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TO THOSE

WHO HAVE

DEDICATED THEIR

LIVES

FOR THE

POSITIVE ADVANCEMENT

OF THE

MOTION PICTURE

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 Contents
1. Introduction 04

2. Goals of the project 05

3. Benefits of the project 06

4. Timeframe 07

5. Cinema 08

6. History of motion picture 09

7. Theory 11

8. Film industry 13

9. Modern film industry 14

10. Production 16

11. Genres of motion picture 21

12. Cinema of Sri Lanka 25

13. History of Sri Lankan cinema 26

14. Top 21 worldwide highest-grossing films 34

15. Highest-grossing films 2009 36

16. Academy Award-winning films from 1991 38

17. Reference 44

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 Introduction

This project, implemented as the

fulfillment of grade 13 student project
could be considered as a gentle
introduction to the Sri Lankan and
international motion picture industry. The
content of this could be used as an overall
glance at all the major aspects of the
motion picture. This includes local and
international film industry with their
history, theories of motion picture
industry, film production techniques,
modern film industry, highest-grossing
films, and academy award winning films
etc. I sincerely hope that this would help
anyone who is looking for a brighter
future………

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 Goals of the project

 Creating an awareness of cinematography among schooling young adults.

 Creating a taste for good movies among school community.

 To increase the movie watching audience in Sri Lanka.

 Build up the ability of choosing quality films to watch.

 To give ability to appreciate movies in terms of deferent aspects of cinematography.

 To improve the knowledge on world cinema.

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 Benefits of the project

 This project will help knowledge seekers.

 Students and Professionals who have

 People who are interested and involved in motion picture.

 Creating an awareness of cinematography among schooling young adults.

 Creating a taste for good movies among school community.

 Will increase the interest in cinema among the readers. .

 Build up the ability of choosing quality films to watch among readers.

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 Timeframe

From 24.08.2008 to 28.12.2009

Month September October November December

No Activity Week 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
01 Preparing for the project

02 Searching for the information about

motion picture
03 Analyzing information gathered

04 Finding best movies around the

world
05 Reviewing those movies

06 Composing the Project report

07 Finalizing the project

- Planned
- Implemented

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 Cinema
Cinema encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of cinema as an art form, and the motion picture
industry. Films (also referred to as movies or motion pictures) are produced by recording images from the world
with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects.

Films are cultural artifacts created by specific cultures, which reflect those cultures, and, in turn, affect them.
Film is considered to be an important art form, a source of popular entertainment and a powerful method for
educating — or indoctrinating — citizens. The visual elements of cinema give motion pictures a universal power
of communication. Some films have become popular worldwide attractions by using dubbing or subtitles that
translate the dialogue.

Films are made up of a series of individual images called frames. When these images are shown rapidly in
succession, a viewer has the illusion that motion is occurring. The viewer cannot see the flickering between
frames due to an effect known as persistence of vision, whereby the eye retains a visual image for a fraction of
a second after the source has been removed. Viewers perceive motion due to a psychological effect called beta
movement.

The origin of the name "film" comes from the fact that photographic film (also called film stock) has historically
been the primary medium for recording and displaying motion pictures. Many other terms exist for an
individual motion picture, including picture, picture show, moving picture, photo-play and flick. A common
name for film in the United States is movie, while in Europe the term cinema is preferred. Additional terms for
the field in general include the big screen, the silver screen, the cinema and the movies.

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 History of motion picture
Preceding film by thousands of years, plays and dances had elements common to film: scripts, sets, costumes,
production, direction, actors, audiences, storyboards, and scores. Much terminology later used in film theory
and criticism applied, such as mise en scene (roughly, the entire visual picture at any one time). Moving visual
and aural images were not recorded for replaying as in film.

The camera obscura was pioneered by Alhazen in his Book of Optics and later near the year 1600, it was
perfected by Giambattista della Porta. Light is inverted through a small hole or lens from outside, and projected
onto a surface or screen, creating a moving image, but it is not preserved in a recording.

In the 1860s, mechanisms for producing two-dimensional drawings in motion were demonstrated with devices
such as the zoetrope, mutoscope and praxinoscope. These machines were outgrowths of simple optical devices
(such as magic lanterns) and would display sequences of still pictures at sufficient speed for the images on the
pictures to appear to be moving, a phenomenon called persistence of vision. Naturally the images needed to be
carefully designed to achieve the desired effect, and the underlying principle became the basis for the
development of film animation.

With the development of celluloid film for still photography, it became possible to directly capture objects in
motion in real time. An 1878 experiment by Eadweard Muybridge in the United States using 24 cameras
produced a series of stereoscopic images of a galloping horse, arguably the first "motion picture," though it was
not called by this name. This technology required a person to look into a viewing machine to see the pictures
which were separate paper prints attached to a drum turned by a handcrank. The pictures were shown at a
variable speed of about 5 to 10 pictures per second, depending on how rapidly the crank was turned.
Commercial versions of these machines were coin operated.

By the 1880s the development of the motion picture camera allowed the individual component images to be
captured and stored on a single reel, and led quickly to the development of a motion picture projector to shine
light through the processed and printed film and magnify these "moving picture shows" onto a screen for an
entire audience. These reels, so exhibited, came to be known as "motion pictures". Early motion pictures were
static shots that showed an event or action with no editing or other cinematic techniques.

Ignoring Dickson's early sound experiments (1894), commercial motion pictures were purely visual art through
the late 19th century, but these innovative silent films had gained a hold on the public imagination. Around the
turn of the twentieth century, films began developing a narrative structure by stringing scenes together to tell
narratives. The scenes were later broken up into multiple shots of varying sizes and angles. Other techniques
such as camera movement were realized as effective ways to portray a story on film. Rather than leave the
audience in silence, theater owners would hire a pianist or organist or a full orchestra to play music fitting the
mood of the film at any given moment. By the early 1920s, most films came with a prepared list of sheet music
for this purpose, with complete film scores being composed for major productions.

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The rise of European cinema was interrupted by the outbreak of World War I when the film industry in United
States flourished with the rise of Hollywood, typified most prominently by the great innovative work of D.W.
Griffith in The Birth of a Nation (1914) and Intolerance (1916) . However in the 1920s, European filmmakers
such as Sergei Eisenstein, F. W. Murnau, and Fritz Lang,in many ways inspired by the meteoric war-time
progress of film through Griffith, along with the contributions of Charles Chaplin, Buster Keaton and others,
quickly caught up with American film-making and continued to further advance the medium. In the 1920s, new
technology allowed filmmakers to attach to each film a soundtrack of speech, music and sound effects
synchronized with the action on the screen. These sound films were initially distinguished by calling them
"talking pictures", or talkies.

The next major step in the development of cinema was the introduction of so-called "natural" color. While the
addition of sound quickly eclipsed silent film and theater musicians, color was adopted more gradually as
methods evolved making it more practical and cost effective to produce "natural color" films. The public was
relatively indifferent to color photography as opposed to black-and-white, but as color processes improved and
became as affordable as black-and-white film, more and more movies were filmed in color after the end of
World War II, as the industry in America came to view color as essential to attracting audiences in its
competition with television, which remained a black-and-white medium until the mid-1960s. By the end of the
1960s, color had become the norm for film makers.

Since the decline of the studio system in the 1960s, the succeeding decades saw changes in the production and
style of film. Various New Wave movements (including the French New Wave, Indian New Wave, Japanese New
Wave and New Hollywood) and the rise of film school educated independent filmmakers were all part of the
changes the medium experienced in the latter half of the 20th century. Digital technology has been the driving
force in change throughout the 1990s and into the 21st century.

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 Theory
Film theory seeks to develop concise and systematic concepts that apply to the study of film as art. It was
started by Ricciotto Canudo's The Birth of the Sixth Art. Formalist film theory, led by Rudolf Arnheim, Béla
Balázs, and Siegfried Kracauer, emphasized how film differed from reality, and thus could be considered a valid
fine art. André Bazin reacted against this theory by arguing that film's artistic essence lay in its ability to
mechanically reproduce reality not in its differences from reality, and this gave rise to realist theory. More
recent analysis spurred by Jacques Lacan's psychoanalysis and Ferdinand de Saussure's semiotics among other
things has given rise to psychoanalytical film theory, structuralist film theory, feminist film theory and others.
On the other hand, critics from the analytical philosophy tradition, influenced by Wittgenstein, try to clarify
misconceptions used in theoretical studies and produce analysis of a film's vocabulary and its link to a form of
life.

