{{short description|Film with a long running time}} {{Redirect|Feature presentation}} {{about|the type of film|films named "Feature" or variation|Feature (disambiguation)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2019}}
A '''feature film''' or '''feature-length film''' (often abbreviated to '''feature''') is, broadly, a film ([[Film|motion picture]], "movie" or simply “picture”) with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment theatrical program. More strictly, "feature film" in the [[film industry]] refers to a feature-length [[fiction|fictional]] work of entertainment, comparable to a [[novel]], its parts enacted by [[actor]]s on [[Set (film and TV scenery)|sets]] under the guidance of a [[film director|director]], as against a [[documentary film]], which treats factually of real events for the viewer's edification.<ref>{{cite web |title=Documentaries 101: What Is A Documentary? |url=https://www.desktop-documentaries.com/documentaries-101.html#:~:text=%22Real%20People%22%20vs.,Check%20out%20these%20iPhone%20movies. |website=Desktop Documentaries |publisher=Faith Fuller |access-date=29 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Landen |first=Hal |title=What’s the Difference between Documentary and Feature Film |url=https://www.videouniversity.com/videou-how-tos/whats-the-difference-between-documentary-and-feature-film/#:~:text=Some%20may%20be%20based%20on,4. |website=VideoUniversity.com |publisher=Hal Landen |access-date=29 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Bisbey |first=Bruce |date=21 December 2018 |title=WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DOCUMENTARY AND FEATURE FILM? (In the Entertainment industry.) |url=https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-difference-between-documentary-feature-film-industry-bisbey#:~:text=DumbDogProductionsLLC/%20thank%20you.-,WHAT'S%20THE%20DIFFERENCE%20BETWEEN%20DOCUMENTARY%20AND%20FEATURE%20FILM?,mostly%20fiction%2C%20sometimes%20total%20fantasy. |website=LinkedIn |publisher=Microsoft |access-date=29 April 2026}}</ref> The feature film commonly has a [[plot (narrative)|storyline]], as also may the documentary.<ref>{{cite web |title=Documentaries 101: What Is A Documentary? |url=https://www.desktop-documentaries.com/documentaries-101.html#:~:text=%22Real%20People%22%20vs.,Check%20out%20these%20iPhone%20movies. |website=Desktop Documentaries |publisher=Faith Fuller |access-date=29 April 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What Makes a Great Documentary? 7 Key Elements |url=https://www.docfilmacademy.com/blog/what-makes-a-great-documentary |website=Documentary Film Academy |publisher=Sebastian Solberg |access-date=29 April 2026}}</ref>
The term ''feature film'' originally referred to the main, full-length film in a cinema program that included a [[short film]] and often a [[newsreel]]. Matinée programs, especially in the United States and Canada, in general, also included [[cartoons]], at least one weekly [[serial film|serial]] and, typically, a second feature-length film on weekends. Feature films are also released on and produced by [[streaming platform]]s.<ref name="made-for-streaming">{{cite web|title=Made-For-Streaming Movies |url=https://www.filmtake.com/production/made-for-streaming-movies/ |website=FilmTake |date=November 17, 2019}}</ref><ref name="Starburst">{{cite magazine|last1=Bradley |first1=Ben |title=The Rise of Streaming Services: How They Are Changing the Film Industry |url=https://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/the-rise-of-streaming-services-how-they-are-changing-the-film-industry/ |magazine=[[Starburst (magazine)|Starburst]] |date=June 19, 2024}}</ref><ref name="Flaherty">{{cite web|date=January 5, 2025 |first1=Taryn |last1=Flaherty |title=10 Best Streaming Original Movies of 2024 |url=https://movieweb.com/best-streaming-original-movies-2024/ |website=[[MovieWeb]]}}</ref>
The first narrative feature film was the 70-minute ''[[The Story of the Kelly Gang]]'' (1906).<ref>{{cite web | url=http://aso.gov.au/titles/features/story-kelly-gang/notes/ | title=The Story of the Kelly Gang (1906) | work=Australian Screen | access-date=May 26, 2014}}</ref> Other early feature films include ''[[Les Misérables (1909 film)|Les Misérables]]'' (1909), ''[[L'Inferno]]'', ''[[Defence of Sevastopol]], [[The Adventures of Pinocchio (1911 film)|The Adventures of Pinocchio]]'' (1911), ''[[Oliver Twist (1912 American film)|Oliver Twist]]'' (American version), ''[[Oliver Twist (1912 British film)|Oliver Twist]]'' (British version), ''[[Richard III (1912 film)|Richard III]]'', ''[[From the Manger to the Cross]]'', ''[[Cleopatra (1912 film)|Cleopatra]]'' (1912), ''[[Raja Harishchandra|Raja Harishchandra]]'' (1913, the first Indian feature film), ''[[Quo Vadis (1913 film)|Quo Vadis?]]'' (1913), ''[[Cabiria]]'' (1914) and ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]'' (1915).
