# Feature-length compilation > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Feature-length_compilation > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Feature-length_compilation.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature-length_compilation > Source revision: 1352043245 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Film edited from previously released footage This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. Please help improve this article by citing more sources. Find sources: "Feature-length compilation" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (May 2026) A **feature-length compilation**, popularly known as **compilation movie** or **compilation film**, is a feature-length compendium of scenes taken from different episodes of streaming or television shows/series and movies in order to be edited together and then presented like a feature film, whether on the same or a different subject. The most common example would be a documentary film on a historical event composed of footage from various newsreels and other film documentaries on the same subject. New footage and/or a new soundtrack may also be included in a compilation film, but the compiled, older footage makes up the majority of its principal material. Compilation film does not include, however, a simple editing together of several short films, complete in themselves and distinguished as such from each others, which should be considered as film anthologies. Filmmaker and historian Jay Leyda first coined the term "Compilation Film" in his book *Films Beget Films* in 1964, but it appears that there have not been active discussions around the topic since. This could be due to the lack of accessible and available shots that are required to complete a coherent project. Scholar Keith Beattie stated that without relevant clips, it is challenging for creators to utilise such format to put forward comprehensive arguments.[1] ## Propaganda Some of the earliest compilation movies were [propaganda films](/source/Propaganda_film). A famous example is the German [Nazi propaganda film](/source/Nazi_propaganda_film) *[Der ewige Jude](/source/The_Eternal_Jew_(1940_film))* (1940), where only a small part consisted of new footage, namely the scenes with Jews in a Polish ghetto and the animated maps. The majority of the film was filled with old [newsreel](/source/Newsreel) footage showing [Albert Einstein](/source/Albert_Einstein), [Anna Stern](/source/Anna_Stern), [Rosa Luxemburg](/source/Rosa_Luxemburg) and [Adolf Hitler](/source/Adolf_Hitler) and clips from movies with and by [Charlie Chaplin](/source/Charlie_Chaplin), [Ernst Lubitsch](/source/Ernst_Lubitsch) and [Fritz Lang](/source/Fritz_Lang). Other countries, including the United States and Great Britain, also made propaganda films with archive footage to present themselves in the style of a documentary. ## Compilation films based on popular film and television series See also: [List of films based on television programs § Programs re-edited for release as feature-length films](/source/List_of_films_based_on_television_programs#Programs_re-edited_for_release_as_feature-length_films) In the years before the invention of [video stores](/source/Video_store) film companies released compilation films in which the best episodes of a film [serial](/source/Serial_film) were put into one movie. One of the earliest examples were [Walt Disney](/source/Walt_Disney)'s "[package films](/source/Anthology_film)", based on his popular short animated films. After television became popular during the 1950s some television series episodes were compiled and edited into one film. A famous example was the 1955 TV series *[Davy Crockett](/source/Davy_Crockett_(TV_miniseries))*, which was released as the cinematic feature *[Davy Crockett and the River Pirates](/source/Davy_Crockett_and_the_River_Pirates)* (1956). This was a compilation film because the episodes were not distinguished as such; the footage just continued along, without per-episode opening and closing credits, and appeared as a single film story. When television started to repeating several old films and TV series on a regular basis, compilation films became less popular. Films consisting of almost or nothing more than previously released footage, like *[Godzilla's Revenge](/source/All_Monsters_Attack)* (1969) and *[Trail of the Pink Panther](/source/Trail_of_the_Pink_Panther)* (1982) left the audience with the feeling that they had been tricked into seeing the same material again, while expecting a fully original film with new, authentic material. The arrival of video and DVD, where several episodes or seasons of a series could be entirely collected, also took the need for compilation films away. ## Musical compilation films Another popular form is the musical compilation film, where clips from [film musicals](/source/Film_musical), [concerts](/source/Concert) or [music videos](/source/Music_video) could be brought together into one format. Famous examples are the movies *[That's Entertainment!](/source/That's_Entertainment!)