A History of American Movies chronicles an institution that had taken on its fundamental characteristics by the year 1927, when the introduction of synchronous sound in film put an abrupt end to the silent …

Film History: An Introduction is deeply indebted to the work of many other scholars, but to a considerable extent it reflects the breadth and depth of our original research into silent film, the …

Together they are the editors of the four-volume collection The Wiley- Blackwell History of American Film (2012) and American Film History: Selected Readings, Origins to 1960 (2016), both published …

Although the essays published here adopt a “selected topics” approach, we believe they strike a rewarding balance between close readings that contribute to and those that complement the cultural …

Exhibit an understanding of the technological developments that have driven the evolution of film (mastery will be assessed by the objective midterm and final exams).

Here are the major eras of American film history, each characterized by distinct technological, artistic, and industry developments:

*For older films (more than 10 years) you should also research this particular period in film history, other films of the genre to which it belongs, or studies of the director or actors involved for additional …