Precious Images

I just bought a DVD of this wonderful film.

It cost me $90....and was worth it.

It's the best version I've seen.

I got it from the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York Or available as a rental from here: $35 http://film-makerscoop.com/rentals-sales

I have seen this short film innumerable times, as Turner Classic Movies has used it as a time filler many times over the last decade or two. It consists of gobs of classic film clips all expertly pieced together in a lovely montage on the history of film. It received the Oscar for Best Short Film/Live Action, though I don't think this was a very good choice because the film bore no original content whatsoever--just a very nice job of splicing and setting it all to a rousing musical score. To me, this just seems like a rather cheap and self-serving bit of promotion by the AMPAS people (the folks that pick the Oscars) and would love to have seen something truly original and new win instead--especially since it must be frustrating to your film makers to work so hard on original stories and lose to what seems like a big commercial. Just my two cents worth.

Chuck Workman made "Precious Images" for the fiftieth anniversary of the Directors Guild. The Academy Award-winning documentary uses a similar approach as "Koyaanisqatsi", consisting mainly of footage (although here we get some dialogue). In this case, it's scenes from some of the most famous movies.

I saw the 1996 version, so they had added scenes from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit", "Thelma and Louise" and "Philadelphia". One could make the argument that simply showing off movie scenes amounts to glamorization of the stars, but I like seeing all these shots. Of course, I would never include any scenes of John Wayne (who endorsed white supremacy in a Playboy interview) or Tom Cruise (the number one Scientologist).

Classic Arts Showcase, a feed of short videos available on many cable channels played the 1996 version of this today. It's fantastic. What a dizzying quiz on all the classic films you've seen!

It's a sequence of hundreds of clips anywhere from 3 seconds down to about 1/4 second, played over a sequence of soundtrack excerpts. All clips are silent except for a few choice ones that have sound.

The subtitle page says, "Presented to the audiences of America in honor of the 100th Anniversary of Film by the Directors Guild of America and your local theatre".

There should be a page for the 19996 version, too.

Has it ever appeared on a DVD or laserdisc?

I first saw this incredible short film on the 1986 Oscar broadcast, then again on a local PBS station. I can't think of another short film that delivers more emotional impact and sheer greatness than this one does. Chuck Workman did an excellent job not only finding the best clips from the greatest movies of all time, but then putting them together with the perfect music. A fitting tribute to the power that images and sound have to move and affect the viewer. I was lucky enough to tape this film by accident when it was tacked onto the tail end of another show being shown on PBS. Now I treasure it as one of my prized possessions. It's an absolute beauty for anyone as passionate about the movies as I am.