A NIGHT AT THE MOVIES: THE GIGANTIC WORLD OF EPICS (2009) manages to squeeze an awful lot of clips from some notable epic films into an hour of running time.
The format almost works, except that it mainly goes back and forth between three films: GONE WITH THE WIND, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Each time it starts to get into some interesting trivia about the making of the film, it goes on to another film and then still another before returning to the original discussion on the first film. This back and forth technique gets tiresome before the hour is out.
For fans of epic films, the clips are very interesting and in addition there are "on the set" moments illustrated with still photos of behind-the-scenes action taking place during filming. From that standpoint, the documentary is a success. Especially interesting are the remarks on GONE WITH THE WIND and the change of directors (and other anecdotes) which most film fans may be familiar with.
The format almost works, except that it mainly goes back and forth between three films: GONE WITH THE WIND, THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI and THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. Each time it starts to get into some interesting trivia about the making of the film, it goes on to another film and then still another before returning to the original discussion on the first film. This back and forth technique gets tiresome before the hour is out.
For fans of epic films, the clips are very interesting and in addition there are "on the set" moments illustrated with still photos of behind-the-scenes action taking place during filming. From that standpoint, the documentary is a success. Especially interesting are the remarks on GONE WITH THE WIND and the change of directors (and other anecdotes) which most film fans may be familiar with.