H Lkkkkk Utterly sublime! Quite simply the most informative, most entertaining, most sumptuously produced documentary on the history of film ever made. And that includes the effort by critical darling Jean-Luc Godard! Not only is Cousin's as fervent a fan of cinema as you're likely to find anywhere, but he is also extraordinarily knowledgeable and therefore informative and really does, as he says, redraw the map of cinematic history. His refreshing retrospective of this particular art's great history is careful not to adhere to the usual hero-worshipping of Hollywood cinema (though it's icons get their due!) as well as avoiding the obvious narrow-mindedness in believing that cinema's only icons are wealthy, white, middle-class Americans or Europeans (though once again, those deserving from this category are indeed rightly praised). The one major criticism I've hear regarding this series is that Cousins' voice and unusual intonation can be slightly grating. I will admit that it is not a particularly traditional narration as far as documentaries go, but personally I find his truly unique way of framing his subjects in a gentle, almost inquisitive way (helped of course by his dulcet Belfast accent!) to be both informative and comforting, making me feel that the man making this film is on my level, not haughty and superior, guiding me through a subject about which he and I are both passionate. It puts me in the mind of the documentaries of Werner Herzog, whose tranquil Teutonic tones might be describing something totally terrifying or unfathomable, but somehow still put me at ease and make me feel as if I am on his side.In short, an absolutely wonderful film, and a must watch for anyone who has even the slightest interest in the history, the creation of or simply the enjoyment of cinema! 10/10

waterbaby-84748 I chose to watch the series because I know very little about film, and this seemed a good place to learn its history. I am finding it very educational. Some other commenter mentioned the many films he left out. I don't mind because I am familiar with most of the Hollywood classics. I am enjoying the more little known films and foreign films in this documentary that I never would have known about otherwise. But.....that accent. Holy moly. I can't bear to listen to him anymore. Another commenter said that he watched it with the captions turned on. I find that to be an excellent idea. I am going to try it because his accent makes me want to stick something sharp into my eyeball to distract me from the irritation. Dear Mark Cousins, should you ever decide to make another documentary, please hire a narrator. It's not your strong suit. Sincerely, One-eyed film reviewer

George Roots (GeorgeRoots) Note: This isn't really a review, more of a shout out to a series I would recommend to any film lover.This Documentary is the work of Irish film critic Mark Cousins, and is based on his extremely thorough 2004 novel "The Story of Film". Though it has only recently been released, it is a production that really deserve to be looked at as it examines some of the very best and more obscure choices of world cinema rarely mentioned in the history books (Most pointed out are wrote by rich white men and can be considered "racist by omission").There are obviously many Documentaries that exist on making a movie, but few tend to explore a series of movies and take an "essay" approach to dissection and interpretation. Jean-Luc Godard's "Histoire(s) du cinema", featured a short but diverse list that has interesting points to make, though it remains a somewhat small production I feel is limited in what it has and could say. "The Story of Film" spends its first few hours covering the origins of technique, the recurring images film makers pay homage to and the start of the Hollywood business. As the series progresses, we see how countless innovations have been tooled with across the world as Mark either narrates or comments over many relevant clips. The running commentary also offers a short and sweet sentence on the state of the world at the time, and any other interesting notes behind the camera.I can really only see this series becoming tedious if you have no desire to eventually see these movies. At the moment I can somewhat agree that the series falters somewhere in the middle, only because I've yet to really explore Indian and Iranian Cinema in depth. I have no idea how long this production took to make, but many people are interviewed including directors ranging from Stanley Donen to Lars Von Trier, and even seeing actress Kyoko Kagawa was very pleasant as I've been watching her movies only recently.Final Verdict: I suppose this series isn't for everyone, but for those who are really passionate about cinema will definitely learn a thing or two. In 2011 I was 19 the first time I saw it, and I found it to be this wonderful 15 hour film course. Now I'm 23, and having seen a larger majority of these movies I come back to this series yearly and would recommend it to just about everyone. It will possibly start a new trend of how film history is remembered, but for now it stands as the great reminder of what the medium can be, and just how it continues to grow with us emotionally as well as technologically. 10/10.

