The 100 Best Films of the Century [Paperback]

Barry Norman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1993

Barry Norman is Britain's best known film critic. This is his personal choice of the ' best ever' films. This is a new revised edition Barry Norman's personal selection of his best 100 films of the century. As he says in his intro ' There is 1 thing of which I am quite sure: you will not agree with all o it. You will agree with some of it; there are films included which would undoubtedly be on everybody's list but equally there are several, maybe many, which would appeae on any but mine...' Each of his hundred films are reviewed in his inimitable style: Witty, incisive, controversial. Accompanying the reviews are the main film credits, running times, Oscar nominations and awards, and video availability. In addition to his selection, Barry Norman has written a perceptive brief history of the cinema: My purpose being to pick out the most sinificant developments and thereby give some kind of context to my choice of the best 100 films of t his century. This new hardback edition has been completely updated and revised with colour photographs, where appropriate , throughout.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Barry Norman is the author of numerous books on films and the movie industry. He has presented the TV programme 'Film...' since 1972 and is the author of --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 276 pages
• Publisher: Citadel (September 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0806514264
• ISBN-13: 978-0806514260
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,448,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource, November 28, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: 100 Best Films of the Century (Hardcover)

I think this book is an excellent resource for anyone who wants to expand their cinematic knowledge. Norman carefully picks gems from several different genres and time periods giving the reader a good cross section of films to view. I discovered many great films that I would not have seen otherwise, i.e. Gregory's Girl.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Book That Got Me To Love Film, October 25, 2003

By 

Timothy G. Morrison "chwelve" (Provo, UT United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 100 Best Films of the Century (Hardcover)

For those who want to learn more about the art of film, Barry Norman's list of the 100 greatest films is the place to start. Unlike the lists from AFI and Roger Ebert, I found that I thoroughly enjoyed every film on Mr. Norman's list. There are certainly some I would like to see on there ("Vertigo," "The Philadelphia Story," the list could go on) but there aren't any on the list that I'd really like to take off.

All the classics are included--"Citizen Kane," "Casablanca," "The Godfather," "Singin' in the Rain"--as indeed they should be. But there are also all sorts of hidden gems (and unlike AFI, Mr. Norman had the sense to include foreign films). Some of the many wonderful films I discovered through the book that I might not have otherwise are "Pygmalion," "The Lady Vanishes," "The Thief of Bagdad" (1940) the Ealing comedies, "Z," and "My Darling Clementine," all of which are among my favorites.

I recommend this book to all who want a basic knowledge of the fundamentals of filmmaking, and to all lovers of film who want to discover some great movies. Highly recommended.

9 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Impersonal and unsurprising, January 27, 2000

By 

Edward Turner - See all my reviews

This review is from: 100 Best Films of the Century (Hardcover)

I am not a big Barry Norman fan. Not by a long shot and I'm glad he was sacked by the BBC. This book is just Norman all the way through: cold, objective and clearly someone who doesn't particularly like films very much. With the exception of Gregory's and perhaps Sleeper, all of them are the kind of films that critics love and appear on every critic's top 100 list: Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Some Like It Hot, Unforgiven... They're all in there. What's more, Norman barely tells us why the are actually on his list and the entries themselves not insightful at all and just plain dull. Sure, he says ground breaking techniques, superb acting top notch script and genius directors, a film that others have copied since its release, but rarely says anything about their entertainment value or why he personally loves them so much. Worth a glance to big fans fans of cinema and Barry Norman fans (if such things exist), but little else.