Language

Film is considered to have its own language. James Monaco wrote a classic text on film
theory titled "How to Read a Film". Director Ingmar Bergman famously said, "[Andrei]
Tarkovsky for me is the greatest [director], the one who invented a new language, true to the
nature of film, as it captures life as a reflection, life as a dream." Examples of the language
are a sequence of back and forth images of one actor's left profile speaking, followed by
another actor’s right profile speaking, then a repetition of this, which is a language
understood by the audience to indicate a conversation. Another example is zooming in on
the forehead of an actor with an expression of silent reflection, then changing to a scene of a
younger actor who vaguely resembles the first actor, indicating the first actor is having a
memory of their own past.

Montage

Parallels to musical counterpoint have been developed into a theory of montage, extended
from the complex superimposition of images in early silent film to even more complex
incorporation of musical counterpoint together with visual counterpoint through mise en
scene and editing, as in a ballet or opera; e.g., as illustrated in the gang fight scene of director
Francis Ford Coppola’s film, Rumble Fish.

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Criticism

Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films. In general, these works can be divided
into two categories: academic criticism by film scholars and journalistic film criticism that
appears regularly in newspapers and other media.

Film critics working for newspapers, magazines, and broadcast media mainly review new
releases. Normally they only see any given film once and have only a day or two to formulate
opinions. Despite this, critics have an important impact on films, especially those of certain
genres. Mass marketed action, horror, and comedy films tend not to be greatly affected by a
critic's overall judgment of a film. The plot summary and description of a film that makes up
the majority of any film review can still have an important impact on whether people decide
to see a film. For prestige films such as most dramas, the influence of reviews is extremely
important. Poor reviews will often doom a film to obscurity and financial loss.

The impact of a reviewer on a given film's box office performance is a matter of debate. Some
claim that movie marketing is now so intense and well financed that reviewers cannot make
an impact against it. However, the cataclysmic failure of some heavily-promoted movies
which were harshly reviewed, as well as the unexpected success of critically praised
independent movies indicates that extreme critical reactions can have considerable influence.
Others note that positive film reviews have been shown to spark interest in little-known films.
Conversely, there have been several films in which film companies have so little confidence
that they refuse to give reviewers an advanced viewing to avoid widespread panning of the
film. However, this usually backfires as reviewers are wise to the tactic and warn the public
that the film may not be worth seeing and the films often do poorly as a result.

It is argued that journalist film critics should only be known as film reviewers, and true film
critics are those who take a more academic approach to films. This line of work is more often
known as film theory or film studies. These film critics attempt to come to understand how
film and filming techniques work, and what effect they have on people. Rather than having
their works published in newspapers or appear on television, their articles are published in
scholarly journals, or sometimes in up-market magazines. They also tend to be affiliated with
colleges or universities.

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 Film industry
The making and showing of motion pictures became a source of profit almost as soon as the process was
invented. Upon seeing how successful their new invention, and its product, was in their native France, the
Lumières quickly set about touring the Continent to exhibit the first films privately to royalty and publicly to the
masses. In each country, they would normally add new, local scenes to their catalogue and, quickly enough,
found local entrepreneurs in the various countries of Europe to buy their equipment and photograph, export,
import and screen additional product commercially. The Oberammergau Passion Play of 1898 was the first
commercial motion picture ever produced. Other pictures soon followed, and motion pictures became a
separate industry that overshadowed the vaudeville world. Dedicated theaters and companies formed
specifically to produce and distribute films, while motion picture actors became major celebrities and
commanded huge fees for their performances. Already by 1917, Charlie Chaplin had a contract that called for an
annual salary of one million dollars.

From 1931 to 1956, film was also the only image storage and playback system for television programming until
the introduction of videotape recorders.

In the United States today, much of the film industry is centered around Hollywood. Other regional centers exist
in many parts of the world, such as Mumbai-centered Bollywood, the Indian film industry's Hindi cinema which
produces the largest number of films in the world. Whether the ten thousand-plus feature length films a year
produced by the Valley pornographic film industry should qualify for this title is the source of some debate.
Though the expense involved in making movies has led cinema production to concentrate under the auspices of
movie studios, recent advances in affordable film making equipment have allowed independent film
productions to flourish.

Profit is a key force in the industry, due to the costly and risky nature of filmmaking; many films have large cost
overruns, a notorious example being Kevin Costner's Waterworld. Yet many filmmakers strive to create works of
lasting social significance. The Academy Awards (also known as "the Oscars") are the most prominent film
awards in the United States, providing recognition each year to films, ostensibly based on their artistic merits.

There is also a large industry for educational and instructional films made in lieu of or in addition to lectures and
texts.

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 Modern film industry

The major business centers of film making are in the United States, India, Hong Kong and Nigeria.

Distinct from the centers are the locations where movies are filmed. Because of labor and infrastructure costs,
many films are produced in countries other than the one in which the company which pays for the film is
located. For example, many U.S. movies are filmed in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand or in
Eastern European countries.

United States
The United States has the oldest film industry(and largest in terms of revenue), and Los
Angeles, California is the primary nexus of the U.S. film industry. However, four of the major
film studios are owned by East Coast companies. Only The Walt Disney Company and owner of
Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures, Miramax Films, and the Pixar
Animation Studios is actually headquartered in Southern California. The same can be said for
Sony Pictures which is headquartered in Culver City, California, although the corporate side of
Sony Pictures is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.

India
The Indian film industry is multi-lingual and the largest in the world in terms of ticket sales and
number of films produced. The industry is supported mainly by a vast film-going Indian public,
and Indian films have been gaining increasing popularity in the rest of the world—notably in
countries with large numbers of expatriate Indians. One third of the Indian film industry is
mostly concentrated in Mumbai (Bombay), and is commonly referred to as "Bollywood" as an
amalgamation of Bombay and Hollywood. The remaining majority portion is spread across
North, West and South India (in Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada and
Telugu speaking areas). However, there are several smaller centers of Indian film industries in
regional languages (apart from Hindi, Punjabi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam)
centered in the states those languages are spoken. Indian films are made filled with action,
romance, comedy, dance and an increasing number of special effects.

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Hong Kong
Hong Kong is a filmmaking hub for the Chinese-speaking world (including the worldwide
diaspora) and East Asia in general. For decades it was the third largest motion picture industry in
the world (after Indian and Hollywood) and the second largest exporter of films. Despite an
industry crisis starting in the mid-1990s and Hong Kong's return to Chinese sovereignty in July
1997, Hong Kong film has retained much of its distinctive identity and continues to play a
prominent part on the world cinema stage.

Unlike many film industries, Hong Kong has enjoyed little to no direct government support,
through either subsidies or import quotas. It has always been a thoroughly commercial cinema,
concentrating on crowd-pleasing genres, like comedy and action, and heavily reliant on formulas,
sequels and remakes. Typically of commercial cinemas, its heart is a highly developed star
system, which in this case also features substantial overlap with the pop music industry.

Nigeria
Nigeria was ushered into modern film making by a film known as Living in Bondage, which
featured Kenneth Okonwo, Kanayo. O. Kanayo, Bob Manuel Udokwu, Francis Agu, Ngozi Nwosu,
Nnena Nwabueze, etc. This movie, which hit the market in 1992, marked a turning point in the
Nigerian movie industry and heralded the trend in modern-day movie making in Nigeria.

The movie capital of the country was in Lagos. However, over the years, there has been a shift
from Lagos to Enugu, in the eastern part of the country. This shift is said to be championed by
Pete Edochie, a veteran in the communications industry who turned an actor and has become
one of the most successful in Nigeria.

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 Production
Filmmaking is the process of making a film, from an initial story idea or commission, through scriptwriting,
shooting, editing, directing and distribution to an audience. Typically, it involves a large number of people, and
takes from a few months to several years to complete. Filmmaking takes place all over the world in a huge
range of economic, social, and political contexts, and using a variety of technologies and techniques.

