Customer Reviews

20th Century Fox - The First 50 Years

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4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm usually not a fan of big, blowsy, overblown studio self-tributes, but this is the happy exception! At just over two hours, the documentary is concise, well written, and brilliantly edited. Super-cool James Coburn provides the "voice of god" narration. The title is a little confusing, however. It suggests that the documentary covers only "the first 50 years" (1915-1965) but the program actually acknowledges Fox's history up to the present (although not in as much detail). (By the way, you DO get a brief glimpse of "Star Wars", probably the only footage we're going to see it on DVD for quite awhile!) The "greats" are all here, of course (Grable, Temple, Power, Monroe, "Grapes of Wrath", "All About Eve", "The Longest Day", etc., but so are some of Fox's rarely seen silent offerings ("A Fool There Was", "The Iron Horse", "Sunrise"). The studio's foray into sound is a particular highlight - and proves that it was Fox, not Warner Brothers, who was the first to perfect talking pictures! There are incredible rarities in this program too (footage of Marilyn's last film, Fox's 1950s TV remakes of their classic films, outtakes galore, screen tests, etc.), and the producers didn't shy away from mentioning that the studio also produced its share of bombs ("Wilson" comes to mind). Movie lovers will be happy to know that the DVD edition is pristine. I can hardly believe the picture and sound quality - especially when considering the age and rarity of some of the materials. The DVD also offers more than two hours of bonus materials! (Mostly product reels, but fascinating.) All-in-all, a well crafted, balanced look at one of the last great Hollywood dream factories. Highly enjoyable and informative.

When I moved to Hollywood about 5 months ago I did not know anything about the motion picture business nor the city where I live. As someone who loves history I started out to seek good books on the history of Hollywood. Most of the I found where good but dry. I found this DVD about a week ago and I love it. The DVD takes a look at the history of 20th Century Fox. The DVD moves at a good speed and really looks at the people and the films that made 20th Century Fox what it is today. The clips and the photos in the DVD are great also. It is a must have for any film or Hollywood history buff.

The litmus test for this kind of compilation film is usually the time spent on and the patience you have with lesser known material. Usually titles are lesser known for a reason. However, as this doco runs over 2 hours (It's no joke that one title is The Longest Day), I found myself growing more and more desperate for lesser known material, like a man with a restricted diet. The problem with the films of this particular studio is that their catalogue doesn't contain much of anything that hasn't been featured in similar studies of Hollywood. I mean, how many times have you seen the Shall We Dance number from The King and I! The expectation of seeing The Grapes of Wrath, Shirley Temple, Betty Grable, Carmen Miranda, Laura (with the murderer revealed!), All About Eve, The Robe, Marilyn Monroe, Cleopatra, and The Sound of Music, is met. Success is defined here by box office takings, and to a lesser extent Academy awards. This is ironic since Daryl Zanuck, head of the studio for the majority of the 50 years, is hailed for his literary aesthetic, as opposed to vulgarians like Jack Warner, Harry Cohn and Louis B Mayer. It is said that only a non-Jew like Zanuck was brave enough to make the anti-semitic Gentleman's Agreement, but not mentioned whether any Jews went to see it. (Maybe they didn't have to, if they lived it). There is a glimpse of Nightmare Alley, a work of great daring, which is deemed a failure, along with the dull Wilson, and a good 20 minutes devoted to Cleopatra, which bears the reputation of bankrupting the studio, though it did ultimately make a profit. If this documentary demonstrates anything, it is the fickleness of trends. After rescuing the studio from the Depression, Temple was let go because she grew up. Grable did marvels for morale in WW2 but she was outed by Monroe, just as Grable had outed Alice Faye. Monroe was fired from Something's Got to Give because of her unreliability, though we aren't told she was rehired before she died. We see out-takes from the incompleted film, which are fascinating and highlight her luminous beauty. And the attempts to battle TV in the 1950's by producing Cinemascope spectacles are exhausted by the fate of Cleopatra. (It is thought that the studio would have had more patience with Monroe if it wasn't for their pre-oocupation with Liz). Of amusing note is how Hello Dolly! is hailed as one of Fox' later successes, along with The Poseidon Adventure, Planet of the Apes, The Omen, and Star Wars, when my understanding was that Dolly lost about as much money for the studio as The Sound of Music had made. Perhaps it was best to wrap up this "story of our century" with the mythology intact, and Fox being the multi-media giant it now is.

Not being familair with the history of 20th Century Fox, this was a great way to learn A LOT about the ups and down of the studio. One of the added bonus videos was pretty neat - the presentation to the Board members back in the 40's. It showed off areas of the studio and the "stars" of that time - many I thought "who's that?" A great overall collection for film buffs wanting to learn about the Fox studios.

I found this an extremely interesting documentary on The Studio, (as it was known before it's slew of Drew Barrymore vehicles, where she plays a virgin... again.) It was also fairly entertaining. The DVD, however, is recommended, in my humble opinion, to only those who are self-acknowledged movie buffs, or were alive at the time of Fox's first 50 years, or who are just FOX-y people. This is not recommended for the casual viewer, but for the viewer with the specific requirements mentioned. On the plus side, there are many insights into both The Studio and early film-making in general, and also featured are dailies from various Marilyn Monroe films of her 'goofing up' during her more traumatic years.

I purchased this DVD for two reasons: 1.) because I'm a big fan of the films of Twentieth Century Fox from the 1930s and 2.) I teach a scenic art class that focuses on painting scenery for film and television production. The DVD has many behind the scenes footage of a working film studio from that era - everything from the carpentry shops to the wardrobe department to the commissary. Since part of my classes features a short history lesson of the film studios of that era, this footage is extremely helpful in demonstrating what it was like to work in a film studio back then. I would recommend this DVD to anyone who has an interest in the workings of a major film studio during the Studio Era. It also has many clips from Fox films that have never seen the light of day on VHS or DVD.

This DVD shows some of the great movies from the Fox Studios over the years. It's a great way for younger (students people to learn of the great movies put out by this studio. It would be nice to see a few more of the titles released on DVD like Runaway Bus, Harry Black and the Tiger, Adventures of Haaji Baba, King of the Khyber Rifles and many more. Come on FOX let's see them.

GREAT DOCUMENTARY THE DVD BOX SAYS WIDESCREEN 1:85:1 ITS NOT ITS FULLSCREEN 1:33:1

Very entertaining documentary. Encourages one to check out some of the films examined in their entirety.

This Fox Studio revue is one of the best...
They cover all of the vast collection of
production that Fox Studio turned out in
their first 50 years... Its almost like a
time machine, and gives you the feel of old
Hollywood... Along with the struggles and
success of a great studio... The whole
story of how it began... Old movie junkies
will love this!!