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The Story of Film: An Odyssey

Mark Cousins (Actor, Director), Claire Denis (Actor) Rated:

Format: DVD

111 customer reviews

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The Story of Film: An Odyssey

$41.80 & FREE Shipping on orders over $49. Details Only 17 left in stock. Sold by MightySilver and Fulfilled by Amazon. Gift-wrap available.

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Special Features

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Product Details

Actors: Mark Cousins, Claire Denis, Alexander Sokurov, Wim Wenders
Directors: Mark Cousins
Format: Multiple Formats, Box set, Black & White, Color, Dolby, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Number of discs: 5
Rated:
NR
Not Rated
Studio: Music Box Films
DVD Release Date: December 11, 2012
Run Time: 916 minutes
Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (111 customer reviews)
ASIN: B008ZDC7M8
Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #12,887 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
- #315 in Movies & TV > DVD > Documentary

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Customer Reviews

111

3.7 out of 5 stars

5 star		51%
4 star		16%
3 star		6%
2 star		10%
1 star		17%

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Top Customer Reviews

A Highly Idiosyncratic and Stimulating Survey

By David E. Gregson on December 29, 2012

Format: DVD Verified Purchase

May 8, 2102: Since the time I originally posted some comments on this superb documentary essay, "The Story of Film: An Odyssey," I have re-watched all 15 hours of it twice. Several of my friends are cinephiles and college film professors who have been anxious to share this viewing experience with me. This explains my insanity, as it were. Lots of nice dinners at my house and lots of "The Story of Film." Needless to say, everybody I know finds something missing: an important director, an important individual film. Everybody hates something that Cousins loves. (He is is full of hyperbolic praise for the most surprising things.) But we all agree -- this is a stunning achievement. One of the greatest things about it, by the way, is that it makes you want to see hundreds of movies again or for the first time. If I had the energy, I would remove almost all the negative remarks I have made below -- but best to leave it as it stands. I do have to add, however, not one of my friends has any objection to the way Mr. Cousins speaks. I also no longer find that his remarks interfere with the zillion film clips. Just imagine the mountainous task of selecting and obtaining the rights to them!

Earlier review: This huge "The Story of Film: An Odyssey" is an odyssey for sure in the way the author/narrator's ideas stray all over the place intellectually and geographically. But it is coherent unlike Godard's "Histoire(s) du cinéma." It is also highly idiosyncratic and the author's opinions are right in your face. He makes sweeping pronouncements on who and what is great. One is likely to disagree with many of his powerful convictions.

Here at Amazon, I have read a number of unfair negative customer comments.Read more ›

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I guess I'm learning? about? Ulster?

By Wayne Barker on December 14, 2012

Format: DVD Verified Purchase

My copy of THE STORY OF FILM arrived yesterday and I dove into it immediately.

I have watched the first 3 episodes and so far am really glad I sprang for this set, and I can imagine re-watching it often. Already I am caught up in Cousins' approach, and he continually offers insights I've not encountered elsewhere.

I agree somewhat with the previous reviewer; Cousins perhaps was not the best choice to narrate his own project. To my American ears, his Ulster accent makes each? sentence? sounds as if? it is a question? It is becoming disconcerting. I have been watching Kevin Brownlow's & David Gill's HOLLYWOOD (Thames TV) series, and James Mason's narration is so wonderful in that, but HOLLYWOOD is a less personal approach than THE STORY OF FILM is, I think, intended to be.

The price is reasonable for this immense documentary, considering the number of film clips involved*. (*Christian Marclay's masterpiece THE CLOCK is comprises a virtually uncountable number of film clips, and I don't expect to see a home video release of that art object in MY lifetime.)

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A thought-provoking survey of world cinema

By P. R. Wiley on November 24, 2013

Format: DVD Verified Purchase

There are those who don't seem be able to stand this series, complaining of the narrator's accent and reading, and also the way it challenges some established (especially Hollywood/US- centric) interpretations of film history. On the first point, Cousins speaks the way many people from Belfast speak and he can hardly be blamed for being Irish. On the second point, it's obvious going in that this work is a personal interpretation of film history that's intended to be thought provoking and challenging. It is not intended or presented as a standard historical overview, rather it's "an odyssey" just as the title declares. If you're looking for a traditional historical overview that leaves your pre-existing prejudices in tact, you might steer clear.

