This course is an introduction to the history of cinema from the late nineteenth century to the present. In demonstrating how history energizes and complicates the movies, we will examine numerous film cultures and historical periods, including Hollywood silent cinema, Italian neo-realism, the French New Wave, recent films from Iran, and a variety of other film movements from different historical epochs and cultures. Our aim is to establish a broad historical and global foundation for the understanding of film as a complex exchange between art, technology, politics, and economics.