Film expert and author Andrew J. Rausch presents the 32 most pivotal moments in the history of the medium that changed the way movies were produced. Accompanied with insights from noted film historians and filmmakers, Rausch's essays analyze the significance of each influential event, industry pioneer, and technological breakthrough--from Thomas Edison's Kinescopes to computer-generated imagery:
- Georges Melies' introduction of narrative story in A Trip to the Moon
- D.W. Griffith's first landmark motion picture, The Birth of a Nation
- French Impressionism, German Expressionism, and Sergei Eisenstein's montage techniques
- The establishment of the Academy Awards
- Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs--the first feature-length animated film
- The innovative camerawork and non-linear storyline of Orson Welles's Citizen Kane
- The dark side of America--Film Noir
- French New Wave
- The creation of the ratings system under MPAA President Jack Valenti
- The Blaxploitation Movement
- "Realist" filmmakers from Hollywood's New Wave
- The impact of Home Video
- Jaws, Star Wars, and the birth of the modern blockbuster
- Pixar's Toy Story--the first fully computer animated film
- Includes a timeline and two sidebars per chapter.