May 312013
 

The Story of Film: An Odyssey

The Story of Film: An Odyssey

The Story of Film: An Odyssey is an unprecedented cinematic event, an epic journey through the history of world cinema that is a treat for movie lovers around the globe. Guided by film historian Mark Cousins, this bold 15-part love letter to the movies begins with the invention of motion pictures at the end of the 19th century and concludes with the multi-billion dollar globalized digital industry of the 21st. The Story of Film: An Odyssey heralds a unique approach to the evolution of film art b

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  3 Responses to “The Story of Film: An Odyssey”

  1. 26 of 29 people found the following review helpful
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    A Highly Idiosyncratic and Stimulating Survey, December 29, 2012
    By 
    David E. Gregson (San Diego, CA USA) –
    (REAL NAME)
      

    Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
    This review is from: The Story of Film: An Odyssey (DVD)

    May 8, 2102: Since the time I originally posted some comments on this superb documentary essay, “The Story of Film: An Odyssey,” I have re-watched all 15 hours of it twice. Several of my friends are cinephiles and college film professors who have been anxious to share this viewing experience with me. This explains my insanity, as it were. Lots of nice dinners at my house and lots of “The Story of Film.” Needless to say, everybody I know finds something missing: an important director, an important individual film. Everybody hates something that Cousins loves. (He is is full of hyperbolic praise for the most surprising things.) But we all agree — this is a stunning achievement. One of the greatest things about it, by the way, is that it makes you want to see hundreds of movies again or for the first time. If I had the energy, I would remove almost all the negative remarks I have made below — but best to leave it as it stands. I do have to add, however, not one of my friends has any objection to the way Mr. Cousins speaks. I also no longer find that his remarks interfere with the zillion film clips. Just imagine the mountainous task of selecting and obtaining the rights to them!

    Earlier review: This huge “The Story of Film: An Odyssey” is an odyssey for sure in the way the author/narrator’s ideas stray all over the place intellectually and geographically. But it is coherent unlike Godard’s “Histoire(s) du cinéma.” It is also highly idiosyncratic and the author’s opinions are right in your face. He makes sweeping pronouncements on who and what is great. One is likely to disagree with many of his powerful convictions.

    Here at Amazon, I have read a number of unfair negative customer comments. Many people cannot stand Mark Cousins’ Northern Irish accent — a nasty prejudice I find offensive. It is true that his speech is lilting, even lulling, and virtually every statement sounds like a question; but would these same commentators attack speakers with other national or ethnic accents? And how seriously are we to take comments from people who have seen only two or three hours out of a 15-hour project?

    This is not a set to buy if you are seeking a wonderful series on the “Golden History of Hollywood.” Cousins does not ignore Hollywood altogether, of course (how could he?) — but the glamorous studio years are shoved way, way off to the side. Except in one episode, Cousins makes references to Hollywood only as needed. When he reaches the ’60s and ’70s, American film comes more solidly into the picture. In general, Cousins admires almost all of the American based directors that European intellectuals fashionably admit into the Pantheon of greatness (Sirk, Wilder, Ray, Minnelli, Donen, Hitchcock, Ford, Lynch etc.). In this way he is predictably tiresome, and one even suspects an anti-American sentiment lurking beneath the surface of everything. Certainly the many full-color inserted shots of LA seem designed to make it look as tacky as possible.

    So — for a documentary that calls itself “The Story of Film,” it is lousy as a study of American film per se. But Cousin’s brief comments on everything he treats are of interest. He offers one insight after another, and his explanations of technical developments would be perfect for film students. He is always discussing lighting, atmosphere, mise en scene, camera angles, camera lenses, and everything that has to do with content and meaning of a visual image. His comments on the advent of digital and CGI techniques are especially good. The viewer is likely to have a series of epiphanies.

    India, China, Egypt, Japan, South America, Mexico, Spain, France, Denmark, Sweden, England, Hungary, Russia, Poland, Czechoslovakia, — these and more give a sweep to his narrative. I learned about many films I have never heard of before in my life and now am anxious to see.

    The film intercuts contemporary documentary footage (apparently freshly shot for the documentary itself) of all the international locales discussed, often showing us a brief glimpse of the way something looks now. For instance, in a the section about Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd, there are flashes of the locations today. For instance, Chaplin is on a street corner with the blind girl in “City Lights,” and for a second or two we see that empty corner as it looks now — namely dreary!. We learn about the Shaw Studios in China — and then see those studios today etc. A technique Cousins uses is to intercut examples of the later influence of a an earlier director on the work of a later one. So, when we learn about Chaplin, we see examples of his influence on other comic actors and filmmakers.

    One slightly annoying thing is that Cousins often talks his way through many of the film clips. I think it helps to know something about movies to start with — but this essay (I think that is a better term than “documentary”) is…

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  2. 5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
    4.0 out of 5 stars
    Gobbled it Up Like a Sandwich, February 10, 2013
    By 
    Eric Sanberg (Berwyn, IL United States) –

    This review is from: The Story of Film: An Odyssey (DVD)

    Okay. We need to be honest. The story of film in 15 hours is impossible. It’s too huge with way too many facets and subtleties to cover in such short a time. That being said this is still a remarkable achievement.

    I think Cousins was smart in his approach. He doesn’t really tackle the technical achievements. He does mention them in passing but he more concerns himself with film language. He shows how this language evolved over time and who the important directors were that helped develop that language. There are hundreds of film clips here and he spends varying amounts of time on each one and relates the dynamic he feels is at work in each one. I have more than a few years under my belt and have been a film whore most of my life. He really opened my eyes on the way to view film. Truth be told, in some of the instances the techniques were so subtle, I doubt none but the most accomplished viewer would see what was at work. Then again, maybe they work on a subliminal level and the viewer is affected but might not know how or why.

    He covers cinematic history in many countries. Interestingly, if you read Australian film historians, they were in the fray from the beginning. Cousins gives them all of about 15 or 20 minutes here. I’m sure there are other curious omissions but they aren’t coming to mind. And others have mentioned their lament that Cousins chose to narrate this himself. It bothered me early on but faded as the time passed. I guess I simply got used to it.

    Again. This is a remarkable achievement and should be seen by any fan of the art. It made me want to go back and look more closely to nearly every film I’ve ever seen.

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  3. 10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
    5.0 out of 5 stars
    I guess I’m learning? about? Ulster?, December 14, 2012
    By 
    Wayne Barker (New York, NY) –
    (REAL NAME)
      

    Amazon Verified Purchase(What’s this?)
    This review is from: The Story of Film: An Odyssey (DVD)

    My copy of THE STORY OF FILM arrived yesterday and I dove into it immediately.

    I have watched the first 3 episodes and so far am really glad I sprang for this set, and I can imagine re-watching it often. Already I am caught up in Cousins’ approach, and he continually offers insights I’ve not encountered elsewhere.

    I agree somewhat with the previous reviewer; Cousins perhaps was not the best choice to narrate his own project. To my American ears, his Ulster accent makes each? sentence? sounds as if? it is a question? It is becoming disconcerting. I have been watching Kevin Brownlow’s & David Gill’s HOLLYWOOD (Thames TV) series, and James Mason’s narration is so wonderful in that, but HOLLYWOOD is a less personal approach than THE STORY OF FILM is, I think, intended to be.

    The price is reasonable for this immense documentary, considering the number of film clips involved*. (*Christian Marclay’s masterpiece THE CLOCK is comprises a virtually uncountable number of film clips, and I don’t expect to see a home video release of that art object in MY lifetime.)

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