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Europe After World War I

During World War I the film industries in the various European countries were badly damaged by the war effort’s demand for manpower and materials, and also by the loss of markets. This was particularly true in Danish and Russian cinema, but all the other countries except Italy were also affected. Italian producers took advantage of their privileged position to make more and more grandiose films, and much effort was expended on a peculiar genre of diva films. In these dramas of unhappy love, the female star suffered and struck endless anguished Art Nouveau poses surrounded by male admirers and luxury. Because the Italians had at that time still not adopted the new American style of film construction, their films were unsaleable in the major markets, and their industry was ruined. Production in Italy fell away to a few dozen films by 1925, and Italian cinema did not recover until the sound period. Towards the end of the war, new talents and ideas found their way into German cinema and French cinema.

See also African Cinema; Art Cinema; Australian Cinema; Chinese Cinema; Eastern European Cinema; Indian Cinema; Irish Cinema; Japanese Cinema; Latin American Cinema; Neo-Realism; New Zealand Cinema; Spanish Cinema.