Customer Reviews

GOLDEN TURKEY AWARDS

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This is a must read for anyone who grew up with, or who loves, the movies around the 1950's. It is presented in an "Oscar format" with comments and thumbnail descriptions by the Brothers Medved. Their love for these movies is evident; their humor is direct and presents perspective on actors, Hollywood, directors, plots, and America, in a time of greater innocence and before special effects were king. Hours of fun and a great guide to late movies. I was paging through this book in a bookstore when I saw the heading, "The Worst Movie Ever Made." Well, I knew what was the worst movie ever made, but was also sure the reviewers had never seen it. When I turned to see their choice--it was the same one! I bought the book on the spot and have been giving copies to special friends as gifts ever since.

The book is pretty old now, and so many "turkeys" from the last couple of decades are missing, but it is fabulous at running down the best lousy movies primarily of the golden age of lousy movies, the '30s, '40s & '50s. Not surprisingly, there is a heavy emphasis on sci-fi and horror, which has tended over the lifetime of film to give us some real gems anyway.

This is the book that first turned me on to PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE, ROBOT MONSTER and their ilk. I've enjoyed my time watching horrible movies (on purpose) and this book lays the groundwork. It is essential reading, not just for bad movie buffs, but for anyone who likes movie history. It is written with often scathingly funny humor. I have read this book a number of times over the years, because it is SO well written. Generous quotes directly from the films, but also great descriptions of the movies. Many times, you feel as though you've seen the movie.

If you can lay your hands on this book, you must. It (and the sequel) are real treasures!!

THE GOLDEN TURKEY AWARDS is the gospel for many fans of "bad" movies. This is ironic, as it is obvious from reading the book that the Medveds (Harry and Michael) are decidedly NOT fans of these movies. They simply enjoy turning up their noses and lampooning these films and filmmakers with very little appreciation for their actual entertainment value.

While busying themselves dissecting and nit-picking every last imperfection of the admittedly substandard quality of these movies, they completely ignore the fact that many of them were made on shoestring budgets by people with little knowledge of film, desperately trying to find their big break in Hollywood. They ignore the fact that many of these "bad" filmmakers showed far more passion, perseverance and genuine love of cinema than some of their more critically and commercially successful peers.

The book undeniably helped to revitalize an interest in many forgotten cult classics and B-movie filmmakers (particularly the life and films of Ed Wood), but did so inadvertently. This was not the book's motive. The Medveds did not set out to celebrate these movies; they set out to ridicule them.

This is the book that made Ed Wood famous. It's an insightful look at some of Hollywood's most amusing groaners. I was particularly impressed by the author's selection of the worst career actors - folks such as Richard Burton and Tony Curtis - my reaction was surprise at first, followed by admiration for the author's perception. A 21st century update would be great (Battlefield Earth & Travolta really need to be recognized) but I doubt if the modern stuff can beat out the 1950's classics. This book will have you heading to the video store to review some of Holywood's great clunkers.

This book, while several years old now, is still as funny as the day it was first printed. The writing is a hoot and a guaranteed laugh maker. It looks at some the the most ridiculous, outlandish and just plain "what were they thinking" movies ever made. Wish the authors would come up with a more recent book with movies that have come out since this was printed.