evening1 Kaleidoscopic series documenting film from the late 1800's.Irish critic Michael Cousins has an idiosyncratic means of presentation but I found him a congenial, sensitive, and intelligent guide in a journey that truly does feel like an odyssey in its wonder, variety, and complexity.Films I'd like to see or re-view based on Cousins' introduction/interpretation: 1) Stagecoach. Ford: "It's the little guy that does the courageous things." 2) Citizen Kane. Welles' attraction to powerful people is like Shakespeare's. Kane's world is massive but empty. 3) Best Years of Our Lives. Frederick March. "Just as in real life we cannot see everything we would like to." 4) Code Unknown. Binoche. Wife getting away from husband on subway.5) How to Marry a Millionaire.6) Un Homme et une Femme.7) Rome -- Open City (1945). City's struggle to resist fascism. Magnani pregnant, unmarried, unglamorous, older. Italian neo-realism: bald light bulbs.8) Bicycle Thieves. Kid almost hit by car twice. No time for, interest in, hugs.9) Double Indemnity. Noir. Hollywood. "Hardly anyone walks so those that do can hear their own footsteps." "America's most curious filmmakers went abroad." Billy Wilder fled Nazis for sun-drenched Ca. "Loved the unpretentiousness of America, hated its worship of money." 10) Chinatown. Robert Type, writer. "Flaw draws them to fate as they try to avoid it." 11) Out of the Past. Robert Mitchum "wants a decent girl but can't stay out of the way.' "Crackled with snappy dialog." 12) Rio Bravo. Angie Dickinson "got all the best lines." 13) Out of the Past. Jean Greer knows the man is weak.14) The Hitchhiker. Ida Lupino "mastered the noir form." 15) Quai des Brumes.16) La Chienne. Man in love with hard-hearted woman.17) Two for the Road. Donen: "Such a hard, tough look at marriage." 18) Singin' in the Rain. "He's not worried about getting wet. He's so joyful that rain doesn't bother him. He's thrilled with being in love." 19) A Matter of Life and Death. Doomed Niven: "I'll be a ghost and come visit you." 20) Listen to Britain. Mozart piano concerto. "Things that get people through trauma together...It might be the last summer when they're free." 21) The Third Man. "One of the most daring of endings."22) Gun Crazy. B-movie director Lewis. Bank robbery in LA suburb of Montrose. Presaged Bonnie and Clyde.CHAPTER 6: "Non-Western world decolonized, got confidence...Western world: Sex and power on the mind. 23) Rebel Without a Cause. Emotion bursting at the seams.24) Cairo Station. Egypt: "Even more to kick out against...First great Arab, first great African film. Chahine (born boundary-pusher) alone with his sweaty erotic imagination. Crippled newspaper seller listens as she has sex with another man. Where did he get the balls to be so innovative? Spat on face opening night.25) Satyajit Ray...Junibelle Devi "living in a brothel when Ray found her, needed a dose of morphine each day to keep her going."26) Devi. "She becomes a victim of this regressive mindset." 27) Ikiru. Bureaucrat gets cancer. Most movies of Kurasawa about the energy of the individual...distinguishing themselves from others. Kurasawa hero notable for staying power...Kurasawa's stylebook for cinema. A one-man style school.28) Throne of Blood. Connect with The Godfather climax." 29) Dona Barbara. Mexico. Companion shot, raped by sailors.30) The Pearl. "Becomes a cancer in their lives."31) All that Heaven Allows. Jane Wyman, gardener Rock Hudson. "Viciousness of American conformity."32) Marty. "Access the serious emotions."33) On the Waterfront. Brando. "Your guts is all in your wallet and your trigger finger." "As Freud had taught, the surface is a lie, a mask." 34) And God Created Woman. "Brigette Bardot refused to dress like a posh Parisian woman."CHAPTER 10:More to film in 70s than Coppola and Scorsese! "We tend to think of films as Hollywood but there's so much else going on in the world." 35) Ali, Fear Eats the Soul, Fassbinder. Inspired by "All that Heaven Allows." Fassbinder plays one of the lead character's prejudiced relatives. 36) Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant. Bette Davis in "All About Eve." "Fassbinder takes the American movie much further...has his actors move slowly, inexpressively, as if haunted or exhausted...Wigs and makeup conjure artifice." With amazingly visaged Irm Hermann, Fassbinder's erstwhile secretary and lover: "He treated her appallingly." 37) Fox and his Friends. Full frontal nudity of the director himself, lazily getting out of bed.38) Alice in the Cities. Iconic Boardwalk, Empire State. 39) Gods of the Plague. Non-tense bank robbery. Hertzog: "Wild man of German cinema...its explorer"40) Burden of Dreams. Hertzog speaking Spanish. "Only difference between you and me...I can articulate them...What poetry is all about."41) "Arabian Nights," Pasolini. Shocking image of sexually submission boy. Ken Russell. Air Force to ballet dancer, "rare career move...Movie gangsters are often about display." 42) Performance. "Last act before he's taken away is to shoot Turner -- maybe because he's shown too much of himself...Most imaginative shooting in series...mandatory viewing for film directors." 41) Walkabout. "A life less ordinary...She meets a more vital human being...What sort of person you are -- one who swims in a chlorinated pool or the open sea."