
 
Auguste Lumiere. This machine consisted of a portable camera and a
 
projector. In December 1895, The Lumiere brothers organized a program of
 
short motion pictures at a Parisian cafe.
 
The earliest movie theatres.
 
Films were first thought of as experiment or toys. They were shown in
 
scientific laboratories and in the drawing rooms of private home. When
 
their commercial potential was realized they began to be screened in public
 
to a paying audience. The first films to be shown publicly were short,
 
filmed news items and travelogues. These were screened alongside live
 
variety acts form theatre shows, called vaudeville in United States. Within
 
a few years fairground tents that slowed nothing but programs of films were
 
common sights. In United States stores were converted onto movie theatre,
 
which were known as ‘storefront theatre’. People would pay a nickel to see
 
about an hour’s worth of film, so the theatre came to be known as
 
‘nickelodeons’. Early film audiences needed patience. There were many
 
technical problems. Projectors were likely to breath down and every
 
projectionist kept slides to reassure the audience: ‘The performance will
 
resume shortly.’ Many projectors caused flickering on the screen, earning
 
films the nickname of ‘the flicks’.
 
The growth of the film industry.
 
From the start the film industry was eager to make and show films that
 
people would want to see. The most popular films were those that told
 
stories- narrative fiction films. Film making began to realize that by
 
using different camera angels, locations, lighting and special effects,
 
film could tell a story in the way that live theatre couldn’t.
 
The great Train Robbery, made in 1903 by Edwin S. Porter, was the first
 
American narrative fiction film. It included the basic ingredients of the
 
Western: a hold-up, a chase, and a gunfight. It used a great variety of
 
shots by showing the action at different distances from the camera- long
 
shots of action in the distance, but also medium shots of the actors shown
 
full-length, and chase-ups of the face and shoulders of a gunman shooting
 
directly at the audience.
 
Before World War I American film industry had logged behind the film
 
industries of Europe particularly those of France and Italy. But during the
 
war, film making almost stopped in Europe, partly because a chemical used
 
in celluloid was needed for making gunpowder. The American film industry
 
thrived during the war because there was money for making films; and also
 
because of popular the genius of D. W. Griffith. In 1915 Griffith made The
 
Birth Of Nation, a film about the American Civil War and in 1916 he made
 
Intolerance. These three hour’s films were American’s answer to the
 
spectacular Italian films such as Quo Vadis that had earlier astonished the
 
world. For Intolerance Griffith had built a set of an ancient Babylonian
 
city, which was over a mile long, and he photograph it from a balloon.
 
Griffith was a genius, not just because he could show huge and thrilling
 
scenes on the screen, but because he was aware of the artistic
 
possibilities of film.
 
The actors in the old-sealers had mostly been unknown and their
 
performances very poor. Because the films were silent, actors made up for
 
lack of speech by frantic and unnatural gestures and movements. A new and
 
better style of acting was adopted by a young American actress called Marry
 
Pickford who showed that a simple natural style was more effective on the
 
screen than dramatic arm-waving and chest-thumping. Her fame spread across
 
the Atlantic. In 1918, she signed a contract for more than a million
 
dollars. The stars system was born.
 
About the same time, some of the slapstick comedians developed unique
 
comedy styles, and also became world-famous stars. Charlie Chaplin, the
 
little man with the derby hat, cane, and boggy pants, became the most
 
famous (he, too, sealed a million-dollar contract). But others such as
 
Buster Heaton, Harold Lloyd, and Harry Langdon were also widely acclaimed.
 
They were great artists whose work is still popular today. By 1920 the
 
cinema had became the most popular form of leisure activity outside the
 
home.
 
Film studios such as Metro-Goldwin Meyer, Paramount, Warner’s, 20th
 
Century Fox, and United Artists developed a system for producing films on
 
the same principle that Henry Ford used for his cars- the assembly like
 
Hollywood, on the west coast of the United States, became the center of the
 
film industry. Its climate, light and physical surroundings were suited to
 
the film industry, which shot much material out of doors. Film making
 
thrived. In succeeding years, many great films were made in Hollywood,
 
beginning with the silent films, followed, in the mid-twenties, by the
 
first sound pictures.
 
The first animated cartoon drawn in the United States especially for
 
film was done in 1906 by J. Stuart Blackton. The first full-length animated
 
feature film was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs made in 1937.
 
The stars of the films being produced in Hollywood became known
 
throughout the world. Among them were famous Cagney, Clark Gable, Marlene
 
Dietrich, who had first appeared in films in Germany, the Swedish Greta
 
Garbo and the young Shirley Temple. Some of the most famous stars were
 
Mickey Mouse and characters from Walt Disney’s cartoon. Leading film makers
 
included John Ford, Howard Hawks, Frank Capra and George Cukor.
 
During World War II some of the best Americans directors in the US
 
were recruited by the War Department, because films were needed to help
 
raise the morale of servicemen. Among the best films of this war period
 
were Frank Capra’s ''Why We Fight'' series (1942-45). Walt Disney’s
 
animated films; and documentaries about important battlers directed by
 
Garson Kanin, John Huston, Billy Wilder. Orson Welles’s masterpiece
 
''Citizen Kane'' (1940) was the story of a newspaper tycoon. After the war
 
high-quality films continued to pour out of the United States. They
 
included Charlie Chaplin’s ''Limelight'' (1952), the fine Western Shane
 
(1956), a drama of the New York docks called On The Waterfront (1954) and
 
many high-spirited musicals of which An American In Paris (1951) was
 
outstanding. Alfred Hitchcock made his best films during this period.
 
