Greatest Film Milestones in Film History: Herein is a detailed timeline of the key film milestones, important turning points, and significant historical dates or events (organized by decade and year) that have had a significant influence on the world body of cinema and shaped its development.

This section of the Greatest Films website provides fundamental knowledge about the basic developments in the history of the motion picture industry internationally, but with a special emphasis on the American film industry and films that influenced the American cinema.

For more detailed accounts of many items, also see this site's extensive narratives on Film History by Decade, Film Milestones in Visual and Special Effects, The Most Controversial Films of All-Time, and a comprehensive History of the Academy Awards, as well as Academy Awards: Best Picture Milestones.