This is an examination of the concepts of spectatorship in the light of historical accounts of audience reception. The book looks at how audiences have historically talked about Hollywood movies, and the ways in which 'word-of-mouth' responses have affected the reception of individual movies.

Introduction historical Hollywood spectatorship, Melvyn Stokes.- Part One Talking pictures the reception of Hollywood: writing the history of American film reception, Janet Staiger.- genre and audience genre classifications and cultural distinctions in the mediation of 'The Silence of the Lambs', Mark Jancovich.- interpreting 'All About Eve' a study in historical reception, Martin Shingler.- the fall and rise of 'Fantasia', Amy M. Davis.- changing perceptions of the movies American catholics debate film censorship, Gregory D. Black.- historical spectatorship around and about Stanley Kramer's 'On the Beach', G. Tom Poe. Part Two The spectator reviewed: 'Green Like Me', Jane Gaines.- the sonic playground Hollywood cinema and its listeners, Gianluca Sergi.- the contemporary cinephile film collecting in the post-video era, Barbara Klinger.- virtual Hollywood and the geneology of its hyper-spectator, Alain J.J. Cohen.