The history of the cinema is complex, and for every important innovator and movement listed here, others have been left out. Since then, the industry has seen extraordinary transformations, some driven by the artistic visions of individual participants, some by commercial necessity, and still others by accident. The history presented here begins at the culmination of these technological developments, where the idea of the motion picture as an entertainment industry first emerged. The movie industry as we know it today originated in the early 19th century through a series of technological developments: the creation of photography, the discovery of the illusion of motion by combining individual still images, and the study of human and animal locomotion.

Identify influential films in movie history.Identify key developments of the motion picture industry and technology.Identify key points in the development of the motion picture industry.Fans of American movies will certainly want to watch this for the interviews and the stories. Another good moment came when Eisner talked about the business side of thing and how selling the theaters dropped the profits so bad that it was nearly impossible for things to continue as they were. I think the most interesting thing is early on when we get some footage of a studio tour around Paramount that was taken in the 1930s.

Overall this is another good episode in the American Cinema series. From this point we see the decline of the studios in the 60s and how certain filmmakers started to bring them back in the 70s. From here we move throughout the decade as the factory like system was formed and how it began to fall apart once studios had to sell their theaters. We hear about how the studio formed and how in the 30s they started to raid foreign countries to find their talent. While this is titled 'The Studio System', it probably would have been better as 'Paramount's Studio System' as they're the main focus of the picture. Lyles and Harrison Ford are among the people interviewed.

Koch, Michael Eisner, Edward Dmytryk, Charles Lang, Henry Bumstead, A.C. Charlton Heston, DeForrest Kelley, Catherine Turney, Robert Parrish, Howard W. American Cinema: The Studio System (1995) *** 1/2 (out of 4) Entertaining look at the studio system and how it has had to change over the decades.

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