A comprehensive survey
Although published in 1979, this chronological overview of movies remains solid and authoritative, and its smooth writing style makes it a pleasure to read. Each chapter uses a key film to address a theme (such "The Grapes of Wrath, 1940: Film as Social Criticism" or "Singin' in the Rain, 1952: America's Musical Voice"). Each decade is introduced with a page of news headlines that help put the films into social context. Even in cases where I thought I already knew a lot about a topic, such as Indian film and Satyajit Ray, I found that I learned new things. It can be read from start to finixh to gain a thorough overview of film in the 20th century, or dipped into a random chapter at a time if you are interested in a certain movie or era.