* (1974), *[That's Entertainment, Part II](/source/That's_Entertainment%2C_Part_II)* (1976) and *[That's Entertainment! III](/source/That's_Entertainment!_III)* (1994), all documentaries about [Hollywoodmusicals](/source/Cinema_of_the_United_States), in which the narration is frequently interrupted to show full scenes from these musical films. Another example is the movie *[Moonwalker](/source/Moonwalker)* (1988) with pop singer [Michael Jackson](/source/Michael_Jackson) which mostly consists of older footage from his music videos and concerts, and some newer footage to give some resemblance of a story. ## Compilation films with new footage A special kind of compilation films are movies where old footage is simply filmed again, but on a higher budget. A famous example is the first [Monty Python](/source/Monty_Python) movie *[And Now For Something Completely Different](/source/And_Now_For_Something_Completely_Different)* (1973), where most of the scenes are recreations of the most popular sketches from the first two seasons of the TV series *[Monty Python's Flying Circus](/source/Monty_Python's_Flying_Circus)*. So although the footage is new, the content is mostly not. ## Anime This section may contain original research. Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations. Statements consisting only of original research should be removed. (May 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) In Japanese [anime](/source/Anime), a compilation movie is a feature film that is mostly composed of footage from a television [serial](/source/Serial_(radio_and_television)). These typically compress the plot of a [story arc](/source/Story_arc) from about eight to thirteen broadcast hours to a bit more than two hours without commercials. Additional animation may be added that is either of a superior quality to that made for television or which changes story details, often making the ending lead to a sequel not suggested in the original show. Such films may be put on video or DVD, recently even without being shown theatrically. A compilation movie is often the most available source for the content of the TV series for persons outside the range of broadcasting. Release rights to other countries are often given for compilation movies well before the entire serial is similarly released. A compilation movie does not contain the characterization developed through the series, but it does not have filler material or extraneous plot. Examples of compilation films include the *[Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex](/source/Ghost_in_the_Shell%3A_Stand_Alone_Complex)* films *The Laughing Man* and *Individual Eleven*, *[Space Battleship Yamato](/source/Space_Battleship_Yamato_(1977_film))* (1977) and the first three *[Mobile Suit Gundam](/source/Mobile_Suit_Gundam)* films. The series *[Maison Ikkoku](/source/Maison_Ikkoku)* also derived a compilation film. Most of [Gerry Anderson](/source/Gerry_Anderson)'s *[Supermarionation](/source/Supermarionation)* series were made into compilation movies during the 1980s by ITC Entertainment under the package title of *Super Space Theater*. ## Difference between a compilation film and an anthology film An [anthology film](/source/Anthology_film) looks stylistically like a compilation film and some anthology films are compilation films, but certainly not all of them. What distinguishes an anthology film from a compilation movie is the fact that a compilation film by definition shows archive or stock footage shown before, while the short segments in an anthology film are new material. ## See also - [Clip show](/source/Clip_show) - [Collage film](/source/Collage_film) v t e Film genres By style Action Heroic bloodshed Hong Kong action Adventure Art Biographical Comedy Action Black Commedia all'italiana Sexy Dramedy Gross out Horror Parody Mo lei tau Remarriage Romantic Sex Screwball Silent Slapstick Cyberpunk Japanese Documentary Animated City symphony Direct cinema Docudrama Mockumentary Mondo Pseudo Semi Travel Video essay Drama Calligrafismo Dramedy Historical Legal Psychological Erotic Category III films Commedia sexy all'italiana Pink Sexploitation Thriller Educational Social guidance Epic Sword-and-sandal Experimental Exploitation see Exploitation film template Fantasy Comedy Contemporary Fantastique High Historical Magic realism Science Film noir Mexican film noir Neo-noir Pulp noir Tech noir Gothic Romance Southern Space Suburban Urban Horror Arthouse Black Body Cannibal Chinese horror Christmas horror Comedy Eco Fantastique Found footage German underground Ghost Giallo List of films Holiday Japanese horror Korean horror Lovecraftian Melodrama Korean Natural New French Extremity Psycho-biddy Psychological Science fiction Slasher Splatter Satanic Maximalist film Minimalist film Mumblecore Musical Arthouse Backstage Jukebox Musicarello Operetta Sceneggiata Mystery Detective Occult detective Whodunit Giallo Crossover Pornographic Hardcore pornography Softcore pornography (Malayalam) Propaganda Reality Romantic Comedy Bromantic Fantasy Gothic Paranormal Thriller Science fiction Art Comedy Fantastique Fantasy Gothic Horror Military New Wave Space opera Steampunk Tokusatsu Western Slice of life Iyashikei Slow