The European Cinema Reader is a comprehensive introduction to the theory and practice of national cinemas in Europe, bringing together classic writing by key filmmakers such as Sergei Eisenstein, Luis Buñuel and John Grierson, and critics from Andre Bazin to Peter Wollen. Contributors explore attempts to define European film culture and examine key issues of auteurism and the art house film, national cinemas, the relationship between European film and Hollywood, and issues of funding and distribution. Each section features an editor's introduction setting debates in their context, and the volume concludes with a comprehensive bibliography.

Sections include: European Film Culture - explores early conceptions of film; Moments from European Film History - gathers key manifestos from cinema history including those of the French New Wave, Italian Neorealism and New German Cinema; European Films and Theory - focuses on attempts to define European cinema in film theory; The Boundaries of EuropeanFilm Criticism - addresses issues surrounding industries and audiences.</P>