The document discusses the history of film from its earliest origins to the 1920s. It explores film through the lenses of art, business, and technology. Key inventors and innovations are mentioned, including Aristotle theorizing about persistence of vision in ancient Greece, the 11th century Arab scientist Alhazen experimenting with camera obscura, the 18th century invention of photography by Nicéphore Niépce, the 19th century work of Eadweard Muybridge using zoopraxiscope to capture motion, and the Lumière brothers' 1895 cinematograph which allowed for public film screenings. In the early 20th century, films like The Great Train Robbery helped establish narrative cinema and the Nick