These Amazing Documentaries!
Saturday, December 3, 2011 at 7:17AM 
I have purchased some great documentaries on the film industry such as "The Warner Bros Story" and "Moguls and Movie Stars". With each being over three hours long. Yet, the 88-minute These Amazing Shadows is the best documentary about the history of film that I have ever viewed. The equally good outtakes add about another 20 minutes to this superb documentary.
Viewers are treated to footage inside of Packard Campus, a Library Of Congress operated facility that has been dedicated to preserving America’s films that are deemed “culturally significant” by a review board composed of studio moguls, film historians, and moviemakers. The board receives input from the public by emailing nominations to Donna Ross (dross@loc.gov). Please refer to (http://cinematicimpact.com/home/2011/11/28/for-your-consideration.html) for rules and regulations in regards to nominating a film for preservation.
I purchased the Blu-Ray version of These Amazing Shadows and the entire 88-minutes is in stunning 1080p. The interviews and movies being featured are a true testament to what preservation and hi-definition media can accomplish. The “wiper effect” is used to show the before and after results of preservation. The ultimate goal of technicians and chemists is to restore the film to it original state, not to change anything.
Christopher Nolan, Rob Reiner, and John Lassetter are among the celebrities featured in interviews. But interviews with unsung heroes whom preserve the films and independent filmmakers are equally enticing. The conversations range from Christopher Nolan speaking on Blade Runner to Japanese-Americans speaking on the significance of the documentary Topaz. Topaz gives a dire but historically important account of the placement of Japanese-Americans into internment camps. Towards the end of the documentary, African American director John Singleton divulges that he was an advocate for the racist yet innovative The Birth of a Nation to be preserved.
Of course anything can be bit-torrented these days. But if you are interested in this glorious documentary please purchase the DvD or Blu-Ray format to support the National Film Registry.
These Amazing Shadows: A-
