The Film Portal

Man working with a movie projector in a movie theater, 1958
Man working with a movie projector in a movie theater, 1958

A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a form of visual art that represents experiences and conveys stories, ideas, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through a sequence of moving images typically synchronized with sound since the early 20th century.

Originating in the late 19th century, films have developed into a major cultural medium with significant historical, artistic, and commercial importance globally. They serve as both entertainment and a means of artistic expression, spanning diverse genres, styles, and formats from mainstream narrative features to experimental and documentary works. Today, cinema remains a primary vehicle for storytelling and creative reflection, shaping societal perspectives and influencing other art forms. (Full article...)

  Featured articles are displayed here, which represent some of the best content on English Wikipedia.

Love Actually is a 2003 Christmas romantic comedy film written and directed by Richard Curtis. The film features an ensemble cast, composed predominantly of British actors, many of whom had worked with Curtis in previous projects. An international co-production of the United Kingdom, United States and France, it was mostly filmed on ___location in London. The film delves into different aspects of love as shown through 10 separate stories involving a variety of individuals, many of whom are interlinked as the plot progresses. The story begins six weeks before Christmas and is played out in a weekly countdown until the holiday, followed by an epilogue that takes place in the New Year.

The film, Curtis's first as director, was released in the US on 14 November 2003 and a week later in the UK during its theatrical run. Love Actually was a box-office success, grossing $250.2 million worldwide on a budget of $40 million. The film received mixed reviews and a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy. A made-for-television short sequel, Red Nose Day Actually, aired in two different versions on BBC One and NBC in 2017, as part of the fundraising event Red Nose Day 2017. In recent years, it has developed a cult following, and is often a staple film shown during the Christmas period in both the United Kingdom and United States. (Portal:Film/Featured content)

General images - load new batch

The following are images from various film-related articles on Wikipedia.

Selected image

Praxinoscope
Praxinoscope
Credit: Escarlati

The praxinoscope was an animation device, the successor to the zoetrope. It was invented in France in 1877 by Charles-Émile Reynaud.

Did you know...

  • ... that the prison scenes in the film Plurality were shot in an archaeology museum?
  • ... that the filmmakers of Cyborgs wrote dialogue in both Russian and Ukrainian to show the diversity of the eponymous soldiers who defended Donetsk Airport in late 2014?
  • ... that Romanian actress Mitzura Arghezi was once told by her father that her career path held "few satisfactions [...] if you're not a director's wife, a manager's wife, this and that man's girlfriend"?
  • ... that the wuxia star Wu Suxin passed as a man in several of her films?
  • ... that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was the first Indian actress to be a juror at the Cannes Film Festival?

Selected biography - show another

Vidor in 1925

King Wallis Vidor (/ˈvdɔːr/ VEE-dor; February 8, 1894 – November 1, 1982) was an American film director, film producer, and screenwriter whose 67-year film-making career successfully spanned the silent and sound eras. His works are distinguished by a vivid, humane, and sympathetic depiction of contemporary social issues. Considered an auteur director, Vidor approached multiple genres and allowed the subject matter to determine the style, often pressing the limits of film-making conventions.

His most acclaimed and successful film in the silent era was The Big Parade (1925). Vidor's sound films of the 1940s and early 1950s arguably represent his richest output. Among his finest works are Northwest Passage (1940), Comrade X (1940), An American Romance (1944), and Duel in the Sun (1946). His dramatic depictions of the American western landscape endow nature with a sinister force where his characters struggle for survival and redemption. (Full article...)

List of selected biographies
  Per a review process, Featured lists are considered to be the best list articles on English Wikipedia.

News

WikiProjects

Selected quote

I have always enjoyed dealing with a slightly surrealistic situation and presenting it in a realistic manner. I've always liked fairy tales and myths, magical stories. I think they are somehow closer to the sense of reality one feels today than the equally stylized "realistic" story in which a great deal of selectivity and omission has to occur in order to preserve its "realist" style.

Main topics

Terms - Animation • Beta movement • Camera • Cult film • Digital cinema • Documentary film • Dubbing • Experimental film • Fan film • Film crew • Film criticism • Film festival • Film frame • Film genre • Film journals and magazines • Film industry • Film manifesto • Film stock • Film theory • Filmmaking • History of film • Independent film • Lost film • Movie star • Narrative film • Open content film • Persistence of vision • Photographic film • Propaganda • Recording medium • Special effect • Subtitles • Sound stage • Web film • World cinema
Lists - List of basic film topics • List of film topics • List of films • List of film festivals • List of film formats • List of film series • List of film techniques • List of highest-grossing films • List of longest films by running time • List of songs based on a film or book • Lists of film source material • List of open content films
Extended content

Good topics


Subcategories

Category puzzle
Category puzzle
Select [►] to view subcategories

Subportals

Things you can do

Things you can do

Associated Wikimedia

The following Wikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:

Discover Wikipedia using portals