Each of the varieties of cinema - experimental, documentary, short and animated - deserves a separate story, and a superficial review would downplay their achievements. This book explores how commercial, independent and arthouse cinema emerged, blossomed and continued to adapt to change throughout a turbulent century. The book describes the main directions and genres of cinema, as well as formative techniques. Films are considered, each of which brought pleasure, shocked, asked uncomfortable questions and carried along, from the innovative early tapes of Charlie Chaplin to the rethinking of the criminal genre by Quentin Tarantino. The book has four sections: genres, key films, directions and techniques. Each section can be read in any order, and links to other sections can be found at the bottom of each page. Below the line are the key achievements and biographies of the directors.