''Psycho'' with its famous murder-in-the-shower scene was probably the most
 
successful. Despite these successes the great studios began to get into
 
financial difficulties because of declining audiences.
 
However, the late 1960s saw a turning point in the American film
 
industry with the release of a number of films appealing to the youth
 
market, which drew enormous audiences. The most famous of these were Arthur
 
Penn’s ''Bonnie and Clyde'' (1967) and Dennis Hopper’s ''Easy Rider''
 
(1969). Realising that they could no longer rely on their traditional
 
family audiences, film makers increasingly concentrated on films for the so-
 
called ‘teenage market’, science fiction and fantasy ‘blockbusters’ with
 
computer enhanced special effects Dolby sound such as George Lucas’s ''Star
 
Wars'' (1977) and Steven Spielberg’s ''Raiders Of The Lost Ark'' (1981)
 
became very popular.
 
Popcorn
 
Today Americans still continue the custom of eating popcorn at the
 
movies. Americans use 500,000 pounds of popcorn every year. All corn does
 
not pop. A seed or kernel of corn must have 14 percent water in it to pop.
 
Other kinds of pop have less water and do not pop. When you put a kernel of
 
corn on a fire, the water inside makes the corn explode. This makes a ‘pop’
 
noise. That is why we called it popcorn. The American Indians popped corn a
 
long time ago. The Indians knew there were three kinds of corn. There was
 
sweet corn for eating, corn for animals, and corn for popping. The Indians
 
introduced corn to the first settlers, or Pilgrims, when they come to
 
America in 1620. One year after they came, the Pilgrims had a Thanksgiving
 
dinner. They invited the Indians. The Indians brought food with them. One
 
Indian brought popcorn. Since that time Americans continued to pop corn at
 
home. But in 1945 there was a new machine that changed the history of
 
popcorn. This electric machine popped corn outside the home. Soon movie
 
theatres started to sell popcorn to make more money. Popcorn at the movies
 
became more and more popular. Many people like to put salt and melted
 
butter on their popcorn. Some people eat it without salt or butter. Either
 
way — Americans love their popcorn!
 
The Oscar.
 
The Oscars are awarded every year by the American Academy of Motion
 
Picture Arts and Science. These statuettes are awarded to actors, film
 
directors, screenwriters and so on for outstanding contributions to the
 
film industry. The Oscars were first awarded in 1927. The first winners
 
were chosen by five judges. Nowadays all of the members of the Academy
 
vote. The ceremony is attended by most Hollywood stars, although some
 
famous stars, such as Woody Allen, refuse to go, even if they win an award.
 
The oldest winner of an Oscar was 80-year- old Jessica Tandy for her
 
performance in the film “Driving Miss Daisy” in 1990. The youngest was
 
Shirley Temple when she was only five years old. The statuette is of
 
soldier standing on a reel of film. Nobody is really sure why it is called
 
an Oscar, although some people say that it is because when the first
 
statuette was made, a secretary said, “It reminds me of Uncle Oscar!”
 
Hollywood.
 
When people think about of Hollywood, they probably think of film stars
 
like Marilyn Monroe, Gary Grant and James Dean. Hollywood is the center of
 
the international movie industry and American movies are distributed all
 
over the world. They are made in English but often dubbed into other
 
languages. In some countries 90 percent of the movies that people see are
 
US production. Sometimes, a film is not very popular with Americans, but
 
people in other countries like it. The first films were made in Hollywood
 
in 1911. Between 1930-1945, the five largest Hollywood’s studios produced
most of the movies and owned most of the movie theatres in the United
 
States. Making films is expensive. On the average, it costs 36 million
 
dollars to produce a movie. Some of this goes to pay the salary of well-
 
known movie stars and large sums can be spent on special effects like
 
computer-generated imagery (CGI). Marketing the movie to the public may
 
cost another 17 million dollars or more. To cover these costs film
 
companies receive money for movie theatre tickets and the sale or rental of
 
videos. They also sell CDs of the soundtrack and toys, books, or clothes
 
associated with the movie. Indeed, there was a time when Hollywood was the
 
most famous place in the USA, if not the world.
 
The Hollywood story begins at the end of the last century.
 
1887. A man called Harvey Wilcox bought a large ranch in a district
 
north-west of Los Angeles in California. His wife called the land
 
‘Hollywood’.
 
1902-04. The first cinemas (‘nickelodeons’) opened in the USA.
 
1911. Two brothers from New Jersey built Hollywood’s first film studio.
 
1912. Film-makers from the east coast of the USA came to California,
 
first in small number and then in thousands.
 
1912. The Hollywood industry was born.
 
There were several reasons why film makers went to Hollywood. Firstly,
 
there was a lot of space, secondly, California’s warm sunny weather was
 
ideal for making films outside. Thirdly, there was a variety of locations
 
for filming: ocean, mountains, deserts, villages, woodland and rivers.
 
By 1939 the great dream factory studios made nearly 500 movies a year,
 
drew American audience of 50 million a week and earned over 700 million
 
dollars at the box office-all with the help of 30,000 employees who dealt
 
with everything from processing film to fan mail.
 
