This documentary explores American cinema in the 1970s, a decade often described as the best years in film. What results is an ode to the art form, one that pays homage to the "auteurs" that emerged from that distinctive time period, such as Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese. Director-writer Ted Demme passed away in the middle of the project; Richard LaGravenese stepped in to finish it. The film premiered at Sundance in January 2003.