Sexyloutak Absolutely the worst movie.

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Lela The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

Grumpy When the narrator began to speak I sat up in my chair and paid attention. No screwing around--this guy is speaking intelligently. And no apologies. No attempt to make it comfy for the fools in the audience. It's just him and me, having a conversation about film. A good conversation. If some viewers are alienated by this, and can't follow it--tough. Go away if this is over your head. Wow. That was refreshing. After the past decade of watching The History Channel and PBS dumb down everything, making medieval armaments into a back-yard competition suitable for a tailgating party, or taking Napoleon or King Richard III and making them into mini-celebs, complete with "secrets" to be revealed (yow!) it felt like a cool drink of water after a long walk in the desert to actually hear a man speaking intelligently WITH NO REGARD FOR THE SLOW KIDS. I felt a warm glow in my heart. I felt a kind of bliss. I know that somewhere somebody is upset because it makes them feel bad to know that they'll never get it. And I know that a mere TV show shouldn't make people feel bad like that--in theory. But is that really my problem? Should I care?I never would have discovered the incredible films of Claire Denis without this series. I would not have been aware of the work of Yasujiro Ozu. I would not have bothered to see the masterpieces of Tarkovsky. I would have missed out on a real education on film. My understanding of film has been genuinely expanded, exponentially, by the work of Mark Cousins. This series is gold. Solid gold.PBS used to show this kind of material, back when "American Experience" was "THE American Experience," and "Masterpiece" was "Masterpiece Theatre." What happened to that stuff? I used to enjoy watching Bill Buckley sparring with various "liberals." Now, anything intelligent is anti-American? How did this happen? We need more TV series like The Story of Film--many, many more.

mande95747 This may be the most brilliant documentary on film ever, but I don't care. After sitting through 10 minutes of this guy's "uptalking", I could not stand to watch any longer, (and I spent the 1980's living in the San Fernando Valley when the whole "Valley Girl" thing started.) I swear to God, he up-talks not only at the END of every sentence, but DURING.EXAMPLE: "Thomas Edison? invented film? in New Jersey? And he soon found that light? was of utmost importance?" I'm not exaggerating even slightly, that's how this guy talks 100% of the time. Hire a new narrator, then re-release it. Geez....

rosewood-6 I just finished watching this series and was really disappointed in the IMDb reviews. Here are my pointers for those who are interested in seeing this considerable work.1. The majority of the people of the world have accents different than those found in America. If you can't get beyond a person's accent to hear the content of what he/she is saying, stick with Entertainment Tonight.2. This series is like a "string theory" of film- everything is connected to everything. While some of the reviewers could not follow the train of thought, much of what is documented is the initial use of what are now considered stock shots and plots and how they are still being used today. Film history is not just what films were made, but also the creation and evolution of the art form.3. This series also deals heavily in international cinema. Episode 3 deals with cinema in the 1920's in Paris, Berlin, Moscow, Shanghai and Tokyo. Episode 6 shows works from Egypt, India, China, Mexico that was created in the 1950's. Episode 8 chronicles the birth of African cinema in the 1970's. There is more about international cinema in this series than I have ever seen in any program about film.So, if you want to see a comprehensive series on the history of film, as opposed to the history of Hollywood, this is the series for you.

mistarkus This documentary is a bold, encompassing lengthy journey into film history. By delving into movies he deems to be monumental and the particular scenes that make these movies monumental we are granted a very subjective interpretation of film history. It is not simply a history lesson in film. The chronological documentary is the creator's expression of how he views films and is therefore a work of art in and of itself. Wonderful to enter this man's portal into film since it exposes us to not only movies we never heard of but gives us an expert's view of what makes certain film's and scenes so important. It is innovation that is important and innovation which becomes influential. He sometimes emphasizes world cinema perhaps influencing the great American film makers. He'll choose to show a particular scene from a movie and go into the lighting, the camera strategies, the technology, the atmosphere created, the acting, the writing, the political and sociological situation of the moment when made....everything. He wonderfully makes it long so we can get deep into this. We might not agree on quite the level of importance he imparts on particular films but we can sense he is a passionate expert with a hyper-awareness. This creates a rich tapestry for us to soak in and will enrich our artistic souls and how we will forever see a movie in the future. By delving so deeply into film history it actually goes into a bit of world, cultural and politically history. It is a minor travelogue as well with some nice scenes of the foreign lands. The maker feels films reflected the time and place in which they were made. Sometimes as essences and shadows of the era and locale and other times rebelling against it. Film is both impacted by culture and politics and film can also even influence and change society. A lot of films that we love might shockingly only get mentioned for a mere minute. I felt that perhaps the Godfather and Lawrence of Arabia were more influential and deserved more time in this lengthy tapestry of film history. But every other documentary on film has berated us with how great these movies are. We already know it and can see documentaries just on the making and symbolism of these films or these great American filmmakers. The exposure to the rest of the world is one of the great achievements this documentary accomplishes. There are a billion people in India where the movie Shoaly played for 7 years. It had a profound impact on that country of a billion plus and I never heard of it until I saw this documentary. Perhaps Shoaly might be more influential to more people and the world than my favorite movies are. There are still whole episodes dedicated to films made in the United States. There is an episode that went into American movies from the 70s. There is a whole entire episode on Hollywood in the 1920s. Despite being a documentary about world cinema the US still is the largest country represented in the story of film. The most amazing part is his understanding of the artistic and political expressions emanating from particular scenes. Absorbing his critiques and commentary on film can gave not only a new way to look at film but a new way to look and think about many different art forms. Things that can do this are the greatest things ever created.