What Cinema Is!

What Cinema Is! offers an engaging answer to Andre Bazins famous question, exploring his idea of cinema with a sweeping look back at the near century of Cinemas phenomenal ascendancy. Written by one of the foremost film scholars of our time Establishes cinemas distinction from the current enthusiasm over audio-visual entertainment, without relegating cinema to a single, older mode Examines cinemas institutions and its social force through the qualities of key films Traces the history of an idea that has made cinema supremely alive to (and in) our times