Danish Film

A detailed Summary of Danish Film

It was in June 7 1896 when Danes saw cinematographic pictures for the first time at the Haymarket (Town Hall Square now) in Copenhagen, but the first cinema (Kosmorama) was not opened until September 17,1904.At that time it was usual to have a pianist playing while the film was shown because of the noise from the projector.

Peter Elfelt(1866-1931) is a film pioneer in Denmark with some films about Greenland and royalty.

Ole Olsen created Nordisk Film Kompagni, the first Danish film company, in 1906. The most popular films at the time were comedies of different types.

In the first decade of the 20th century, Paladsteatret, the largest cinema in Northern Europe was built in Copenhagen. There an orchestra replaced the former pianist.

With World War I, film companies had to face some problems, but Danish film made some important steps.For instance, Asta Nielsen soon became the first European female film star and artificial lightning was introduced in film-making.

In 1919,Carl Theodore Dreyer started his career with The president. He is still considered one of the greatest Danish film directors of all times.

In order to succeed in the foreign market, Nordisk made some films based on Charles Dickensī works ,but

Then, Germany occupied Denmark and that fact deeply affected film production and success. At the beginning (1940), more and more people went to the cinema, but in 1943 that number decreased. There were many restrictions in the kind of films that could be shown: it was not allowed to import films from countries in war with Germany, and British and American films were banned. That fact, together with the abolition of police force and the reduction of the public transport, caused the reduction in the number of Danes going to the cinema.

After World War II, cinema attendance increased again (in 1939, 28.1 million tickets were sold, and in 1945 the total amount was 47 million), but the good moment national production had experienced ended when it was possible to watch foreign films again. However, it was now possible to openly speak about politics, and it has left its influence in the cinema, with some films about the war and the German occupation. But many entertainment films were produced and the documentary films continued to be successful.

A demand for Government support started to grow, and in 1964 a new film act was created. The entertainment tax was then abolished and 15 % duty on every ticket went to grant money for several purposes: education of film technicians, film production, writing of scripts...

In 1966 the Danish Film School was created.

On the other hand, that was a good period for Danish film. The kind of films produced in that moment can be classified under 3 categories: escapist entertainment, patriotic films, and ambitious films.

This act also considered the artistic aspects of a film and not only the trade. The ticket duty

Some common words found in the essay are:
War II, Henning Carlsen, Risby Studios, British American, Paul Henningsen, Nils Malmros, Denmark Cinema, Theodore Dreyer, Film School, Kompagni Danish, danish film, cinema owners, film act, film denmark, film production, films produced, entertainment tax, film companies, foreign films, film school,

Approximate Word count = 1120
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous