Cinema

There are several words in English which denote our "kino"; cinema being the most common one used in Britain. By "cinema", however, we may mean two things. Firstly, it is the building in which films are shown, as, for example, in: There are many cinemas in London's West End. Secondly, cinema denotes "films as an art form or entertainment". You may say for example: I prefer cinema to the theatre. Or: Due to the influence of television and video, the popularity of the cinema has declined sharply over the last 20 years. Cinema occurs expressions like: a cinema-goer, i.e. a person who is keen on seeing films and goes to the cinema regularly, and cinema-going, in a sentence such as: Cinema going has declined in Britain. Besides the two words cinema, also pictures, movies and flicks are used. Pictures is in British English and more colloquial than cinema.

Movies in American English, so instead of saying: Let's go to the pictures, an American would say: or Let's go to the movies. Movie in the singular is used in the sentence of "film". e.g.: I saw a good movie yesterday. Flicks is a slang word for cinema. We distinguish between several types of films. There are feature films, i.e. full-lenght films, lasting about one and a half hours, forming the main part of a cinema performance. Then there are documentaries, cartoons (or animated cartoons) and newsreels, usually shown before a feature. As for the genres of films, tastes differ. You may prefer comedies, serious films,historical films, musicals, westerns, horror films, war films, thrillers or action films. Further, films may be silent or sound. Perhaps you too are a fan of films of the silent era, starring Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton or the charming pair Laurel and Hardy. Films are either colour or black-and-white.

A foreign film which arrives in our country is either dubbed or is given subtitles. An actor or an actress who playes the leading part in a film is called a star. If there are two main characters in a film played by stars, the verb co-star is used. The other people who participate in making film and whose names appear in the credits include: the scriptwriter, director, producer, cameraman, costume designer, make-up artist, etc. A film may be shot on location, i.e. in natural setting or in the studio. Tickets for a film can be booked and bought at the box-office. A film which is very successful and draws in large audiences becomes a box-office hit. The cinemaaudience sit in rows, at the front/back or the middle of the auditorium.