This is an analysis of what has been called "the seventh art". It traces the development of film from its scientific origins through to cinema today, covering the key elements and players that have contributed to its artistic and technical development. Offering an overview of cinema throughout the world, the book covers an international body of work: the silent picture pioneers such as D.W. Griffith and the foundations of Hollywood; experiments in France, Germany, Scandinavia and Russia; the Golden Age of Hollywood; Italian neorealism; diverse developments in the USA, Western and Eastern Europe, Japan, Latin America, China and the Far East. David Parkinson is the author of "The Bloomsbury Good Movie Guide" and the editor of "Mornings in the Dark: The Graham Greene Film Reader".