Rotha's theorizing makes a significant contribution to the development of early film theory; it encapsulates the broad shifts in theoretical discourse from a concentration on film form shared with the likes of Pudovkin, Eisenstein and Arnheim, to an engagement with film's relationship to reality, a position associated with Bazin and Kracauer. The book contains substantial contributions by two editors, covering Rotha's involvement in documentary film and his influence on modern film history.