Film #38: Precious Images

If I'm on this shorts kick, I thought, what better short to include on a movie-themed website than Precious Images. Originally created by Chuck Workman for the Directors Guild of America in 1982, this awe-inspiring montage of the greatest moments in cinema history is downright riveting, especially for film junkies who will inevitably try and name all the movies sampled here. Give it up, guys--it can't be done. Over 8 minutes, we see flashes of over 500 movies. If you can name 'em all as they come up, you'd be in Guinness as the world's fastest talker, among other things.

This is obviously an updated version of Precious Images, since it includes post-1982 movies like Do The Right Thing, Philadelphia, Driving Miss Daisy and Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Since winning his Oscar for this film, Workman has gone on to working for the Academy Awards show as their resident montage-builder (that's why his cutting style seems so familiar--we've all seen his work on the Oscars before). He's also directed The Source, the fine documentary about the Beat Generation. Anyway, check out his dazzling display of editorial chops!