Which was the first movie/show to use a certain characteristic or technique?
2
votes
0answers
35 views
Does David Lynch's eerie atmosphere (closer to german “Unheimlich”), have a definition and clear origin?
One aspect that all of lynch's films have is that eerie feeling that something is not quite right, but I find that atmosphere to be different from pure surrealism. Did Lynch start this? Or does it ...
5
votes
4answers
169 views
What is the first example of warning messages about special effects being shown to audiences before a film?
I have seen two instances of a message of caution or warning being shown before a film to explain to the audience that a particular moment in the film with a special effect is meant to be part of the ...
-2
votes
1answer
70 views
Damsel in Distress on Rail Road Tracks [duplicate]
What was the first movie to have a woman tied to a train track? Did the movie scene come from a book?
4
votes
0answers
55 views
First film with a stewardess landing a plane
In its article about 1956 film Julie, starring Doris Day, Wikipedia claims that it is “potentially the first film to feature the subplot of a stewardess piloting a plane to safety, later used in ...
0
votes
3answers
345 views
Explaining wormholes using a sheet of paper
When explaining how wormholes work in movies its pretty common to see someone taking a piece of paper, folding it, and sticking a pen (or any other object) through it to show the folding of space-time
...
17
votes
0answers
2k views
What was the first film to include a post-credits scene? [duplicate]
We can see post-credits scenes in almost every Marvel movie - Avengers, Iron Man, and so on. Marvel make the post-credits scenes so interesting that we wait until after the movie ends just to see the ...
6
votes
3answers
322 views
When did transparent data screens become a thing?
Sometimes sciFi movies don't do a good job of predicting the future. The majority, for example, had CRT-based displays more or less until flat screen displays became common in the real world (Alien, ...
7
votes
1answer
186 views
The path-on-the-map scenes in Casablanca and Raiders of the Lost Ark
Early in the film Raiders of the Lost Ark, we watch a path appear on a map to represent the movement of characters across the earth.
This scene reminded me of the animation at the beginning of ...
1
vote
0answers
59 views
When did the term wrangler start applying to things other than animals?
In movie credits, you will see wranglers of animals, such as horse wrangler, ant wrangler (Pi), tiger wrangler, etc.
However, you will notice other things are wrangled, including children, ...
3
votes
0answers
62 views
What is the first occurrence of the helicopter(s)-chasing-a-car trope?
The helicopter(s)-chasing-a-car (or chasing a motorbike or other ground vehicle) trope is by now fairly well established in both live-action and animated television series and movies. See, for example:...
3
votes
0answers
158 views
First appearance of the realistic mask effect
What was the first movie to use the realistic mask effect - which appears to show a mask being removed that is indistinguishable from the actors face. Was it before the Mission Impossible series?
...
7
votes
1answer
335 views
When was “teal and orange” first used for night scenes?
Now we’ve all seen the trend for high contrast blue orange grading of movies. But when was the lightning scheme first brought in for shooting general night time scenes rather than using blue filters ...
6
votes
0answers
284 views
A movie that takes place entirely underwater [closed]
Preamble: This is not a recommendation question. It is a cinema history question.
Have there been any movies that take place entirely underwater?
Criteria:
a feature film
no above-the-surface scene
...
5
votes
3answers
364 views
What is the origin of the “double entendre” stock footage trope?
In Monty Python’s And Now For Something Completely Different, there is a “romantic interlude” sketch (I think it was in the TV series too) where two people start to get passionate, then various stock ...
2
votes
0answers
72 views
Addressing characters by [LastName-FirstName-LastName]
There is a trope in American visual media (movies, television) in which a main character meets aliens or indigenous peoples unfamiliar with the name conventions of the character's culture.
Very ...
0
votes
0answers
86 views
First color movie to use flickering and slamming door trope?
Horror movies often show flickering of lights and slamming doors to signify presence of supernatural, ghosts and etc.
Which was the first color movie to use this trope?
8
votes
2answers
165 views
First tv show or film to feature mainstream/consumer computers?
Computers have been around for a long time but when did mainstream digital computers really begin to appear in TV shows or films? I believe this is inline and similar with this question.
