Term: Dialogue

Dialogue is speech delivered by or between characters. With the advent of sound, in the late 1920s, Hollywood films became increasingly dialogue-heavy. At first, the increased dialogue was merely compensating for the lack of camera movement, which was a limitation of the new sound cameras. Eventually, it became clear that dialogue could enhance the narrative of films in ways that were previously unavailable with silent film. Sharp, quick, dialogue-rich films distinguished some of Hollywood’s best work from the 1920s through the 1950s.

Newspaper Office (2:18)

Film:
His Girl Friday, 1940
Director:
Howard Hawks
Source:
1999 LaserLight
This clip appears in:
- Dialogue