The Story of Film: An Odyssey

[Skitch]

Has anybody else watched The Story Of Film: An Odyssey? I'm almost done with it and is completely enthralling. Probably not for film school students as it feels like a compressed World Cinema History class, but for a shmoe like me it is just wonderful.

[number8]

I'm at episode 11.

I want the narrator as my Siri voice.

[Skitch]

Heh I'm at episode 11 too.

[dreamdead]

We're five episodes in, and will start Sex and Melodrama next. Those who've gotten further, does Cousins talk about Korean cinema at all? I'm excited to learn about some of these super-early Japanese films (A Page of Madness looks so good), but hoping his coverage isn't just Japan, China, and Hong Kong...

Edit: I moved this into its own thread, since I think this should be counted as its own film and would like to compile all the content here separate from the InstantView thread.

[number8]

I've been very impressed with the worldliness of the series. When he said in Ep 1 that he thinks most film history accounts are borderline racist, he wasn't kidding around. Skitch, I went to film school and we didn't really cover all these Senegalese and Pakistani cinema. I seriously had no idea. So yes, most would probably learn something new too.

[Watashi]

I like how the narrator is a big Chris Nolan fan.

[Skitch]

I've been very impressed with the worldliness of the series. When he said in Ep 1 that he thinks most film history accounts are borderline racist, he wasn't kidding around. Skitch, I went to film school and we didn't really cover all these Senegalese and Pakistani cinema. I seriously had no idea. So yes, most would probably learn something new too.

Good! I could watch these disections of the history of the medium all day long. I find them endlessly fascinating. I've also added about a dozen films to my must see list. This series makes me feel like I have barely scratched the surface of cinema.

[Boner M]

We're five episodes in, and will start Sex and Melodrama next. Those who've gotten further, does Cousins talk about Korean cinema at all?
Park, Lee Chang-Dong and Bong all get bigups in the later episodes.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

I'm 9 hours in (9 episodes?) and the narration and mispronunciations are extremely annoying. Overall, havent learned too much I didnt already know, and the "7 reasons hitchcock is great" and those type of banal "reasons for greatness" that pop up frequently are pretty shallow. However, the focus on world cinemas like China, Iran, Africa, etc. are basically the only value of the series. Got to see me some Guru Dutt!

[Boner M]

I think it's a pretty great primer and I enjoyed the whole thing, despite some parts being stronger than others (the first few chapters on early cinema & the last few on recent world cinemas are alternately informative and inspiring, the section on New Hollywood was sketchy and spurious). My main complaint is that considering Tilda Swinton's involvement in the production, it's a shame that Cousins didn't get her to narrative the film, although I grew to like his voice after a while.

[Kurious Jorge v3.1]

In Mark Cousins' world, everything is a masterclass in everything

[Skitch]

In Mark Cousins' world, everything is a masterclass in everything

Ha yep some of the things he claims are innovative are just different, and different does not always equal good.

[number8]

"If John Ford had been into Buddhism, ballet and zero gravity, he might've made movies like King Hu."

:lol:

[Skitch]

Loved that.

[dreamdead]

Finished this up over the weekend. The early chapters ultimately feel the most fleshed-out, with a kind of sustained lens focusing on what makes them great. As Cousins moves into the last few chapters, the approach feels less clear, lacks a substantive angle, and becomes a circular spouting about how "this is the greatest film about _________ in cinema."

What is it about the Korean or Thai or Romanian New Wave that places them over American independent trends along the same lines? Their engagement with their culture or politics? Untangle that web more, then... How does Chang Cheh matter so much after King Hu but doesn't see any of his films featured in the footage? Those niggling thoughts hound at me after finishing this. I'm thankful for the education about Iranian and African cinema, which are sorely blind spots for me, but some of the scaffolding lacks cohesion here at the end especially.

[Skitch]

I figured that had to do with the number of films coming out. In the beginning, there were far less releases than in last couple decades, therefore more attention could be devoted.