3
votes
0answers
76 views
Which was the first movie to conceal objects in a book?
Concealing objects in book is a popular trope among crime thriller and mystery genre.
To mention a few:
Neo hides cash and disks in a book in The Matrix
Andy hides hammer in bible.The Shawshank ...
2
votes
0answers
128 views
First appearance of stopping an elevator to have a private discussion (Elevator Conference)
I watch NCIS for years, and was always sure the "elevator trick" (aka Elevator Conference) Gibbs is doing sometimes (stopping the elevator in the middle of its ride without actually ringing any bells ...
11
votes
1answer
167 views
First occurrence of a house built on a graveyard?
I was doing some research on an unrelated topic, and the movie Poltergeist (1982 version) appeared to be the first occurrence of a residence being haunted because it was built over a cemetery.
I am ...
6
votes
0answers
127 views
What was the first movie depicting a bat wielding educational professional?
The tough education professional who wields a baseball bat to bring order to a troubled school has become something of a trope. I'm wondering what the first appearance was.
Morgan Freeman depicted ...
8
votes
2answers
197 views
First example of “super-wealthy steal younger bodies for immortality” plot?
What is the earliest film or show whose plot incorporated some process by which super-wealthy/powerful people achieve immortality by continually transferring their mind (and then wealth) into the ...
7
votes
1answer
170 views
What is the earliest instance of a film where none of the protagonists survive?
I was having a discussion about this with a colleague, who claimed that Evil Dead (1981) was the first film he knew of that had all the main characters die off. However he forgot that Mia survives ...
8
votes
1answer
1k views
When was the phrase “It's quiet, a little too quiet” first used?
"It's quiet, a little too quiet."
We have all heard this famous line being used in many movies.
What was the first movie to use this popular phrase?
2
votes
0answers
83 views
What was the earliest movie with a “conspiracy theorist's pegboard”?
This is about movies that include a character that has a wall or pegboard full of photos and notes, and strings connecting these.
Sometimes the character with this setup might at first seem a bit ...
7
votes
2answers
586 views
First in-helmet shots (like Iron Man)
(I am aware of this question, but the question didn't word its request properly and as a result didn't get the desired answer)
In Iron Man (2008), a common shot is used to let Robert Downey Jr. act ...
5
votes
1answer
114 views
First appearance of going to past (time-travel) to change the present
There have been quite a few movies where people go back in time to change the past so that the present is altered. On top of my head are Back to the future (2), Men in Black (2), one of the recent X-...
5
votes
5answers
326 views
What is the first science fiction movie or TV show mentioning autonomous car?
With the autonomous car idea making huge leaps towards being part of our life, I wonder: where was it first mentioned in movies or a TV show? What is the earliest movie or TV show where the idea was ...
62
votes
2answers
9k views
Where and when does the “idea” light bulb appear for the first time?
In many movies and animated cartoons, the light bulb represents an idea that occurs inside a character's mind. But where does this metaphor come from and what is the first movie/cartoon/show that used ...
17
votes
1answer
5k views
What's the first movie with a plot twist? [closed]
The first narrative movie ever was Trip to the moon of Georges Mélièrs.
It's about men going to the moon and fighting aliens, so a classical sci-fi movie but without any plot twists.
What was the ...
5
votes
1answer
122 views
Which is the first movie to show movie right after production logo without cuts?
While I was watching Sunshine (2007), Rings (2017) & The Beauty and the Beast (2017). I noticed that the movie starts right after Intro of production logo without any cuts.
For Example: Beauty ...
3
votes
0answers
75 views
What was the first movie to have someone with a screen, guiding an agent on the field?
The whole "agent on the ground talking to a person back in the office who has the map and control of things" is a bit of a trope these days.
I just looked at Max Headroom again today and remembered ...
3
votes
1answer
323 views
Which is the oldest non-fantasy movie to design unique weapon for the character?
When we think of a fantasy movie, along with the hero, their weapon comes to our minds too.
Captain America - Shield
Green Lantern - Power ring
Bat Man - Batarangs
Thor - Mjolnir
We can add many ...
