The Story of Film: An Odyssey - Part 1

I was so glad to see other reviewers negative comments about the unbelievably bad narration! I thought it was just me. It is so sad that this brilliant documentary is seriously marred by such a distracting voice. No offense intended, but how could such a global view of cinema warrant such a narrow style of narration? Every sentence is filled with negative or questioning innuendo. Definitely watch with subtitles or not at all!

This is an amazing series for anyone interested in film history or film theory and even anyone just marginally interested in the topic. I was immediately quite attracted to the fact that it isn't just another straight-up Hollywood history report. It's much, much more far-reaching than that—often interspersing what was happening in Hollywood with what was happening in film creation and innovation across the globe at the same time and how creative and technical developments from Europe to America, Asia and the Far East, influenced, informed and complimented each other. Very meticulously done. I've also read the complaints about the narration. It's done by Mark Cousins, the same man responsible for directing the series. I think his strong Northern Irish drawl might throw American audiences off for a bit, but honestly I got used to it pretty quickly and actually kind of like his voice now. Some might also feel that the narration feels a bit like someone is reading from their PhD dissertation, but again, it will only bother people who are usually bothered by irrelevant things in life. Don't let these silly detail keep you from watching a great series.

How can such a profound movie project be ruined by such an annoying narrator? After the first part I gave up, because I couldn't stand this toneless voice any longer. Sad, because I wanted to see them all.

A very ambitious project, incredibly well done.