In the eight years since the third edition of this reference was published, careers have waxed and waned, reputations been made and lost, great movies produced, trends set and scorned. This fourth edition has 200 entirely new entries and every original entry has been re-examined. Thus the roster of directors, actors, producers, screenwriters and cameramen is both historical and contemporary, with old masters reappraised in terms of how their work has lasted. Each of the 1000 profiles is a critical essay. Aiming to strike a balance between personal bias and factual reliability, David Thomson - novelist, critic, biographer and unabashed film addict - has provided a rich reference reflecting on the art and artists of the cinema.