en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Classical_Hollywood_cinema
1 correction found
when synchronized sound was introduced to feature films
Synchronized sound had already reached feature films in 1926. What 1927’s The Jazz Singer newly popularized was synchronized spoken dialogue, not the first use of synchronized sound in a feature.
Full reasoning
This clause is historically inaccurate because feature films with synchronized sound predated 1927. The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History states that Don Juan (1926) "was the first feature-length film with synchronized Vitaphone sound effects and musical soundtrack, though it has no spoken dialogue." The Library of Congress’s essay on The Jazz Singer (1927) likewise explains that The Jazz Singer became the first successful synchronized feature with talking, and notes that Warner Bros.’ earlier Vitaphone feature Don Juan (1926) had already been released with synchronized accompaniment.
So 1927 was not when synchronized sound was first introduced to feature films. A more accurate formulation would be that 1927 marked the breakthrough of synchronized spoken dialogue in feature films, especially via The Jazz Singer.
2 sources
- The Advent of Sound | National Museum of American History
Don Juan was the first feature-length film with synchronized Vitaphone sound effects and musical soundtrack, though it has no spoken dialogue.
- The Jazz Singer | Library of Congress / National Film Preservation Board
The Jazz Singer ... became the first successful synchronized feature with talking ... [after] their first Vitaphone-ed feature “Don Juan” (1926).