In the 1950s and 60s Hollywood became more international. Famous stars
 
like Maurice Chevalier from France, Marlene Dietrich from Germany and Sofia
 
Loren from Italy came to Hollywood. Even today many international stars
 
like Gerard Depardier and Arnold Schwarzeneger make films in Hollywood.
 
A big film studio, like MGM or Warner Brothers, brought to life a lot
 
of film stars. They could make or break a star.
 
The Hollywood film studio produced different types. There were the
 
silent Charlie Chaplin comedies of the 20s, gangster films, Frankenstein
 
horror films and Greta Garbo romantic melodramas of the 30s, the musicals
 
of the 40s and 50s, the westerns (cowboy films) of the 50s, the historical
 
epics of the 60s, the science fiction films of the 70s and the Steven
 
Spielberg action films and violent horror films of the 80s. Who knows what
 
the next century will be famous for?
 
Beverly Hills.
 
Most visitors to Los Angeles, California want to go and see Beverly
 
Hills. This is where you find the homes of the movie stars. But Beverly
 
Hills isn’t Los Angeles. It’s a small city next to Los Angeles. All kinds
 
of celebrities live in Beverly Hills. These celebrities may be movie stars,
 
television stars, sport stars, or other people in the news. Tourists can
 
buy special maps for the homes of the stars. These homes are very
 
beautiful. They usually have swimming pools and tennis courts. But
 
sometimes you cannot see very much. The homes have high walls or trees
 
around them. Beverly Hills is also famous for Rodeo Drive. This is one of
 
the most expensive shopping streets in the United States. Rodeo Drive
 
started to be an elegant street in the 1960s. Many famous stores are opened
 
on the street. People liked all the new styles and fashions they could buy.
 
Today you can find the most expensive and unusual clothing, jewelry and
 
furniture in the world on Rodeo Drive. Rodeo Drive is a very special
 
street. When you want to park your car in public parking, an attendant will
 
come and park your car for you. Beverly Hills is really a small city. Only
 
About 35,000 people live there. But during the day more than 200,000 people
 
come to Beverly Hills to work or to shop!
 
The major film genres.
 
The major film genres developed in the United States are the following:
 
Comedy. Charles Spencer Chaplin became the most widely recognized
 
comedy figure in the world. He emphasized the development of character and
 
plot structure, in contrast to the simple reliance on gags and gimmicks
 
that characterized the work of other comedy producers of the day.
 
Westerns. The Western (a film about life in the American West in the
 
past) was the first American genre to be developed and has remained a
 
staple of the American motion-picture art and industry. It has been
 
estimated that one quarter of US films have been Westerns. However, today
 
most American Westerns are made in Italy and are called '"spaghetti
 
Westerns".
 
Musicals. The musicals of the late 1920s and the early 1930s consisted
 
of a series of "numbers" by established stars of Broad-way, vaudeville and
 
radio. Later manifestations of the form were the biographical musicals,
 
often highly fictionalized, about great composers, musicians, singers,
 
providing an opportunity to string together some of their most popular
 
hits. The transferring of musicals intact from the Broad-way stage became
 
almost automatic beginning in the 1950s.
 
Gangster films. While the Western deals with a mythical American past
 
and the musical with a fantasy land, the gangster film is closely tied to a
 
real facet of American life. In earlier films, the gangster had risen to
 
the top to enjoy wealth, power, beautiful women, expensive homes and large
 
cars, but before the end of the film he was bound to be caught by law-
 
enforcement officers, overthrown by fellow gang members or killed. Such
 
punishment was considered obligatory. By 1971, however, "The Godfather"
 
showed how far the genre has evolved: Marion Brando, in the title role,
 
dies of old age. The gangster was another businessman.
 
War films. They have evolved into a major American genre, since wars
 
have occupied so much of contemporary American history. The Second World
 
War has been the subject of the greatest number of American films in this
 
genre.
 
Horror films (thrillers). In the 1920s the creation of a monster who
 
gets out of control or is coming to life from non-human beings who survive
 
by killing the living provided the basic story lines of countless horror
 
films. These films also have dealt with supernatural forces that manifest
 
themselves as an unseen power rather than in individual form. A third major
 
kind of horror films deals with people who are insane or in the grip of
 
psychological powers beyond their control.
 
Horror films as a genre is associated with the name of Alfred
 
Hitchcock. Like Walt Disney with animated cartoons, Alfred Hitchcock was
 
thought not just to have invented a film genre but to have patented it
 
(hence "Hitch", another name for a horror film).
 
Detective and spy films. These include first of all the James Bond
 
series. Hitchcock's films of this genre feature ordinary people who
 
accidentally become involved with spies or other evil doers.
 
Science fiction. After the Second World War science-fiction films
 
increasingly suggested that the dangers of the future stemmed from what
 
human beings were doing in the present.
 
Film Companies
 
Columbia Pictures (also Columbia)-American film company, which produces
 
films for cinema and television.
 
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) — a film company based in Hollywood, which
 
has made many famous films and animated cartoons.
 
Paramount- a film company in Hollywood.
 
20th Century-Fox — an American film company.
 
United Artists — a film company (studio) in Hollywood.
 
Universal — n film company (studio) in Hollywood.
 
Warner Bros (Brothers) — an American film company.
 
