Title on cover: Cinema : year by year, 1894-2004 : plus Academy Awards. "This book is an updated version of Chronicle of the cinema, first published in 1995 ... and reprinted with revisions in 1997, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003 ..."--T.p. verso. Includes indexes.

Birth of an industry, 1900 to 1919 -- The silent era, 1920-1929 -- Movies find a voice, 1930 to 1939 -- War and after, 1940 to 1949 -- The swing of the pendulum, 1950 to 1959 -- The New Wave, 1960 to 1969 -- Strange bedfellows, 1970 to 1979 -- The Reagan years, 1980 to 1989 -- Towards the millennium, 1990 to 2004. Special features. The development of sound / Joel W. Finler. Reel music / Ronald Bergan. Special effects : tricks of the trade / Joel W. Finler. The irresistible rise of the independent movie / Edel Brosnan.