The Story of Film: An Odyssey looks at the development of mainstream film in the 1970s and examines how such films were innovative. It first looks at the mainstream films of Hong Kong produced by Shaw Brothers Studio. It looks at the work of actor Bruce Lee and directors King Hu, John Woo, Yuen Woo-ping, and Tsui Hark. It then looks at the mainstream Bollywood films of India. It looks at the mega-hit Sholay (1975) and examines work of actress Sharmila Tagore, actor Amitabh Bachchan, and directors K. Asif, and Gulzar. It examines film in the Middle East. It discusses Moustapha Akkad's The Message (1976) and talks to Egyptian director Youssef Chahine. Finally, it looks at the blockbusters that transformed movie-making in the United States like Steven Spielberg's Jaws (1975), William Friedkin's The Exorcist (1973), and George Lucas's Star Wars (1977).