2
votes
1answer
147 views
What was the first US TV-series in which the main cast were mostly african american? [duplicate]
What was the first US television series in which the main cast were mostly african american?
4
votes
1answer
241 views
Breaking the 4th wall during introduction
What was the earliest TV show that had the actor look at the camera / "break the fourth wall" during the introduction while the character / actors name was being spoken? I remember quite a few from ...
3
votes
0answers
125 views
What was the first movie to introduce J Cut in opening credits?
In Money Monster (2016), audio/dialogue is audible before the picture comes in.
What was the first movie to introduce a J-Cut in the opening credits?
1
vote
1answer
123 views
What is the first movie to introduce changing future by travelling into future?
In 13 Going On 30, Jenna Rink (30 year old) missed Matt as husband in first time travel.
Then she came back to past (13 year old), then she understand her mistake.
Finally she marries him in present (...
3
votes
1answer
139 views
Is “Any Given Sunday” first movie to cast actor from movie which seen in same movie?
In "Any Given Sunday", there is scene between Tony D & Willie at Tony D place, where Tony watching Ben Hur (1959) in TV.
Later into the movie, Charlton Heston who was in Ben Hur is seen as the ...
31
votes
6answers
4k views
When were digital effects first used in film or TV?
I know Willow used digital effects to handle the "Morph" scenes when the characters transform. That's the first definite "CGI" example I can think of though, as opposed to other special effects ...
3
votes
0answers
170 views
First movie to show All Persons Fictitious Disclaimer
I was reading this Wikipedia article about All Persons Fictitious Disclaimer. The disclaimer came as a result of a case filed by Princess Irina for the 1932 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film Rasputin and the ...
2
votes
0answers
207 views
Did John Woo invent the flying-double-pistol-jump?
As an example of this stunt, see the image of Chow Yun-fat performing the stunt in Hard-Boiled.
Did John Woo invent the action movie stunt of a person doing a flying leap through the air while firing ...
4
votes
2answers
690 views
What is the origin of the cat jump scare?
It has become cliche for horror movies to be full of false jump-scares, probably the most common example being that of a cat jumping out of the darkness and running away. There is even a cat scare ...
5
votes
1answer
240 views
What was the first “revenge” movie?
Payback. John Wick. High Plains Drifter. These are a few movies which we could consider to be "revenge" movies, where the driving action behind the protagonist is to get revenge on the parties that ...
4
votes
0answers
117 views
Blowing up the bad guys on their turf in a selfless act
In these three relatively recent movies: Pacific Rim, Independence Day and The Avengers,
What is the origin of wrapping up a major conflict (typically a war) with a self-sacrifice to deliver a final ...
1
vote
0answers
77 views
Was Mojo Jojo the first mad scientist chimpanzee?
Essentially I'm trying to determine the earliest depiction of a chimpanzee as a Mad Scientist in film or television. Mojo Jojo was a notorious and powerful mad scientist Chimpanzee from Powerpuff ...
8
votes
2answers
413 views
What was the first film or show to depict Men in Black?
I was looking at the synopsis for The Brother from Another Planet (1984), and part of the plot involved Men in Black trying to track down the titular Brother.
I wondered, what was the first ...
3
votes
1answer
212 views
Was the first depiction of “face melting” in Raiders of the Lost Ark?
That was the first time I recall seeing a cinematic depiction of a face melting, but I'm wondering if some "master of horror" did it before 1981.
5
votes
1answer
630 views
What was the first book that was split into two (or more) films?
It's become a trend for book adaptations, especially the last in a series, to be split into multiple movies: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows parts 1 and 2, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay parts 1 ...
8
votes
1answer
770 views
First animated movie to put “bloopers” in end credits?
I'm guessing it was A Bug's Life (1998), but were there any previous animated movies to put mock bloopers in their end credits?
(Related: First bloopers in any film's end credits.)
5
votes
3answers
424 views
The first movie or TV show that said “nerds” were cool
Nowadays, the term nerd is almost a compliment. It suggests someone, male or female, who has an intense interest in a specific sphere. The most common is a computer nerd but I also hear people ...