==Description== The notion of how long a feature film should be has varied according to time and place. According to the [[Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=93rd Academy Awards of Merit rules|url=https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/93aa_rules.pdf|url-status=live|access-date=February 18, 2021|website=Oscars.org|publisher=Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200502044737/https://www.oscars.org/sites/oscars/files/93aa_rules.pdf|archive-date=May 2, 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.oscars.org/79academyawards/rules/rule02.html |title=Rule 2 {{!}} 79th Academy Awards Rules {{!}} Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences |access-date=November 24, 2006 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906191347/http://www.oscars.org/79academyawards/rules/rule02.html |archive-date=September 6, 2008 }}</ref> the [[American Film Institute]]<ref>''The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures''</ref> and the [[British Film Institute]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/bfi-national-archive/search-bfi-archive/bfi-filmography/bfi-filmography-faq|title=FAQ|publisher=[[British Film Institute]]|access-date=August 27, 2018}}</ref> a feature film runs for more than 40 minutes, while [[SAG-AFTRA]] says that a feature's running time is 60 minutes or longer.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sagawards.org/awards/rules-eligibility/eligibility-criteria |title=SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS ELIGIBILITY MOTION PICTURES |access-date=November 22, 2021 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.sagindie.org/docs/sag-modifiedlowbudget-2005wm.pdf |title=SCREEN ACTORS GUILD MODIFIED LOW BUDGET AGREEMENT |access-date=December 10, 2008 |url-status=deviated |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091229060450/http://www.sagindie.org/docs/sag-modifiedlowbudget-2005wm.pdf |archive-date=December 29, 2009 }}</ref> The [[Centre National de la Cinématographie]] in France defines it as a [[35 mm movie film|35 mm film]] longer than {{convert|1600|m}}, which is exactly 58 minutes and 29 seconds for [[sound films]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Diffusion non commerciale {{!}} CNC |url=https://www.cnc.fr/a-propos-du-cnc/missions/reglementer/diffusion-non-commerciale |access-date=2024-04-12 |website=www.cnc.fr |language=fr-FR}}</ref> In 1959 British Films Fund Agency defined a short as a film of less than 3,000 ft (approx. 34 minutes); consequently anything longer was feature-length.<ref>https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1959/apr/07/draft-cinematograph-films-distribution</ref>
== History == [[File:The Story of the Kelly Gang 1906.jpg|thumb|An actor playing the Australian [[bushranger]] [[Ned Kelly]] in ''[[The Story of the Kelly Gang]]'' (1906), the world's first dramatic feature-length film]] The term ''feature film'' came into use to refer to the main film presented in a cinema and the one which was promoted or advertised. The term was used to distinguish the longer film from the [[short film]]s (referred to as shorts) typically presented before the main film, such as [[newsreel]]s, [[Serial (film)|serials]], [[Animation#Silent era|animated cartoon]]s, live-action comedies and [[Documentary|documentaries]]. There was no sudden increase in the running times of films to the present-day definitions of feature-length; the "featured" film on a film program in the early 1910s gradually expanded from two to three to four reels. Early features had been produced in the United States and France, but were released in individual (short film) scenes. This left exhibitors the option of playing them alone, to view an incomplete combination of some films, or to run them all together as a short film series.
