Precious Images

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.

Nothing reduces the impact of a great scene like splicing it with a zillion other ones. Most of the clips employed here are from American movies, which is annoying (especially when the filmmaker attempts to pad it down once he reaches the 1980s - are "Risky Business" and "Rocky IV" really on par with "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Rear Window"? Furthermore, the choice of music, while sometimes sly - going from the Clockwork Orange version of the William Tell Overture (for clips from action movies) to the original Gene Kelly version of "Singing In The Rain" (for feel-good clips from musicals) - is often unimaginative. I suppose I'm objecting more to the concept, however, than this particular product, as I've been similarly disgusted with similar shorts shown in conjunction with the AFI and Oscars etc. It just feels like a pasteurization.

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

The cinema where I usually see movies has a large lobby with a screen that shows "Precious Images" regularly in addition to previews of upcoming movies. I've watched this film a dozen times and it is always fascinating.

Does anyone know if there is a list of all the movies, (preferably in order), that the clips were taken from?

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.