The Big Screen: The Story of the Movies

The Big Screen traces the evolution of motion pictures from the earliest experiments with moving images through the rise of television and into the digital age. Thomson chronicles over 100 years of cinema history, examining both technological developments and cultural impact. Key figures from film history appear throughout the narrative, including pioneers like the Lumière brothers, moguls like Louis B. Mayer, and transformative directors from D.W. Griffith to Jean-Luc Godard. The text explores major movements in cinema across multiple countries and eras, while analyzing how audiences' relationship with screens has shifted over generations. The work considers cinema as both an art form and an industry, examining the business decisions and creative innovations that shaped the medium. Thomson includes analysis of milestone films and performances alongside discussion of studio systems, audience behaviors, and changing exhibition formats. The book presents cinema not just as entertainment but as a force that has fundamentally altered human perception and social interaction, suggesting that our experience of reality itself has been transformed by our century-long relationship with screens.

Readers value Thomson's deep knowledge of film history and his ability to make unexpected connections between movies across different eras. Several reviews note his engaging writing style and personal anecdotes that bring the subject matter to life. Common criticisms focus on the book's wandering structure and occasional tangents. Multiple readers mention that Thomson can be opinionated and dismissive of certain films or directors. Some found the nearly 600-page length excessive. Reader quote: "Thomson writes with authority but gets lost in his own musings, making it hard to follow his train of thought at times." Ratings: Goodreads: 3.7/5 (315 ratings) Amazon: 3.8/5 (48 ratings) Library Thing: 3.8/5 (28 ratings) The most frequent complaints cite: - Lack of clear organization - Tendency to meander off-topic - Selective coverage that omits important films - Dense writing style that can be challenging to follow

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🎬 David Thomson has written more than 20 books on film, including the iconic "Biographical Dictionary of Film," which The Observer named one of the 100 greatest non-fiction books of all time. 🎥 "The Big Screen" traces cinema's evolution from the earliest silent films through television and YouTube, covering over 100 years of visual storytelling across multiple platforms. 🌟 The author challenges the commonly held view that cinema's "golden age" was the 1930s-1940s, arguing instead that the 1970s represented the peak of artistic achievement in American film. 📽️ Thomson reveals how Thomas Edison initially saw film merely as a way to sell his phonograph machines, never fully grasping cinema's potential as an independent art form. 🎞️ The book examines how movies have shaped our perception of reality, suggesting that our understanding of love, violence, and human behavior has been fundamentally altered by our exposure to cinema over generations.