Film Directors and Producers
 
Alien, Woody (1935—) — a comic actor and maker of humorous films. Since
 
the late 1960s, he has been directing films and acting in them, usually
 
playing a neurotic, bookish New Yorker. Some of his best-known films have
 
been "Annie Hall", "Manhattan" and "Hannah and Her Sisters".
 
Capra, Frank (1897-1991) — a film director, best known for the films
 
"Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "It's a Wonderful Night".
 
Chaplin, Charlie (Charles Spencer) (1889-1977) — an English actor and
 
director who worked mainly in the United States in silent black-and-white
 
comedy films. He created the beloved character, the Little Tramp, who wore
 
a shabby black suit, derby hat and floppy shoes, and walked with the backs
 
of his feet together and the toes pointing outwards. He always walked with
 
a cane.
 
By 1918 Chaplin had forsaken short comedies for longer, independently
 
made films, including "Shoulder Arms" (1918) and "The Kid" (1921). His
 
major films, produced for United Artists (a film company which he helped to
 
found in 1923), included "The Gold Rush" (1925), "The Circus" (1928), "City
 
Lights" (1931) and "Modern Times" (1936), the latter two made as silent
 
films with synchronized sound effects. Chaplin spoke on the screen for the
 
first time in "The Great Dictator" (1940), which ridiculed Hitler and
 
Mussolini. In "Monsieur Verdoux" (1947), which draws an acid analogy
 
between warfare and business morality, the tramp disappeared entirely; the
 
film provided further ammunition for a growing anti-Chaplin group who
 
attacked his unconventional personal life and political views.
 
After 1952 Chaplin resided in Switzerland. He starred in his production
 
"A King in New York" (1957), a sharp satire on contemporary America, and
 
wrote and directed "A Countess from Hongkong" (1967). Chaplin made a
 
triumphant return to the United States in 1972. He was given an Academy
 
Award (an Oscar) for his part in "making motion pictures the art form of
 
the century".
 
Coppola, Francis Ford (1939)- a film director, best known for the films
 
"'The Godfather" and "Apocalypse Now".
 
Ford, John (1895-1973) — a film director, especially known for his
 
Westerns including "Stagecoach", "How the West Was Won", etc.
 
Goldwin, Samuel (1882-1947) — a film producer, head of one of the
 
companies, which later became MGM. Goldwyn is famous for saying odd things
 
like "include me out".
 
Griffith, D. W. (1875-1948) — a film maker, known especially for his
 
use of new photographic methods and for his epic silent films, such as "The
 
Birth of the Nation" (1915) that required huge casts and enormous sets.
 
Griffith directed the first film, "The Adventures of Dollie", in 1908
 
and went on to make hundreds of pictures. With "The Birth of the Nation",
 
he created a landmark in film industry. Also influential on the future of
 
the film was "Intolerance" (1916). Griffith continued to make successful
 
films throughout the 1920s. However, the Victorian sentiment that pervades
 
his films was increasingly alien to the theme. He failed to make the
 
transition to sound pictures.
 
Russel, Ken (1926-) — a film director, best known for documentary films
 
and for the film "Women in Love".
 
Scorsese, Martin (1942—) — a film director whose works include "Taxi
 
Driver", "The Last Temptation of Christ", etc.
 
Spielberg, Steven (1946—) — a film director who has made many very
 
popular films, including "Jaws", "LT", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", "Star
 
Wars", "Empire of the Sun", etc. His films
 
are well known for being very fast moving and full of exciting action.
 
Zinneman, Frederick (1907- ) – an American film director, born in
 
Austria, famous for the films such as "High Noon" and "The Day of Jackal".
 
Wilder Billy (1906-) – a film director whose films include "Sunset
 
Boulevard" and "Some Like It Hot".
 
Films.
 
"The Birth of the Nation" — a dramatic silent film from 1915 about the
 
American Civil War. "The Birth of the Nation" was directed by D. W.
 
Griffith. The film, based on Thomas Dixon's novel "The Clansman", has been
 
condemned for historical distortion and racial bias, but it became a
 
landmark in the artistic development of motion pictures through its
 
successful introduction of many now-standard film techniques.
 
"Planet of the Apes " — a film set in about imaginary future where
 
monkeys rule the world.
 
''Psycho'' — a horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. It is
 
especially known for a scene in which the character Mario (Janet Leigh) is
 
stabbed in a shower by Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins).
 
"Rocky" — the first of a group of films (later ones were called "Rocky
 
II", "Rock III", etc.), starring Sylvester Stallone as a determined boxer
 
called Rocky. In each of the films the main character overcomes
 
difficulties and win a fight against a strong opponent. The films are
 
especially popular with young people.
 
"Star Wars " — a popular science-fiction film about the battle between
 
the hero, Luke Skywalker, and Darth Vader, an evil person who wears a black
 
mask over his face and comes from an evil empire. The film was directed by
 
Steven Spielberg and is remembered for its many new exciting special
 
effects.
 
"The Terminator" — a film with Arnold Schwarzenegger, set in Los
 
Angeles in the near future in which a lot of people are killed. The film
 
was followed by "Terminator II".
 
Actors and Actresses.
 
Astaire, Fred (1899—1987) — a dancer, singer and actor who made many
 
films, often with his dancing partner, Ginger Rogers, and who was known for
 
his stylishness.
 
Bassinger, Kim (1954—) — a film actress, known especially for playing
 
attractive, sexy women.
 