Early features were mostly documentary-style films of noteworthy events. Some of the earliest feature-length productions were films of boxing matches, such as ''[[The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight]]'' (1897),<ref>[[Charles Musser]], ''The Emergence of Cinema: The American Screen to 1907'', pp. 197–200.</ref> ''Reproduction of the Corbett-Jeffries Fight'' and ''The Jeffries-Sharkey Fight'' (1899). Some consider the 100-minute ''The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight'' to be the first documentary feature film, but it is more accurately characterized as a sports program as it included the full unedited boxing match. In 1900, the documentary film ''[[Army Life; or, How Soldiers Are Made: Mounted Infantry|Army Life]]'' was produced by [[Robert W. Paul|Robert Paul]]. It was a programme of 33 short films, with a total running time of around 75 minutes, following the training of British soldiers.<ref>{{Citation|title=Robert Paul and the Origins of British Cinema|date=2019|url=http://dx.doi.org/10.7208/chicago/9780226610115.003.0012|work=|pages=157–160|publisher=University of Chicago Press|doi=10.7208/chicago/9780226610115.003.0012|isbn=978-0-226-10563-5|s2cid=239321837|access-date=2021-08-09|url-access=subscription}}</ref> ''[[Inauguration of the Australian Commonwealth]]'' (1901) ran for 35 minutes, "six times longer than any previous Australian film",<ref>{{cite news|url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/inauguration-commonwealth/clip1/#tab-education|title=Inauguration of the Commonwealth (1901): Education notes|publisher=Australian Screen|access-date=January 8, 2019}}</ref> and has been called "possibly the first feature-length documentary made in Australia".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/inauguration-commonwealth/|title=Inauguration of the Commonwealth (1901)|publisher=Australian Screen|access-date=January 8, 2019}}</ref> American company [[Siegmund Lubin|S. Lubin]] released a [[Passion Play]] titled ''Lubin's Passion Play'' in January 1903 in 31 parts, totaling about 60 minutes.<ref>''Passion Play'' (1903), in: The American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures [online database].</ref> The French company [[Pathé|Pathé Frères]] released a different Passion Play in May 1903, ''[[Vie et Passion du Christ|The Life and Passion of Jesus Christ]]'', in 32 parts, totaling 44 minutes.
Defined by length, the first dramatic feature film was the [[Cinema of Australia|Australian]] 70-minute film ''[[The Story of the Kelly Gang]]'' (1906).<ref name="PatrickRobertson">{{cite book |last1=Robertson |first1=Patrick |title=Film Facts |date=2001 |publisher=Billboard Books |location=New York |isbn=0-8230-7943-0 |page=9 |url=https://archive.org/details/filmfacts0000robe_i8w0 |access-date=13 September 2022}}</ref> Similarly, the first European feature was the 90-minute film ''[[L'Enfant prodigue (1907 film)|L'Enfant prodigue]]'' (France, 1907), although that was an unmodified record of a stage play; Europe's first feature [[film adaptation|adapted directly for the screen]], ''[[Les Misérables (1909 film)|Les Misérables]]''{{better source needed|date=October 2019}}, came from France in 1909.<ref name="PatrickRobertson" /> The first Russian feature was ''[[Defence of Sevastopol]]'' in 1911.<ref>Patrick Robertson, ''Film Facts'', New York: Billboard Books, 2001, p. 13. {{ISBN|0-8230-7943-0}}.</ref> Early Italian features included ''[[L'Inferno]]'' (1911), ''[[Quo Vadis (1913 film)|Quo Vadis?]]'', ''[[The Last Days of Pompeii (1913 film)|The Last Days of Pompeii]]'' (1913) and ''[[Cabiria]]'' (1914). The first UK features were the documentary ''[[With Our King and Queen Through India]]'' (1912), filmed in [[Kinemacolor]]<ref>Charles Urban, ''A Yank in Britain: The Lost Memoirs of Charles Urban, Film Pioneer'', The Projection Box, 1999, p. 79. {{ISBN|978-0-9523941-2-9}}.</ref> and ''[[Oliver Twist (1912 British film)|Oliver Twist]]'' (also 1912).<ref name="PatrickRobertson" /> The first American features were ''[[Oliver Twist (1912 American film)|Oliver Twist]]'', ''[[From the Manger to the Cross]]'', ''[[Cleopatra (1912 film)|Cleopatra]]'' and ''[[Richard III (1912 film)|Richard III]]'' (all 1912). Actor [[Frederick Warde]] starred in some of these adaptations.<ref>Patrick Robertson, ''Film Facts'', New York: Billboard Books, 2001, p. 10. {{ISBN|0-8230-7943-0}}.</ref> The first [[Asian cinema|Asian feature]] was [[Cinema of Japan|Japan]]'s ''The Life Story of Tasuke Shiobara'' (1912),<ref name="PatrickRobertson_a">Patrick Robertson, ''Film Facts'', New York: Billboard Books, 2001, pp. 10–14. {{ISBN|0-8230-7943-0}}.</ref> the first [[Cinema of India|Indian feature]] was ''[[Raja Harishchandra]]'' (1913),<ref>Patrick Robertson, ''Film Facts'', New York: Billboard Books, 2001, p. 12. {{ISBN|0-8230-7943-0}}.</ref> [[Cinema of China|China]]'s first feature film was Zhang Shichuan's ''Nan Fu Nan Qi'' (1913), the first [[Latin American cinema|South America]]n feature was [[Cinema of Brazil|Brazil]]'s ''O Crime dos Banhados'' (1913),<ref name="PatrickRobertson_a" /> and the first [[Cinema of Africa|Africa]]n feature was [[Cinema of South Africa|South Africa]]'s ''[[De Voortrekkers]]'' (1916).<ref name="PatrickRobertson_a" />
