The French Cinema Book is an accessible and innovative survey of key topics in French cinema from the 1890s to the twenty-first century. It proposes new insights into familiar areas and sets out a fresh agenda for the study and appreciation of French cinema. The book combines historical context and background information with detailed discussion of casestudies and analysis of films. It also provides guidance for further reading, and additional resources for readers to consider. The French Cinema Book is addressed to all lovers of French cinema, students and teachers, specialists and fans.

The book addreses such questions as

* Who are the men and women who have made French cinema happen?

* What is the business culture in which French cinema evolved?

* How has technological change effected artistic and commercial innovation?

* What have been the most popular and the most experimental forms?

* How has the spectator's experience of filmgoing changed in the past 100 years?

* How have debates about film reflected cinema's unique place in French culture?