Another overview of the history of film, I was particularly interested in the affects WW1 and WW2 had on the film industries of american and european cinema
This past weekend, Disney chairman Alan Horn was audibly booed by fans at Disney's D23 expo for saying nothing about "Star Wars: Episode VII" other than that he has nothing to say about "Star Wars: Episode VII."
When Star War movie came out, it change the film industry.
3D movies have actually been around a lot longer than widescreen ones. Almost as soon as the early still cameras were invented, This article tells us the whole story and the invention of 3d movies
The films produced in Hollywood before, during and after the Cold War Red Scare make for an interesting study. most movies of the 50s carried political agendas and views. this link shows the complete anti-communist movie list
Some of the facts aren't good but some are. Look at; 8. Laziness Innovates Movie Making, 7. Walter Murch Is Accidentally Forced to Reinvent Sound Editing, 4. A Camera Jams & A Career is Launched
Timeline of Greatest Film Milestones and Turning Points in Film History (by decade and year) The Pre-1900s (to 1889) Belgian optician and showman Etienne Gaspard Robertson's Phantasmagoria - a kind of amusement 'horror show' designed to frighten audiences that became popular in Europe.
This link is very informative about how visual effects started in the movie theaters. It also talks about lots of inventions such as a device called a praxinoscope.