cinema Survival Thriller Comedy Erotic Financial Giallo Legal New French Extremity Political Psychological Romantic Techno Transgressive Cinema of Transgression Extreme cinema New French Extremity Trick By theme Animals Beach party Body swap Buddy Buddy cop Female Cabrito Cannibal Chicano Colonial Coming-of-age Concert Crime Detective Gangster Gentleman thief Gokudō Gong'an Heist Heroic bloodshed Hood Mafia Mafia comedy Mumbai underworld Poliziotteschi Yakuza Cute Girls Doing Cute Things Dance Disaster Apocalyptic Drug Psychedelic Stoner Dystopian Ecchi Ero guro Ethnographic Exploitation Blaxploitation Mexploitation Turksploitation Extraterrestrial Food and drink Gendai-geki Ghost Goona-goona epic Gothic Romance Space Suburban Girls with guns Harem Hentai Lolicon Shotacon Tentacle erotica Homeland Isekai Jidaigeki Samurai Kaitō LGBTQ Yaoi Yuri Luchador Magical girl Martial arts Bruceploitation Chopsocky Gun fu Kung fu Ninja Wuxia Mecha Anime Monster Giant monster Kaiju Mummy Vampire Zombie Zombie comedy Mountain Mouth of Garbage Muslim social Nature Environmental issues Opera Outlaw biker Ozploitation Partisan film Prison Women Race Rape and revenge Road Rubble Rumberas Sageuk Sexploitation Bavarian porn Commedia sexy all'italiana Mexican sex comedy Nazi exploitation Pornochanchada Nunsploitation Sex report Shoshimin-eiga Slavery Slice of life Snuff South Seas Sports Spy Eurospy Superhero Surfing Swashbuckler Sword-and-sandal Sword and sorcery Travel imaginary voyage Trial Vigilante War Anti-war Euro War Submarine Western Acid Contemporary Western Dacoit Western Fantasy Florida Horror Horse opera Meat pie Northern Ostern Revisionist Science fiction Singing cowboy Space Spaghetti Weird Western Zapata Western By movement or period Absolute American eccentric cinema Australian New Wave Auteur films Berlin School Bourekas Brighton School British New Wave Kitchen sink realism Budapest school Calligrafismo Cannibal boom Cinema da Boca do Lixo Cinéma du look Cinema Novo Cinema of Moral Anxiety Cinema of Transgression Cinéma pur Commedia all'italiana Czechoslovak New Wave Documentary Film Movement Dogme 95 Erra Cinema European art cinema Film d'art Film gris Free Cinema French Impressionist French New Wave German Expressionist German underground horror Golden Age of Argentine cinema Golden Age of Mexican Cinema Golden Age of Nigerian Cinema Grupo Cine Liberación Heimatfilm Hollywood on the Tiber Hong Kong New Wave Indiewood Iranian New Wave New Sensibility Italian futurist Italian neorealist Japanese New Wave Kammerspielfilm L.A. Rebellion Lettrist Modernist film Mumblecore Neorealist New French Extremity New German New generation New Hollywood New Nollywood New Objectivity New Queer No Wave Nuevo Cine Mexicano Pan-Indian film Parallel cinema Persian Film Philippine New Wave Poetic realist Polish Film School Poliziotteschi The Prague film school Prussian film Pure Film Movement Remodernist Romanian New Wave Slow cinema Spaghetti Western Socialist realist Social realist Kitchen sink realism Soviet parallel Structural Surrealist Sword-and-sandal Taiwan New Cinema Tarantinoesque Telefoni Bianchi Thai New Wave Third Cinema Toronto New Wave Vulgar auteurism Yugoslav Black Wave By demographic Adult Black Children and family Anime Men Seinen Stag Teen Shōnen Shōjo Women Chick flick Josei By format, technique, approach, or production 3D Actuality Animation Anime Art Cartoon Computer Stop-motion Traditional Anthology Art B movie Behind-the-scenes Black and white Blockbuster Cinéma vérité Classical Hollywood cinema Collage Color Compilation Composite Computer screen Cult midnight movie Database cinema Direct-to-video ONA OVA Docufiction Ethnofiction Experimental Abstract Feature Featurette Film à clef Film-poem Found footage Geezer teaser High concept Hyperlink cinema Independent Guerrilla filmmaking List of American independent films Interstitial art Live action animation Low-budget Major film studios Masala Maximalist film Message picture Meta-film Minimalist film Mockbuster Modernist film Musical short Mythopoeia Neorealist No-budget One-shot Paracinema Participatory Poetry Postmodernist Reverse motion Satire Sceneggiata Semidocumentary Serial Shinpa Short Silent Slow cinema Socialist realist Sound Television film Underground Video nasty Vulgar auteurism Z movie Category ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Beattie, Keith (2004). [*Documentary Screens: Non-Fiction Film and Television*](https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-0-230-62803-8). Hampshire and New York: Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 125–145. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1007/978-0-230-62803-8](https://doi.org/10.1007%2F978-0-230-62803-8). [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-230-62803-8](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-230-62803-8). --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Feature-length compilation](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature-length_compilation) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feature-length_compilation?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.