By 1915, over 600 feature films were produced annually in the United States.<ref name="AmericanFilm">American Film Institute Catalog of Motion Pictures [online database].</ref> It is often incorrectly cited that ''[[The Birth of a Nation]]'' (1915) was the first American feature film.<ref>"'The Birth of a Nation' was the first feature and the first film shown at the White House." ''Movies Silently.'' Sept. 2015. September 2. 2017. http://moviessilently.com/2015/09/07/silent-movie-myth-the-birth-of-a-nation-was-the-first-feature-and-the-first-film-shown-at-the-white-house/</ref> The most prolific year of U.S. feature production was 1921, with 682 releases; the lowest number of releases was in 1963, with 213.<ref name="AmericanFilm" /> Between 1922 and 1970, the U.S. and Japan alternated as leaders in the quantity of feature film production. Since 1971, the country with the highest feature output has been India,<ref>Patrick Robertson, ''Film Facts'', New York: Billboard Books, 2001, p. 15.</ref> which produces a thousand films in more than twelve [[Languages of India|Indian languages]] each year.<ref>{{citation|last=Nelmes|first=Jill|title=An introduction to film studies|edition=3rd|publisher=[[Routledge]]|year=2003|isbn=0-415-26268-2|chapter=10|page=360}}</ref>
==Technological developments== [[File:The Jazz Singer 1927 Poster.jpg|thumb|A poster for ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'' (1927), the first feature film to use recorded sound]]In 1927, [[Warner Bros.]] released the first feature-length film with sound, ''[[The Jazz Singer]]'', whose audio track was recorded with a proprietary technology called [[Vitaphone]].<ref name=":0">{{cite book|last1=Carringer|first1=Robert L|title=The Jazz Singer|date=1979|publisher=Univ of Wisconsin Press|location=Wisconsin|isbn=978-0299076641|page=[https://archive.org/details/jazzsinger0000unse/page/17 17]|url=https://archive.org/details/jazzsinger0000unse/page/17}}</ref> The film's success persuaded other studios to go to the considerable expense of adding microphones to their sets, and scramble to start producing their own "[[talkies]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/lkingygvr/sound/0|title=100 Ideas That Changed Film: Sound|last=Parkinson|first=David|date=April 18, 2012|website=Credo Reference|publisher=Laurence King|access-date=October 21, 2016}}</ref>
One of the next major advancements made in movie production was [[color film]]. Even before color was a possibility in movies, early film makers were interested in how color could enhance their stories.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/lkingygvr/color/0|title="Color" 100 Ideas That Changed Film|last=Parkinson|first=David|date=April 18, 2012|website=Credo Reference|publisher=Laurence King|access-date=October 21, 2016}}</ref> Early techniques included [[hand tinting]]: painting each frame by hand.<ref name=":1" /> Cheaper and more widely used was [[Photographic print toning|toning]]: dying the film in a single color, used in many films in the 1920s.<ref name=":1" /> The film processing lab [[Technicolor]] developed the Three-Tone coloring technique that became the standard for color film. It was a complex, time consuming, and expensive process that many movie studios were not eager to try.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/mcfav/technicolor/0|title="Technicolor." A/v A to Z: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media, Entertainment and Other Audiovisual Terms|last=Kroon|first=Richard W.|date=2010|website=Credo Reference|publisher=McFarland|access-date=October 22, 2016}}</ref> One of the early adopters of the three-strip process was [[The Walt Disney Company|Disney]]. Some of the most notable films [[Technicolor]] processed with three-strip were ''[[The Wizard of Oz (1939 film)|The Wizard of Oz]]'' and ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]''.<ref name=":1" />
Following [[World War 2]], further advances were made in color film. The introduction of [[Kodak]]'s relatively inexpensive high-quality [[Eastmancolor]] single-print film in 1950 allowed studios to make prints easier than with Technicolor's more expensive three strip design. This ended Technicolor's monopoly and made the color process more accessible.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Eastman Color |url=https://filmcolors.org/timeline-entry/1310/ |access-date=2025-12-09 |website=Timeline of Historical Colors in Photography and Film |language=en}}</ref> Early notable films that used Eastmancolor were [[Royal Journey]] in 1951 and [[Carson_City_(film)|Carson City]] in 1952.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Crowther |first=Bosley |date=29 February 1952 |title=THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; Documentary of 'Royal Journey' to Canada and United States Last Fall at the Embassy Guild |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1952/02/29/archives/the-screen-in-review-documentary-of-royal-journey-to-canada-and.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20251209122401/https://www.nytimes.com/1952/02/29/archives/the-screen-in-review-documentary-of-royal-journey-to-canada-and.html |archive-date=9 December 2025 |access-date=9 December 2025 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
