History of Film in Eastern Europe compared to Western Europe and the United States

Many are aware of the history of both world wars and the devastating effects they had on the world as far as infrastructures, economies, and foreign relationships. But many do not know of the effects that our world’s history has had on cinema and the progression of film industries in various countries. There is a very dynamic history of cinema in Eastern Europe and the rest of the world. With a long and progressive history leading up to the first world war, during the twenty years leading up to the second world war, and then following with post war history until today’s present cinema. With all of that history comes differences between Eastern European cinema, to Western European cinema, to cinema in the United States and other parts of the world. In this final paper for the course, Eastern European Film and Literature taken at Jagiellonian University in Krakow, Poland during the Winter term of 2018-2019; I will be describing how history played a role for the success and decline in cinema overtime. I will be focusing on the history of Eastern European cinema but will also be comparing the differences with other countries such as Italy, France, and the United States.

Prior to World War I: Early 1900s

When we think of Hollywood, we think of success, award winning movies, brilliant actors and actresses, and history making screenplay writers. Although it is common to think that the United States was always the leading movie making film industry, that was not always the case. According to the article titled, History of the Motion Picture: Post World War I European Cinema, “Prior to World War I, the American cinema had lagged behind the film industries of Europe, particularly those of France and Italy, in such matters as feature production and the establishment of permanent theatres” (Sklar and Cook, 2019). Western Europe was the primary leader of the film industry during the early 1900s before World War I. For example, the film industry was booming and thriving in France where the Lumière brothers, commonly known as the “Pioneers of Cinema”, created the Cinématographe in 1894. With the world’s eyes on Italian, French, and Spanish films, cinematic progression in Poland and Eastern Europe always seemed to be overshadowed. In contrast to what the French may believe, two Polish men named Piotr Lebiedziński and Kazimierz Prószyński, should be credited with the progression of the Pleograph that included an addition of a projector to the first model of a movie camera that was created in 1893. According to the article titled, Polish Cinema's Golden Age: The Glamour & Progress Of Poland's Inter-War Films, “Piotr Lebiedziński and Kazimierz Prószyński made vast progress with the development of the pleograph, one of the world’s first movie cameras which, like the Lumières’ creation, also included a projector. Though it was patented two years earlier in 1893, it remained in the shadow of the French inventors, and has now been largely forgotten” (Bretan, 2018). Regardless of who should get credited for this invention, its creation was revolutionary and paved the way for cinema in the late 19th century and leading up to World War I.

During World War I: 1914-1918

The production of film and the movie making industry during the first world war was put on hold in Europe. Some reasons for this standstill in progression were obvious; for example, places that were once used to shoot movies may have soon become transformed into battlefields. Movie theatres where these films were shown, were shut down or destroyed during battle. Other reasons though, were not so obvious. For instance, the use for a chemical called celluloid was something essential that was used in firearms for the war. The authors from the article titled, History of the Motion Picture: Post World War I European Cinema state that, “During the war, however, European film production virtually ceased, in part because the same chemicals used in the production of celluloid were necessary for the manufacture of gunpowder. The American cinema, meanwhile, experienced a period of unprecedented prosperity and growth. By the end of the war, it exercised nearly total control of the international market: when the Treaty of Versailles was signed in 1919, 90 percent of all films screened in Europe, Africa, and Asia were American, and the figure for South America was (and remained through the 1950s) close to 100 percent” (Sklar and Cook, 2019).

As quoted above, the birth of the American film industry finally occurred. During the time period of 1914-1918, cinema in the United States flourished and became a world success. Although films are thought of to be for pleasure and entertainment, film was also used as a medium for propaganda and reporting war news. Nevertheless, with a strong economy and society in tact, filmmakers in Hollywood used the war as inspiration. But, it was not until the realization of D.W. Griffith that films started to be used as a powerful medium of personal expression. According to the article History of the Motion Picture: D.W. Griffith, “Griffith’s work nevertheless transformed that system from its primitive to its classical mode. He was the first filmmaker to realize that the motion-picture medium, properly vested with technical vitality and seriousness of theme, could exercise enormous persuasive power over an audience, or even a nation, without recourse to print or human speech” (Sklar and Cook, 2019). With this realization in Hollywood during the war, many film industries followed this trend and used it as a tool for their political and military propositions.

Post World War I: 1920s-World War II

During the time period after the first world war and before the second world war, known as the twenties and thirties, there were twenty-one years worth of films that were produced in many different countries, specifically in Hollywood. Movie genres such as drama, comedy, romance, action, adventure, horror, musicals, dance, science fiction, war and westerns were categorized and creativity was expanding. Actors’ and actresses’ salaries were skyrocketing and investors were starting to flood the American film industry. According to the article, The History of Film : The 1920s, The Pre-Talkies and the Silent Era : Part 1, “By the mid-20s, movies were big business (with a capital investment totaling over $2 billion) with some theatres offering double features. By the end of the decade, there were 20 Hollywood studios, and the demand for films was greater than ever. Most people are unaware that the greatest output of feature films in the US occurred in the 1920s and 1930s (averaging about 800 film releases in a year) - nowadays, it is remarkable when production exceeds 500 films in a year” (Dirks, 2019). With all of this success, the big five were established: Warner Bros Pictures, Paramount Pictures, RKO (Radio-Keith-Orpheum) Pictures, Metro-Goldwyn Pictures, and 20th Century Fox.

