本书探讨了影响电影制作和接收的关键概念、术语和事件，对电影形式进行了分析，并概述了电影作为媒介、艺术形式和经济机构的概况。相比于丛书其他几本，本书更增添了练习题、拓展阅读、要点回顾等环节，非常适合从事电影研究的学生或感兴趣的读者作为教材或读物。

Preface
Acknowledgements
List of illustrations and tables
Introduction
Part 1 Cinema as institution
Chapter 1 Early cinema
2 US cinema
3 British cinema
4 World cinemas
5 Alternative cinema
6 Production, distribution and exhibition
7 Cinema, the media and globalization
Part 2 Film as text
8 The language of film
9 Film form and narrative
10 Film technology
Part 3 Movies and audiences
11 Cinema, audiences and society
12 Meaning and spectatorship
13 Authorship