Film production occurs in five stages:

1. Development

In this stage, the project's producer finds a story, which may come from a book, play, another film, a true story,
original idea, etc. After identifying a theme or underlying message, the producer works with writers to prepare
a synopsis. Next they produce a step outline, which breaks the story down into one-paragraph scenes that
concentrate on dramatic structure. Next, they prepare a treatment, a 25 to 30 page description of the story, its
mood, and characters. This usually has little dialog and stage direction, but often contains drawings that help
visualize key points.

Next, a screenwriter writes a screenplay over a period of several months. The screenwriter may rewrite it
several times to improve dramatization, clarity, structure, characters, dialogue, and overall style. However,
producers often skip the previous steps and develop submitted screenplays which investors, studios, and other
interested parties assess through a process called script coverage. A film distributor may be contacted at an
early stage to assess the likely market and potential financial success of the film. Hollywood distributors adopt a
hard-headed business approach and consider factors such as the film genre, the target audience, the historical
success of similar films, the actors who might appear in the film, and potential directors. All these factors imply
a certain appeal of the film to a possible audience and hence the number of "bums on seats" during the
theatrical release. Not all films make a profit from the theatrical release alone, so film companies take DVD
sales and worldwide distribution rights into account.

The producer and screenwriter prepare a film pitch, or treatment, and present it to potential financiers. If the
pitch is successful, the film receives a "green light", meaning someone offers financial backing: typically a major
film studio, film council, or independent investor. The parties involved negotiate a deal and sign contracts. Once
all parties have met and the deal has been set, the film may proceed into the pre-production period. By this
stage, the film should have a clearly defined marketing strategy and target audience.

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2. Pre-production

In pre-production, the film is designed and planned. The production company is created and a production office
established. The production is storyboarded and visualized with the help of illustrators and concept artists. A
production budget is drawn up to plan expenditures for the film.The producer hires a crew. The nature of the
film, and the budget, determine the size and type of crew used during filmmaking. Many Hollywood
blockbusters employ a cast and crew of hundreds, while a low-budget, independent film may be made by a
skeleton crew of eight or nine (or fewer). These are typical crew positions:

* The director is primarily responsible for the storytelling, creative decisions and acting of the film.

* The assistant director (AD) manages the shooting schedule and logistics of the production, among other
tasks. There are several types of AD, each with different responsibilities.

* The casting director finds actors to fill the parts in the script. This normally requires that actors audition.
Lead actors are carefully chosen, often based on the actor's reputation or "star power."

* The location manager finds and manages film locations. Most pictures are shot in the controllable
environment of a studio sound stage but occasionally, outdoor sequences call for filming on location.

* The production manager manages the production budget and production schedule. They also report, on
behalf of the production office, to the studio executives or financiers of the film.

* The director of photography is the cinematographer who supervises the photography of the entire film

* The production sound mixer is the head of the sound department during the production stage of
filmmaking. They record and mix the audio on set - dialogue, presence and sound effects in mono and ambience
in stereo . They work with the boom operator, Director, DoA, DoP, and First AD.

* The sound designer creates the aural conception of the film, working for the supervising sound editor. Some
productions employ a sound designer instead of a DoA.

* The composer creates new music for the film. (usually not until post-production)

* The production designer creates the visual conception of the film, working with the art director[4].

* The art director manages the art department, which makes production sets

* The costume designer creates the clothing for the characters in the film working closely with the actors, as
well as other departments.

* The make up and hair designer works closely with the costume designer in addition to create a certain look
for a character.

* The storyboard artist creates visual images to help the director and production designer communicate their
ideas to the production team.

* The choreographer creates and coordinates the movement and dance - typically for musicals. Some films
also credit a fight choreographer.

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3. Production

In production, the film is created and shot. More crew will be recruited at this stage, such as the property
master, script supervisor, assistant directors, stills photographer, picture editor, and sound editors. These are
just the most common roles in filmmaking; the production office will be free to create any unique blend of roles
to suit a particular film.

A typical day's shooting begins with the crew arriving on the set/location by their call time. Actors usually have
their own separate call times. Since set construction, dressing and lighting can take many hours or even days,
they are often set up in advance.

The grip, electric and production design crews are typically a step ahead of the camera and sound departments:
for efficiency's sake, while a scene is being filmed, they are already preparing the next one.

While the crew prepare their equipment, the actors are wardrobed in their costumes and attend the hair and
make-up departments. The actors rehearse the script and blocking with the director, and the camera and sound
crews rehearse with them and make final tweaks. Finally, the action is shot in as many takes as the director
wishes. Most American productions follow a specific procedure:

The assistant director calls "picture is up!" to inform everyone that a take is about to be recorded, and then
"quiet, everyone!" Once everyone is ready to shoot, he calls "roll sound" (if the take involves sound), and the
production sound mixer will start their equipment, record a verbal slate of the take's information, and
announce "sound speed" when they are ready. The AD follows with "roll camera", answered by "speed!" by the
camera operator once the camera is recording. The clapper, who is already in front of the camera with the
clapperboard, calls "marker!" and slaps it shut. If the take involves extras or background action, the AD will cue
them ("action background!"), and last is the director, telling the actors "action!".

A take is over when the director calls "cut!", and camera and sound stop recording. The script supervisor will
note any continuity issues and the sound and camera teams log technical notes for the take on their respective
report sheets. If the director decides additional takes are required, the whole process repeats. Once satisfied,
the crew moves on to the next camera angle or "setup," until the whole scene is "covered." When shooting is
finished for the scene, the assistant director declares a "wrap" or "moving on," and the crew will "strike," or
dismantle, the set for that scene.

At the end of the day,the director approves the next day's shooting schedule and a daily progress report is sent
to the production office. This includes the report sheets from continuity, sound, and camera teams. Call sheets
are distributed to the cast and crew to tell them when and where to turn up the next shooting day. Later on, the
director, producer, other department heads, and, sometimes, the cast, may gather to watch that day or
yesterday's footage, called dailies, and review their work.

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With workdays often lasting 14 or 18 hours in remote locations, film production tends to create a team spirit.
When the entire film is in the can, or in the completion of the production phase, it is customary for the
production office to arrange a wrap party, to thank all the cast and crew for their efforts.

4. Post-production

Here the film is assembled by the film editor. The modern use of video in the filmmaking process has resulted in
two workflow variants: one using entirely film, and the other using a mixture of film and video.

In the film workflow, the original camera film is developed and copied to a one-light workprint (positive) for
editing with a mechanical editing machine. An edge code is recorded onto film to locate the position of picture
frames. Since the development of non-linear editing systems such as Avid, Quantel or Final Cut Pro, the film
workflow is used by very few productions.

In the video workflow, the original camera negative is developed and telecined to video for editing with
computer editing software. A timecode is recorded onto video tape to locate the position of picture frames.
Production sound is also synced up to the video picture frames during this process.

The first job of the film editor is to build a rough cut taken from sequences (or scenes) based on individual
"takes" (shots). The purpose of the rough cut is to select and order the best shots. The director usually works
with the editor to ensure the envisioned shots are selected. The next step is to create a fine cut by getting all
the shots to flow smoothly in a seamless story. Trimming, the process of shortening scenes by a few, seconds,
or even frames, is done during this phase. After the fine cut has been screened and approved by the director
and producer, the picture is "locked," meaning no further changes are made. Next, the editor creates a negative
cut list (using edge code) or an edit decision list (using timecode) either manually or automatically. These edit
lists identify the source and the picture frame of each shot in the fine cut.

Once the picture is locked, the film is passed into the hands of the postproduction supervising sound editor of
the sound department to build up the sound track. The voice recordings are synchronised and the final sound
mix is created by the rerecording mixer. The sound mix combines dialogue, sound effects, background sounds,
ADR, walla, foleys and music.

