Part three of the seven-and-a-half hour documentary summing up the incredible contribution of MGM Studios to the wealth of American moviemaking. In this installment, Patrick Stewart continues his duty as narrator as the documentary traces the studio's checkered years following the birth of television, the decline of the studio system, and MGM's difficult slide into bankruptcy in the early '70s. Still, it's not a total downer -- the post-golden age of MGM brought forth some extraordinary pictures like Doctor Zhivago (1965), Cat On A Hot Tin Roof (1958), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Jailhouse Rock (1957), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and Network (1976). The documentary also highlights some unfairly obscure movies like The Kissing Bandit (1948) and Battleground (1949). Viewers with the pleasure of watching all three parts of this very thorough documentary can consider themselves experts on the studio that famously boasted it provided audiences with "more stars than there are in heaven".

By Violet LeVoit