Customer Reviews

Halliwell's Film and Video Guide 2000 (Halliwell's: The Movies That Matter)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It's the greatest reference book for any film lover I have ever seen and bought it many times. Although it would even be more useful, if it would be available on CD-ROM (in a format readable by Apple Mac and Windows alike) with a search engine to access information like all movies from a certain director etc.

"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 (with ratings of 0 to 2 all meaning "not recommended" -- but who cares whether a film is rated 1 versus 1.5, if it's not recommended, don't bother). Halliwell's system takes some getting used to, but once you see the value in it (if you give it enough time), the pay-off is worthwhile. And another refreshing aspect is that relatively few films get the highest rating of 4-stars, unlike some critics who give 4-stars to half the films they see, making the rating meaningless.

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, in my opinion.

Many film entries are peppered with quotes from other critics, often going against Halliwell's and Walker's assessment and offering an alternate evaluation -- this shows that these gentleman have an open mind.

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.

While the content of the reference book is excellent, the typeface is very small and thus difficult to read.

This is the most complete movie reference book that I have ever seen! The only flaw is the extremely small print. However, if the print were normal sized, I would not be able to lift the book.

This is a pretty well-written guide, but I eventually stopped using it because the author gave away the endings to too many movies in his descriptions, which is strange, considering how brief they are.

This guide is quite thorough, but there's a general tone of contempt for almost all the movies listed. This is the guide for people who love movies written by people who hate them.

Most movie guides give you limited information. Usually cast and director. The Halliwell guide also gives you studio,producer,writer,composer,director of photography and sometimes art director, set designer, special effects supervisor,make up and costume designer. This is the best reason movie fans should get this book. I keep it near my television and am constantly looking stuff up. Sure the reviews can be lame (Halliwell sounds like an old fart sometimes) and the synopsis of films sometimes give the endings away, it is still the best single volume of reference for specific movies. I also like his star rating system. I mostly don't like grading a movie by giving it a score, but his system is better than most. For instance, most entries get no stars. I thought their could not that many awful movies. Most movies are mediocre anyway, not bad enough to be memorable. No star movies to him are "watchable but equally missable, these are routine productions or worse". That statement describes most publications 2 or less star rated movies. A great reference guide but only average reviews.

As much as I favor film critics Leonard Maltin and Ephraim Katz, I would have to say that they are only followers of the great Leslie Halliwell. Halliwell more-or-less created the film guide. His is the longest-standing film reference still readily available on the market today. It's also one of the most comprehensive works of its kind. Each film is given a plot synopsis that is short, but to the point, as are Mr. Halliwell's overall opinion of the film. Naturally, not everyone will agree with his opinion of every film, but that's to be expected. Admittedly, Halliwell's book is one of the more opinionated works of its kind. You can turn literally pages without seeing a four, even three-star film in sight. But there's little room for debate that Halliwell singlehandedly created the film guide with this book, and he was a man who sincerely loved and devoted himself to the movies. That's why, to me, Halliwell's is truly the Father of all Film Guides.

This is truly one of the finest and most invaluable film guides available on the market today; it is also one of the first of its kind, but the years have been very nice to this perennial favorite which hasn't lost a bit of its spark. The synopsis given for each film is generally brief, but always concise! Of course, you may find yourself in conflict with the reviewer's overall opinion of the film, but let's face it, that's gonna happen sooner or later with any movie guide you buy! Admittedley, Halliwell's book is one of the most aggressively opinionated film guides out there(one can turn pages and pages without spotting a film that rates four, even three stars), but the quips, even the most disparaging of them, are undeniably clever and amusing. Halliwell's Film Guide is also unique in that it often includes a movie's slogan above the title of the film. Yes, Leonard Maltin is one of the country's most knowledgable and rightfully respected film critics of today, but Leslie Halliwell was the great man who pretty much set the standard for the many other movie and video guides out there, including Leonard's. Although Halliwell's guide is pricier than most of the other movie reference books, the payoff is immeasurable, as the book provides page after page and hour after hour of endless reading pleasure. Whether you are looking to be informed or entertained or perhaps both, Halliwell's Film Guide is the book for you! Those who like it will also appreciate Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies.