Portal:Film

The Film Portal

Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or special effects.

Film is an important art form; films entertain, educate, enlighten, and inspire audiences. The visual elements of cinema need no translation, giving the motion picture a universal power of communication. Films are also artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and in turn, affect them.

Traditional films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see the flickering between frames due to a combination of physiological and psychological effects. One is known as persistence of vision—whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of a second after the source has been removed. Viewers also perceive motion due to psychological effects called beta movement and the phi phenomenon.

The origin of the name "film" comes from the fact that photographic film (also called film stock) has historically been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an individual motion picture, including picture, picture show, photo-play, flick, and most commonly, movie. Additional terms for the field in general include the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema, and the movies.

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Star Trek V: The Final Frontier is a 1989 American science fiction film released by Paramount Pictures. It is the fifth feature in the franchise and the penultimate to star the cast of the original Star Trek science fiction television series. Taking place shortly after the events of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the plot follows the crew of the USS Enterprise-A as they confront a renegade Vulcan, Sybok, who is searching for God at the centre of the galaxy. The film was directed by cast member William Shatner, who developed the initial storyline in which Sybok searches for God, but instead finds Satan. Many Star Trek veterans assisted in the production; art director Nilo Rodis developed the designs for many of the film's locales, shots and characters, while Herman Zimmerman served as production designer. Jerry Goldsmith, composer for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, returned to score The Final Frontier. The film had the highest opening gross of any film in the series at that point and was number one its first week at the box office, but its grosses quickly dropped in subsequent weeks. The Final Frontier received generally mixed or poor reviews by critics on release, and according to its producer nearly killed the franchise.

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Grauman's Chinese Theatre is a movie theatre located at 6925 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California. The Chinese Theatre was commissioned following the success of the nearby Grauman's Egyptian Theatre which opened in 1922.

Did you know...

• ...that the 1932 comedy Pojkarna på Storholmen, starring Fridolf Rhudin, is one of the most successful Swedish films in history?
  
• ...that the title of the movie I Married a Communist was so unappealing to audiences that their response led the film to be re-released under the title The Woman on Pier 13?
• ...that Mohamed Camara's 1997 film Dakan was the first West African film to explore homosexuality?

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Eric Bana (born Eric Banadinovich on August 9, 1968) is an Australian film and television actor. He began his career as a comedian in the sketch comedy series Full Frontal before gaining critical recognition in the biopic Chopper (2000). After a decade of critically acclaimed roles in Australian television shows and films, Bana gained Hollywood's attention by playing the role of American Delta Force Sergeant Norm 'Hoot' Gibson in Black Hawk Down (2001) and the lead role as Bruce Banner in the Ang Lee directed film Hulk (2003). An accomplished dramatic actor and comedian, he received Australia's highest film and television awards for his performances in Chopper and Full Frontal. Bana performs predominantly in leading roles in a variety of low-budget and major studio films, ranging from romantic comedies and drama to science fiction and action thrillers. His most popular films include Black Hawk Down (2001), Hulk (2003), Troy (2004), and Munich (2005).

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