The attempted scope of the work is impressive. Hundreds of films, many of which will be unknown to an American audience are mentioned and many quoted (clearance must have been a nightmare). There are some brilliant observations and connections made. Sometimes Cousins attempts stretches he can't quite make, and some of the interpretation gets a little precious, but even in this the work is instructive. The interlude footage contains many visuals puns on what's being said if one watches carefully, and it's fun to figure these out. The interviews with writers and directors are shot in an anti-cinema style that those wanting something that looks like Discovery Channel talking heads may find off-putting. Again there's more method there than may at first meet the eye.

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All-encompassing, informative, yet dull

By Joseph F. Delgado on June 28, 2013

Format: DVD Verified Purchase

As a filmmaker and student of film my interest in this collection was guided by customer reviews here. In fact, I stumbled into it while looking for an old film-history book I can't find anywhere, "Behind the Silver Screen," which was my first film textbook (together with "Film as Art") in the '60s. I was very impressed with Mr. Cousins' ability to hop from one cultural context to another and bring the origins of one film to another into its impact on subsequent generations of film-making. The survey is amazingly comprehensive.

I was, however, turned off from the beginning when Mr. Cousins started his editorializing, trying to pass his opinion as historical fact on the value of one type of film-making over another. To assert that Japanese film is classic while Hollywood film is not at the beginning of the series made me weary of what was to come: not exactly a balanced account.

Some inaccuracies made me cringe. For example, when Mr. Cousins in Disc 2 refers to "Dona Barbara" (1943), directed by Fernando de Fuentes, he states that it was a representation of the Mexican woman as victimized. The film is actually set in Venezuela, in spite of its Mexican production, cast and crew. It was based on a novel by Venezuelan writer Rómulo Gallegos, the finest example of the persistent literary theme of civilization v. barbarism in South America, not a glorification or exultation of Mexican women. These details make his comments less trustworthy as the series progresses: it's always the danger of evaluating cultural aspects of art when such values are alien to the evaluator.

While I would recommend the collection to anyone interested in a visual encyclopedia on film, I warn the viewer of Mr. Cousins insufferably dull delivery as he narrates.Read more ›

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

There's a lot to learn here! Listen to the content - Not the accent!

I find it curious that most of the bad reviews of this elaborate and well constructed history complain about nothing but the narration! Read more

Published 1 day ago by Robert Monschein

Five Stars

Very Good!!

Published 1 month ago by Thomas Wedell

Had to buy this as my "textbook" for 20th century ...

Had to buy this as my "textbook" for 20th century film class, but this turned out to be a very entertaining and educational series.

Published 2 months ago by Adam J. Frueh

A Voice Made For Mime

There could be interesting history here. Just try to find it.
The imagery is self-indulgent and onanistic. Read more

Published 2 months ago by B. Cooney

Five Stars

No better way to learn the history of cinema from it's birth to the modern age.

Published 3 months ago by nano_maus

Five Stars

This documentary makes you love the cinema

Published 3 months ago by Amazon Customer

No Subtitles

To study this material, the narration needs to be subtitled, which these discs do not include.

Published 3 months ago by Janis G.

Every film lover should watch "The Story of Film"

Quite simply an essential purchase. If you love movies and want to know more about their history and the how they are made this is a wonderfully entertaining and erudite series... Read more

Published 4 months ago by Mike H.

like the monologuing bore at a dinner party who buttonholes ...

Presentation matters. Couldn't sit through even thirty minutes of Cousins' rubber mallet narration thumping indifferently on my skull, never varying in rhythm, inflection, or mood. Read more

Published 7 months ago by Phantoboy

The narration is horribly annoying.

The narration is horribly annoying. It's impossible to watch this film for more than 10 minutes at a time. Read more

Published 9 months ago by Mark N.

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