The American Movie

ORIGINAL DESCRIPTION (1963) - One hundred years ago, seventy-five even, there were no movies at all. Today, they are accepted as a part of life, whether they are viewed in the movie theater or at home on the television screen.
What happened to make movies accepted so quickly? The answer can be found, at least in part, in this broad survey of American film history and film art. Here is a discussion of the great film pioneers and great film landmarks, a look at technological changes, trends and cycles in movie making, a glance at the present and ahead to see where movies may be going.
Beyond this, the book is also a guide, based on history and on a knowledge of what makes great films, to what a knowing movie viewer looks for when he watches a picture.
It is a discussion of “film grammar,” of technique and of style in movie production, that makes the viewing of all movies, both old and new, a new adventure for the reader.