The first movie screening ever held was in Paris on Dec 28, 1895. There were 30 people in the audience and the film ran for less than five minutes, showing images of a train entering a station and factory workers leaving the factory gates. From those humble beginnings sprang a new art form and a communications medium that changed the world and the way humanity sees itself. On this page we'll look back over the 110 years of film history to single out the events, the fads, the fashions, the stars and the blockbusters that shaped movie history.

A RETURN TO "THE WIZARD OF OZ" 72 years ago MGM’s film version of “The Wizard of Oz” starring Judy Garland was a box-office winner that became a screen legend. Surprisingly, there have been very few subsequent trips to this magical world, but director Sam Raimi is planning a new movie trip to Oz, and he’s taking three popular stars – Hilary Swank, Mila Kunis and James Franco – along for the ride. Read full review... REMEMBERING RAPUNZEL - A CLASSIC REVIVED Before you make up your mind about going to see “Tangled”, give some thought to the origin and meaning of the story of “Rapunzel”, which has existed in print form since 1643. The modern versions of these folk-tales have been given a watered-down, sentimental twist for a children’s audience. That moralising clean-up began in the mid-19th century, during the prudish Victorian era, where the stories were simplified and sanitised for nursery reading to young children. Read full review...