The golden age of German cinema began at the end of the First World War and ended shortly after the coming of sound. From The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari onwards the principal films of this period were characterized by two influences: literary Expressionism and the innovations of the theater directors of this period, in particular Max Reinhardt. This book demonstrates the connection between German Romanticism and the cinema through Expressionist writings.

Film critic, poet, and historian Lotte H. Eisner (1896-1983) was Chief Archivist for the French Cinematheque and a member of the French Légion d'honneur.

"Arguably the best book on the cinema yet written."—Times Literary Supplement