List of years in film
This page indexes the individual year in film pages. Each year is annotated with a significant event as a reference point.
- 19th century in film
- 20th century in film:
- 21st century in film:
19th century in film
See also: 19th century in film
- 1894 - Thomas Edison records Fred Ott's Sneeze
- 1895
- 1896
- 1897
- 1898
- 1899 - Cinderella
1900s
- 1900
- 1901
- 1902
- 1903 - The Great Train Robbery, by Edwin S. Porter
- 1904 - The Great Train Robbery, remake by Siegmund Lubin
- 1905 -
- 1906 - Ben-Hur, directed by Sidney Olcott. Also, The world's first feature film, "The Story of the Kelly Gang" released in Australia.
- 1907 -
- 1908 - Thomas Edison formed the Motion Picture Patents Company
- 1909 -
1910s
- 1910 - First filmed "Frankenstein" by Edison studios.
- 1911 - Nestor Films opens the first motion picture studio in Hollywood.
- 1912 - From the Manger To the Cross, directed by Sidney Olcott
- 1913 - The first Charlie Chaplin movies are made.
- 1914 - Tillie's Punctured Romance produced by Mack Sennett, stars Marie Dressler, Charlie Chaplin, and Mabel Normand.
- 1915 - The Country Girl, starring Florence LaBadie. The first great epic of American film, The Birth of a Nation is produced by D. W. Griffith.
- 1916 - D. W. Griffith's second monumental production, Intolerence is released.
- 1917 - Technicolor is introduced
- 1918 - "My Four Years in Germany" is the first Warner Brothers production. First National releases the first Tarzan film, starring Elmo Lincoln.
- 1919 - United Artists is founded by Douglas Fairbanks, Mary Pickford, Charlie Chaplin and D. W. Griffith.
1920s
See also: 1920s in film- 1920 - Buster Keaton begins starring in shorts and his first feature, "The Saphead" at Metro. Erich Von Stroheim's "The Devil's Passkey" stars Mae Busch at Goldwyn.
- 1921 - Laurel and Hardy's first film together is "A Lucky Dog".
- 1922 - Nosferatu, first ever vampire film released. Also, "Our Gang" series begins at Hal Roach studios.
- 1923 - Harold Lloyd's greatest movie "Safety Last" produced by Hal Roach, released by Pathe.
- 1924 - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio established.
- 1925 - Lon Chaney's greatest film, "The Phantom Of The Opera" is released by Universal with colour sequences. Eric Von Stroheim's magnum opus, "Greed"
- 1926 - First Vitaphone feature, "Don Juan" starring John Barrymore, released by Warner Brothers. Posthumously released, "The Son Of the Shiek" is Rudolph Valentino's biggest grossing film.
- 1927 - Al Jolson movie The Jazz Singer popularizes sound motion pictures. First talkie newsreel,"Fox Movietone News".
- 1928 - First talkie cartoon,"Dinner Time" is produced by VanBuren Studios, the second talkie cartoon, "Steamboat Willie" by Walt Disney is released a month later.
- 1929 - The first Academy Awards, or Oscars, are distributed. Also, Laurel & Hardy make their talkie debut in "Unaccustomed As we are" co-starring Thelma Todd at Hal Roach Studios. Rko-Radio studio is established.
1930s
See also: 1930s in film- 1930 - The first Busby Berkely musical film, "Whoopee" starring Eddie Cantor, is released by Goldwyn in colour. Also, Max Fleischer's animated star "Betty Boop" debuts.
- 1931 - Laurel & Hardy's first feature, "Pardon Us" is released by MGM.
- 1932 - Shirley Temple's film career begins
- 1933 - The film Ecstacy, which shows simulated sex, shocks audiences. Also, First Popeye cartoon, "Popeye the Sailor" debuts.
- 1934 - Samuel Goldwyn purchases the film rights to The Wizard of Oz from Frank J. Baum. The first Columbia Three Stooges short is released. Shirley Temple becomes a star. The so-called 'pre-code' era ends when the Production Code is amended to require all films to obtain a certificate of approval. The code is effectively enforced for the first time with the removal of nude scenes from the movie Tarzan and his Mate.
- 1935 - Laurel & Hardy's last short subject, "Thicker Than water".
