史蒂文•傑伊•施奈德（Steven Jay Schneider）是一位頗為內行的恐怖片鑒賞專傢，其撰文著述、教學授課成果頗豐，涉及電影的方方麵麵，涵蓋瞭審美學、心理分析，乃至血腥恐怖片的觀賞樂趣。為編寫本書，他從世界各地集結瞭50餘位最優秀的撰稿人、評論傢、影評人、教授、影迷和電影人。這個團隊由最齣色的影評撰稿陣容組成，其成員既有巴黎《世界報》旗下的Jean-Michel Frodon，也有東京《潛流》雜誌旗下的藤原敏史，其他成員分彆來自《帝國》《視與聽》《滾石》《紐約時報》《完全電影》《國際電影指南》《洛杉磯周報》《電影季刊》《華盛頓郵報》，以及CineAction, NME, Time Out, Filmmaker, Moviemaker等媒體。

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