Precious Images

I first saw this at the Kabuki when I was working there and watching this just pulled me in. The right kind of music covered the various sections (The main title theme of "Psycho" plays over clips of horror and suspense films). Almost 5 yrs. later, I saw it again, and cried a bit on it. It was just as beautiful then as it was 5 yrs before. I wished that I could get a copy of this! This mini history of the films of Hollywood won a richly deserved Oscar. Where else can you see a short in which it gives you the history of the cinema, from the early, silent beginnings to the the color musical and classic eras to the modern (For 1986, anyway)cinema. Wonderful! If you are fortunate, you gotta catch this!

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.

I know my opinion would be vehemently refuted if read by the 'die-hard' film buffs, but let me tell you all one thing: I love films as much as you all do.

I remember how mesmerized I was by the effervescence and liveliness of 'Singin in the Rain', moved to tears by the melancholy in 'Sophie's Choice' and 'Kramer vs Kramer', moved and enchanted by the grandiose of 'Gone with the Wind', entertained by 'Beverley Hills Cop', impressed (during subsequent viewings) by 'Psycho', transfixed with amazement by Robert Deniro's performance in 'Taxi Driver', amused by the double role in 'Tootsie', excited by Harrison Ford's electric 'Indiana Jones' series, shocked by 'Rosemary's Baby' and 'Carrie' and umimpressed by the overrated 'Rocky', 'Poltergeist' and 'E.T'. Also, I feel the montage shown with appropriate music in the background is a nice tribute. But it does not require an 'Oscar' to prove that its the best, it can be played on the television for everyone to remember their favorite films.

I believe that by honoring this material with an Oscar, one does not award an original film, which I feel rightfully deserves the awards as Oscars should award originality and that's the point of this montage itself. My rating of this tribute: 6/10

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