Ted Turner is one of the most important figures in the history of film preservation. Yes, that's right. And no I ain't talking about the wonderful asset to movie lovers that is his channel TCM. I am speaking, of course, about his decision in the eighties to colorize damn near every black and white movie he could get his hands on. Now—
Hold on, stop shouting me down; let me finish. There's a point here. You see, we movie lovers are a meek bunch. It takes quite a lot to get as all riled up. And the metaphorical rubbing of his dick all over America's shared heritage that was Turner's contemptuous disregard for Classic cinema was just such an act. After Turner defiled so many of our cherished movies, film lovers screamed, 'enough is enough.'
Much hand-wringing commenced and Congressional hearings were held, which eventually lead to the founding of the National Film Registry—a group of films selected for preservation in the Library of Congress. 25 movies are selected each year based on the criteria of cultural, historical, or aesthetic significance (Of course, this means that most of my favorite trash films are likely never to see inclusion in this group).
These Amazing Shadows is the story of the National Film Registry. More accurately, it is a clip show in which various movie lovers explain what film means to them. But as far as clip shows go, this one ain't bad. Even if you don't care for the talking heads—which I do—you at least get to see clips of many of your favorite movies (I'm assuming here). And hey, isn't that enough.
[The trailer:]
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