Feature film

A feature film is a term from the film industry uses to refer to a movie made for initial distribution in theaters.

Related Topics:
Film industry - Movie - Distribution - Theaters

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The term evolved from the days when the cinema-goer would watch a series of short subjects before the main film. The shorts would typically include newsreels, serials, animated cartoons and live-action comedies and documentaries. These types of short films would lead up to what came to be called the "featured presentation": the film given the most prominent billing and running multiple reels. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the American Film Institute, and the British Film Institute all define a feature as a film with a running time of forty minutes or longer, although most features today run over ninety minutes.

Related Topics:
Short subjects - Newsreel - Serial - Animated cartoons - Reel - Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - American Film Institute - British Film Institute

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Based on length, the first feature film was the 1906 release The Story of the Kelly Gang. The first European feature was L'Enfant prodigue (1907), although that was basically an unmodified record of a stage play; Europe's first feature adapted for the screen, Les Misérables, came in 1909. The first American feature was Oliver Twist (1912). Earlier features had been produced in America, but were released in separate one-reel parts, leaving the exhibitor the option of running them together.

Related Topics:
1906 release - The Story of the Kelly Gang - L'Enfant prodigue - Les Misérables - Oliver Twist

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By 1915 over 600 features were produced annually in America. The best year of U.S. feature production was 1921, with 854 releases; the worst was 1963, with 121 releases. Between 1922 and 1970, the U.S. and Japan alternated as leaders in feature production. Since 1971, the country with the highest feature output has been India.

Related Topics:
1921 - Japan - India

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The megaplex of the late 20th century and the digital-based production methods have transformed what "feature film" means. The advent of television led to the elimination of the short subjects in favor of trailers and TV-style advertising (though short films are still made for a non-mainstream audience). Today, "feature film" is used mostly to distinguish theatrically-shown films from those made for television or those which go direct-to-video.

Related Topics:
Megaplex - 20th century - Digital-based production methods - Trailers - TV-style advertising - Made for television - Direct-to-video

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