## TL;DR

Film evolved from still photography and persistence of vision experiments. Lumière brothers' first public screening (1895, Paris) is considered cinema's birth. Silent era (1895-1927), Golden Age of Hollywood (1930s-50s), New Wave movements (1950s-70s), Blockbuster era (1975+), digital cinema (2000+).

## Core Explanation

Silent era: Chaplin, Keaton, German Expressionism. Sound: The Jazz Singer (1927) first feature with synchronized dialogue. Color: Technicolor (Wizard of Oz, 1939). New Waves: French (Godard, Truffaut), Italian Neorealism, Japanese (Kurosawa). Spielberg's Jaws (1975) created the summer blockbuster. Digital: Toy Story (1995) first fully CGI feature. Streaming (Netflix, 2007+) disrupted distribution.

## Further Reading

- [A Short History of Film (Dixon & Foster)](https://www.rutgersuniversitypress.org/a-short-history-of-film-third-edition/9780813595139/)