Packed with in-depth, detailed entries and more than 20,000 reviews, this guide is packed with vital statistics on virtually every available film from the silent era to the present day.
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com Review
What would a movie lover's 1999 be like without a new edition of Halliwell's? Here is the most comprehensive movie guide available, containing more than 23,000 reviews. While the commentary on the films covered can be worthwhile, the real benefit of this book is the enormous amount of data and trivia it packs between its covers. For each movie, the editors list the title, country of origin, running time, producers, production company, writer, director, photographer, principal cast members, and in most cases, the editors, composers, and production designers who worked on the film. Little icons under the title reveal the film's availability on videocassette, laserdisc, and DVD; tell whether it is suitable for family viewing; and list the Academy Awards that it won or for which it was nominated.
For extra fun, the editors sometimes include the advertising teaser for a film, a memorable line or two, and excerpts from reviews. In this new edition, you can still read lots of commentary on Citizen Kane and Gone with the Wind, as well as Derek Elley on The Full Monty ("It elevates ... [its characters] and their story into crowd-pleasing fare without losing sight of the big social picture."), and, notoriously, Kenneth Turan on Titanic ("As Cameron sails his lonely craft toward greatness, he should realize he needs to bring a passenger with him. Preferably someone who can write."). For complete coverage of the whole history of film, particularly American movies, you can't do better than Halliwell's. --Raphael Shargel
Review
"A knockout compilation of almost everything you could possibly want to know about thousands of movies." -- Chicago Tribune
"Indispensable!" -- Variety
"No other book offers such comprehensive and entertaining information in one volume." -- Library Journal
"Indispensable!" -- Variety
"No other book offers such comprehensive and entertaining information in one volume." -- Library Journal
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My favorite film guide of all-time,
By
This review is from: Halliwell's Film & Video Guide 1999 (Paperback)
"Halliwell's Film & Video Guide" has always been my favorite guide to films since the first edition came out many years ago. The first thing I noticed about Halliwell was that he used the entire 4-star scale in a consistent way. Most other film guides, while they purport to rate movies on a scale of 0 to 4 stars, really just use 2.5 to 4. It takes some getting used to, but once you see the value in his system (if you give it enough time), the pay-off is worthwhile.After Halliwell died, John Walker took over. He almost immediately 'updated' many of Halliwell's ratings (e.g., "Persona," which used to rank a 2-star rating, was upgraded to 4-stars). I agree with most of Walkers updates, though he has a slight tendency to over-rate. This is a thoroughly enjoyable, incredibly well-researched book. Worth every penny. But stay with it -- it's a goldmine if you take the time to delve in. Judging by some of the other reviews I've read here, many people gave up (perhaps too soon).
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Still the most intellegent and thoughtful guide,
By cocozilla "cocozilla" (Schenectady, NY United States) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Halliwell's Film & Video Guide 1999 (Paperback)
If you think Steven Segal or Demi Moore can act, The Phantom Menace and Titanic are great movies and James Cammron and Steven Spielberg are the best directors in history, Look elswhere for film guides written by people who don't know a good movie from their backside. Halliwells reviews are still the most thoughtful in the industry, not likely to over praise the latest hollywood "classic' and make you think about some of your favorites in a new way.. Even when I disagree with his rating, I find his reviews thoughtful and still enlightening. Even though the quality and style have slipped since his death, the all overwork is excellent. To those who only think that Halliwell liked Citizen Kane or Casablance, Look a little further and you will find a treasure trove of wonderful films that you may never heard of. And if you don't want to do that, just curl up with the latest Adam Sandler movie and ask someone to help you with the big words.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is the bible for film lovers,
By Florian Bender (Munich, Germany) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Halliwell's Film & Video Guide 1999 (Paperback)
I grew up with this book and it taught me a lot about cinema, life and values. There's that saying "I know life, I've been to the movies", that came to life to me with this Guide. It's not only a book of reviews, it educates the reader in different ways. Unfortunatly, since the the death of Leslie Halliwell, the quality dropped a bit, but at least the later editions include better ratings for films after the 1960s, which were overdue, but delightfully typical of the Mr Halliwell and his way of looking at the world and cinema. (Johnny Walker did a nice job, nevertheless.) Everybody who read his article on "The Decline and Fall of Cinema" (very important writing and included in one of the first editions of the Guide) has to confirm that. You can argue on the authors' taste, but you can't deny its stringency. What I love most about it, is that it makes its points in a short, striking and very enjoyable manner. To me, it's always up the point. I strongly advise everybody with the slightest interest in films to read this book. Life will never be the same.
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