At the same time, the rise of [[Television set|televisions]] in the late 1940s and early 1950s posed a significant [[threat]] to the film industry. People were no longer going to [[Movie theater|movie theaters]], so [[Studio|studios]] decided to add better visuals and sound that television could not replicate yet. This led to the adoption of widescreen formats such as [[Cinerama]] (1952),<ref>{{Cite news |title=Cinerama {{!}} Wide-Screen, Cinematic, 3-Panel {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cinerama |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250625031539/https://www.britannica.com/topic/Cinerama |archive-date=2025-06-25 |access-date=2026-02-08 |work=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> [[CinemaScope]] (1953),<ref>{{Cite news |title=CinemaScope {{!}} Wide-Screen, Widescreen, Anamorphic {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/technology/CinemaScope |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260113095329/https://www.britannica.com/technology/CinemaScope |archive-date=2026-01-13 |access-date=2026-02-08 |work=Encyclopedia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> and [[VistaVision]] (1954),<ref>{{Cite web |last=on |first=Rafael Abreu |date=2021-06-20 |title=What is VistaVision — A History of Widescreen in Hollywood |url=https://www.studiobinder.com/blog/what-is-vistavision/ |access-date=2026-02-08 |website=www.studiobinder.com |language=en-US}}</ref> which offered bigger [[Aspect ratio (image)|aspect ratios]] and a much more immersive viewing experience. Advances in [[Sound film|sound technology]], including [[Stereophonic sound|stereophonic]] and [[Multichannel audio|multi-channel]] magnetic soundtracks further encouraged people to go to movie theaters, rather than stay at home and view their mono-channel home television,<ref>{{Cite web |last=uncredited |date=2012-03-01 |title=The CinemaScope Rebound - |url=https://cinemontage.org/the-cinemascope-rebound/ |access-date=2026-03-11 |language=en-US}}</ref> although only about 25% of movie theaters actually implemented full [[stereo audio]] due to high costs.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Widescreen Museum - The CinemaScope Wing 5 |url=https://www.widescreenmuseum.com/widescreen/wingcs5.htm |access-date=2026-03-11 |website=www.widescreenmuseum.com}}</ref>
[[Digital video|Digital Video]] (or DV) has quickly changed how most films are made.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Parkinson |first=David |date=2012 |title="Digital Video." 100 Ideas That Changed Film |url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/lkingygvr/digital_video/0. |access-date=November 24, 2016 |website=Credo Reference}}</ref> First used to create special effects and animated movies, digital cameras became more common on film sets in the late 1990s. In 2002, [[George Lucas]]' ''[[Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones]]'' became the first major studio film shot primarily on digital video. The ability to instantly play back footage and quickly transfer footage to computers for editing helped to speed up post-production time.<ref name=":2" /> Digital film making was given a big boost in 2005 when the [[Digital Cinema Initiative]] created a guide for manufacturers to create a universal standard, to make the technologies more compatible with each other and more user friendly.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Kroon |first=Richard W. |date=2014 |title=Digital Cinema; A/v A to Z: An Encyclopedic Dictionary of Media, Entertainment and Other Audiovisual Terms |url=http://search.credoreference.com/content/entry/mcfav/digital_cinema_dcinema_d_cinema/0 |access-date=November 24, 2016 |website=Credo Reference |publisher=McFarland}}</ref> Shooting movies on digital also led to new technologies for distributing films. ''[[Titan A.E.]]'', released in 2000, was the first feature film to be released for viewing over the internet.<ref name=":3" /> Digital distribution changed the ways people received and watched media. It also gave viewers access to huge amounts of online content on demand.<ref>{{Cite book |author=Curtin, Michael |title=Distribution Revolution : Conversations about the Digital Future of Film and Television |author2=Holt, Jennifer |author3=Sanson, Kevin |publisher=University of California Press |year=2014 |isbn=9780520959088 |location=Berkeley, US |pages=165 |name-list-style=amp}}</ref> {{Expand section | 1 = The influence from TV after World War 2 (wide screen and surround sound) | date = August 2020 }} ==See also== * [[Narrative film]] * [[Short film]] * [[Featurette]] * [[List of early color feature films]] * [[Index of articles related to motion pictures|List of motion picture terminology]] * [[Television show]] * [[Movie theater|Movie theaters]]
== References == {{reflist}}
{{Film genres}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feature Film}} [[Category:Audiovisual introductions in 1897]] [[Category:Film production]] [[Category:Film and video terminology]] [[Category:Australian inventions]]
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