How is it that Shakespeare, who is likely only known by name to the average moviegoer, became one of the most important and successful screenwriters in the American film industry? And that - largely unnoticed - the structure of Wagner's "Tristan and Isolde" continues to influence the plots of film noir to this day? Elisabeth Bronfen engages in an original and exciting cross-mapping between theater, opera, and film, while also making a significant contribution to the exploration of the psychological energies released by these media and utilized as an aesthetic experience.