- 1936 - Thelma Todd's final short subject "An All-American Toothache" co-starring Patsy Kelly and Mickey Daniels.
- 1937 - Snow White, first feature-length animated movie
- 1938 - Casting begins on The Wizard of Oz
- 1939 - Gone With the Wind premiers in Atlanta
1940s
See also: 1940s in film- 1940 - Columbia releases Charley Chase's last film, "South of the Boudoir"
- 1941 - Citizen Kane, starring Orson Welles, premieres
- 1942 - Bambi"Casablanca" starring Humprey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman released.
- 1943 -
- 1944 - Last "Our Gang" shorts, produced by MGM.
- 1945 -
- 1946 - Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life premieres
- 1947 - Miracle on 34th Street
- 1948 - Joan of Arc, starring Ingrid Bergman,Edgar Kennedy's final short for RKO.
- 1949 - Sands of Iwo Jima, directed by Allan Dwan
1950s
See also: 1950s in film- 1950 - Disney's CinderellaAlso, Laurel & Hardy's final film, "Atoll K" is made in Europe.
- 1951 - An American in Paris
- 1952 - Cinerama-system is introduced
- 1953 - Disney's Peter Pan
- 1954 - On the Waterfront, A Star Is Born and Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window
- 1955 - East of Eden, starring James Dean
- 1956 - The Ten Commandments, starring Charlton Heston
- 1957 - Jailhouse Rock, starring Elvis Presley
- 1958 - Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo
- 1959 - Ben-Hur premieres
1960s
See also: 1960s in film- 1960 - Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho
- 1961 - West Side Story premieres
- 1962 - Lawrence of Arabia and To Kill a Mockingbird premiere
- 1963 - Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds
- 1964 - The Beatles star in A Hard Day's Night
- 1965 - The Sound of Music premieres
- 1966 - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf
- 1967 - The Graduate
- 1968 - Stanley Kubrick's
- 1969 - Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
1970s
See also: 1970s in film- 1970 - Patton and M*A*S*H are released
- 1971 - The French Connection premieres
- 1972 - The Godfather premieres
- 1973 - The Sting and The Exorcist are released
- 1974 - Jesus Christ Superstar
- 1975 - Steven Spielberg's Jaws is released
- 1976 - Rocky premieres
- 1977 - George Lucas' science fiction film Star Wars is released and The Bee Gees sing in Saturday Night Fever
- 1978 - Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
- 1979 - Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now
1980s
See also: 1980s in film- 1980 - The first Caddyshack is released
- 1981 - The George Lucas/Steven Spielberg collaboration, Raiders of the Lost Ark, premieres
- 1982 - E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial premieres
- 1983 - The Big Chill and The Right Stuff are released
- 1984 - Ghost Busters and Amadeus are released
- 1985 - Steven Spielberg's The Color Purple premieres
- 1986 - Fatal Attraction premieres
- 1987 - Rain Man starring Dustin Hoffman and Tom Cruise
- 1988 - Eddie Murphy's Coming to America is released
- 1989 - Batman, directed by Tim Burton
1990s
See also: 1990s in film- 1990 - The first Home Alone is released
- 1991 - The Silence of the Lambs is released
- 1992 - The second is released
- 1993 - Schindler's List and Jurassic Park are released
- 1994 - Tom Hanks stars in Forrest Gump; The Lion King becomes the highest grossing animated film of all-time, (record held until 2003).
- 1995 - Mel Gibson directs and stars in Braveheart
- 1996 - Fargo is released
- 1997 - Titanic, As Good As It Gets and Men in Black are released
- 1998 - Tom Hanks stars in Saving Private Ryan
- 1999 - The Sixth Sense (directed by M. Night Shyamalan), Star Wars, Episode I - The Phantom Menace and The Matrix are released
2000s
See also: 2000s in film- 2000 - Gladiator and O Brother, Where Art Thou are released
- 2001 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and are released
- 2002 - Signs, and Men in Black II are released
- 2003 - Finding Nemo and are released; Finding Nemo overtakes The Lion King as highest grossing animated film of all time.
- 2004 - films scheduled to be released in 2004
- 2005 - films scheduled to be released in 2005
- 2006 - films scheduled to be released in 2006
- 2007 - films scheduled to be released in 2007