The sound track and picture are combined together, resulting in a low quality answer print of the film. There are
now two possible workflows to create the high quality release print depending on the recording medium:

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 1. In the film workflow, the cut list that describes the film-based answer print is used to cut the original color
negative (OCN) and create a color timed copy called the color master positive or interpositive print. For all
subsequent steps this effectively becomes the master copy. The next step is to create a one-light copy called the
color duplicate negative or internegative. It is from this that many copies of the final theatrical release print are
made. Copying from the internegative is much simpler than copying from the interpositive directly because it is
a one-light process; it also reduces wear-and-tear on the interpositive print.

2. In the video workflow, the edit decision list that describes the video-based answer print is used to edit the
original color tape (OCT) and create a high quality color master tape. For all subsequent steps this effectively
becomes the master copy. The next step uses a film recorder to read the color master tape and copy each video
frame directly to film to create the final theatrical release print.

Finally the film is previewed, normally by the target audience, and any feedback may result in further shooting
or edits to the film.There are two ways that film can be put together. One way is linear editing and the other is
non-linear editing.

Linear editing uses the film as it is in a continuous film. All of the parts of the film are already in order and need
not be moved or any such thing.

Conversely, non-linear editing is not subject to using the film in the order it is taped. Scenes can be moved
around or even removed. A better way to see it is that non-linear editing is like a hodgepodge of video.

5. Distribution and exhibition

This is the final stage, where the film is released to cinemas or, occasionally, to DVD, VCD, VHS (though VHS
tapes are less common now that more people own DVD players), Blu-Ray, or direct download from a provider.
The film is duplicated as required for distribution to cinemas. Press kits, posters, and other advertising materials
are published and the film is advertised.

Film companies usually release a film with a launch party, press releases, interviews with the press, press
preview screenings, and film festival screenings. Most films have a website. The film plays at selected cinemas
and the DVD typically is released a few months later. The distribution rights for the film and DVD are also
usually sold for worldwide distribution. The distributor and the production company share profits.

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 Best motion pictures according to Genres
Action
* Die Hard (1988) was voted greatest action movie of all time by both Entertainment Weekly and music
channel MTV2, and the best disaster movie by Channel 4.

Animation
* Akira (1988) was chosen as the top anime film ever by Anime Insider in fall 2001.

* Beauty and the Beast (1991) has been the only animated film to ever be nominated for Best Picture at the
Academy Awards.

* Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984) was the highest-ranked animated film in an audience poll (with
80,402 voters) of 100 best animations, conducted by Japan’s Agency for Cultural Affairs in 2007. It was also the
second highest animation overall on the list after the anime series Neon Genesis Evangelion. They were
followed by Castle in the Sky (1986) in third place.

* Samurai X: Trust & Betrayal (1999) has been voted #1 on Anime News Network's Top 500 anime list.

* Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) was selected as the best American animated movie ever by the
American Film Institute during their 10 Top 10.

* Tale of Tales (1979) was voted by a large international jury to be the greatest animated film of all time at
the 1984 Los Angeles Olympiad of Animation and the 2002 Zagreb World Festival of Animated Films.

* Toy Story (1995) was voted #1 on the Top 100 Animated Features of All Time by the Online Film Critics
Society (list published March 2003).

* Toy Story 2 (1999) topped a Rotten Tomatoes poll of the 50 best animated movies ever made. It is also #1
on their list of the best kids movies, and is #1 on the Movie Review Query Engine's list of the best animated
movies.

* Up (2009) and WALL-E (2008) are currently tied for the highest rating of all animated films, on the top rated
animated titles at the Internet Movie Database. Up is also #1 on the Rotten Tomatoes list of the best animated
movies.

* What's Opera, Doc? (1957) was voted the greatest animated short in animation historian Jerry Beck's 1994
poll of animators, film historians and directors.

Comedy
* Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) A 2004 poll by UK arm of Amazon and the Internet Movie Database
named Monty Python and the Holy Grail as the best British comedy picture of all time.

* Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) was voted the greatest comedy ever in polls conducted by Total Film
magazine in 2000, the British TV networks Channel 4 in 2006 and Channel Five in 2007, and The Guardian
newspaper in 2007.

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 * National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) was voted #1 on the Bravo list of funniest movies of all time.

* Some Like It Hot (1959) was listed Best American Film Comedy by the American Film Institute in June 2000.

* City Lights (1931) was selected as the best romantic comedy ever by the American Film Institute during their
10 Top 10.

Superhero
* The Dark Knight (2008) has the highest rating of any reviewed comic book film, on both the
action/adventure list at Rotten Tomatoes, and the top rated action titles at the Internet Movie Database. It is
also #1 on the Movie Review Query Engine's list of the best comic and superhero movies.

* Spider-Man 2 (2004) Listed number one on Rotten Tomatoes Comix Best to worst

Crime/Gangster
* The Godfather (1972) was selected as the best gangster movie ever by the American Film Institute during
their 10 Top 10. It also tops the Rotten Tomatoes list of the best drama movies.

* GoodFellas (1990) was chosen as the greatest crime film out of the 25 movies by the IGN website.

Disaster
* The Poseidon Adventure (1972) was voted best disaster movie in a poll commissioned by UCI cinemas in
May 2004.

Documentary
* Bowling for Columbine (2002), Michael Moore's controversial documentary relating gun control and the
culture of fear in the United States, heads the list of 20 all-time favorite non-fiction films selected by members
of the International Documentary Association (IDA).

* Seven Up! (1964) was voted as the greatest ever documentary in a Channel 4 poll of the 50 Greatest
Documentaries in 2005.

* Man On Wire (2008) was voted greatest Documentary and Film of all time by Rotten Tomatoes.

Epic
* Lawrence of Arabia (1962) was voted best epic by readers of Total Film in May 2004. It was selected as the
best epic movie ever by the American Film Institute during their 10 Top 10.

Fantasy
* The Wizard of Oz (1939) was selected as the best American fantasy movie ever by the American Film
Institute during their 10 Top 10.

Horror
* The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919) is currently #1 on the Rotten Tomatoes list of the best horror movies.

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 * The Exorcist (1973) was voted scariest movie of all time by Entertainment Weekly and Movies.com, and by
viewers of AMC in 2006.

* Psycho (1960). The Alfred Hitchcock classic tops AFI’s list of the 100 most thrilling American films, the top
rated horror titles at the Internet Movie Database, and Rotten Tomatoes' list of the 50 greatest horror movies.

* The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Ranks #1 on AFI’s list for Heroes and Villains, and is the last film to win all
of the Big Five at the Academy Awards.

* The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) Ranks #1 on Total Film's list of the greatest horror films.

Musical
* Singin' in the Rain (1952) tops the American Film Institute's list of the 25 best American musicals of all time,
and the top rated musicals at the Internet Movie Database.

* West Side Story (1961) was chosen as the best screen musical by readers of The Observer in a 2007 poll.

Mystery
* Rear Window (1954) is currently #1 on the Rotten Tomatoes list of the best thrillers.

* Vertigo (1958) was selected as the best mystery movie ever by the American Film Institute during their 10
Top 10.

Propaganda
* Triumph of the Will (1935), Leni Riefenstahl's documentary film glorifying Adolf Hitler and the 1934 Nazi
Party Convention, in Nuremberg is widely perceived, renowned and acknowledged as the best propaganda film
ever, although Riefenstahl asserted she intended it only as a documentary.

Romance
* Casablanca (1942) was voted the top romantic American film on AFI's 100 Years... 100 Passions list, and is
currently #1 on the top rated romance titles at the Internet Movie Database.

* North by Northwest (1959) is currently #1 on the Rotten Tomatoes list of the best romance films,[67] and
#2 on their list of top action/adventure films.

Science fiction
* 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) tops the Online Film Critics Society list of greatest science fiction films of all
time. It is also the only science fiction film to make the Sight and Sound poll for ten best movies, and was
selected as the best sci-fi movie ever by the American Film Institute during their 10 Top 10.

* Aliens (1986) is currently #1 on the Rotten Tomatoes list of the best science fiction movies.

* Blade Runner (1982) was voted the best science fiction film by a panel of scientists assembled by the British
newspaper The Guardian in 2004. In New Scientist, Blade Runner was voted "all-time favourite science fiction
film" in both the staff and reader's 2008 polls.

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 * E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) topped a Rotten Tomatoes poll of the 100 best Science Fiction movies ever
made.

