A history of the American cinema in the 1970s, focusing on the drastic changes that took place in the film industry between 1970 and 1979.

Introduction : a decade of change -- Formative industry trends, 1970-1979 -- Manufacturing the blockbuster : the "newest art form of the twentieth century" -- The auteur cinema : directors and directions in the "Hollywood renaissance" -- Genres I : revision, transformation, and revival -- Genres II : exploitation and allusion -- Orders of magnitude I : majors, mini-majors, "instant majors," and independents -- Orders of magnitude II : costs, agents, stars -- Technological innovation and aesthetic response -- Motion picture exhibition in 1970s America / Douglas Gomery -- Looking back and turning inward : American documentary films of the seventies / William Rothman -- Avant-garde cinema of the seventies / Robin Blaetz.