Customer Reviews

Leonard Maltin's 2006 Movie Guide

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

I saw both versions of this book--the smaller mass-market paperback and the larger paperback--in a local bookstore. Thinking that the larger book would use a larger font, which would be easier for my husband and me to read, I opened it--only to discover that the font size is identical in both versions! The only differences are in the margin width--and, of course, in the price. The smaller paperback is $9, while the larger one is $20!! So you pay an extra $11 for wider margins--whoopee! I took off a star for this. I have always enjoyed Maltin's reviews and agree with him most of the time, but this marketing deceit is shameful and unethical, and he should not be associated with it.

I have nothing against the guide itself. I have several earlier copies but I would warn anyone to check the book first. In the copy I have the pages between 496 and 561 are entirely missing. Pages 961 to 1024 are in it twice. A gross error by the publisher that should never have been shipped.

If you think you are buying a more comprehensive edition each year...take a look at the numbers:

2000 has 20,000 entries, 300+ new entries, 14,000 video- 9,000 DVD/Laser
2001 has 20,000 entries, 300+ new entries, 15,000 video- 10,000 DVD/Laser
2002 has 19,000 entries, 300+ new entries, 14,000 video- 10,000 DVD/Laser
2003 has 19,000 entries, 300+ new entries, 14,000 video- 13,000 DVD/Laser
2004 has 18,000 entries, 300+ new entries, 13,000 video- 8,000 DVD
2005 has 18,000 entries, 300+ new entries, 13,000 video- 7,000 DVD
2006 has 16,000 entries, 300+ new entries, 14,000 video- 8,000 DVD

"Including 300+ new entries" means to me they have ADDED new entries (movies) to last years edition, when in fact, the new edition has lost 4000 entries (movies) from 2000 to 2006, 2,000 from 2005 to 2006 versions! NOT GOOD and more.....

At a glance it appears older movies are being removed. For the first time, today, I noticed there is a "classic version" being published. The people involved are slowly removing older movies and publishing them in this new classic version. Apparently there is some duplication also. 'Little stealth there? Where does that leave the Movie Guide buyers? Ripped off, and now forced to buy another book to get the same coverage one expects and should have in the original according to the account on the front cover!

I tried to find roughly 13 movies released on DVD in 2005, meaning, in most, if not all cases, they were released to the theatres much earlier. I FOUND ONE! Was I UPSET? YES!

This isn't a 2006 guide, it's what the 2005 should be. Soon we will have a 2010 version, published in 2008, which will not include movies released in 2006!

This Leonard Maltin's 2006 Movie Guide goes back to the unethical persons (for the censors) who are involved in its structure and misleading (and possibly) intentionally deceptive methods.

Avidity abounds.

Added some entries 2-7-12

Every other year I replace my dog-eared Maltin Guide with a new one. The 2006 Guide is noticeably smaller than the 2004--with 2,000 FEWER entries! Like many film buffs, I use the Guide as a reference book. Film info and stats are more valuable to me than the reviews, i.e., who is that actress? when was is shot? is it available on DVD yet?, etc. I wonder what criteria were used in excising such a large chunk of film history.

Now I'll have to hang on to the old dog-eared version for films cut from the 2006. Come on, Leonard!

I have found that the entire "N" section and a good deal of the "M" section have not been included in this book, due to an obvious misprint! Beware, buyer!

It's popular in today's world to complain. So I'll complain some.

First, all of his movie ratings don't agree with mine. For instance I think that the Weber musical version of 'The Phantom of the Opera' was the best movie of 2004, and he gives it two and a half stars. 'The Gods Must be Crazy' only got three stars, it should have gotten four. On the other hand, 'The Pirates of the Caribbean' got two and a half stars. That's about right. He did better here than a lot of other critics who seemed to think it great. Oh yes, the type is too small for my tired old eyes. Since I don't want any fewer movies reviewed, make the book bigger.

Now for the good parts, 16,000+ entries. That's a lot of movies. The mail order movie suppliers for rare movies seems expanded and brought up to date. And I guess that I've got to say that he has gotten most of the ratings about right.

To anyone interested in movies, this is one of those books you can't put down.

Other reviewers here have complained about bindry problems. My copy had no errors.

Leonard Maltin is hellishly hard on new movies--just try to find any 2004+ American movie that got a ****. He hates giving out **** reviews, and it gets annoying after awhile. He also has a real problem with overlength, no doubt because he was raised on Our Gang and Laurel & Hardy shorts. I am fed up with his constant complaint that something is too long! And speaking of too long, he would not have to cut a single review out of his guide if he seriously shortened cast lists for movies!

Despite all that, the man is a brilliant film scholar and very knowledgeable film historian. His review guide--and even more his CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE--are worth buying multiple copies of to have at home, at the office to settle arguments, and in a car to have inside Blockbuster or Hollywood Video. He is one tough critic, but he teaches me a lot. His guide performs an insightful and essential service in letting me know whether I should buy a particular movie or tape something off of Turner Classic Movies. I disagree with him a lot--often about length--but he is excellent and knows what he writes about.

Buy both Maltin's 2006 MOVIE GUIDE and his even better CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE. They both belong in every movie lover's library, office, and car.

I buy the new edition every year. I wonder how many films (not old films) have been dropped, in the 2006 edition, that were in the 2005 edition. I just noticed that the film "Bright Shining Lie" (1998) is in the 2005 edition, but is not in the 2006 edition. (I'm about to watch it, recorded from TV, and just happened to notice that it's in the 2005 edition, but not in the 2006 edition.

For some reason I cannot understand, the 2006 Movie Guide is considerably smaller in size than the 2004 and 2002 editions, though with a similar number of pages. Therefore the text font is reduced and by no means so easy to read. A pity because Maltin's guides are so useful.
Fortunately the Classic Guide 2005 (for films 1960 and earlier) is in the normal format and easy to use.

It's a great guide, but isn't it about time for Maltin to be issued on CD or DVD, or via download, with annual updates purchased on some sort of subscription basis? I must have at least a dozen of these (probably more) laying around the house, with, of course, always more to come. I realize that, at first glance, it would seem more profitable to try and sell a new book every year, but once you factor out printing, paper, shipping (as opposed to downloading), I'm sure a workable economic model could be found. Think of the trees that would be saved. And, the amount of information that could be made available wouldn't be limited by the size of a book one could hold in one's hands. Perhaps a subscription website, a'la Consumer Reports might be the way to go. The Maltin Guide is a great product that needs to rethink itself for the computer age.