Entertainment For Lively Minds
Is anyone else watching The Story Of Film - An Odyssey
Posted by fedoraboy on 6 November 2011 - 12:50pm.
Is anyone else...watching...The Story Of Film...An Odyssey....On More4?
Wonderful clips. Expertly edited together to make a compelling 90min journey.
But, Mark Cousins narration, with its strange pattern of never-ending sentences, raised inflections and non-sequiturs is beginning to put me off.
Sans Cousins
The Wondeful Zizek
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That's exactly my problem with it
I'd happily watch a version with a different narrator.
I love it
and find his commentary exceptionally complementary to his direction. Nothing's too quick, but assured and just informative enough to pique my curiosity. I knew absolutely nothing about Third World Cinema and thought the episodes about non-Hollywood cinema (including last nights) were really enjoyable. I'll be chasing down more Herzog / Fassbinder now.
Observation - Did more of this cinema used to get shown on TV back in the 80's? There seems to be a lack of "art" cinema on terrestrial TV nowadays. Satellite isn't much cop either, to tell the truth.
Yes
Definitely more international films on BBC2 and Channel 4 back in the day, although you had to be something of a nightowl. -I can still remember seeing a great Japanese film in the 80s, 'The Family Game', which has been unavailable ever since.
btw I can't see this program as I am out of the country, but I presume it is based on Mark Cousin's book "The Story of Film' published a few years ago?
Herzog is
one of my favourite directors. Try 'Kaspar Hauser' , 'Aguirre' and 'Fitzcarraldo' for starters. He's a fascinating artist; slightly bonkers, but tremendously simpatico.
True, there were more international and classic movies on TV in the '70s and '80s. In the race to the bottom, that's gone the way of all flesh.
Definitely
...fewer arthouse, foreign or even just classic films nowadays. I saw the British films, like the kitchen sink ones from the 60s on telly first, but I cannot remember when any of those were actually on television.
I remember seeing an interview a few years ago with a scheduler from BBC2 being asked why there wasn't many films on tv any more and he argued it was about scheduling (completely unconvincingly imo). They simply didn't have time to put in 2/3 (or longer) hour films in the schedule.
PS Fopp used to have Fassbinder and Herzog box sets relatively cheaply.
I'm loving it
I found the commentary really annoying to begin with, but I don't really notice it now. There's a lot of very interesting information and interviews with people you don't usually see, so I can overlook the commentary.
Mark Cousins provokes murderous fury in me.
I just can't stand him. I used to see him prancing about Edinburgh in his stupid kilt, probably narrating his progress in an annoying voice the whole time. I have never mugged anyone in my life, but boy did I want to nick his dinner money.
I do have to say though, that there has been a moviedrome shaped gap in the BBC 2 schedules for many a long year. I got a film education from that, and they really should bring it back. But with Alex Cox obviously, not Cousins. Cos he's a prick.
Film Docs...
Enjoying the series so far, Mark Cousins knows his stuff, he did an Iranian cinema season a few years back on C4 which was good
My only gripe has been the film which follows the programme, they have nothing to do with the series whatsoever
THe film...
...connected to the episode is shown on Film Four at some time after midnight on Monday night/Tuesday morning or 11am on Thursdays.
Odd scheduling for sure, but just thought I'd flag it up in case you hadn't noticed that there is a weekly film connected to the series.
Love it !
I think it's a magnificent series, thoroughly enjoying it.. His accent don't bother me, I'm learning loads.
I do really miss Moviedrome tho.. That was my introduction to some really amazing cinema. Very dissapointing how few classic/cool movies show up on sky
Agreed
And Film 4 programming is beyond a joke. So much so that the films they are currently funding would look out of place on their own channel.
Stephen Fry agrees
(Room 101 appearance) - see from 2.00
Since the virtual...
...disappearance of foreign/arthouse films from television, almost the only way to see them is rental from one of the online companies. We watch three or four a week using a digital projector
I watched one episode (circa episode 5 of 25?).
I don't "get it". He shows us cool shots or edits and explains why it's notable. That's it.
What did I learn?
That some movies have interesting bits of camera work here and there.
How this is insightful or a history of cinema I don't know.
A tree falling as shown from the point of view of the tree, or a car crash edited into little millisecond snippets interspersed with black screen is cool. But it doesn't mean anything beyond some filmmakers can do clever things.
I have not returned to the programme. It's pointless.