These Amazing Shadows (2011)
As a movielover/blogger I’m a big fan of the possibility of exploration in film. I sometimes feel like Indiana Jones discovering old treasures that amaze me. It’s a great thing to be able to do that because movies are seen as an important medium that should be taken care of. Movies allow you to experience a different time with different values or take you to worlds you’d never be able to imagine. These Amazing Shadows is a documentary which looks into the world of preservation, more specifically the National Film Registry, which is a list of American movies that is expanded each year. Each movie in this list is preserved in the Library of Congress, which allows future generations to experience them. The movies are selected by the United States National Film Preservation Board and it becomes clear that the people selecting them love movies as much as we do.
This documentary tells the viewer why the National Film Registry was created, but as some of the movies on the list are discussed (shots of the movies are shown) also looks into the history of film. I was shocked to find out how many movies were lost from the silent era, simply because people saw them as nothing more than product that could be destroyed after money was made. It shows various directors (Christopher Nolan, Rob Reiner, John Lasseter and many more) talking about specific films and why they love them. A big part of the preservation is of course making sure that the actual film is stored in perfect condition. It shows how much effort is taken in restoring movies and how fragile film can be, especially the nitrate film which will burn really quickly.
As a movielover this really is a documentary you can’t miss as it constantly shows people passionately talking about the importance of movies. It is sprinkled with shots of all the movies that are part of the Registry and immediately makes you want to watch them. Just watch the trailer and tell me you wouldn’t want to see this. I know I was watching this with a warm feeling inside, love for movies.
Score: 8
Lovely… I’m sure something we all will love to watch
I’m pretty sure of it as well.
Never heard of it before, but this sounds really intriguing. Time to make an addition to my watch list. Thank you for bringing it to attention!
It’s definitely worth watching, hope you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.
Never heard of it but now I will most definitely be watching! Thanks for posting! With this and Side by Side coming out, it is a great year for docs about film!
You are welcome Pete! I’m really looking forward to seeing Side by Side, was already (for a short moment) thinking about heading to Berlin Film Festival to see it, but I’ll try to be patient.
A great review if a great film. As much as it should have been the stories that sold me it was ultimately the editing that made me love the experience of Amazing Shadows; the way that they juxtaposed clips from registered films with everything the heads were talking about was both clever and reminiscent of my own method of using films as examples in entirely unrelated conversations.
I was surprised to not see this considered for the Academy Awards yesterday, I thought for sure that their self-congratulatory streak would have cemented a film on film and the Academy’s chances for at least a nom.
Yeah, the editing really gave me that feeling too, it makes it feel almost romantic to talk about all those movies. Yeah, I was a bit surprised too that it wasn’t mentioned, but then again I feel like not too many people had seen it.
Thanks for your kind (and complimentary) comments about our film. I am one of the co-directors of “These Amazing Shadows”, and am so pleased that you appreciated our film….on so many levels. Film truly is the art form of the 20th and 21st centurry….and we need to preserve not only our individual memories but also our cultural heritage.
If you get a chance, check out the DVD extras (DVD and Blu Ray available on ShopPBS and Amazon)….especially the short on finding lost films entitled “Lost Forever”.
Thanks again.
Paul
You are welcome Paul, it was an awesome watch and completely agree with you that it’s important to preserve. Would you be interested in doing a short interview? I could send you my questions.
I loved the idea behind the doc, but didn’t like the doc itself very much. It felt to me like one of those fillers they put in award ceremonies to pad it out a bit.
So it felt artifical to you I guess. Can’t agree on everyting