1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die [Hardcover]

Steven Jay Schneider (Editor), Jason Solomons (Preface)

Book Description

Release date: September 1, 2011

Updated to include the best films from the first decade of the twenty-first century, this brand-new edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die surveys more than a century of movie history. Every film profile is packed with the details that movie lovers need to know about the world's great movie classics. Chronicling the complete history of filmmaking, this important survey dates back to silent-era sensations such as D. W. Griffith's controversial The Birth of a Nation and the immortal Little Tramp movies of Charlie Chaplin, and then covers blockbusters of the past like Gone With the Wind, Doctor Zhivago, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Also described are Hollywood's most memorable musicals, great dramas, screwball comedies, experimental "New Wave" films from 1950s and '60s Europe, major films noir, classic westerns, action and adventure films, and outstanding documentaries. New films summarized in this edition include the multi-Oscar winning The King's Speech, as well as Slumdog Millionaire, The Social Network, The Hurt Locker, Avatar, and The Black Swan, among others. Each profile lists the film's director and cast, presents a plot summary and production notes, and cites interesting, often little-known facts relating to the film's cast, storyline, and production historyFor students of cinema, discerning film buffs, DVD collectors, and readers who enjoy reminiscing over cherished screen moments, the newly updated third edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die is the perfect place to start. The book's intensely readable text is complemented with 800 movie still shots and actors' photos.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Film lovers seeking critical guidance more discerning than daily newspaper reviews but less daunting than scholarly journal articles depend on a handful of critics who write about rarefied films for a general audience. 1001 Movies You Must See before You Die puts a user-friendly mask on the serious thought animating its effort to create a roster of indispensable films and rather belies the erudition of its well-qualified contributors. The chosen 1,001 are chronologically listed, from the surreal sf short A Trip to the Moon (1902) to Russian Ark and chicago (both 2002). This list has been compiled with an eye to historical importance and popular acclaim, which explains the presence of such critically suspect crowd-pleasers as Saturday Night Fever, Top Gun, and E.T. Since Chantal Akerman's nearly four-hour Jeanne Dielman and the Czech psychedelic farce Sedmikrasky (Daisies) also appear, it can't, however, be accused of pandering to popular taste. Attractive design, incorporating stills from most chosen titles, makes the volume a browser's delight as well as a useful guide for casual viewers and film buffs alike. Gordon Flagg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

"1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die is one heavy, fat tome, but it's a great motivating guide to cinema. After reading one of its engaging, often profound entries on a missed film, you want to run out to Premiere Video and rent it. Best of all, it includes international, silent, animated and recent films such as City of God. And yes, Richard Linklater's Slacker is here."


—Dallas Morning News, April 29, 2004





"Instead of simply summarizing the plot, Schneider and his team of experts briefly explain why each film is a must see. … Schneider's choices are irrefutable. Highly recommended for all film, general public, and academic reference collections."


— Library Journal, April 15, 2004





"An excellent new film anthology from Barron's Publishing… 1001 Movies will serve as one of your ultimate movie guides. It presents everything you need to know about the must-see films… For students of cinema, for discerning film buffs, for enthusiastic fans, and for readers who enjoy thumbing through reminiscing over unforgettable screen memories, here's the place to start reading."


—The Wave Channel Guide, February 14, 2004





"…the book is a pretty good one, Schneider's sources are solid… the book is much more reliable that the New York Times book of '1,000 Movies Ever Made.' … illustrations often opt for choice rarities rather than ordinary iconography."


—Buffalo News, February 22, 2004





"The critical essays that I've sampled are concise and intelligent.


Style: *** 3 Stars


Usefulness:*** 3 Stars"


—Charles Matthews, Mercury News, February 29, 2004





"If you're constantly wondering what to pop into the VCR or DVD player, get this book!"


—The Star, March 8, 2004





"A mammoth-size, newspaper-weight coffee table book celebrating the twentieth century celluloid canon…"


—Gotham, April 2004





"Every essay demonstrates Rosenbaum's fervent dedication to the cinema and more important that he has the knowledge and insight to support his impassioned opinions. … compiled with an eye to historical importance and popular acclaim. … a useful guide for casual viewers and film buffs alike."


—Gordon Flagg, Booklist, April 1, 2004



"Packed with color photos throughout, this is eye candy at its best."


—Booklist, June 2004

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 960 pages
• Publisher: Barron's Educational Series; 4 edition (September 1, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 9780764164224
• ISBN-13: 978-0764164224
• ASIN: 0764164228
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.7 x 2.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (99 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #37,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #10 in Books > Humor & Entertainment > Movies > Guides & Reviews

More About the Author

Steven Jay Schneider is a film critic, scholar, and producer with M.A. degrees in Philosophy from Harvard University and in Cinema Studies from New York University. He is the author and editor of numerous books on world cinema, most notably in the horror genre. They include Eurohorror, The Cinema of Wes Craven: An Auteur on Elm Street, Designing Fear: An Aesthetics of Cinematic Horror, Killing in Style: Artistic Murder in the Movies, Understanding Film Genres, and Traditions in World Cinema. He is also a consultant for film, television, and home video/DVD production companies, a curator for world horror film programs, and a staff member in development for Paramount Pictures. Among his recent titles are 501 Movie Stars and 501 Movie Directors, both available in North America from Barron's. Two additional titles from Barron's are scheduled for publication in Spring 09. They are 101 Horror Movies You Must See Before You Die and 101 Sci-Fi Movies You Must See Before You Die.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

133 of 136 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Caution February 22, 2005

By Jarvis Marley

Format:Hardcover

Although this book provided an acceptably organized compilation of movie classics, I was bugged by the fact that reviews/thoughts included spoilers, or revelations of the movies' endings.

