86%
7 Reviews
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90%
250+ Ratings
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Mark Feeney
Boston Globe
It's wildly ambitious, often extremely good, occasionally maddening, and always stimulating.
Rated: 3.5/4
May 16, 2012
Full Review
Hugues Porquier
Battle Royale With Cheese
"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.
Jul 27, 2021
Full Review
Graeme Tuckett
Stuff.co.nz
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.
May 17, 2021
Full Review
Sean Axmaker
Seanax.com
... an unconventional, expansive, and almost exhaustive approach to the history of cinema.
Aug 13, 2016
Full Review
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
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.
Rated: D
Mar 30, 2014
Full Review
Shawn Levy
Oregonian
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.
Rated: B+
Aug 1, 2012
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kamryn a
I watched this in my theater film class, overall a well-done timeline of everything from start to finish. I gave it a 2 1/2 star because it was very well made, but it was very repetitive and the director's voice was long and droning on. I could've used it to sleep better every night. The ADHD also doesn't help but you gotta do what you gotta do. The cinematography and the in-depth study along with the presentation of the clips and proper credentials were what saved it for me.
Rated 2.5/5 Stars •
Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
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?
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
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?
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/17/23
Full Review
Audience Member
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?
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
02/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
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.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
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!
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/06/23
Full Review
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