Customer Reviews

The 100 Best Films to Rent You've Never Heard Of: Hidden Treasures, Neglected Classics, and Hits From By-Gone Eras

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As a person who looks for hidden treasures away from the "new release" section, this book is a treasure in itself. We only got it a couple of weeks ago, and we've already seen several films from it- Let it Ride with Richard Dreyfuss and The Tall Guy with Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson. Both were worth the price of the book.

If you want to try going off the well-beaten path for a movie once in a while, this is the book for you. Enjoy!!

David Meyer manages to say just enough about each of these 100 films to whet your appetite without sounding pedantic or critical. He provides categorizations of the films (so that you don't accidentally rent a Screwball Comedy when you're in the mood for a Psychological Thriller), and he points out interesting things to watch for in each film without ruining any of the fun of discovering a film for yourself (i.e. he never reveals the ending for you). Films (as he says) you've "never heard of", and even some you may have but have never gotten around to renting, are made to sound inviting, and I can vouch for all five of the suggestions I have taken so far: these _are_ great films, and a great book. BTW, those of you worried that this book only contains "art" films or boring dramas, take note that TWO John Woo films and a selection of comedies are among the wide range of genre and category covered in this book. Meyer even includes other selections indexed by director, so that the book really contains far more than 100 suggestions. If you've ever wandered the halls of your local Video Monster or Tape Barn, thinking "What the heck am I going to rent THIS time?", this book can surely point you in the right direction. Indispensible for anyone with a VCR

David Meyer, in his book, accomplishes what other movie critics fail to even remotely understand. In his own unpretentious way, he lifts the craft of film criticism to the same lofty heights as literary criticism. And if he continues to produce works of the same quality, he may reflect the soul of cinema as well as Northrope Frye revealed the soul of Shakespeare. In other words, David Meyer as a critic has become an artist himself.

Taken collectively, Mr. Meyer's essays in this book act as a thread which, when followed, will take you into the heart of cinema. The journey best begins with Black Narcissus - a film about which Mr. Meyer writes, "rent me first." Black Narcissus is the dream we have all experienced. It sits on the edge of our consciousness like a beautiful stained glass window, allowing the light of the soul to shine through in its many colors. And after you've watched the movie several times, you may find that Black Narcissus has the symmetry of a diamond - each time you look at it, a particular facet of the story will reflect light in a slightly different, yet beautiful, way.

From there, I would use your own intuition to decide the next film listed in his book. Perhaps, your intuition will lead you, as it did me, to the film noir classic, In a Lonely Place and then to the creative genius of The Thief of Baghdad. Or it will take you somewhere else. It's your voyage - I'd just use Mr. Meyer has your navigator.

This last point illuminates what lies behind all of Mr. Meyer's reviews - trust. In my opinion, he'll guide you in such a way that you won't end up crashing against the rocks, caught up watching movies that are of no value or, worse yet, ones that unconsciously pull you down into the dark waters. You can rely on his judgment to avoid the bad trip and fully experience the brilliant world of movies.

The casual viewer of Turner Classic Movies who finds Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt a revelation or Wilder's Sunset Boulevard an undiscovered masterpiece will be pleased, but the serious student of film will find no surprises here. All of these films are well known and appreciated in some way by those who truly love motion pictures as an art form rather than something you rent at Blockbuster because you've nothing better to do. The person who refers to a film as a "great flic" will be thrilled by the mysterious treasures they find within these pages. However, if you are aware that directors existed before Spielberg and Cameron and that motion pictures once were silent, filmed in black and white, and popular before 1977, then do not disappoint yourself by purchasing this elementary guide for the elementary "movie fan."

This book features many greats, but those who have already been into film for quite some time will definately have seen most of these movies. I'm 14 and I've seen about half of these films, I own a couple others, and I've certainly heard of all of them. Nonetheless, this is a great book for the beginner movie buff.

The product seemed a little lacking - contrary to the title, many of the movies it suggested were vaguely mainstream. It came on time and in good shape, and it did give me many ideas for what to see, but it's not the greatest "best movies" book I've seen.

This is a wonderful little book, with great suggestions that are very easy to read. Each movie gets a page, and a plot synopsis. I just worked through it and checked everyone I wanted to see. So far I have discoved some wonderful treasures! Buy one for your friends as well.

Very interesting, provocative and varied; admittedly, some of the films are extremely well known to buffs and thus do not fit the "never heard of" label, but it is a great start for a Netflix queue or a Blockbuster trip. Unfortunately, since many of these are minor classics, many Blockbuster stores won't stock them -- you need a specialty video store.

this book is hilarious. i would buy it for his review of "predator" alone. a review book you actually read for entertainment. the movies are good too but like some other people say here: if you like movies you've probably heard of most of them. don't let that overshadow how great it is. even if i'd heard of them, i hadn't seen all of them and it gave me a reason to watch them.

I have had this book for years and have used it to locate and view films. I purchased this copy to donate to a library. The book arrived on time and in good shape.