Firsts

From its beginning, the Film Registry has been interested in significant firsts in American cinema history. Below is a list of the ones I could think of, sorted by year of induction. I’m also including important firsts for the Film Registry itself. (See my list of Missing Firsts for titles that haven’t been added to the Film Registry yet.)

1989
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First acting Academy Award for a black actor: Gone With the Wind (1939)
First Hollywood studio film by a black director: The Learning Tree (1969)
First film nor: The Maltese Falcon (1941)
First popular American feature-length documentary: Nanook of the North (1922)
First American animated feature: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
First use of computer animation: Vertigo (1958/1989)

1990
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First film to use surround sound: Fantasia (1940)
First “blockbuster” American film: The Great Train Robbery (1903)
First popular avant-garde film: Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First short films: The Great Train Robbery (1903), Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), The River (1939)
First films by women directors: Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), Harlan County USA (1976)
First experimental short film: Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
First independently produced films: Killer of Sheep (1977), Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
First student film: Killer of Sheep (1977)
First film entered the first year it was eligible: Raging Bull (1980)

1991
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First popular animated character: Gertie the Dinosaur (1914)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First “Race Film”: The Blood of Jesus (1941)
First animated short: Gertie the Dinosaur (1914)
First non-English language film: Tevye (1939)

1992
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First epic-length film: The Birth of a Nation (1915)
Earliest extant feature film by a black director: Within Our Gates (1920)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First experimental feature: Dog Star Man (1964)

1993
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First two-strip technicolor feature film: The Black Pirate (1926)
First screwball comedy: It Happened One Night (1934)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First newsreel: March of Time: Inside Nazi Germany (1938)
First silent-era film by a woman director: Where Are My Children? (1916)

1994
FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First serial: The Exploits of Elaine (1914)
First X-rated film: Midnight Cowboy (1969)
First home movie: Zapruder film (1963)

1995
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First publicly shown motion picture: Blacksmith Scene (1893)
First film to feature a well-known actor: Rip Van Winkle (1896)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First Kinetoscope films: Blacksmith Scene (1893), Rip Van Winkle (1896)
First film by an Asian-American director: Chan Is Missing (1982)
First film by a Hispanic-American director: El Norte (1983)
First IMAX film: To Fly! (1976)

1996
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First sound film to feature singing and talking: The Jazz Singer (1927)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First concert film: Woodstock (1970)

1997
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First Best Picture Academy Award winner: Wings (1927)

1998
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First film shot on location at the Grand Canyon: Sky High (1922)
First popular sound cartoon/first appearance of Mickey Mouse: Steamboat Willie (1928)

1999
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First filmed kiss: The Kiss (1896)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First midnight movie: Night of the Living Dead (1968)

2000
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First feature film about gangsters: Regeneration (1915)

2002
FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First films directed by Native Americans: Through Navajo Eyes (1966)

2003
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First film shot on location in Alaska: The Chechahcos (1924)
Earliest attempt at synchronized sound: Dickson Experimental Sound Film (1894)

2004
FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First film directed by a black woman: Daughters of the Dust (1991)

2005
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First Hollywood film to address racism: Imitation of Life (1934)
First computer-animated feature film: Toy Story (1995)

2006
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First widescreen film/first 70mm film: The Big Trail (1930)
Earliest known film by an Asian-American director: The Curse of Quon Gwon (1917)
Only appearance of Bessie Smith in a film: St. Louis Blues (1929)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First student short film: A Time Out of War (1954)

2008
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First Hollywood film during the Hays Code era to feature nudity: The Pawnbroker (1964)

2009
FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First music video: Michael Jackson’s Thriller (1983)

2010
FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First banned film: Let There Be Light (1946)

2012
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
Earliest feature length film: The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight (1897)
First mainstream American film to feature a black actor: Uncle Tom’s Cabin (1914)

2013
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First film (and only known silent film) with an all Native American cast: Daughter of Dawn (1920)

2014
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
Earliest surviving feature film with an all-black cast: Lime Kiln Club Field Day (1913)

2016
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First film about gangsters: The Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)

2017
FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First experimental feature by a woman director: Lives of Performers (1972)

2018
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First musical shot on location: On the Town (1949)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First animated film by a black woman director: Hair Piece: A Film for Nappyheaded People (1984)

2019
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First feature to use three-strip Technicolor: Becky Sharp (1935)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First film by a Hispanic-American woman director: Real Women Have Curves (2002)

2020
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First film by a woman director to win the Academy Award for Directing: The Hurt Locker (2008)
First appearance of Charlie Chaplin’s Little Tramp character: Kid Auto Races at Venice (1914)
First lead acting Academy Award for a black actor: Lilies of the Field (1963)
First Hollywood film to address drug addiction: The Man With the Golden Arm (1955)
First use of split screen: Suspense (1913)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First film made by native Hawaiians: Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)
First entry shot on video: Mauna Kea: Temple Under Siege (2006)

2021
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First three-strip Technicolor film: Flowers and Trees (1932)
Earliest known film by a black woman director: Hell-Bound Train (1930)
First feature film by a black lesbian director: The Watermelon Woman (1996)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First stand-up comedy performance film: Richard Pryor: Live in Concert (1979)

2022
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First acting Academy Award for a Hispanic-American actor: Cyrano de Bergerac (1950)
First Marvel Cinematic Universe film: Iron Man (2008)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First film by a black gay male director: Tongues Untied (1989)

2023
FILM HISTORY FIRSTS:
First Best Documentary Oscar winner by a woman director: Helen Keller in Her Story (1954)
First animated film in CinemaScope: Lady and the Tramp (1955)

FILM REGISTRY FIRSTS:
First year with seven documentaries added (three of them Best Documentary Feature Oscar winners*): A Movie Trip Through Filmland (1921), Bohulano Family Film Collection (1950s-1970s/2023), Helen Keller in Her Story* (1954), We’re Alive (1974), Cruisin’ J-Town (1975), Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision* (1994), 20 Feet From Stardom* (2013)
First year two films were added the year they were eligible: 12 Years a Slave (2013), 20 Feet From Stardom (2013)