Brando, Marlon (1924—) — an actor whose films include "A Streetcar
 
Named Desire", "On the Waterfront", "The Godfather", etc.
 
Cooper, Gary (1901—1962) — an actor who often played strong, silent
 
heroes, for example in the film "High Noon".
 
Costner, Kevin (1955—) — an actor and director whose films include
 
"Dances with Wolves", "Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves", "JFK", etc.
 
Cruise, Tom (1962—) — an actor who has played leading film parts since
 
the early 1980s, e.g. in "Top Gun" and "Cocktail". He is especially popular
 
with women.
 
De Niro, Robert (1945—) — an actor, known especially for his part in
 
the films "Taxi Driver" and "The Deer Hunter".
 
Dietrich, Marlene (1904—1992) — an American actress and nightclub
 
performer, born in Germany, who usually played the part of an extremely
 
sexually attractive woman. She is best remembered for her part in the film
 
"Blue Angel".
 
Douglas, Kirk (1916—) — a film actor, known for playing the hero in
 
films such as "Spartacus".
 
Douglas, Michael (1944—) — a film actor, son of Kirk Douglas, known for
 
his part in the films "Fatal Attraction" and ''Romancing the Stone".
 
Eastwood, Clint (1930—) — a film actor and director, best known for
 
playing parts as a gunfighter in Westerns and a modern city police officer.
 
His characters almost always have their right on their side, and no fear.
 
Fonda, Henry (1905-1982) — an actor who made many films including "The
 
Grapes of Wrath", "Twelve Angry Men", "On Golden Pond", etc.
 
Fonda, Jane (1937—) — an actress, daughter of Henry Fonda, known for
 
her left-wing views, especially her support for Vietnam and her opposition
 
to the American government during the Vietnam War. Her best-known films are
 
"The China Syndrome" and, with her father, "On Golden Pond". She is also
 
known for her interest in active physical exercise.
 
Fonda, Peter (1939—) — an actor and director, best known for his film
 
"Easy Rider"; son of Henry Fonda.
 
Fox, Michael (1961-) — an American actor, born in Canada, who has
 
appeared in such films as "Back to the Future" (parts 1, 2, 3). He is very
 
popular, especially with young girls.
 
Gable, Clark (1901-1960) — a film actor, best known for his role as
 
Rhett Butler in "Gone with the Wind". He also appeared in many other
 
Hollywood films, including "Mutiny on the Bounty", "The Misfits", etc.
 
Garbo, Greta (1905—1990) — an American film actress, born in Sweden.
 
She was celebrated for her classic beauty and her portrayals of moody
 
characters.
 
Having first attracted notice in the Swedish silent film “The Story of
 
Gosta Berling” (1924), Garbo went to the United States in 1925 and became
 
perhaps the most celebrated motion-picture actress of the time, a
 
provocative, enigmatic embodiment of feminine beauty and mystery. “Flesh
 
and the Devil” was her best-known silent film; among her notable talking
 
pictures were “Anna Christie” and the comedy “Ninotchka”.
 
Greta Garbo became famous for her with drawn, aloof off-screen
 
personality. In the movie “Grand Hotel”, she made the famous complaint, “I
 
want to be alone.” Garbo retired from the movies in the early 1940s and
 
lived as a recluse ever since.
 
Garland, Judy (1922-1969) — a film actress and singer who was most
 
famous as the character of Dorothy in the film "The Wizard of Oz".
 
Gere, Richard (1949—) — an actor, known especially for his part in the
 
films "American Gigolo", "An Officer and a Gentleman" and "Pretty Woman".
 
Goldberg, Whoopi (1949-) — a film actress who appeared in "The Color
 
Purple" and "Ghost".
 
Grant, Cary (1904-1986) — an American actor, born in Britain, who is
remembered especially for his comic films including ''The Philadelphia
 
Story'' and ''Bringing Up Baby''.
 
Hoffman, Dustin (1937-) — a film actor, best known for his roles in the
 
films "The Graduate", "Kramer vs. Kramer", "Midnight Cowboy", "The Rain
 
Man", etc.
 
Kelly, Gene (1912-1996) — a film actor, dancer and director who
 
appeared in many musicals of the 1940s and 1950s, including "Singing in the
 
Rain", in which he sang and danced to a song with the same name.
 
Kelly, Grace (1928-1982) — a film actress, star of "High Noon" and
 
"High Society" in the 1950s, who became Princess Grace of Monaco when she
 
married Prince Rainier.
 
Marvin, Lee (1924—1987) — a film actor, known especially for playing
 
strong, violent characters in films such as "The Dirty Dozen" and "Point
 
Blank". He is also remembered for singing the song "I was born under a
 
wandering star" in a very deep voice.
 
Mathau, Walter (1922—) — an actor in films and theater, known
 
especially for his humorous roles, e.g. in "The Odd Couple".
 
Monroe, Marilyn (1926—1962) — a film actress whose real name was Norma
 
Jean Baker, who starred in films during the middle of the 20th century and
 
became the leading sex symbol of the 1950s.
 
Monroe first attracted notice in “The Asphalt Jungle”, thereafter she
 
became a reigning screen siren. Her major films include “Gentlemen Prefer
 
Blondes”, “The Seven Year Itch”, “Bus Stop” and “Some Like It Hot”.
 
While still in her thirties, she died of an overdose of sleeping pills.
 