* Serenity (2005) was voted the greatest Science Fiction film of all time by SFX magazine in 2006.

Sports
* Murderball (2005) was number 1 on the Rotten Tomatoes countdown of the top sports movies.

* Raging Bull (1980) was selected as the best sports movie ever by the American Film Institute during their 10
Top 10, and is currently #1 on the top rated sport titles at the Internet Movie Database.

* Rocky (1976) was voted as the best sports film of all time by film fans in a poll conducted by LoveFilm.

War
* Apocalypse Now (1979). Topped the list on moviefone as the greatest war film.

* Cross of Iron (1977) by Sam Peckinpah was voted greatest war film of all time by Sightsense magazine in
1983, for its portrayal of Germans and the battles on the Eastern Front in 1943.

* Paths of Glory (1957) is #1 on the Movie Review Query Engine's lists of both the best military movies, and
the best World War II movies.

* Saving Private Ryan (1998) was voted as the greatest war film, in a 2008 Channel 4 poll of the 100 greatest
war films.

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 Cinema of Sri Lanka
Sri Lankan cinema encompasses the films made in Sri Lanka . It is a fledgling industry that has struggled to find a
footing since its inauguration in 1947 with Kadawunu Poronduwa. Sri Lankan films are usually made in the
Sinhalese language.

In the first nine years most films were made in South India and followed the conventions of Indian cinema.
Rekava, made in 1956 by pioneer director Lester James Peries, was the first Sinhala film to be shot completely
out of studio and contain a truly Sinhalese storyline. Though acclaimed by local and international critics, the film
failed to find an audience in the country and was a box office failure. Films continued to follow formulaic
storylines borrowed from India up through the early 60s despite such efforts as Sandesaya and Kurulu Bedda.

In 1964, Lester James Peries again contributed to the development of Sri Lankan cinema with Gamperaliya
which was the first Sinhala film to feature no songs and like Rekava shot completely outside the studio. It
garnered massive praise for portraying Sinhala culture in a realistic manner and was hailed by critics and
audiences alike. Following this breakthrough, several artistic Sinhala films were made in the late-60s including
Sath Samudura by professor Siri Gunasinghe.

During the 1970s several talents came to the forefront while commercial cinema continued to steal from Indian
films. These include Vasantha Obeysekera who followed up his well-received debut Ves Gatho with a slew of
successful films culminating with Palangetiyo in 1979. Another major director who stepped forward during this
time is Dharmasena Pathiraja who examined the tensions of city youth in such works as Bambaru Awith and
Ahas Gauwa. Artist and poet Mahagama Sekera's sole film Thun Man Handiya is also an important film in Sri
Lankan cinema released in 1970. Sumitra Peries, the wife of Lester James Peries, also struck out during the '70s
with work that looked at the conflicting roles of women in society. Her work include Gehenu Lamai and Ganga
Addara.

Over the next few decades, artists such as Tissa Abeysekara, Prasanna Vithanage and Vimukthi Jayasundara
have attempted to breathe new life into the industry. Vithanage's film Purahanda Kaluwara is widely considered
one of the best movies made in Sri Lanka as is Jayasundara's Sulanga Enu Pinisa which won the coverted Camera
d'Or for best first film at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

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 History of Sri Lankan cinema
A 1997 government committee identified the following 10 films as the best of the first 50 years of Sri Lankan
cinema:

Rank Film title Director Year released

1 Nidhanaya Lester James Peiris 1972

2 Gamperaliya Lester James Peiris 1963

3 Viragaya Tissa Abeysekara 1987

4 Bambaru Awith Dharmasena Pathiraja 1978

5 Sath Samudura Siri Gunasinghe 1967

6 Thun Mang Handiya Mahagama Sekara 1970

7 Palangettiyo Vasantha Obeysekera 1979

8 Dadayama Vasantha Obeysekera 1983

9 Rekava Lester James Peiris 1956

10 Parasathumal Gamini Fonseka 1966

10 Welikathara D. B. Nihalsinghe 1970

Early development (1901-1947)

1901 marked the introduction of film to Sri Lanka (then called Ceylon) when a film was shown for the first time
in the country at a private screening for the British governor West Ridgeway and prisoners of the Second Boer
War. It was a short film that documented the British victory in the Boer War, the burial of Queen Victoria and
the coronation of Edward VII. More English screenings followed and attracted British settlers and Anglicized
Sinhalese.

Cinema in Sri Lanka became a public affair due to the efforts of Warwick Major, an Englishman who developed
"bioscope" showings. These were films screened out in open areas and makeshift tents. The first permanent
theaters were built by Madan Theaters in 1903. The company showed Indian films and achieved success,
prompting the development of theaters by the rival Olympia.

In 1925 Rajakeeya Wickremaya (English:Royal Adventure) became the first film to be made in Sri Lanka. Dr.
N.M. Perera played the lead in the film which was shown in India and Singapore. In 1933 the film Paliganeema
was screened in Colombo.

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During the 1920s and 1930s films with American stars like Charlie Chaplin, Greta Garbo, John Barrymore,
Rudolph Valentino, and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. were popular in Sri Lanka. The Shiek and The Thief of Bagdad
were especially popular. By the 1930s Indian films started to surpass English films in popularity. Bilwa Mangal
set an early record for Sri Lankan box office earnings.

Inauguration (1947)
South Indian producer S. M. Nayagam played an important role in the development of the first Sri Lankan film.
In 1945, Nayagam founded a company named Chitrakala Movietone and constructed a studio in Madurai, India
for the purpose of making a Sinhala film. After considering several options, he decided to build the film around
the historical love story of Saliya and Asokamala and held a contest to find a suitable screenplay; the winner
was budding artist Shanthi Kumar. Due to disagreements however this project fell through and Nayagam broke
a deal with dramatist B. A. W. Jayamanne to film his popular play Kadawunu Poronduwa.

Kumar determined to film his script left Nayagam's company and convinced the Ceylon Theaters group to fund
his film. Faced with a more daunting task of putting together the film from scratch, the Ashokamala project
began filming in Coimbatore about two months after the production of Kadawunu Poronduwa had initiated.
Naygam's film would win out screening at the Mylan Theater on January 21, 1947. Ashokamala was screened
three months later in April 1947 at the Elphinstone Theater.

Both films were popular with audiences but derided by critics who found them to be derivative of South Indian
cinema.

Primitive Stage (1947-1955)

Following the success of Kadawunu Poronduwa, B. A. W. Jayamanne produced a string of popular movies based
on his plays. These were Kapati Arakshakaya, Weradunu Kurumanama (1948), Hadisi Vinischaya (1950, first film
directed by Jayamanne; he handled the post on all his subsequent films), Sangavunu Pilithura (1951), Umathu
Wishwasaya (1952), Kele Handa (1953), Iranganie (1954), Mathabedaya (1954), Daiva Wipakaya (1956),
Wanaliya (1958), Hadisi Vivahaya (1959), Kawata Andare (1960), Jeewithe Pujawa (1961), Mangalika (1963) and
Magul Poruwa (1967; completed after his death by another director). Jayamanne mostly adhered to a formula
derived from South Indian cinema and didn't contribute to the development of artistic film. Most of his films
featured the couple Rukmani Devi and Eddie Jayamanne (though never as lovers on screen) which allowed them
to become the first stars of Sri Lankan cinema.

Following the dawn of independence, Sri Lanka instituted restrictions on travel to and from India causing
Nayagam to move his business into the island to cut costs. He purchased land outside of Kandana and built the
Sri Murugan Navakala studios (later known as the S. P. M. studios) which would for a time be the most
developed studio in the country. His first production was Banda Nagarayata Pamine (1952) which was
successful among local audiences. It was the first locally produced Sinhalese film though in technique it still
remained South Indian. Nayagam followed the film with Prema Tharangaya (1953) and Ahankara Sthree (1954).

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Due to the low quality of the studio (Nayagam resisted buying high tech equipment), these films failed to match
the standards of Bollywood imports. They were also highly formulaic based extensively on South Indian cinema
(the technicians were all from India) featuring a combination of exaggerated melodrama, lowbrow comedy,
scuffles and dance numbers.

