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William Kennedy Laurie Dickson, commissioned by Thomas Alva Edison, builds the first motion-picture camera and names it the Kinetograph.
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In France, Auguste and Louis Lumière hold the first private screening. The brothers invent the Cinématograph, a combination camera and projector. The image of an oncoming train is said to have caused a stampede.
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The first movie theater opens in Pittsburgh.
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Thomas Edison introduces his kinetophone, which makes talkies a reality.
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Photoplay debuts as the first magazine for movie fans.
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Walt Disney creates his first cartoon, "Alice's Wonderland."
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Released in 1927, The Jazz Singer is the first feature-length talkie. The film starred Vaudeville sensation Al Jolson.
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With the release of Becky Sharp, audiences could now see films in technicolor. Two-color film technology had been available, but rarely used since 1922.
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Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, hits theaters and becomes an instant classic.
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To counteract the threat of television, Hollywood thinks big and develops wide-screen processes such as CinemaScope, first seen in The Robe.
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Marilyn Monroe dies of a drug overdose at age 36.
Government regulations force studios out of the talent agency business -
The motion picture rating system debuts with G, PG, R and X.
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Midnight Cowboy wins the Best Picture Oscar, the first and only time an X-rated movie received the honor.
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The first VHS recorder was released to the public in Japan by
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Steven Spielberg wins his first directing Oscar for Schindler's List.
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Tom Hanks wins his second consecutive Best Actor Oscar for Forrest Gump.
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Titanic crashes into theaters. It is the most expensive film of all time, costing between $250 and $300 million to produce and market.
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The Walt Disney Co. pays $7.4 billion for Pixar Animation Studios.
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Director Peter Jackson films 'The Hobbit' at 48 frames per second
