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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent overview of the history of American film, August 6, 1999
By A Customer
If you weren't lucky enough to have caught this series on PBS or the BBC, you truly weren't lucky. This is a terrific documentary on the history of American film with wonderful interviews and an especially good collection of exemplary scenes running the gamut of genres. Especially interesting (at least to my mind) are the episodes on film noir and the film school generation (i.e. Coppola, Scorcese, Lucas etc.), each of which is surprisingly encyclopedic in execution, considering the breadth of the topics covered. All in all, if you are a film buff like myself, this would make an excellent addition to your video library.
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17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
wonderful overview of american film, January 12, 2002
This review is from: American Cinema - 100 Years of Filmmaking (DVD)
This ten-installment love letter to Hollywood and American film was originally aired on PBS, and comes on two two-sided DVDs. Introduced by John Lithgow, each segment is then narrated by a different actor and covers the following subjects: The Hollywood Style, The Star, Romantic Comedy, Film Noir, The Western, The Combat Film, The Studio System, Film in the Television Age, The Film School Generation and The Edge of Hollywood. Each segment runs about 54 minutes and is well-written, loaded with illustrative scenes from great films, and filled with interviews by filmmakers, actors and film scholars. I especially enjoyed the Romantic Comedy and The Studio System segments, but each is so well done that you will undoubtedly find favorites of your own. The only weakness here is the lack of any real documentation. When so many films and actors are discussed, it would add value to this collection to have a good index. If you enjoy film and are interested in a thoughtful introduction to this American art form, you can't go wrong with this collection.
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Cheapest Film Class You'll Ever Take, June 3, 2002
This review is from: American Cinema - 100 Years of Filmmaking (DVD)
Writing a screenplay? Trying to do an indie? This set TOUCHES on 100's of important (sometimes obscure) American films...just enough to make you want to find some of them for further study and ignore others. You will see, within catagories or timelines, snippets, some brief but some several minutes, give you the highlights, the substance. This is NOT MGM's "That's Entertainment". This IS a series of entertaining, lucid programs that follow like film school seminars but are easily understood by even the most casual viewer. Note, the series does not play to the lowest common denominator. A true film buff and their film-hating spouse could watch this together, and both walk away amazed. My elementary school kids now understand as much about film making history as many professionals I know. This would be a great gift to your local school. I highly recommend this if you are interestted in Digital Video, especially home filming, guerilla film-making, or just getting ready for film school itself. This set is entertaining, but is an education in itself. The shots, the sounds, the explanations of what works, the experiences of current filmmakers, the reasons for success of prior filmmakers, WHY the public taste changed in every decade(o-o-h, never thought of THAT, eh?)... This is a dream come true if you do not live within commuting distance of a film school or don't have the [money]... Trust me on this one. You will not regret this purchase.
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