These Amazing Shadows

"These Amazing Shadows" is a very inspiring film. You cannot watch it without feeling a strong sense of the importance of film preservation and film as an important part of our history. However, the film suffers from trying to do WAY too much in much to short a time. I could easily see several films or even a series come out of this material and felt the film just went way too fast.

The beginning of the film talks about the fragile nature of nitrate film stock (the standard for movies until the mid-1950s). You see how the film tends to stick together or turn to powder--though this is a bit rushed, as they never really talked about how combustible these old films are as well. And then you get to hear some film preservationists from the Library of Congress talk about their love of their work. I LOVED this part of the film and really wished they had just focused on this or perhaps done so a bit longer.

The next portion of the film is the biggest problem. A sampling of SOME of the films on the National Film Registry is given and folks say a few blurbs about them and what stands out about these films. Well, considering how important and great these films are, they certainly deserved MUCH more about why they were chosen and why they are so unique. It felt like someone trying to encapsulate the entire Bible or American History in 90 minutes or less! Overall, this is a nice introduction into film preservation and the National Registry, but better films on similar subjects have been made--ones that are more thorough and less episodic--such as "Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cinémathèque". Well worth seeing nevertheless.

"These Amazing Shadows" Is A Film For Cinephiles And Those Concerned With The History Of Culture. The Film Explores Cinema History And Why Exactly Movies Are As Culturally Significant As They Are. The Movie Features Interviews With Christopher Nolan, Rob Reiner, Tim Roth, John Waters, Leonard Maltin, Julie Dash, John Singleton, And Many More. "These Amazing Shadows" Discusses Films As Diverse As "Blade Runner" And "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" And "Star Wars" And "Citizen Kane". The Film Features An Inside Look At Film Preservation And Delivers A Convincing Case For The Preservation Of Our Greatest Films. "These Amazing Shadows" Tends To Skip From Film To Film Without Ever Gaining Much Depth. The Movie Tries To Cover The Entire History Of Cinema In Just 88 Minutes, But It Feels Rushed And Unsatisfying. Overall, The Film Is A Moving And Passionate Study Of Cinema History And How It Relates To Our Future As A Culture.

Tells the history and importance of The National Film Registry, a roll call of American cinema treasures that reflects the diversity of film, and indeed the American experience itself.

I was not aware of the history of the registry or how films were chosen to appear on it. Obviously, it makes sense that "Citizen Kane" and "Casablanca" were on there, but I found it much more interesting how the obscure and offbeat get on there. And films from the 1990s, which had relatively little time to become historic...

After seeing this, I have a new-found respect for the list and will have to make a point in tracking down the titles on it. While I have made a point of looking for old Oscar winners, this might be more representative of real American cinema history.

I understand the need to preserve great old movies, and the national registry seems like a great thing for doing this. Will help us remember the way people dressed, and their mannerisms... to see old cars, and street views...for that these old movies are priceless...

But then.... this documentary goes into how movies will remind us of our past history... What?.... wrong! Nice try Hollywood, but, anyone with half a brain should understand that movies are movies... Fake, false.... even the ones that say they are based on fact are not factual, or as Hollywood would put it in the credits, "this film was enhanced for dramatic effect".

Then it gets worse... this documentary tries to say that because someone made movies exploiting women, that was the culture of our time. Because someone made a movie that was blatantly racist, that was the culture of our time...it falls to diversification for the sake of diversification. No longer able to base it's own judgment on good vs bad, but more on what's good for specific minority groups.

For example, they have an American Indian man they are interviewing that is appalled at the way Indians were depicted in the movies of the 50's and 60's... Well I have news for him, read your history books, because American Indians were a lot worse than the movies depict. They scalped people... kept the scalps as trophies. You don't hear anything like that today that isn't related to some serial killer. Sorry we took your land, but, check your history books for something in this world called "conquered people". You'll find your weren't the first, and weren't the last either.

If you want to find out what history was like, take a course, read a book, or watch a documentary blessed by a good historian. Don't ever look to Hollywood movies for more than anything but a way to waste a couple hours, you'll never get back.

Documentary on films deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and listed on the National Film Registry (the current list includes 525 titles from every movie genre). The Registry came into being after Ted Turner began colorizing black-and-white films ("My movies," he brags) which he purchased from the MGM/UA library in 1986, sending film directors and actors to Washington, D. C. to fight for the preservation of cinema classics in their original state. The process of selecting films for the Registry is fine (it's also amusing how the Academy Awards do not act as a factor in the decision-making, since "Sometimes the Academy got it right and, at other times, they got it wrong"); however, I feel, judging movies on their so-called "importance" can also lead to bad decisions. One doesn't go to the movies solely on the basis of what is culturally significant. This process leaves out a lot of the opulent junk movie-fans eat up late at night on TCM Underground. So what about the B-movies and co-features and also-rans? Are they to be sacrificed so future generations can only see our significant works? Historic representations, one might add, which have been manufactured for commercial consumption. What is the underlying similarity between "The Maltese Falcon" and "Valley of the Dolls"? Both were produced to appeal to the public of their respective eras--for box-office revenue. It's show business, for goodness sake. ** from ****