Hollywood

Indescribably essential. Kevin Brownlow, the late David Gill, and their superlative production and support staff at Thames Television created the absolute apotheosis of film documentary in this series. AND, to boot, they provided undoubtedly the greatest single service ever rendered to film history in seeking out these amazing pioneers and capturing their recollections and memories, shortly before they all passed forever from the scene. I have seen this innumerable times, yet I still fall back in awe at sequences such as director Allan Dwan describing his entry into the film industry in 1911, or cameraman Karl Brown speaking of the 1915 opening night of "Birth of a Nation". I also highly recommend Brownlow's predecessor book "The Parade's Gone By" (1969), and the companion book to the series "Hollywood, the Pioneers" (out of print). Also, the subsequent Brownlow documentaries on Chaplin, Keaton, Harold Lloyd, DW Griffith, and Lon Chaney are all of equal quality, and beautifully augment original the series. I can only hope that when the DVD version of Hollywood is released, it will include unedited interviews with the participants.

If you are a fan of the silent period, this series is a must see.

Interviews with the silent stars, producers, directors, writers, and craft people, as well as more footage of the era than you can possibly imagine. Brownlow and Gill, two of Hollywood's premier historians, have put together this highly entertaining documentary series and are able to capture the feel and the look of early Hollywood.

Particularly interesting is that each episode is a theme. From comedies, to westerns, to a particular star or director, to the frequent scandals, each episode has insight into what made Hollywood tick.

Those of us who see the silent film as a beautiful art form marvel at the beauty of the technique when sound doesn't get in the way. Brownlow and Gill have found footage frequently thought to be destroyed but found in someone's garage or basement.

I am raising my son to appreciate the silent film, and with the help of this series he has become a fan of Chaplin, Keaton, Lloyd, and many others.

Thanks to David and Kevin.

I heard of this documentary years ago and bought it on Laser Disc (that's right, Laser Disc, eat your hearts out!) in the 90's. This is THE BEST documentary on silent film I have every seen. 10 of 10!

If my house was on fire, and I only had time to grab one laser disc, this would be it. From the fantastic, sweet music of the opening titles to the end of part 13, this will HOLD your interest for 12 hours (each part is about 52 min. long). The 4 page essay by Kevin Brownlow with the laser disc set is fantastic.

Watching silent film on television at home is different than watching a sound film. With a sound film, you might glance at the newspaper, let the dog out, etc. and still use your ears to keep up with the story, but a silent film HOLDS you to the screen.

To quote the last lines of the Brownlow essay: "It is impossible to listen to these people without marvelling; they are so extraordinary in their old age... what must Hollywood have been like when they were all young? This series tries to find out."

I agree: WHERE IS THE DVD!!!!

The "Hollywood" series is the best documentary on Hollywood that I have ever seen. It presents silent movies in their correct speed and this makes a huge difference. It reveals that silent movies were not silent and in fact had orchestras of up to 100 musicians. It shows how different these films were,visual poems of music and picture. Silent films often had surprisingly good special effects as good as today's special effects. This series also tells us about the pitfalls and dangers of silents film production with extras sometimes getting killed. It reveals forgotten movie stars of the past and tells us about their lives and what befell them. This wonderful series deserves a DVD release as it is quite unique. My only regret is that they should have done a second series on the sound movies of the 1930's,which was Hollywood's greatest era.

This series was the finest documentary on the early days of Hollywood ever made. Put together in late 1970's, many from the silent era were still alive and they gave their very last interviews for this documentary. I can't say enough about this brilliant series. A must see for any movie fan.