Of the few filmmakers interested in pursuing a truly indigenous art form in these early years, Sirisena
Wimalaweera was the most prominent. In his work, Wimalaweera consulted Sri Lankan history for his themes
basing movies around historical characters like King Asoka, who oversaw the introduction of Buddhism to the
island and Saradiel, a Robin Hood-like character.

K. Gunaratnam was another major producer in this period breaking into the scene with the technically skilled
Sujatha made at the state of the art Modern Theaters studio in Salem, India. It was highly successful and
influenced popular cinema over the following decade. It was revolutionary in its high production values and
incorporation of North Indian cinema in to the accepted South Indian model. Still it failed to capture the true
nature of Sinhalese life or create anything uniquely Sri Lankan.

Rekava (1956)
In 1956 documentary filmmaker Lester James Peries and his fellow film technicians William Blake and Titus
Thotawatte broke away from the Government Film Unit to produce what they hoped would be a truly Sinhalese
film that would revolutionize Sri Lankan cinema. In all facets of the creation of Rekava, the trio strayed from
tradition shooting completely outside of the studio, creating an original story with no basis in literary or
historical material and utilizing a mostly inexperienced cast (with a few exceptions i.e. D. R. Nanayakkara).

The story paid great attention to Sinhalese village life giving equal time to marriage traditions, village customs
and folk beliefs in a non obstructive documentary-esque manner. The main plot revolved around a young boy
named Sena who becomes touted as a miracle worker after he is said to cure the blindness of his friend Anula.
Though some viewed the plot as a bit naive due to the filmmakers being from the city and the attribution of
superstition belief in an exaggerated manner to village folk, it was a critical success and was shown at the
Cannes International Film Festival drawing praise from foreign critics. It is widely considered in Sri Lanka to be
the birth of true Sinhala cinema. Audiences at the time were unresponsive however and the film was a box
office failure. They were unaccustomed to the documentary like nature of the film and its avoidance of common
melodramatic features common in cinema of the time. The lack of a major romantic plot for example was a
grievance to some.

Following in the path of Rekava (1957-1963)

Though Rekava failed to influence popular cinema which continued to imitate Indian cinema, it did draw out the
efforts of some small independent filmmakers who coalesced into units. The most important group in this
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period, Kurulu Rana, was led by screenwriter P. K. D. Seneviratne, producer John Amaratunga and actress Punya
Heendeniya.

Amaratunga in his pursuit to follow up Rekava came across Seneviratne's radio drama Kurulubedde and enlisted
him to adapt it into a film. Though it maintained certain formulaic elements, the film was free of overt Indian
influence and contained various elements of Sinhalese culture. Actress Punya Heendeniya broke ground in her
role portraying a truly Sinhalese character in contrast with the female roles of popular films modeled after
Indian actresses. It was a critical success within Sri Lanka and was praised for its realistic portrayal of Sinhala
village life. The group followed up with the thematically similar Sikuru Tharuwa in 1963.

Gamperaliya (1963)
In 1963, Lester James Peries with the help of producer Anton Wickremasinghe made and released Gamperaliya
based on a novel by critically acclaimed writer Martin Wickramasinghe. It was a turning point in Sri Lankan
cinema doing away with all formulaic elements (songs, dance, comic relief and fights) present in popular cinema
and achieving commercial success. It proved the viability of artistic cinema in the country and gave Sri Lankan
cinema a before absent sense of prestige when it was awarded the Golden Peacock Award and the Critics' Prize
at the Third International Film Festival held in New Delhi and the Golden Head of Palanque at the Eighth World
Review of Film Festivals held in Acapulco, Mexico.

Artistic boom (1964-1970)

The success of Gamperaliya changed the course of Sri Lankan cinema significantly. Following its release, many
films attempted to adapt the realistic style of the film and took up location shooting previously shunned.

Seneviratne again emerged in this period with a script about village life titled Parasathu Mal. This time he had
the support of the wealthy producer Chitra Balasooriya who would not fall pray to financial difficulties
encountered by Amaratunga. Balasooriya was deeply interested in creating a artistic film in the vein of
Gamperaliya and enlisted Lester's wife Sumithra Peries as technical director and gave the budding actor Gamini
Fonseka a chance to direct. Fonseka had served in a similar capacity on Rekawa. Also among the crew was
cameraman Sumitta Amarsinghe who had trained with the GFU and was adapt at outdoor shooting. The film
would be a critical and popular success.

Serendib Productions responded to the artistic mood in the air in 1965 with Saravita starring a comedic actor,
Joe Abeywickrema, for the first time in Sri Lankan cinema. It dealt with slum life and the criminal element within
it and was awarded most of the national awards that year for film. Titus Thotawatte who had broken away from
Lester James Peries after Sandesaya directed Chandiya the same year avoiding overt crudities prevalent in the
action genre made within the country.

P a g e | 29
G. D. L. Perera with his Kala Pela Society headed in a radically different way in this period dealing with
contemporary city settings in Dahasak Sithuvili utilizing subjective camera and a sepiatone filter for the first
time in Sri Lankan cinema. Perera and his group had first came to fame with Saama, a stylized but faithful
observance of village life.

Siri Gunasinghe's Sath Samudura released in 1966 was the biggest critical success in the wake of Gamperaliya.
The film was praised for its realistic portrayal of a fishing community and acting from a cast that included
Denawaka Hamine, Edmund Wijesinghe and Cyril Wickremage. Also drawing acclaim were Gunasinghe's novel
film techniques such as his extensive use of close-ups. Working close with Gunasinghe on the script and the
direction was Vasantha Obeysekera. The editing and photography was handled by D. B. Nihalsinghe. Both would
go on to be major filmmakers on their own.

Other major films of this period include the debut directorial efforts of Obeysekera (Vesgatho) and Nihalsinghe
(Welikathara), an independent student production overseen by Ranjith Lal (Nim Wallala), songwriter Mahagama
Sekera's autobiographical effort (Tun Man Handiya), the maiden production of Piyasiri Gunaratne (Mokade Une)
and Sugathapala Senerath Yapa's Hanthane Kathawa which introduced the to be matinee idol Vijaya
Kumaratunga.

Gamini and Malini in Nidhanaya. (1971-1976)

In 1971 a socialist government came to power in the country which sought to control the film industry by having
certain prerequisites required before being allowed to make a film. In this period, the budding independent
talent that had emerged earlier got brushed aside as cheap commercial films flooded the market funded by
newly instituted government loans.

Titus Thotawatte and Lester James Peries were the most prominent artists during this period making artistic
films. Thotawatte directed such films as Hara Lakshe, Sihasuna, Sagarika and Mangala which united technical
skill with themes that appealed to mainstream audiences. Lester James Peries was more successful in his work
in this period creating some of his most important work despite the restrictions instituted by the government.

Peries' Nidhanaya, released in 1972, is considered his masterpiece and was adjusted the best Sri Lankan film of
the first 50 years in 1997 by a government board. It was praised for it skillful direction by Peries' and the
inspired acting by Gamini and Malini Fonseka. It was another international success for Peries' winning the Silver
Lion of St. Mark award at the Venice International Film Festival and being selected one of the outstanding films
of the year, receiving a Diploma, at the London Film Festival. His subsequent works of the period were also
critical successes, (Desa Nisa and Madol Duwa).

Dharmasena Pathiraja, who had worked on Yapa's Hanthane Kathawa, emerged with his debut directorial
effort, Ahas Gauwa, in 1974. It served to capture the spirit of the dissolute urban youth and provided a major
P a g e | 30
artistic venture for actors like Cyril Wickremage to prosper in. Obeysekera pursued a similar theme in his work,
Valmathvuvo.

Resurgence (1977-1983)
With the 1977 elections a more capitalist party came to power and some of the restrictions instilled earlier were
removed.

Sumitra Peries, Lester James Peries' wife, made her directorial debut with Gehenu Lamai in 1978. It examined
the effects of societal constraints on a rural girl and secured some critical applaud in addition to box office
success being selected as an outstanding film of the year to be presented at the London Film Festival and
receiving the Jury Award at the Carthage International Film Festival. In her first film appearance, Vasantha
Chathurani was praised for her restrained portrayal of the lead role.

