Life's too short to live at normal speed. In between watching closed-captioned films in fast forward and speed-reading War and Peace (it's about Russia), I found these videos that summarize The Sopranos, Battlestar Galactica, all of Hollywood, the last ten years of history, space travel, Western philosophy, music, dance, inspirational speeches, and more, all in a matter of minutes.

The History of Music in 5 Minutes

A string quartet takes us from "Greensleeves" to the "ET" theme. Why this isn't already a ten-million-view video, I don't know. Make it so!


100 Years of Visual Effects in 5 Minutes

Whoa, I remember King Kong looking a lot better when I saw it. Peter Jackson's stuff does not age well.


The Big Lebowski: The F-ing Short Version (All The F-words in 2 Minutes)

NSFW. Very NSFW.


The End of the 2008 Presidential Race in 2:42

Part of Slate's Power Recap series.


Battlestar Galactica in 8 Minutes

One of the cleverest recaps, given the witticisms from the narrator.


The Sopranos in 9 Minutes

A homemade recap as hilarious as anything by the pros.


Church History in 4 Minutes

Oh boy, this one's a 'We Didn't Start the Fire' cover! And actually kinda educational!


History of Western Philosophy in 3 Minutes

Hard to hear, but very cutely animated.


History of First-Person Shooters in 3 Minutes

They pre-cranked the speakers on this loud but fun montage of carnage.


The History of Space Travel in 2 Minutes



Food Fight: History of Modern Warfare in 5 Minutes

Oh the humanity! Oh the tasty leftovers!


The Decade in 7 Minutes

Oh come on, speed it up Newsweek! I coulda read the whole Entertainment Weekly recap by now!


40 Inspirational Speeches in 2 Minutes

So...I feel like we can win this thing, right?