Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2005 [Paperback]

Leonard Maltin (Author)

Book Description

Series: Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide (Mass Market) | Publication Date: August 3, 2004

The movie guide that has been a staple for decades and has made Leonard Maltin a household name is back with all the essential information every movie lover wants-completely updated, and bigger and better than ever.

- More than 6,000 DVD titles
- More than 300 new videos
- Nearly 19,000 capsule reviews
- Completely updated index of leading stars
- Ratings, running times, widescreen info, and much more

Editorial Reviews

Review

The single most important reference book in every home. (Esquire) Easily the most comprehensive work of its kind. It belongs next to every TV and VCR in every home. (USA Today) Head and shoulders above the rest. (The New York Times) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Recognized as one of the leading authorities on movies and moviemaking, Leonard Maltin has become a household name and media personality thanks to his regular appearances on the highly successful syndicated TV program, Entertainment Tonight; his daily radio feature, Leonard Maltin’s Radio View; his monthly reviews in Playboy magazine; and Hot Ticket, his popular weekend TV show. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 1664 pages
• Publisher: Signet (August 3, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0451212657
• ISBN-13: 978-0451212658
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,474,908 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best quick reference, September 1, 2004

By 

C. S. Junker "soul_survivor" (Burien, WA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2005 (Paperback)

I only agree with the reviews about 55% of the time, but the team that assembles this guide does a superb job of writing brief capsule descriptions of a wide variety of films. The reference information --- stars, directors, dates, widescreen processes --- may all be available elsewhere, but it's often a lot easier to pick up the book then it is to get up out of your easy chair, boot up the computer, go to the imdb, type in the info you're looking for...

It's true that this edition, formatted to fit into a mass-market paperback, has very small print. As an AARP member who needs trifocals, this can sometimes be an issue. However, Maltin's does publish the book in a larger-type edition (a "trade" paperback) which is published about three months after this smaller sized version. (Why don't they publish both simultaneously? Who knows...)

P.S. This book is also very handy for working crossword puzzles.

37 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Print and book size, August 26, 2004

By 

V. Reese - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2005 (Paperback)

If you buy this book be sure you have a very good magnifying glass. The pages have been reduced in size and the print is extremely small. They have also reduced the number of entries by thousands. The price has been reduced so that is a plus. Keep your old book.

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not as complete as I'd like, September 4, 2004

By 

James D. Leverton (San Marcos, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide 2005 (Paperback)

I have been buying Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide for nearly twenty years now. It remains a vital and enjoyable purchase and is a great reference for major Hollywood features, breakthrough independents and widely-distributed foreign films. However, Maltin admittedly is a film historian who wastes a lot of space in this book on obscure, decades-old Hollywood films that are seldom, if ever, shown on television and have been unavailable on VHS or DVD for years. In this volume, he says he is going to divide the guide into different volumes, one focusing on classics, others on more recent releases. This is a good idea. I really do think Maltin needs to devote one guide to DVD and video releases and another to his beloved classics, both of which I would buy. That way, the smaller films (such as "Local Boys", for instance) that receive direct-to-video release and obscure titles that are not featured in this volume will be covered and Maltin's impeccable taste and invaluable advice will prove more useful.

As for his reviews, the only fault I find (and it's really more a difference in personal taste) is that Maltin tends to prefer classic-style filmmaking, which explains why a mediocre film like "Cider House Rules" ranks **** while Clint Eastwood's masterwork "Unforgiven" only gets ***. Also, his constant carping about "overlength" in any movie over two hours gets old, especially since few of the films he complains about truly are overlong. But that's what makes this book so much fun--complaining about and disagreeing with the somewhat odd rankings he and his staff come up with, along with the occasional surprise of knowing he also liked that badly-reviewed film you have a fondness for. And a special kudo to Leonard for finally admitting he blew it with his original review of Ridley Scott's brilliant "Alien" and upping that pathetic **1/2 rating by a *. It's nice to see critics admitting when they're wrong.

As I said, this is a fine collection of reviews that needs to be divided into volumes in order to provide a more complete collection of relevant reviews. Regardless, it's still the best guide out there. **** (out of *****)