This companion is full of biographical profiles of film actors and actresses, directors, producers, editors and other key personnel, as well as notes on the major studios, foreign cinema, cinematic themes and definitions of technical terms. This edition also contains a history of the cinema from 1894 to 1995, lists of Oscar winners and nominations through the years and details of all the major film festival awards, as well as over 1000 new entries on the famous - and not so famous - names in the film industry.