Just thought someone should start one. This is a great documentary series, no matter what all the nit-pickers say. It may be flawed, you may not always agree with Cousins - I certainly don't - but for such a bold undertaking, this is a very strong doc. We should appreciate that someone has made an extensive and passionate history doc exploring films other than the same old Hollywood rubbish most movie docs tend to go on about
shareI have had issues with this series but the clips of movies that I had knowledge of has been enlightening. I have no background in film history which may have helped I can imagine that viewers with a more rounded knowledge might not think Cousins is breaking new ground.
Are there any movies in the season so far that you would suspect I might enjoy. I cannot recall the name of the movie from a couple of weeks ago of the young Russian lovers in the forrest minusit leaves. I am going to try and track down Pickpocket
Suggestion gratefully received.
I think that was 'Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors' by Sergei Parajanov. Not that I've seen it, though I did immediately get my hands on 'Stalker' by Andrei Tarkovsky thanks to Cousins
shareThank you for the information. This is what I find sad about the whole mess. Underneath all the factual mistakes and strange narration you get an insight into the history of world cinema.
Last weeks clip from I believe a Japanease documentary on the poisoning of a local community was stunning. This series could have been so much more.
So frustrating.
J.
It's averaging 7.9/10 on IMDB, so I'm pretty confident in saying that there's quite a few people with a positive view of the series...
I personally gave it a 7/10. Liked the objective stuff, the historical development of film, the pivotal moments and movies.
Hated Mark Cousins' narration: first time I attempted to watch the series I gave up after 10 minutes- his intonations were that irritating. Second time round I gritted my teeth and eventually got accustomed to his narration (still didn't like it though).
Also hated the pretentiousness of the subjective stuff. Yes, its art, so critiquing movies is by definition subjective, but Cousins glorifies movies and directors which/who are clearly not worth of that degree of praise. Some of it is pure "Look at how clever I am - I just mentioned a director/movie you've never heard of". Mark Cousins is clearly up himself.
Overall it was an edifying experience, but could have been a lot better.
Like a bird on the wire, like a drunk in a midnight choir, I have tried in my way to be free
As others have stated once you get used to his voice and come to terms that this is: "MARK COUSINS' Story of Film" -- it's quite an enjoyable ride.
As an arthouse cinema lover myself, it didn't bother me so much, but, even considering how personal a journey this series is, I do wish commercial cinema was given more play overall. Cousins does seem to use 'Hollywood' as a punching bag far too often (though, not always, to be certain). My other quibble is that he lets his interviewees go on for too long. I mean, was it really necessary or important to let Baz Luhmann go on for 5 minutes about ROMEO & JULIET while so many great films and filmmakers of the 90s were completely ignored? For a series trying to cover so much territory it seems that Cousins let himself fall too far in love with his interview footage.
Still, quibbles, aside, an entertaining series.
"I just mentioned a director/movie you've never heard of"
Isn't that the point though? It's film history, he's bound to mention a movie or director someone's never heard of. I never felt he was being obnoxious about it. He just compares and parallels films from 1910 to 2010. A range of 100 years and one took from another. I think people just want to find things to complain about. Like his accent for instance. As a movie lover, it was great hearing about of these films and directors I'd never heard of or seen before and may never have. It should be a good thing!
But anyway, it's funny that in a thread that's supposed to be about positives, there's of course someone who mentions the negatives. I thoroughly enjoyed it from beginning to end.
"Soylent white is semeeeeen!"
It is interesting.
With such a huge topic as the Story of Film,
there will always be parts that people consider to be missing.
I personally love this series! I rate it a 9/10. The point is lost because I was a bit thrown off my the time periods a little (especially during the first, second and third episodes...when he would suddenly show a clip from a talkie, only to go back to talking about Buster Keaton...or talk about Charlie Chaplin in episode two, and then talk about directors who inspired Chaplin in episode three.)
I personally think I learned more watching this series than I ever did in film school.
Geronimo