To many people, Marilyn Monroe is a tragic symbol of the unhappiness
 
that can accompany fame and glamor.
 
Murphy, Eddie (1961—) — an actor and comedian who first became known
 
for his work on the television program “Saturday Night Live” but now is
 
known mostly for his films, such as “Trading Places” and “Beverly Hills
 
Cop”.
 
Newman, Paul (1925—) — an actor and director, lending male star of
 
Hollywood films in the 1900s and 1970s and considered very attractive. His
 
films include “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid”, “The Sting”, “The Color
 
of Money”, etc.
 
Nicholson, Jack (1937—) — an actor who started appearing in films in
 
the l960s, such as “Easy Rider’’ which represented the feelings of young
 
Americans, and has now become a big Hollywood star.
 
Pacino, Al (1940—) — an actor, known for the films such as “The
 
Godfather” and “Scarface”.
 
Poitier, Sidney (1927—) — a black Amer ican film star and director, who
 
was one of the first black actors to play serious parts rather than black
 
stereotypes.
 
Pryor, Richard (1940-) — a comedian who has appeared in films and made
 
several records. He is black and often makes jokes about situations
 
involving black and white people together.
 
Redford, Robert (1937—) — a film actor and director who was in films
 
such as ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'',“The Sting” and “Out of
 
Africa”. He is popular for his good looks as well as his acting.
 
Schwarzenegger, Arnold (1947—) — an American actor, born in Austria,
 
whose bodybuilding appearance won him the titles of Mr. Gcrriiaiiy and Mr.
 
Universe. He is best known for his part in the film “The Terminator” in
 
which he plays the hero.
 
Scott, George C. (1926—) — an actor, best known for his film parts,
 
especially strong-willed characters, such as soldiers. He was the first
 
actor to refuse an Oscar.
 
Streisand, Barbra (1942—) — a singer and actress who has performed on
 
stage and in many successful film musicals, including “Hello, Dolly”, “The
 
Way We Were”, “A Star is Born”, etc.
 
Taylor, Elizabeth (1932—) — an American film actress, born in Britain.
 
She began making films at the age of ten, but is perhaps at least as well
 
known for marriages, of which there have been eight (two of them to Richard
 
Burton).
 
Temple, Shirley (1928—) — a film actress who was the child star of over
 
20 films in the 1930s, and in later life, as Shirley Temple Black, became a
 
US ambassador. She was very popular when her films first appeared because
 
of her style of singing, dancing and acting and her curly golden hair.
 
Valentino, Rudolph (1895—I926) — an American film actor, born in Italy.
 
He was famous for playing the part of a lover in silent films, especially
 
in “The Sheikh”. He is sometimes mentioned as a typical example of a good-
 
looking romantic man. Valentino was a ballroom dancer and movie extra
 
before reaching stardom in “Four Horsemen in the Apocalypse” (1921).
 
Soon he became the American women’s idea of masculinity, and his
 
private life and loves were avidly reported in newspapers and magazines.
 
His physique, his good looks and his physical grace were well exhibited in
 
“The Sheikh” and “Monsieur Beaucaire”. Valentino’s most successful film is
 
“Blood and Sand”, for here he seems able to bring some of his own
 
personality to the portrayal of the matador, an opportunity his other, more
 
stereotyped roles had thwarted. His untimely death created a national furor
 
and reportedly drove some of his fans to suicide.
 
Wayne, John (1907-1979) — a film actor who often played "tough guys",
 
particularly soldiers and cowboys.
 
Early in his career Wayne appeared as Hollywood's first singing cowboy.
 
In 1939, in "Stagecoach", he achieved star status. In his 50-year career he
 
appeared in more than 200 motion pictures. Some of his outstanding films
 
are "Red River", "The Quiet Man", "The High and Mighty", "The Searchers",
 
"True Grit", for which he won an Academy Award (1969), and "Shootist".
 
The characters John Wayne played, especially in Westerns ("Stagecoach",
 
"True Grit"), were often honest, strong, independent and patriotic. Because
 
he played these characters, John Wayne was thought to have those qualities
 
himself and was an example of a good American. His old-fashioned patriotism
 
made him something of a folk hero. In 1979 he was voted a Congressional
 
gold medal; the inscription read, "John Wayne — American".
 
Williams, Robin (1952—) — an actor and comedian whose films include
 
“Good Morning, Vietnam”, “Dead Poets Society”, etc.
 
Marilyn Monroe.
 
I think that the greatest actress not only of the USA, but of the whole
 
world is Marilyn Monroe. So I ‘d like to tell some facts about her life.
 
Six queens come and go, easily crowned, easily forgotten. Yet Marilyn
 
Monroe’s memory has remained very much alive. Admirers still cut her
 
picture out of public library books, artists still paint her; even the
 
young have become familiar with her name and her face by watching her films
 
on television.
 
Death has changed the sexy blonde into a myth, a symbol of soft
 
femininity and loveliness. Nowadays she is sometimes mistaken for a saintly
 
martyr, which she certainly was not. But then, what was she? Those who knew
 
her disagree so violently that it is difficult to see the real woman
 
through the conflicting judgments of her friends. A simple little girl to
 
her first husband, producer Mike Todd, she was also been described as the
 
most unappreciated person in the world, the meanest woman in Hollywood, a
 
tart, an enchanting child, an idiot, a wit, a great natural intelligence, a
 
victim, and a clod ‘user’ of people From the very contradiction, one can
 
guess that she was not simple. And obviously she had something special- not
 
talent, perhaps, but a certain spark. It is well known that most of her
 
problems had their roots in an unhappy childhood.
 
