In the Eighties, stars like Tom Cruise, Meryl Streep and Eddie Murphy explode on the screen. Aliens, time travelers, ghosts and road warriors share the cineplex with troubled teens, battered boxers, classical composers and career girls.
As America falls for stars like Julia Roberts, Denzel Washington and Will Smith, masters like Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Martin Scorsese, Jonathan Demme, Jane Campion and the Coen Brothers direct some of their best-loved work.
Directors become masters of the medium as Spielberg, Coppola, Scorsese, Lucas and other filmmakers create a New Hollywood that pushes the medium of moviemaking to its apex, just as a new generation of movie stars light up the screen.
From the 1930s through the 1950s, Hollywood studios create the most iconic and beloved films of all time, and America falls in love with the movies as stars like Bogie, Brando and Marilyn became icons.
The Sixties are a decade of change off-screen and on. Classic musicals and epics featuring luminaries make room for meaningful masterpieces from filmmakers like Kubrick, Hitchcock and Nichols and stars like Redford, Newman and Poitier.
As the new century begins, books and comic-books become box-office gold, musicals and cartoons win audiences and Oscars and a new generation of filmmakers from diverse backgrounds finds its voice.
