A Film-by-Film Look at the Art, Craft, and Business of Cinema This book is for the reader who wants to understand one of the most important cultural institutions of the twentieth century: the American cinema. It is a history, but it is also a story. And telling any story requires selectively choosing what to put in and what to leave out. A History of American Movies chronicles an institution that had taken on its fundamental characteristics by the year 1927, when the introduction of synchronous sound in film put an abrupt end to the silent movies. This story is about a professional community with its own ways of doing things, as well as a story about the relationships between the many talented people belonging to that community.