StunnaKrypto Self-important, over-dramatic, uninspired.

Blucher One of the worst movies I've ever seen

Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Sean Ramsdell First of all, no I'm not going to poke fun at his accent (that's the least of my worries).Pros: The history of world cinema is the only strength I can think of outside interviews and extensive use of film clips (especially Third World cinema from Africa to Iran).Cons: Definitely opinionated-the one scene that drove me crazy is where he considers Top Gun as an example of bad commercial cinema while Blue Velvet represents good personal cinema but really both are awesome in their own merits, there are some films I can do without (Lars van Trier, Pasolini, In the Realms of the Senses) for a person with OCD, I didn't like the ending which is less than hopeful.

Acme11 Acme11 This is likely the most comprehensive "story of film" ever produced and the content is utterly brilliant. However, Mark Cousin's rather high- pitched, totally monotonous voice which lacks any tonal or volume variation whatsoever, combined with an accent which renders EVERY sentence a question, makes this a nearly unwatchable (or rather unlistenable) program. Ultimately, I wound up watching with the sound off and the subtitles on (no doubt missing much), as his voice became an aural ice pick to my hearing. EXTREMELY unfortunate. I would do ANYTHING for him to have hired an actual voice-over narrator to carry these duties. If the content had not been so extraordinary (and amazingly produced), I'd have given this far fewer than 6 stars based on the narration alone. One of the best remakes that could ever be produced would be this series with ZERO changes other than Peter Coyote (for instance) narrating it.

grantss Probably the most extensive documentary made on the history of film, and deserves respect for that alone.I particularly liked the objective stuff, the historical development of film, the pivotal moments and movies. Hated Mark Cousins' narration: first time I attempted to watch the series I gave up after 10 minutes- his intonations were that irritating. Second time round I gritted my teeth and eventually got accustomed to his narration (still didn't like it though). Also hated the pretentiousness of the subjective stuff. Yes, its art, so critiquing movies is by definition subjective, but Cousins glorifies movies and directors which/who are clearly not worth of that degree of praise. Some of it is pure "Look at how clever I am - I just mentioned a director/movie you've never heard of". Cousins is very up himself.Overall it was an edifying experience, but could have been a lot better.

Willard Jansen Obviously there was not enough budget for this immense task. So the maker had to cut expenses and had to do many things himself. Just because you know a lot about film doesn't make you a good cameraman or even a narrator. But instead of leaving it just to an idea. He grabbed what he could and went on an odyssey. And he probably thought that film lovers would see that and understand it. He also would have thought that film lovers would appreciate his personal way of doing things, just as many of the filmmakers he portrays do things their very own way. But No! IMDb reviewers are much more interested in Hollywood conventions that in anything else. So considering the obvious lack of resources, money and most likely time, I would consider this a masterpiece to those with an open mind who are not constricted to National borders to find out about the origin of film style and technique.Keep in mind: Odyssey means a daring trip to find something while confronting dangers and solving problems along the way. Getting there is more important then how. Story means a series of thought s and events chained together in a very personal way. So let go of any pre-judgements and learn from this series about the incredible history of film, told in a very personal way.