Marilyn had come into the world in a Los Angel’s hospital as Norma Jean
 
Mortensen. Her mother, Gladys Monroe Mortensen, loved her child; but since
 
she had to work, she left her in the hands of Ida and Albert Bolender, a
 
respectable couple who boarded children on their farm. Norma Jean spent her
 
first seven years with them. Her physical needs were well looked after, and
 
Gladys visited faithfully every weekend. But when she had gone, there was
 
not much warmth around the little girl. For Norma Jean, who was extremely
 
sensitive, it was a lonely, distressing childhood. In 1933 Gladys bought a
 
house and took her daughter home with her. But she was not there much and
 
when she was out, Norma Jean had to stay with the elderly couple who rented
 
part of the house. They were not bad people, only indifferent and more
 
interested in drinking than in baby-sitting. When Norma Jean didn’t have to
 
go to school, the couple dropped her at a nearly movie house in time for
 
the first afternoon show. The little girl watched happily all day, and
 
after the last matinee she walked home by herself. In her room, later, she
 
would act out the whole story. In this way she developed a passion for
 
acting that she never outgrew. After nine months of live together, Gladys
 
had a mental collaps and was hospitalized. She appeared from time to time
 
in her daughter’s life, but more as a burden than as a support. Many people
 
took Norma Jean under their wings throughout the years. She looked so
 
insecure, so defenseless, that men and women alike felt compelled to
 
protect her.
 
However vague Norma Jean may have been about life in general, she
 
never felt vague about the career she wanted to have. She wanted to be an
 
actress. But the first three years of Marilyn’s career didn’t bring her
 
more than a few very small parts. She kept herself alive by modeling. In
 
1950 Marilyn attracted attention in a small part in ‘The Asphalt Jungle’,
 
which had been obtained for her by a powerful protector. Another protector,
 
and the most influential by far, was the agent Johnny Hyde. Hyde was a
 
powerful man in Hollywood when he met Marilyn. He was too wise to claim
 
that she had talent; instead he insisted that such personality didn’t need
 
to be talented. He succeeded in getting her a part in ‘All About Eve’, a
 
film that was to prove lucky for all its actors. The font mail started
 
piling up. The Hollywood columnists included the new blonde in their gossip
 
columns. Soon ‘Life and Look’ magazines were honoring her with long
 
articles, and one critic ventured to declare her ‘a forceful actress’. The
 
studio, after having her co-star in several pictures, finally gave her a
 
starring role in ‘Niagara’ in 1953. She had become the Fox’s biggest
 
moneymaker.
 
Whenever she appeared she was cornered by excited admirers and
 
photographers. But there was no private happiness behind the facade, and
 
even her fame was not of the kind she would have liked. She resented her
 
shallow roles; she resented the fact she had no voice in the choice of her
 
scripts and that her old contract was keeping salary ridiculously low for a
 
star. Hurt, she retaliated as best as she could. She arrived late on the
 
set, unprepared and obviously indifferent to the hardships. She was
 
imposing on the other actors and the technicians. Scenes had to be redone
 
forty or fifty times because she could not remember a four-word sentence.
 
If something displeased her, she locked herself in her dressing room, or
 
failed to show up at all for days. Her behavior disgusted the people who
 
worked with her, but her fans loved the radiant child-woman on the screen.
 
In 1961 after divorcing her next husband the famous American playwright
 
Arthur Miller, Marilyn drifted back to the West Coast to open a new page in
 
her life. On August 5, 1962 she was found dead in her house. She had made
 
many attempts at suicide before. But it does not seem that she intended to
 
hill herself that Saturday. When she retired for the night, she had plans
 
for the next day. But early in the morning her housekeeper found her dead.
 
The world was shocked. In the words of one of her biographers: ‘She
 
broke her heart trying to achieve something she didn’t have in her to
 
accomplish.’
 
Walt Disney
 
Walt Disney was an American artist and film producer, who was famous
 
for his animated cartoons. He was born on December 5, 1901 in Chicago, his
 
father being Irish Canadian, his mother of German-American origin. In his
 
early child hood he revealed a talent for drawing and an interest in
 
photography. His teens he began an art course, but World War I broke out
 
and he drove for the Red Cross in Europe. When he got back to America he
 
met artist Ub Iwerks, ‘and they went into business together.
 
In 1923 he left with his brother for Hollywood Walt Disney and Ub
 
Iwerks made a series of short cartoons but lost all their money, and for
 
some years struggled against poverty. Luckily, Walt’s brother Roy gave him
 
more to start up again. The first talking picture came out in 1927 and
 
Disney realized that sound held the key to the future of films. He
 
developed many techniques in producing cartoons.
 
His most famous characters are Mickey Mouse, Duck and Pluto. The first
 
Mickey Mouse cartoon was drawn 1928. It was the first sound cartoon, which
 
brought great success to its creator. In the early cartoons he was really
 
horrible. He looked quite rat-like with long pointed nose and small eyes.
 