Peries' next film Ganga Addara (1980) captured the imagination of Sri Lankan audiences becoming a huge box
office hit and breaking earning records in the country. Critics were also impressed with the film as it went on to
capture many of the national awards given to film in the country and was awarded a diploma at the South Asian
Film Festival.

Pathiraja was most active in this period directing Eya Dan Loku Lamayek (1977), Bambaru Awith (1978),
Ponmani and Soldadu Unnahe (1981). Bambaru Awith is widely held to be his pivotal work dealing with social
tensions between fishing folk and city youth. Pathiraja's film Ponmani was made in Tamil intending to
contribute to the development of cinema featuring that language in the country. Though well made, the film
was ignored by Tamil audiences distrustful of the Sinhalese director. Soldadu Unnahe followed the dreary lives
of an old soldier, a prostitute, an alcoholic and a thief intending to cast light on their plight. Pathiraja went into
hiatus following the making of the film.

Obeysekera made his most highly regarded film Palengetiyo in 1979. It dealt with the difficulties of urban youth.
His next film Dadayama (1983) was also well received. The star of Palengetiyo, Dharmasiri Bandaranayake broke
out as a director with his highly stylized debut Hansa Vilak in 1980.

Decline (1983-1990)
With the rise of television and the beginning of a civil war, film earnings began to drop as Sri Lankans took to
staying at home instead of frequenting the theater.

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The significant films of the era include Sumitra Peries' Sagara Jalaya Madi Heduwa Oba Sanda, Tissa
Abeysekara's Viragaya (1988) and D. B. Nihalsinghe's Ridi Nimnaya (1983), Maldeniye Simiyon (1986) and Keli
Mandala (1991). Nihalsinghe infused his films with his skillful technical direction.

Rise of Independent filmmakers (1990-2000)

One of the most important filmmakers of Sri Lankan cinema, Prasanna Vithanage directed his first feature film
Sisila Gini Ganee in 1992 and his second Anantha Rathriya in 1995. The latter was a large critical hit being shown
at several international festival and securing several awards. Vithanage's followed the work two years later with
Pawuru Walalu a mature drama that featured a performance by former star Nita Fernando after a long hiatus. It
was also lauded by critics. His final feature of the decade was Purahanda Kaluwara that examined how the Sri
Lankan civil war affects families of soldiers. Featuring a contemplative performance by Joe Abeywickrema in the
main role, the film is considered Vithanage's finest work.

Modern Era (2000-present)

Director Vimukthi Jayasundara became the first Sri Lankan to ever win the prestigious Caméra d'Or award for
Best First Film at the 2005 Cannes Film Festival for his film Sulanga Enu Pinisa.

Controversial filmmaker Asoka Handagama's films are considered by many prestigious names in the Sri Lankan
film world to be the best films of honest response to the ethnic conflict currently raging in the country. He has
Created Five films: Sanda Dadayama, Chanda Kinnarie, Me mage sandai, Tani tatuwen piyabanna, Aksharaya.
Those films won awards at lots of international film festivals. He has faced lot of censorship problems with his
creation; most recently his film 'Aksharaya' was banned by the Sri Lankan government.

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P a g e | 33
Top 21 worldwide highest-grossing films

1 Titanic ( 20th Century Fox/Paramount ) $1,842,879,955 1997

2 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (New Line Cinema ) $1,119,110,941 2003

3 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (Disney Pictures) $1,066,179,725 2006

4 The Dark Knight (Warner Bros. ) $1,001,921,825 2008

5 Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Warner Bros.) $974,733,550 2001

6 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (Walt Disney Pictures) $960,996,492 2007

7 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Warner Bros. ) $938,212,738 2007

8 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros.) $934,559,990 2009

9 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (New Line Cinema ) $925,282,504 2002

10 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (20th Century Fox ) $924,317,558 1999

11 Shrek 2 (DreamWorks Animation ) $919,838,758 2004

12 Jurassic Park (Universal Studios) $914,691,118 1993

13 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Warner Bros.) $895,921,036 2005

14 Spider-Man 3 (Sony Pictures/Columbia) $890,871,626 2007

15 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (20th Century Fox/Blue Sky) $883,718,521 2009

16 Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Warner Bros.) $878,643,482 2002

17 Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (New Line Cinema) $870,761,744 2001

18 Finding Nemo (Disney/Pixar) $864,625,978 2003

19 Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (20th Century Fox) $848,754,768 2005

20 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (DreamWorks) $834,969,807 2009

21 Spider-Man (Columbia Pictures) $821,708,551 2002

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P a g e | 35
Highest-grossing films of 2009

1 Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (Warner Bros) $934,559,990

2 Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs (20th Century Fox ) $883,718,521

3 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (DreamWorks) $834,969,807

4 2012 (Columbia Pictures ) $734,249,842

5 Up (Disney-Pixar) $683,004,164

6 The Twilight Saga: New Moon (Summit Entertainment) $662,430,961

7 Avatar (20th Century Fox ) $623,575,721

8 Angels & Demons (Columbia Pictures ) $485,930,816

9 The Hangover (Warner Bros.) $459,422,869

10 Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (20th Century Fox) $412,685,061

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince has grossed over $920 million, making it the eighth-highest-grossing film
in history. Six other films, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, 2012, Up, The
Twilight Saga: New Moon and Avatar are also among the top 50. For 2009, the top 10 films consisted of 3
fantasy films, 2 animated films, 3 action films, 1 drama film and 1 comedy film.

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Academy Award-winning films from 1991

Young FBI agent Clarice Starling is assigned to help find a missing woman
to save her from a psychopathic serial killer who skins his victims. Clarice
attempts to gain a better insight into the twisted mind of the killer by
talking to another psychopath Hannibal Lecter, who used to be a
respected psychiatrist. FBI agent Jack Crawford believes that Lecter who
is also a very powerful and clever mind manipulator have the answers to
their questions to help locate the killer. Clarice must first try and gain
Lecter's confidence before he is to give away any information.

1991 THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

The town of Big Whisky is full of normal people trying to lead quiet lives.
Cowboys try to make a living. Sheriff 'Little Bill' tries to build a house and
keep a heavy-handed order. The town whores just try to get by.Then a
couple of cowboys cut up a whore. Unsatisfied with Bill's justice, the
prostitutes put a bounty on the cowboys. The bounty attracts a young
gun billing himself as 'The Schofield Kid', and aging killer William Munny.
Munny reformed for his young wife, and has been raising crops and two
children in peace. But his wife is gone. Farm life is hard. And Munny is no
good at it. So he calls his old partner Ned, saddles his ornery nag, and
rides off to kill one more time, blurring the lines between heroism and
villainy, man and myth.

1992 UNFORGIVEN

Oskar Schindler is a vain, glorious and greedy German businessman who

becomes unlikely humanitarian amid the barbaric Nazi reign when he
feels compelled to turn his factory into a refuge for Jews. Based on the
true story of Oskar Schindler who managed to save about 1100 Jews
from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. A testament for
the good in all of us.

1993 SCHINDLER'S LIST

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Forrest, Forrest Gump is a simple man with little brain activity but good
intentions. He struggles through childhood with his best and only friend
Jenny. His 'mama' teaches him the ways of life and leaves him to choose
his destiny. Forrest joins the army for service in Vietnam, finding new
friends called Dan and Bubba, he wins medals, starts a table tennis craze,
creates a famous shrimp fishing fleet, inspires people to jog, create the
smiley, write bumper stickers and songs, donating to people and
meeting the president several times. However this is all irrelevant to
Forrest who can only think of his childhood sweetheart Jenny. Who has
messed up her life. Although in the end all he wants to prove is that
anyone can love anyone

1994 FORREST GUMP

William Wallace is a Scottish rebel who leads an uprising against the

cruel English ruler Edward the Longshanks, who wishes to inherit the
crown of Scotland for himself. When he was a young boy, William
Wallace's father and brother, along with many others, lost their lives
trying to free Scotland. Once he loses another of his loved ones, William
Wallace begins his long quest to make Scotland free once and for all,
along with the assistance of Robert the Bruce.

