This is the essential core of Mast and Kawin's classic in a streamlined volume: the most accurate, carefully updated account of cinema today in a clear and lively book. Building on Mast's astute and lively history of cinema, Kawin has refined and updated the fascinating story of cinema's evolution from its earliest beginnings to the digital age. Probing deeper than most movie books, he takes us into the studio vaults, corrects the record, discloses what goes on inside the industry, clarifies the mysteries of movie technology, and offers a precise, thoroughly researched account. Kawin's analysis is witty and engaging, rich in instructive insights and entertaining illustrations of the art, history, technology, business, and fun of film. Now the essentials of Mast and Kawin's classic book are available in a compact version, judiciously streamlined at an even trimmer price.