I purchased this book in order to discover movies I knew not of previously or had heard of and was interested in seeing. The occasional spoilers are given without warning and made me read with caution to those movies that I did not yet know the outcome of, which was quite tedious.

Overall, the reviews were convincing and thoughtful when not completely blatant, but do proceed with caution.

83 of 87 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great source but a few errors.... January 12, 2005

By M. DALTON

Format:Hardcover

As soon as I saw this book on the shelf I knew it was for my ever-expanding collection of cinema sources & the selection contained herein did not disappoint. Except maybe for the alarming number of errors I found. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN did not win best picture in 1976; as the next page testifies, ROCKY did. THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW was not narrated by Dr. Everett Scott; it was narrated by The Narrator(Charles Gray). DANGEROUS LIAISONS did not win Best Picture in 1988; a few pages later it states,correctly,that RAINMAN did. In the piece on Charles Chaplin's brilliant MONSIEUR VERDOUX, the end result of his work & the sentiments expressed in his film made him the target of the political right which led to his permanent departure from the United States in 1952. He returned in 1971 & was presented with a lifetime achievement award at The Academy Awards.

154 of 169 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Beware the spoilers! March 22, 2006

By Blindfish

Format:Hardcover

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die could be a great film guide. It is loaded with both well-known and obscure films, many of which I have sought out and enjoyed after reading about them in the book. I've really started to enjoy noir films because of this book's recommendations.

The fatal flaw in 1001 Movies is that they frequently give away the endings! For example, they often tell you when an important character dies at the end of the movie -- what is the point of that? Look for a different guide that doesn't spoil the endings.

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reference Source For Movie Fans November 20, 2005

By Bob Pruhs

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

With the amount of junk that Hollywood feeds us these days, you need a source to help you find the good stuff. This book helps in the search for quality. It simply and briefly lets you know why these films are worth seeing. I have found many films from years past that I would've never seen if I hadn't read about them here first. Just about every great film from the silent era to the present is in here. Hopefully, more people will start paying attention to the good films of the past. Once you start watching these films you'll notice just how bad most of the the current blockbuster studio releases are. If we keep paying to see bad movies, the studios will keep making them.

59 of 69 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Spanning Cinema June 14, 2004

By A. M. Sulkin

Format:Hardcover

For the casual film fan this book provides an excellent overview of the cinema for the past century. In order to fit in the large number of mini reviews and commentaries for the selected entries the editors had to omit a good number of films that many would have deemed worthy of inclusion. The most egregious omissions were of silent films, of which only a relatively small number were included from the many years before the beginning of sound films. Film buffs may argue with some of the selections, but the inclusion of "small" and cult films alongside the well-known Academy Award winners is to be applauded. The editors, though, were often sloppy with the sidebar award section, giving a film credit for an Oscar win when only a nomination was received. There are several instances when at least two films from the same year were cited as winning the same Oscar. For those like myself who can recite year-by-year the Oscar award winners and nominees, the sidebar errors detracted from the scholarship of the work.

32 of 37 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Don't buy this book January 16, 2008

By T

Format:Hardcover

The issue with this book isn't that there are factual errors or that its list of movies isn't what you would pick. The big problem with this book is that the writers frequently spoil the movie for the reader. The most blatant example I've found is the review of "Don't Look Now", where the third paragraph recounts what is probably the entire last five minutes of the film. The writer then has the audacity to add, "It is no exaggeration to say that few scenes in the history of cinema have proven as effective at sending chills up the spines of viewers as this one." Also, I recently watched "Oldboy" and followed it up by reading the review in this book. The second sentence of the first paragraph, if fresh in a person's mind, would definitely have given away an important plot development. I'm glad I didn't read it before watching the movie.

Please, do yourself a favor and don't buy this book. Or if you feel you still want to, watch the movie before reading the review.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Didn't say they were the greatest! May 25, 2007

By Steven G. Hall

Format:Hardcover

I think this is a great book and I really enjoy reading through it's pages, but that is not the main point of my review. I want to clear up what I see as a misconception of the book that I see in a lot of reviews. This is not the "1001 Greatest Movies Ever Made" or "1001 Most Important Movies Ever Made"; it's 1001 movies you should (must) see to get a very well rounded sense of movies and their history. Some movies in the book are included just because they are great, others because of their historical niche in movie makeing, some because they illustrate a certain style, and some for pure entertainment they give. Movies with different types of animation are included and well as a broad spectrum of foreign movies. Think of this book as a watch list for a very in depth cinema appreciation class. Some of these films may not be great, some may not even be entertaining, but all are important, or illustrate an important part of cinema history.