feature INDEX
camera, action
Lights, O
n 22nd February, Hollywood will roll out its famous red carpet for the 87th Academy Awards, the annual American
ceremony honouring achievements in the fi lm industry. Now known formally as The Oscars, named after the iconic golden statuette, the awards were fi rst presented in 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, and while the award- winning ‘motion pictures’ of that year (Wings, Seventh Heaven, Sunrise) gather dust in the archives, it’s easy to forget just how much the fi lm industry has changed since then. Watching feature length movies on demand, whether on a TV (considered to be almost old- fashioned), computer, tablet – even mobile phone – has rapidly become the norm. Film-making, however, dates back to the 1890s when the fi rst motion-picture cameras were invented and fi lm production companies and cinemas were founded, producing silent ‘movies’ of less than a minute in length. As fi lms became longer, so too, cinema quickly moved from being considered a novelty to becoming an established large-scale entertainment industry, with the fi rst fi lm studios built in 1897. Special effects were soon introduced, fi lm continuity, involving action moving from one sequence into another, close-up shots and then animation arrived in 1899. Regular newsreels were exhibited from 1910 and soon became a popular way of hearing the news.
Cinema fi rst
Britain opened its fi rst cinema on 21st March 1896 at 2 Piccadilly Mansions in London, at the junction of Shaftesbury Avenue and Piccadilly Circus. It was called the Kineopticon and showed a series of short silent fi lms, but was destroyed by fi re shortly after opening. Closer to home,
20 Port of Dover Dover Castle
the Ritz cinema in the centre of Tunbridge Wells (now demolished after several years of decay) was built in 1934 – and was once considered “Kent’s most luxurious cinema”. The fi rst visitors watched the morale- boosting Depression musical Sing As We Go starring Gracie Fields and
Stanley Holloway, and a highlight of the programme was the musical interlude, provided by the Ritz’s 10 rank Compton organ (removed in 1970 and now resident in a purpose-built music hall in Pinchbeck, Lincolnshire). In 1954 the Ritz was bought by the Essoldo Circuit and was then split into two cinemas, one each in the former Stalls and Circle. Classic bought the building in 1972, adding the third screen in the former Florida Restaurant (where, as rumour has it, David Bowie’s parents met). Cannon then took it over along with the Classic chain in 1982. Thereafter it became MGM, Virgin and fi nally ABC, eventually closing down in October 2000 when Odeon opened its out of town multiplex.
Zooming in on Kent
Kent, with its varied and rich landscape of rolling fi elds, historic castles and iconic coastline has, itself, made numerous starring roles in movie and TV history. From the grand houses of Penshurst and
Groombridge, to the maritime dockyard at Chatham, rural hop farms and the imposing castle at Dover, we take you on a journey through just a selection of Kent’s celluloid landmarks. Don’t forget the popcorn…
Dover Castle
The imposing and well-preserved Dover Castle is an enduringly popular setting for television and fi lms and this year stars in the new Disney fairy tale epic Into The Woods. The fi lm tells the story of a childless couple (Emily Blunt and James Corden), who set out to end a curse placed upon them by a vengeful witch (played by Meryl Streep), encountering characters from well-known fairy tales along the way.
One of the most iconic castles in the
country, King Henry II’s magnifi cent Great Tower and Inner Bailey walls took centre stage for scenes set in the fairy tale King’s
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