Review of Memories Of Hollywood

Introduction

My last experience of a Dan Moss production was the woeful "Portrait of Africa" (see review elsewhere on the site), so when "Memories of Hollywood" dropped through my letterbox to review, I was really not looking forward to watching it.

Memories of Hollywood touts itself as a tribute to the golden age of Hollywood. Effectively the disc consists of a collage of clips of classic movies, set to the music of master film composers.

My main complain about the content of "Portrait of Africa" was that there was no indication what you were watching. "Memories of Hollywood" doesn`t have this problem as it is split up into sections such as "Great Western Stars", "Dashing Heroes" etc. These sections are fully detailed in the "Collectors Edition Liner Notes" included in the box and actually make the DVD itself quite interesting.

The content brought back some memories of old films I`ve not seen for many years, and some that are not on this DVD that should be - Buster Keaton`s "The General" for example.

The last section is a montage of trailers for old classic such as "Cassablanca, The Wizard of Oz" etc and this made me smile when you compare them to how today`s blockbusters are promoted!

Video

The video quality is pretty good, although in saying that you have to remember that most of the source material is very old and is not looking particularly fresh and also that the vast majority of the clips are in black and white. Picture format is 4:3 throughout.

However, the DVD certainly doesn`t add to the problems with the old film stock and presents the material very well.

Audio

Audio comes in Dolby Digital Stereo and is of good quality throughout.

All the music is appropriate to the clips being used, and adds to the enjoyment of the DVD.

There is no commentary - just the music.

Features

Not a thing :(

Conclusion

With a running time of just 46 minutes, this DVD perhaps doesn`t represent particularly good value for money, even at it`s "mid" price point, but on the other hand had it been any longer, the lack of a commentary may have become wearisome.

Overall having sat down not expecting enjoy this DVD, I was pleasantly suprised and found it to be quite entertaining.