As the development of production took off in Hollywood, other nations started to fear a loss of national identity. The idea of “Americanisation” started to become a real concern among countries in Western Europe. According to the article, ‘The Power of the Cinema’: Film in the 1920s and 1930s, “The belief that films could influence behaviour was seen by some as an opportunity to get their message across to a mass audience, others feared that the next generation of children would be warped by the immorality of gangster flicks and movie violence. In Britain, the dominance of Hollywood at the box office led to concerns about a loss of national identity and the 'Americanisation' of British culture” (University of Warwick, 2018).

During World War II

It is safe to make the assumption that there would be a repeat in history like during the first world war. Production of cinema in Poland came to an abrupt halt that led to a regression in the industry that would be extremely difficult to recover from. According to the book Polish National Cinema by Merek Haltof, “The development of Polish Cinema was brutally halted in 1939 when the Polish state ceased to exist...Unlike a number of other countries, whose film production was maintained at the prewar level, or even increased at the beginning of the 1940s, Poland had no feature film production during the war” (Haltof, page 44).

It was also to be predicted that the industry would be taken over by the Germans. Just like in the first world war, they used film as a medium to spread their pro-militaristic, and pro-german idealisms to the public. It was a way for them to influence the young minds, and change the minds of adults. According to the book Polish National Cinema by Merek Haltof, “The Germans maintained the cinema theaters in Poland after September 1939 for profit, as well as for propagandist reasons. The repertoire consisted of prewar Polish comedies, some features that were made before the war but were not distributed, and a handful of films finished after the outbreak of war” (Haltof, page 44).

Meanwhile, back in the United States, this influence became so strong that the Western hemisphere started to see some of the effects of this propaganda. It didn’t take long for the American government to catch on and put a stop to it. According to the book Boom and Bust: American Cinema in the 1940s by Thomas Schatz, “While war conditions intensified both at home and abroad in early 1940, so did the growing discord between Hollywood and the U.S. government. When Congress reconvened in January, Hollywood suffered a series of verbal assaults on Capitol Hill. Senator Burton K. Wheeler of Montana, and avowed isolationist, publicly chastised Hollywood for pro-war and pro-military propaganda and promised to propose legislation restricting any overtly interventionist films. Hollywood was accused of a different brand of propaganda by Congressman Martin Dies of Texas, who in his opening address to the House, requested additional funding for his investigation of “un-American activities” in the United States” (Schatz, Page 13). Regardless of political conflicts, Hollywood had their best years yet from 1942 through 1945. More than half of Americans were going to the movie theaters at least once a week. Hollywood saw skyrocketing and record breaking profits. This was all a result of the war and what led Hollywood to its success even still today.

Post World War II

Once the war was finally over and the soldiers were returning home, Hollywood saw an even larger demand for cinema. It became a way of life, a past-time, a weekly or in many cases a nightly event. Charles Livingston the author of the article titled, World War II, the US, and Classical Hollywood, wrote, “This was not a coincidental occurrence by any stretch of the imagination. 1946 marked the end of World War II, therefore soldiers had come home from battle, the United States rejoiced as they recalled their countless military exploits, and families began to emerge. This also marked the era of the baby boomers (children born after World War II’s end). Americans were visiting their local cinema 5-6 times a week, sometimes merely a day off from the movies would seem foreign to the average American man and woman during 1946” (Livingston, 2011).

It was inevitable that there would be many repercussions following the last four decades of devastating events. Some of these repercussions were obvious, while some not so obvious. It started to become a trend throughout the world of production and across the globe that demanded the production of historically accurate films relating to the war. A trend was created that urged filmmakers to produce films with serious themes and historical accuracy. The war was their inspiration in a way that they aspired to create films that were realistic to what had happened during the war, and what was soon to follow. It was a way for producers to tell the war stories to everyone in the world, and a way to offset the social and psychological problems that many returning soldiers were expected to experience. According to the article World War II, the US, and Classical Hollywood, “Hollywood has thrived throughout its vast existence, but no era is more indicative of its success than within the studio era, or most of all, throughout the four years before and four years following WWII. Whether it was the propaganda film, military drama, or gangster film, Americans seemed to visit the theaters not as a means of escape, but as a way of subconsciously connecting themselves with the realities of war” (Livingston, 2011).

After the long six years of monstrosities and tragedies that occurred in Europe for the duration of world war II, there were many destroyed production facilities, decimated cinematic infrastructures, lost prints and negatives and many abandoned cinemas in Europe, specifically in the East. Even so, cinema and films were making a reappearance in Poland and Eastern Europe. The organization called Film Polski was created by the communist run government. Their inspiration for cinema plots and themes were focused on the suffering the Nazis inflicted on Polish citizens. The Polish film director and producer Andrzej Wajda was a huge contributor to the success of Polish cinema and what has led it to the industry it has become today.

In the article called Vintage: Classic Polish Films (1940s and 50s), it states, “Polish cinema suddenly took off in the mid-50s to become a major international force. Initially, it was Andrzej Wajda’s trilogy (1954-58) on wartime resistance that attracted attention” (MonoVisions Black & White Photography Magazine, 2017). To conclude, there are years and years of history that evolved what cinema is today. Looking all the way back to the beginning of the era and how it transformed to present day will show how much our historical world wars have changed the course, progressed the course, or halted the course of the production industry in Eastern Europe, Western Europe and the United States of America. It is the harsh reality that the decline of one industry, is the success of another. This is very clear when comparing Hollywood’s cinematic successes with Poland’s success. It is evident that without the strangling events that happened in Eastern Europe, that they very well could have been the leaders of the production industry today.