User reviews

I'm adding a review to counter a review from 2/1/24. I won't say that this reviewer's thoughts aren't valid. I just wanted to clarify an issue that may have been overlooked, so others have a clear understanding of what to expect.

In the first episode of the series (as he does in the forward of the book with the same title) Suber states that he is only commenting on a select group of popular and memorable movies, since these are movies that most people have probably seen and remember. They act as exemplars. The goal here isn't to provide insight to a wide range of movies; it is to discuss why we respond to movies so that we can apply those insights to the movies we personally remember best.

Having said that this is a series of lectures, with the professor talking into a interrotron camera rig and with select movie scenes used as illustration. I can see how that might not be entertaining for a lot of people and even though I really liked this, I did zone out from time to time.

Personally, I don't think this is really a series about movies. This is a series about audiences. I think a more apt title might have been The Power of Audiences, but who would watch that:)

I reckon the title speaks for itself. Dozens of movies are interpreted and dissected in this docuseries, but that's absolutely not the point. At least not in my opinion. I've never been driven to write a review on a movie/show/whatever, but please go into this series understanding that this is a narrative on storytelling in general. If you love films with a passion that transcends every single other form of storytelling, you will appreciate this series. Otherwise, read a book about the art of literature. Or listen to an album about the art of music. Or perhaps view a painting about the art of (art?). This is for film lovers, made by film lovers, told to you by a film lover. And now reviewed by a film lover.

Hopefully this is read by a film lover.

I am finding this documentary to be very powerful and enjoyably enlightening. Howard Suber has taught film classes at UCLA for 50 years, and he offers insights into writing, directing, characterization, fate and destiny, heroes and villains.

There are numerous clips from all kinds of movies as Professor Suber himself talks directly to the camera about whatever the subject may be. I was a TCF (telecommunications and film) major myself while in college in the mid-1970s, and I had some excellent professors, but listening to this man actually makes me want to take a class from him even today.

This is a superb documentary on TCM and hosted by Dave Karger, who is able to speak to director of the series, Laura Gabbert, and to writer, Doug Pray, both of whom had Suber as a professor in college. Simply well done all around.

Wow.

This documentary gives us the screenwriting essentials. If you are a serious storyteller, it's a "must see.".

UCLA Professor Howard Suber gifts us with wisdom, from a lifetime of teaching graduate level screenwriting, at the top film school in the world.

Perfectly edited for the general public.

In Prof. Suber's honor, UCLA film students coined the term "HOSH Pivot." Which is an acronym for "Howard Suber's One Hour Pivot," spelled backwards. HOSH means the plot takes a dramatic turn, one hour into the film. Which is a key structure of every great film. Once you've a created a new vocabulary word, you're established as a historical figure.

This documentary is a treasure. Which should be replayed again and again.

"The Power of Film" is an Incredibly succinct, refined, distilled, and evidence-based look at what makes a good story on screen. If I were an inexperienced woodworker, and this series were about saws, after watching it there would not be a lot standing between me and a viable career in carpentry. His analysis reaches back to the foundational achievements of the plays of ancient Greece, but he doesn't start there or end there. He updates them using this era's most memorable films, seamlessly, but starting from today and integrating backward. I learned so much about what makes great, enduring, archetypal comedy/tragedy stories, and then so much more about doing it on screen. Depicted in detail and depth is "What makes a modern immortal film.". I know it will delight writers, directors, and even cinematographers.

Personally, I have been mulling for years on an idea for a Sci-Fi story of novel/screenplay length. The idea is good, I felt, but I was getting nowhere with the execution. I watched "The Power of Film" by coincidence and by episode three I was thinking OMG WTF. The problems I was having were incredibly simple. Obvious, timeless and ubiquitous formulas were absent and when they were spelled out to me I was suddenly, fully deconstipated. I filled half of a tablet about what was really going on in my mind, what was missing. My story had been malformed and stunted by inexperience and lack of tools. You might think: "oh, he abandoned his grand vision in favour of formulaic tripe", but it was the very opposite.

I had tried to achieved a setting, a feeling, a loose plot, a grand vision, but a ton of ambiguity dominated it because of a lack of overarching form...I was lost inside scenes. This series revealed to me what I really wanted to say, and a greater plot emerged that actually made sense. I shared this with a peer and the next day they told me "I've been thinking about your story" and started asking questions about it. I finally had answers.

If you are an aspiring screenwriter or author, and you are stuck...these episodes are capable of un-sticking you. This series is an absolutely must-see for creators and consumers both.

