The eighth edition of A Short History of the Movies continues the tradition—well-written, up-to-date, free of jargon—that has made it the most widely adopted textbook ever for college courses in film history.

This volume offers students a panoramic overview of the worldwide development of film, from the first movements captured on celluloid, to the early Mack Sennett and Charlie Chaplin shorts, through the studio heyday of the 1930s and 1940s and the "Hollywood Renaissance" of the 1960s and 1970s, to the pictures and their technology appearing in the multiplexes and sound palaces of today. This new edition, which has been revised and rewritten to reflect current scholarship, recent industry developments, and new films and filmmakers, represents an accurate, scrupulous updating of a classic.

Kawin's continued meticulous attention to the details of Mast's classic further improves the most accurate, authoritative, and comprehensive history of the movies available.