Later his face changed. His head got as big as his body or almost, his
 
eyes got bigger, too. He got younger instead of older. That makes him
 
cuter. Now it is an acceptable symbol for the USA. Donald Duck was created
 
in 1936. Walt Disney took the biggest risk of his career and spent a
 
fortune on a full-length cartoon. Finally, the first full-length cartoon
 
feature film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was brought out in 1935,
 
which the public paid millions of dollars to see The songs to the cartoon
 
were written by Frank Churchill. After the Second World War Disney
 
turned his attention to real — life nature studies and non-cartoon films
 
with living actors.
 
In the 1950’s and 1960’s, Walt Disney began developing the family-
 
entertainment parks, Disneyland and Disney World. The first Disneyland was
 
opened in southern California in 1955. It is situated 27 miles south of Los
 
Angeles, at Anaheim. Of all the show-places none is as famous as
 
Disneyland. This superb kingdom of fantasy linked to technology was created
 
by Walt Disney. The park is divided into six themes and there is so much to
 
see and do in each that no one would attempt to see all of them in one
 
visit. For extended visits, there are hotels nearby. In 1971 Disney World
 
was opened in Florida.
 
Walt Disney died in California at the age of 65. But his films are
 
still shown regularly at the cinema, because of their time1esS quality and
 
will be shown for years to come.Walter (Walt) Elias Disney has won more
 
“Oscars” — the awards of the United States Academy of Motion Picture Arts
 
and Sciences, instituted on May 16, 1929 and named after Oscar Pierce of
 
Texas, USA — than any other person:20 statuettes and 12 other plagues and
 
certificates, including posthumous awards.
 
Titanic.
 
The shooting of ‘Titanic’ in 1997 brought people flocking to the
 
cinemas. It has become a blockbuster and brought big profits to the
 
producers. The reasons are:on the one hand, the thrilling plot of the film,
 
depicting the first of the greatest disasters of the 20th century, and, on
 
the other hand, new technologies of film making, used by James Cameron, the
 
producer. Everybody wanted to see if the film was really worth eleven
 
‘Oscar’ awards.
 
‘Titanic’ is the latest screen version of the tragedy happened on
 
April 14-15, 1912 during the maiden voyage of the British luxury passenger
 
liner. The vessel sank with a loss of about 1,500 lives:men, women,
 
children. Their voyage on board the dream ship ended in a nightmare. It
 
revealted all human vices: arrogance, self-satisfaction, greed, selfishness
 
and self-confidence. But at the same time this tragedy showed the best
 
traits of humancharacter: the sense of duty and responsibility, self-
 
sacrifice and short but immortial love. The love-story about Jack and Rose,
 
a young poor artist and a 17-year old girl from the upper society, arouses
 
uor sympathy and admiration. Paired with the main story-line, it adds much
 
to the impression of the film. ‘Titanic’ made the leading actors Leonardo
 
Di Caprio and Kate Winslent international celebrities. The music of James
 
Horner created a special atmosphere in the film and has become popular with
 
the public.
 
The film is interesting not only from the artistic point of view, but
 
from the technical ones as well. Both the ship and the ocean are virtual,
 
created by computers. Besides, we can see unique pictures of ‘The Titanic’
 
buried in the depth of the ocean. Its wreck was found lying in two pieces
 
on the ocean floor at the depth of about 4,000 ..metres. The pictures were
 
taken with the help of the Russian ocean-explores and shown to the whole
 
world.
 
By the way, the film was directed by James Cameron, famous for creating
 
very expensive films with new special effects, which were the biggest box-
 
office success. ‘Titanic’ is not an exception. Critics say the film has
 
opened a new era in film production. I think they are right.
 
Literature.
 
1. In The USA. Martha Bordman
 
2. Introducing The USA. Milode Broukol, Peter Murphy.
 
3. Children’s Britannica. Volume 7.
 
4. Английский яык. Н.Г. Брюсов, Н. А. Лебедеваю
 
5. США и Американцы. Г. В. Нестерчук, В. М. Иванова.
 
6. Иностранные языки интернет.
 
7. Иностранные языки интернет.
 
8. Английский язык. Устные темы. А. С. Сушкевич, М. А. Маглыш.
 
Vocabularly.
 
Mothion picture industry — киноиндустрия
 
Release — выход на экран
 
Nervous breakdown — нервное расстройство
 
Mercilessly — безжалостно
 
To keep one’s grip — продолжать овладевать умами
 
To hit the nail on the head — попасть прямо в точку
 
Skit — пародия
 
Antics — ужимки, шутки
 
Unheard-of — неслыханный
 
Reentry — возвращение
 
Flock — стекаться толпами
 
Plot — сюжет
 
Depict — изображать
 
Screen version — экранизация
 
Shooting — (кино) съемка
 
Nightmare — кошмар
 
Reveal — показывать, обнаруживать
 
Vice — порок, зло, недостаток
 
Arrogance — высокомерие, надменость
 
Trait of character — черта характера
 
Immortial — бессмертный, вечный
 
Wreck — остов разбитого судна
 
Direct — ставить (фильм)
 
Essential — необходимый
 
Indispensable — незаменимый
 
Trade skills — профессиональные
 
Aim — стремиться
 
Be at one’s disposal — быть в чьем-то распоряжении
 
Facilities — возможности, удобства
 
Inspiration — вдохновение
 
Enrich — обогощать
 
Genre — жанр
 
Aspiration — стремление, желание
 
Pricless — бесценный
 
Spitting image — точная копия
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