Some of the Greatest (1955) User Reviews

What a great idea!!

[pixrox1 · 7/10 · 20 November 2013]

When DON JUAN came out in 1926, it lasted 110 minutes. If you drank too many beverages from the concession stand, you probably had to miss 20 minutes in the middle of it standing in line for the Powder Room (especially if you arrived early to get a good seat and watch the shorts). DON JUAN was before my time (though I recently saw DON JON with Joseph Gordon-Levitt at the multiplex), but I still remember suffering through a similar ordeal during my maiden voyage on TITANIC (and it literally felt like I could have floated that sinking vessel all by myself by the end of the movie!). I'm sure I would have enjoyed a 12-minute version of TITANIC more, and I would have been a heck of a lot more comfortable. (Who can remember MORE than 10 minutes worth of TITANIC scenes, anyway?) This version of DON JUAN lasts 11 minutes, which, if my math is right, means you save 90% of the viewing time! What's not to like about saving time? Plus this DON JUAN variation probably has a lot more snappier commentary than it did when it first came out. Instead of the studios making us pay an exorbitant sum for nine or ten sets of tickets, drinks, and popcorn buckets in order to be prepped for Oscar night, WHY NOT have the top studios collaborate to do a 10-minute version of each best picture nominee similar to SOME OF THE GREATEST to play in one reasonable length stretch at all the multiplexes a week before Awards Night? If SOG narrator Don Wiest is retired or passed on, let someone who sounds like Jean Shepherd, the voice of grown Ralphie from A CHRI$TMAS STORY, do it. Include intermission, of course!

It would be really great to see more movie studios . . .

[pixrox1 · 7/10 · 24 June 2018]

. . . cannibalize their roster of All-Time Greatest Hits to create efficient 10-minute recaps with a snarky narration to fill in any potential gaps. These, of course, could run as shorts prior to unrelated current-release feature films from the studios in question. Say that the defunct M-G-M outfit ever releases another picture. (Don't hold your breath, but the impossible sometimes comes to pass: maybe The House of the Roaring Lion can come up with the rights to film TAG 2, or ROAD TRIP: WILDER AND WETTER). As viewers are settling into their seats at the end of the previews, wouldn't it just make their day to see an eight or nine-minute version covering just the bare essentials of GONE WITH THE WIND? There would probably be time for just one "Fiddle-dee-dee"--two tops--along with the burning of Atlanta, plus all the scenes of people dropping dead off horses (including Scarlett's Pops, first and second husbands, and daughter). Extraneous fluff such as the carrot-eating scene, the dress curtains (done better in THE SOUND OF MUSIC), and "C. Gable's" cursing tirade could be cut. As SOME OF THE GREATEST clearly proves, it would be a win-win situation for all concerned.

Watch The Full Film Instead

[Michael_Elliott · 28 July 2013]

Some of the Greatest (1956)

** (out of 4)

I'm sure in 1956 this short from Warner had some merit to it but when viewed today you can't help but call it somewhat worthless. What we've basically got here is a promotional film showing those in 1956 some of the greatest (hey, just like the title says) actors in history. To do this we get clips from the 1926 film DON JUAN with John Barrymore. This short shows the highlights of that film with Dwight Weist narrating what we're seeing and making a few jokes. Back in the 1930s there were several series that had the likes of Pete Smith taking silent films and adding narration, which was pretty much making fun of them. That's not the case here as I'm sure this film did intend to show how great these stars were but at the same time, DON JUAN is easily available today to be seen in its full glory so there's no point of watching this and the various spoilers it has. The only real reason to watch this would be just to see how the studio tried to show off the film but you should still only do this after watching DON JUAN in its entirety.