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The Story Of Film: An Odyssey

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86% Tomatometer 7 Reviews 90% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings

Critics Reviews

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Mark Feeney Boston Globe 05/16/2012
3.5/4
It's wildly ambitious, often extremely good, occasionally maddening, and always stimulating. Go to Full Review Hugues Porquier Battle Royale With Cheese 07/27/2021
"The Story of Film : An Odyssey" is a must-see for all film lovers and for those who would like to understand how the industry appeared. Go to Full Review Graeme Tuckett The Post NZ 05/17/2021
The direction in which [Mark] Cousins allows his scholarship, research and hilariously firmly held convictions to lead him after that are a tangled and engrossing trail. Go to Full Review Sean Axmaker Seanax.com 08/13/2016
... an unconventional, expansive, and almost exhaustive approach to the history of cinema. Go to Full Review Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 03/30/2014
D
Cousins's insanely repetitive delivery of every sentence sadly renders the documentary unwatchable - or at least unlistenable. Cousins has the annoying habit of ending every phrase like a question. Torturous. Go to Full Review Shawn Levy Oregonian 08/01/2012
B+
Like Martin Scorsese's "A Personal Journey Through American Cinema" and "My Voyage to Italy," it's a tour through a museum with a deeply passionate and engaging guide. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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10/24/2020 To get somewhat metatextual, in the same spirit on display throughout this eclectic study of the cinematic frame beyond the Hollywood bauble of romanticism, can you imagine being one of the goofball reviewers on here complaining that documentaries should be "unbiased" or that Cousins uses too many superlatives—"if every film is ‘the best'," writes one reviewer, "then none of them are," which comes right up to the point (that there are no "bests" in art, that there is no way out of the subjective) and still misses it—when really the only thing to complain about is the constant upspeak? See more 05/23/2020 Excellent and I am not in the least bothered by Cousin's voice, in fact its intonation evoques the undampened wonder, the awe of seeing something for the first time ever. Isn't that the whole meaning of this cinematic accomplishment? See more 07/09/2016 Super amazing and educational but the narrator's cadence makes everything a question? It's annoying? Can't take it anymore? One and a half star demote? Maybe watch with mute and captions next time? See more 12/30/2015 I would recommend this 15 one-hour episode documentary as THE place to start a serious study of film. Director Mark Cousins' narration is filled with brilliant insights. See more 08/08/2015 This is an exhaustive 15hr documentary on the history of cinema and is thorough, informative and very interesting. But should be required viewing for anyone who loves movies. Some people criticized the narration, but I didn't mind if much. The amount of research put into this is truly impressive, films from every part of the world are covered, no stone is left unturned. There is a tremendous amount of clips and interviews to help tell the story. This is a very good overview of the history of cinema. Required viewing! See more 01/16/2015 Interesting but the narration makes it unbearable to watch. See more Read all reviews
The Story Of Film: An Odyssey

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Cast & Crew

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Mark Cousins

Director

Wim Wenders

Actor

Stanley Donen

Actor

Robert Towne

Actor

Claire Denis

Actor
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The Story Of Film: An Odyssey

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Movie Info

Director
Mark Cousins