The End of Cinema as We Know it

Films can now be consumed in a wide variety of ways - in high-tech cinemas and multiplexes, on high-resolution widescreen TVs, on computer terminals and laptops. But with these new ways, are we necessarily getting different, better movies? Examining key films and film-makers, the corporate players and industry trends, film styles and audio-visual technologies, the contributors to this book spell out the end of American cinema in terms of irony, cynicism and exhaustion, religious fundamentalism and fanaticism, and the decline of film culture. A variety of key topics are examined, from film censorship and preservation to the changing structure and status of American independent cinema, from the continued importance of celebrity and stardom to the sudden importance of alternative video. Many of the contributors explore in detail the pictures that captured the attention of the 90s film audience, such as "Jurassic Park", "The Matrix", "Independence Day", and "Kids".