Hollywood: Sound Films vs Silent (1927)
by Anonymous
Warner Bros. gambled on 'The Jazz Singer,' the first feature-length 'talkie.' Other studios resisted, having invested billions in silent film infrastructure. Within two years, silent films were dead.
Sound Films (Talkies)
1927
year
Vitaphone synchronized sound
technology
Massive — required new equipment everywhere
industry resistance
Won — silent films extinct by 1930
outcome
Continue Silent Films
1927
year
Established, perfected art form
technology
None — status quo
industry resistance
Lost — audiences demanded sound
outcome
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