1995 BRAVEHEART

Beginning in the 1930's, "The English Patient" tells the story of Count
Almasy who is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal
Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert
along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds,
Almasy enters into a world of love, betrayal, and politics that is later
revealed in a series of flashbacks while Almasy is on his death bed after
being horribly burned in a plane crash.

1996 THE ENGLISH PATIENT

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84 years later a 100-year-old woman named Rose DeWitt Bukator tells
the story to her granddaughter Lizzy Calvert, Brock Lovett, Lewis Bodine,
Bobby Buell, and Anatoly Mikailavich on the Keldysh about her life set in
April 10th 1912, on a ship called Titanic when young Rose boards the
departing ship with the upper-class passengers and her mother, Ruth
DeWitt Bukater, and her fiancé, Caledon Cal Hockley. Meanwhile, a
drifter and artist named Jack Dawson and his best friend Fabrizio De
Rossi win third-class tickets to the ship in a game. And she explains the
whole story from departure until the death of Titanic on its first and last
voyage April 15th, 1912 at 2:20 in the morning.

1997 TITANIC

Romantic comedy set in London in the late 16th century: Young

playwright William Shakespeare struggles with his latest work "Romeo
and Ethel the Pirate's Daughter". A great fan of Shakespeare's plays is
young, wealthy Viola who is about to be married to the cold-hearted
Lord Wessex, but constantly dreams of becoming an actress. Women
were not allowed to act on stage at that time (female roles were played
by men, too), but dressed up as a boy, Viola successfully auditions for
the part of Romeo. Soon she and William are caught in a forbidden
romance that provides rich inspiration for his play.

1998 SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE

Lester Burnham is suffering a mid-life crisis that affects the lives of his
family, which is made up of his super bitch of a wife Carolyn and rebelling
daughter Jane, who hates him. Carolyn is a real estate agent, a little too
wrapped up in her job, who takes on an affair with business rival Buddy
Kane. Meanwhile Jane seems to fall in love with Ricky Fitts, the strange
boy next door, who is a drug dealer/documentarian and lives under a roof
governed by a very strict marine father and a speechless mother. Lester's
mid-life crisis causes him to drastically change his life around when he
quits his job and works at a fast food restaurant. He starts working out to
gain the attention of Angela, a friend of Jane's, who brags about her
sexual exploits every weekend. Lives change and not for the best.

1999 AMERICAN BEAUTY

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Maximus is a powerful Roman general, loved by the people and the
aging Emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Before his death, the Emperor chooses
Maximus to be his heir over his own son, Commodus, and a power
struggle leaves Maximus and his family condemned to death. The
powerful general is unable to save his family, and his loss of will allows
him to get captured and put into the Gladiator games until he dies. The
only desire that fuels him now is the chance to rise to the top so that he
will be able to look into the eyes of the man who will feel his revenge.

2000 GLADIATOR

From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes

Nash, Jr. experienced it all. A mathematical genius, he made an
astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of
international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found
himself on a painful and harrowing journey of self-discovery. After many
years of struggle, he eventually triumphed over his tragedy, and finally -
late in life - received the Nobel Prize.

2001 A BEAUTIFUL MIND

Roxie Hart is a married chorus girl with hopes of being a headliner in

Vaudeville. Velma Kelly is a former headliner. What do these two have in
common? They both are murderesses. Roxie killed her lover when he
walked out on her, and Velma killed her husband and sister, who were
having an affair. Chicago's newspapers love the nitty-gritty and Velma is
at the top of the headlines. But then Roxie comes along and Velma is old
news. They find themselves competing for not only the press' attention,
but also the focus of their shared lawyer, the suave Billy Flynn. Add to
the mix a sob sister, Roxie's hapless husband Amos, and a warm prison
matron who watches out for her girls (if there's something in it for her),
and you have Chicago.

2002 CHICAGO

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Gondor is overrun by the orcs of Mordor, and Gandalf rides to Minas
Tirith to aid the humans in the war that is ahead. Aragorn must realize
his true identity and purpose as the King of Men, and journey with Gimli
and Legolas to summon the Army of the Dead so that the battle against
evil can be won. Meanwhile, paranoia and suspicion rises between
Frodo, Sam and Gollum as they continue their increasingly dark and
dangerous travel to Mount Doom, the one place where The Ring can be
destroyed once and for all.

2003 THE RETURN OF THE KING

Frankie Dunn has trained and managed some incredible fighters during a
lifetime spent in the ring. The most important lesson he teaches his
boxers is the one that rules life: above all, always protect yourself. In the
wake of a painful estrangement from his daughter, Frankie has been
unwilling to let himself get close to anyone for a very long time. His only
friend, Scrap, an ex-boxer who looks after Frankie's gym, knows that
beneath his gruff exterior is a man who has been seeking, for the past 25
years, the forgiveness that somehow continues to elude him. Then
Maggie Fitzgerald walks into his gym.

2004 MILLION DOLLAR BABY

At the start of Crash, Don Cheadle gets into a nighttime fender-bender

primarily, it would seem, so he can state the theme of the movie right off
the bat: “We crash into each other so we can feel something,” he mutters
portentously. Cheadle turns out to be a police detective on his way to
investigate a murder—a body found by the side of a Los Angeles road. A
bit later, in a shift so abrupt it could come from a different movie, we’re
quickly introduced to two casually dressed young black men, Anthony and
Peter, walking briskly along a posh L.A. street, complaining about the poor
service they just received at a restaurant because, Anthony is convinced,
the wait staff thought “we’re black, and black people don’t tip.”

2005 CRASH

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Two just-graduated officers from Massachusetts State Police Academy
follow opposite sides of the law: Billy Costigan is assigned to work
undercover with the Irish mobster Frank Costello to get evidences to
arrest him. His true identity is only known by his superiors Dignam and
Oliver Queenan. The protégée of Costello, Colin Sullivan, is promoted in
the Massachusetts State Police and is the informer of Costello. Each
police officer gives his best effort trying to disclose the identity of the
other "rat".

2006 THE DEPARTED

In rural Texas, welder and hunter Llewelyn Moss discovers the remains of
several drug runners who have all killed each other in an exchange gone
violently wrong. Rather than report the discovery to the police, Moss
decides to simply take the two million dollars present for himself. This puts
the psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh, on his trail as he dispassionately
murders nearly every rival, bystander and even employer in his pursuit of
his quarry and the money. As Moss desperately attempts to keep one step
ahead, the blood from this hunt begins to flow behind him with
relentlessly growing intensity as Chigurh closes in. Meanwhile, the laconic
Sherrif Ed Tom Bell blithely oversees the investigation even as he struggles
to face the sheer enormity of the crimes he is attempting to thwart.

2007 NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

In Mumbai, the eighteen year-old orphan from the slums Jamal Malik is
tortured by the policemen in a precinct accused of cheating a game show.
Jamal, who has no education and works in a call center serving tea, is close
to wining twenty million rupees in the show "Kaun Banega Crorepati?"
(2000) (Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?) hosted by Prem Kumar, giving
precise answers to the questions and raising suspicion of fraud. The police
inspector shows the videotape and after each question, Jamal tells parts of
his childhood with his brother Salim, his crush for Latika and their fight to
survive on the streets to justify each correct answer, guided by his
common sense and past experience, and prove his innocence.

2008 SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE

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 Reference

http://www.wikipedia.org

http://www.associatedcontent.com

http://www.imdb.com

http://www.digitaldreamdoor.nutsie.com

http://www.filmsite.org

http://www.wildaboutmovies.com

http://www.pacejmiller.files.wordpress.com

http://www.goremasternews.files.wordpress.com

http://www.stockdisplays.files.wordpress.com

http://www.persiancultures.com

http://www.imagecache2.allposters.com

http://www.alltrailers.net

http://www.biocrawler.com

http://www.oscar.com

http://www.biocrawler.com

http://www.movieretriever.com

http://www.films.lk

http://www.filmcritic.com

http://www.film.com

http://www.srilankafilmcorp.com

http://www.filmlocationservices.lk

http://www.sandeshaya.org

http://www.lanka.info

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