There are numerous ways to structure the introduction to film course so as to meet the needs of the different types of students who typically enroll. Assuming there is no production component in the course, the teacher is left with two major approaches to choose from--historical and aesthetic. The units in the course will typically be built around certain categories recognized as forming the canon of films: (1) primitives--something by the Lumieres, Melies, and Porter; (2) D. W. Griffith's films; (3) silent comedy; (4) Soviet Classics; (5) German Expressionism; (6) Renoir; (7) Italian Neorealism; (8) French New Wave; (9) Alfred Hitchcock; (10) recent American films; (11) documentaries; and (12) experimental films. Film textbooks provide a glimpse of the canon as well as demonstrating some ways to organize the subject of film either historically or aesthetically. The best way to select a textbook is to compare the organization and look briefly at which films are selected for detailed analysis in each text. Film textbooks typically differ significantly from each other and thus provide the teacher with distinct alternatives. The teacher must also decide which films to show, in what order, and in which of the various available film and video formats. Scheduling feature-length movies weekly can wreak havoc on fairly rigid university class schedules. Such a course is sometimes frustrating to teach, but the opportunity to put together a program of films, watch them for the dozenth time, and talk about them to a mostly eager audience is a most rewarding classroom experience. (RS)