Mark Cousins loves a good road trip. It forms the foundation for several of his movies, be they city symphonies or cinematic histories. And his magnum opus, 2011’s The Story of Film: An Odyssey, has finally been released on Blu-ray along with his 2021 follow-up, The Story of Film: A New Generation.

Available now from Music Box Films, The Complete Story of Film is a grand and sweeping exploration of cinematic innovation. It’s nearly 19 hours long, discusses more than 600 movies, and features 30-plus filmmakers from all over the globe.

Cousins’ essayist documentary is neither history nor survey—though you could certainly watch it that way. It’s an exploration of how writers, directors, actors, producers, cinematographers, editors, et al. crafted the cinematic medium into one of the most intoxicating art forms of our time. It displays an understanding of the global and political forces that shape and mold the art we make—and celebrates how that art shapes and molds us.

The Complete Story of Film is a must for anyone interested in the moving image. Cousins is a master at bringing the cinematic canon in conversation with the films and filmmakers long forgotten or never discovered, and you will find a lifetime’s worth of movies to watch and love here. It’s a triumph and one you can now have on hand for multiple trips into one of the greatest stories of our time. 

The above blurb first appeared in the pages of Boulder Weekly Vol. 31, No. 5, “Soldiers of cinema.”