In the lectures of I. V. Belenky, given over a number of years at GITR, the history of cinema in its main points is presented in a condensed form. Book I reveals the origins of cinema, shows in detail the formation of film production and evaluates the achievements of cinema in France, England, the USA, Italy, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, Russia, and book II describes the achievements of world and domestic cinema of the 20s, films by Chaplin, Wiene, Lang, Delluc, Buñuel, Kuleshov, Eisenstein and other prominent figures in cinema. The books are written in a lively, accessible language; they clearly demonstrate the author’s attitude towards cinema.