史蒂文•杰伊•施奈德（Steven Jay Schneider）是一位颇为内行的恐怖片鉴赏专家，其撰文著述、教学授课成果颇丰，涉及电影的方方面面，涵盖了审美学、心理分析，乃至血腥恐怖片的观赏乐趣。为编写本书，他从世界各地集结了50余位最优秀的撰稿人、评论家、影评人、教授、影迷和电影人。这个团队由最出色的影评撰稿阵容组成，其成员既有巴黎《世界报》旗下的Jean-Michel Frodon，也有东京《潜流》杂志旗下的藤原敏史，其他成员分别来自《帝国》《视与听》《滚石》《纽约时报》《完全电影》《国际电影指南》《洛杉矶周报》《电影季刊》《华盛顿邮报》，以及CineAction, NME, Time Out, Filmmaker, Moviemaker等媒体。

Updated with brand-new entries to describe the most recent major motion pictures, this critically-acclaimed volume spans more than a century of moviemaking, concisely describing 1001 of the best films from around the world. New in this edition are entries to describe such film hits as Lord of the Rings, Mystic River, Farenheit 9/11, and Million Dollar Baby. But in fact, this volume's team of critics goes back to 1902, describing such films as The Great Train Robbery, and progressing chronologically across the decades to cover the best cinematic dramas, comedies, westerns, musicals, suspense and horror films, gangster classics, films noir, sci-fi epics, documentaries, and adaptations of novels and stage plays made by filmmakers around the world. Each entry includes a full list of cast and credits, awards won by the film, an essay summarizing the story line and screen-history, and still shots of the film's memorable scenes. At the back of the book, both an alphabetical index and a genre index will help readers find any film they're looking for. Movie fans will find descriptions of great musicals like Singing in the Rain, westerns like High Noon, science-fiction classics like Star Wars, dramas like Chinatown and Schindler's List, and international classics from master directors who include Fellini, Antonioni, Resnais, Truffaut, Eisenstein, Kurosawa, and many others. Here is a volume that belongs in the personal library of film buffs, movie reviewers, collectors of DVDs-and every reader who enjoys reminiscing over great movies of the past and present. Hundreds of movie still shots in color and black and white. "... a great motivating guide to cinema. After reading one of its engaging, often profound entries on a missed film, you want to ... rent it. Best of all, it includes international, silent, animated, and recent films."

--Dallas Morning News