I study American cinema as part of my University course, and therefore was keen on watching this documentary about the first 100 years of its history. Although it was very well-made,and the narration by Peter Coyote was excellent, I think that it could have been more detailed. It seems that the people that did it were more interested in the first decades of cinema, because they only spent a small part of the documentary on the 1960's and 70's and almost completely forgot the 80's, and no mention was made on some very important moviemakers and actors of these three decades. Another mistake I spotted was that some famous actors that were interviewed didn't have their names written on the screen. However, in general this was a remarkable try with a very good narrative, editing and background music and could be really useful to those interested in the history of cinema.
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sambuca10 January 2000
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whepler26 September 2005Okay, so a previous commenter is correct: this isn't the movie for every detail about film history. But if you want the feel of eras gone by in an entertaining and first-class package, you just can't beat this. Workman's idea seems to have been to capture the essence of cinema, from its electrifying start that wow'd a quieter, slower age, to its post-Hays Code period--NOT our more contemporary times. Thus, you don't see every critical name--it's the story of a medium, not all of its movers and shakers, though you'll certainly see enough of those. Most of all, expect to have a sense for what it was like "then," whichever "then" is under discussion as you go. Cinema is, in a very real sense, time travel: there are few ways we can go back and be there--in the 20s or 30s, for example--but film was there and Workman's project is very credible in the way it transports you, as well. The only question remains how one can get a copy of this feature, since I haven't seen it after its mid-90s HBO debut. Any ideas?
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larry41onEbay14 July 2018This 90 minute journey thru the first hundred years of cinema history is amazing with over 267 stars, directors, historians seen, appearing or speaking about the highlights. I find it funny that someone on IMDB reviewing it finds fault that it does not go into more detail. Let's see, they cover 100 years in 90 minutes, that's less than a minute a year... but for all those 90 minutes it is fascinating! Just try getting someone who only watched videos on their phone to sit still for 90 minutes. There are "hundreds" of good documentaries about the history of movies, and none of them covers everything. But if you enjoy discovering more, I suggest you see Kevin Brownlow's HOLLYWOOD series which comes in 13, hour long episodes and only covers silent film. Brownlow's HOLLYWOOD like his book THE PARADES' GONE BY is just the starting point for appreciating early cinema. There are countless volumes of books dedicated to the history of film, and particularly to the legacy, scandal and extravagance of golden-age Hollywood. But over the years, several film scholars and critics have reached into the realm of documentary film to spread their knowledge further. These educational docs-in the guise of easygoing entertainment and spot-the-celeb appearances-are valuable for anyone who wants to brush up on the background of the American film industry. I also recommend: These Amazing Shadows (2011); A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies (1995); MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992, 6 hours); You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (3hrs, 48m) and The Story of Film: An Odyssey (at 900 minutes) that covers international film.
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Jeremy_Urquhart17 October 2021It doesn't break any ground as far as documentaries go, but it's so well edited, and as a tribute to American film, it genuinely made me quite emotional at times, especially because so many of its interviewees and subjects have passed away between 1995 and 2021.
It progresses in a linear and satisfying way, and while the narration is fairly standard, it worked well enough. And if the info itself is fairly surface level, at least the documentary as a whole still works beautifully as a series of montages serving as a celebration of American film.
It really only dips its toe into topics like racism and sexism within Hollywood. It's good that those things were acknowledged, but the main criticism I have of the film is that discussion on those issues are a little under-developed.
However, they did move between the criticisms and the celebrations quite smoothly, so perhaps with a longer runtime to give a little more detail on the problems throughout Hollywood history, this could have been amazing rather than "just" very good.