Even the first films from the early days of cinema at the end of the 19th century were nothing more than action films – out of necessity. The only few minutes long reels could not tell a complicated drama; they succeeded due to the sensation of movement visible on the screen – "Movies," indeed. Many films from Hollywood and other film countries contained action sequences, but it was not until the early 1970s that action scenes became the organizing principle: stunts, fights, and crashes took on the same role as songs in a musical. With the muscle-bound giants of the 1980s and 1990s, the action film genre became dominant and showcased its enormous variety. The modern action hero was essentially the old Western hero, who came from nature into the urban jungle, only to be largely replaced by the superhero in the 2000s, who embarked on adventures in comic worlds. For "And... Action!" CINEMA, Germany's most renowned film magazine, has opened its archives and presents on 224 pages the history of the modern action film, the 100 best films of the genre such as "Die Hard" or "Mad Max: Fury Road," the most important stars like Keanu Reeves, Arnold Schwarzenegger, or Charlize Theron, as well as the influential directors like George Miller, John Woo, or Kathryn Bigelow.