100 Years at the Movies (1994)**** (out of 4) In 1994 we celebrated the 100th Anniversary of movies so this short was produced to show off some of the greatest films and stars in the history of cinema. Trying to lock down one hundred years in just nine-minutes wouldn't be the easiest task but director Chuck Workman did a fantastic job. Some of the films that got singled out were THE BIRTH OF A NATION, GREED, THE JAZZ SINGER, GONE WITH THE WIND, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, ON THE WATERFRONT, ROCKY, THE GODFATHER and RAGING BULL. Just about every famous or legendary face is on display at least once throughout the running time, although there's no question that a lot more detail (and clips) are given to the MGM catalog. If you're a film lover then you'll certainly enjoy this short just as a great way to be reminded of the famous films and faces.

This was put together in 1994 to celebrate the first 100 years of the movies. It starts with the silents and moves all the way up to 1994 ending with "Schindler's List". For a movie fan like me it's pure magic and loads of fun figuring out which clips come from what movie (I'm proud to say I got 95% of them). They reference and show classic clips from just about every famous film in Hollywood. Some go by a little TOO fast but I can understand that. Also the clips of music from various movies is fantastic. My favorites are the title music from "Gone With the Wind" and "Rocky" and "We're in the Money" from one of the Gold Diggers films. My only complaints (and they're tiny ones)--some of the clips are WAY out of place. I caught "American in Paris" in the 1940s section! And where was "Gigi"? It was one of the few musicals to win an Academy Award as Best Picture. There were other omissions but these stood out. Still it's a great short. Anybody who has even a passing interest in movies will love this. A 10 all the way!

No great theories to spin here, or trends to notice, or criticisms to unload. Quite simply, this is the most carefully chosen, best-edited, most entertaining montage/tribute to the cinema ever put together. Covering, as it says, the whole first century of the cinema, it consists entirely of clips from a cavalcade of box-office favorites and historically-significant films, edited in roughly chronological order, accompanied by equally-well chosen scores. Some excerpts are as short as two or three seconds, sometimes just a word or a gesture from a film, sometimes a famous line, sometimes a look on a beloved movie star's face, but always one of those indelible moments, those "pieces of time," as Jimmy Stewart called them, that are the shared heritage of everyone who loves movies.

This Turner Classic Movies production of a century of (mostly) American film (up to Schindler's List) is fast-paced. It begins in chronological order, but then skips during the middle, but returns to chronological order at the end. There are notable omissions (No Citizen Kane, the movie named by the American Film Institute as the Best Movie of the last 100 year; The African Queen, the only film with the Best Actor and Actress of the last century according to the AFI voters - Bogart and Hepburn; or Some Like It Hot, the AFI's pick for funniest movie.) Also no mention of live action or animated shorts (the only animation is of Jerry the mouse dancing with Gene Kelly in Anchors Aweigh; in fact, no Disney film is not even seen.) But it keeps you riveted to see what movie clip will be shown next and you can play along at home.