A revised second edition of the text, this work explores the way in which a new approach to the cinema can be combined with a new approach to aesthetics. The book is divided into three main sections: the first deals with the work of S.M. Eisenstein, both as a director and theorist of his art. The second concerns the auteur theory and investigates the recurrence of themes and images throughout a dirrector's career. The third section shows how the study of cinema can be considered as a province of the general study of signs.