I would much rather listen to Spielberg or Scorcese discuss the power of film. I felt that Dr. Suber just states the obvious. There weren't many unique insights.

For example, he'll discuss the story structure of a particular film verbatim and explain how common writing threads are used in various films. I found myself repeatedly saying, so? I'm watching this episodically on TCM. So far, episode two is the best but not enough to recommend it. I see it has received an 8.3 rating on IMDB which is very high marks, so I must be in the minority on this. See for yourself as it is watchable and has moments.

This series offers some interesting things to think about but, it seems the professor's train of thought is all over the place. The same few films from more recent years are used from episode to episode, over and over as examples of what his point is. There are so many other films from the classic era that could have been used instead of so many repeat of contemporary films.

I does contain some interesting insights as to what might create a successful screenplay.

The video image of some of the clips at times has a strobing effect that was a bit off-putting.

I so wanted to love this series but it leaves me a bit flat.

I feel it was a missed opportunity to mine the wealth of film material from the past.

I've seen 5 of the 6 episodes so far.

This series is designed to teach people about the elements that go into a successful and memorable film. As such, you get to look at (once again) clips from successful and memorable films. Introducing these films is a nice old man who apparently taught this subject to film makers for decades. He's obviously knowledgeable and has a certain charm, but whatever he is trying to communicate gets lost in his many detours and sidetracks.

Occasionally he manages to stay on track, and when he does this, he isn't necessarily correct. At one point (I can't remember where) he talks about the need for surprise and how repetition can be harmful to the film's impact. Nothing could be further from the truth. Repetition is a fundamental aspect of human life. Repetition is a fundamental aspect of human life. Freud wrote about it and called it the "repetition compulsion" and tied it to the basic death drive. It's the core of most comedies and the way in which most action films anticipate a dramatic confrontation. Gun fighters don't meet for the first time. You see them in matches and anticipate what is going to happen in the final match. Substitute gunfighters for chess champions, gymnists, etc. And you see the structure of most effective dramatic scenes.

Not a complete waste of time, and it's always fun to see memorable scenes even if you've seen them hundreds of times. Along the way there are some good observations.

Mind-numbingly boring and shallow, Professor Blabbermouth takes us into the world of film with nothing new to say while stating the incredibly obvious. If we only had to rely on what this guy says, I doubt anyone other than his immediate family would make it through this (I dropped out after one episode). There are a million film clips that prop up this bore, but they aren't enough to add up to entertainment. The first episode is completely all over the place and makes not much of a point, and the point made isn't much and hardly warranted forty minutes to tell. He should just write down his point on a 3X5 index card and let viewers watch a real movie.

A collection of movie clips overlaid by narration which is shallow, says pretty much nothing of value and often contradicts itself. The professor will name a "pattern" (usually the vaguest possible theme like "family") and then proceed to illustrate it with examples of movies, hilariously including some, which do not actually feature the stated "pattern" at all.

You are better off watching amateur film montages on youtube, at least they focus on the movies themselves and do not add pretentious, yet meaningless voiceover.

The attempted analysis is very superficial and sometimes almost sounds like a parody. Like this gem of deep thinking: "It was a fatal accident, so it must have something to do with fate". Definitely a fine example of "those who cannot do, teach".

This is one of the worst, most moronic, simple-minded, psychobabble riddled, full-of-baloney documentaries I have ever seen. Howard Suber, who is supposedly a college professor, talks about movies at a third-grade level. He relies on the most banal and insipid American films that only fanboys consider worthy to punctuate his misguided and pedantic viewpoints on film. Sitting through this insufferable nonsense will only make you more ignorant about movies, the world and existence. Suber is like the Mr. Rogers of film commentators. He completely misses the point of movies. I've only sat through two episodes of this horrible series and I will not sit through more. Shame on TCM for showing this worthless series. I already feel stupider for having watched it.

I'm not sure who made the decision to have him talk for almost the entire time, I'm sure it was him because he sure loves seeing himself in front of the camera. But we don't love seeing him from the camera. I love watching movies that entertain. This did not entertain. This was pretentious and 100% about ego stroking. I was hoping it would be 90% scenes from movies and 10% him. Nope.

I'm in the process of going back and watching movies mostly from the 30s and 40s but some all the way up to the 80s. Most of them are excellent but lately the directors have gotten into preaching and not into entertaining. That's why we go to the movies, not to be preached to. That's why the last movie I went to in the theaters was Top Gun Maverick and I went three times. It hasn't been anything since that even slightly makes me want to go back.