Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Movies

None

This Stunning, Six-and-a-Half Hour Video of the Night Sky Will Transport You to the Desert

Jurassic Park’s Stars Would Be Very Different Animals If the Film Were Made Today

In the past 20 years our knowledge about dinosaurs has grown, meaning that some dinosaur-related points depicted in the film are either outdated or wrong

None

The Real Reasons Child Stars Lose Their Minds (According to Matilda’s Mara Wilson)

All the odds are stacked against you once you enter showbiz as a kid

None

Ray Harryhausen, the Godfather of Stop Motion Animation, Dies

Producer and animator Ray Harryhausen, who invented a kind of stop motion model animation called ‘dynamation,’ died today

None

IBM Engineers Pushed Individual Atoms Around to Make This Amazing Stop-Motion Movie

IBM was the first to draw with atoms, and now they’re making them dance

The Earliest Stop Motion Animations Are Weirdly Wonderful

These animations remind us that you don’t need Pixar’s budget to make something wonderful

Are Animal Rules for TVs And Movies Strict Enough?

The rules are extensive, but after three horses died in the filming of the HBO show “Luck,” some are wondering if they’re strict enough

How That Annoying Drone From Inception Took Over Movie Trailers

There’s this weird, droney sound that nearly every action movie seems to employ. But where did it come from?

A crew member dives overboard in the film.

Kon-Tiki Sails Again

A new film recreates the epic voyage—and revives the controversy over its legendary leader, Thor Heyerdahl

James Cameron Decides to Let Scientists Use His Awesome Submersible

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution inherits the submarine, which they will use to built even better submersibles

None

Could Spider Silk Stop a Moving Train?

Spiderman really could have stopped that train from falling, so long as his silk resembled that produced by the Darwin’s bark spider

Portion of the cover of the February 1989 issue of Life magazine

In 1989, ‘Life’ Magazine Said Goodbye To Video Stores, Mailmen and Pennies…

In 1989, “Life” magazine predicted that, by the year 2000, many staples of modern American life might find themselves on the scrapheap of history

None

This Is Your Brain on Movies

Innerscope Research recently did a study claiming that by looking at viewers “emotional engagement threshold” during a trailer, they can predict just how well it will do at the box office. But neuroscience isn’t that easy

Mississippi Officially Ratifies Amendment to Ban Slavery, 148 Years Late

The movie Lincoln helped kick Mississippi into action on finally ratifying the 13th Amendment

Lipstick stencil, 1920s

The History of the Flapper, Part 2: Makeup Makes a Bold Entrance

It’s the birth of the modern cosmetics business as young women look for beauty enhancers in a tube or jar

Delphine Atger, 1920s

The History of the Flapper, Part 1: A Call for Freedom

The young, fashionable women of the 1920s define the dress and style of their peers in their own words

The Tolkien Nerd’s Guide to The Hobbit

Peter Jackson’s blockbuster movie draws upon stories behind stories behind stories, just as J.R.R. Tolkien’s original works did

The clocks in each clip document the time throughout the 24 hour movie.

A 24-Hour Movie That May Be the Biggest (and Best) Supercut Ever

Christian Marclay’s The Clock, now on view at MoMA, puts YouTube mashup artists to shame

If Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit Looks Weird to You, Blame the Guy Who Created Oakley Sunglasses

The Hobbit was shot on a RED camera developed by sunglass mogle Jim Jannard

In Denmark, Cinderella Wore Galoshes

Cinderella isn’t a Disney story, and earlier versions are, well, different

Page 33 of 41