Customer Reviews

Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide 2000 (Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide)

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

 

 

For years, "Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide" has been a staple in my library. For quick and easy reference, this volume puts the facts you need at your fingertips, including availability, formats, ratings and capsule reviews that include director, stars, running time and date of release, for over 20,000 movies. There is also an "Index of Stars," which, though fairly limited (due to space, no doubt) is valuable nonetheless, especially when you need "facts fast." Even the most astute movie buff will encounter the "When was that movie made?" or "Who was in that film besides-" questions from time to time. With this handy guide, you simply flip through the alphabetical listings, and you have your answer in no time. Included,as well, are "Also known as" titles and many cross-references. An interesting addition this year is the "100 Must-See Films of the 20th Century" list, which, as Maltin notes, is to be considered merely a starting point for the comprehensive viewing of truly significant movies. All in all, "The Maltin," (as I like to call it) contains the most helpful information, and is the easiest to use reference guide I have read. I highly recommend it to anyone who likes to watch, talk, collect and think about movies.

i might not agree with LM's comments, but this is the complete guide to all movies and contains useful info (actors, when made etc) when you're trying to work out whether to watch a particular movie or not.

I agree with Maltin's reviews more times than not. Many times he has steered me towards a movie that turned out to be enjoyable.

This is a very handy reference. I don't believe Mr. Maltin actually saw all 20000+ films reviewed. Nevertheless it gives just enough information about each title to let you decide whether it's even worth your while to rent it. You don't have to agree with each rating, but I find myself more often than not agree with Mr. Maltin's.

The same person seems to be trashing this book over and over again because it gave low marks to the horrid "Halloween" and "Friday the 13th" films. While those juvenile, boringly predictable, cookie-cutter movies are truly a waste of time, that is not even the point.

I've thoroughly investigated all the books of this kind, and this is by far the best. It has more movies in it than any other out there, and best of all it lists far, far more actors in each movie than any other book. It also gives inside facts about films that other books don't mention.

So whether you agree with Maltin's review of a given movie or not doesn't matter. This book contains more information about movies than any other. If you are a movie nut, you MUST own this book!

One of the first comprehensive guides, Maltin's is still fairly useful for general film information, especially listing DVD and VHS formats.

Unfortunately, there's some startling omissions and errors in the book. Maltin's book appears earlier every year and each year, misses more of the summer films - this one doesn't have "Eyes Wide Shut", "South Park", "Bowfinger", or "The Dinner Game." Moreover, Klapisch's "When The Cat's Away" is listed as "While The Cat's Away" (and his "Un Air de Famille" isn't even listed), the great Serbian film "Under Ground" fails to appear as does Michael Hanecke's "Funny Games", Von Trier's "The Idiots", Vinterberg's "The Celebration", "Taste of Cherry" or Noe's "Seul Contre Tous." Moreover, I've never seen reviews for Satyajit Ray's last film, "The Stranger", the wonderful German documentary "Architecture of Doom". This may be seen as an intended editorial choice but, then, what can you say about a book that cuts out so many of last year's best overseas films and still keeps a whole, detailed list of the "Blondie" series? If a key to a guide's success is remaining comprehensive and contemporary, Maltin fails by keeping too many older films in the book and incorporating too few. Perhaps, he should release an "old movie guide" for pre-1970 films and a more recent, comprehensive guide that would cast a wider net.

I don't always agree with him (only 2 stars for The Shining and 2.5 for Taxi Driver?) but the book is informative, helpful, and better than most of the movie guides out there.

I've used lot's of other books and find Leonard's by far the best both for inclusion and for ratings. I typically reject out of hand any movie he rates two stars or less. At two and a half to 3 stars the written review is paramount. Then one can evaluate both one's own and Leonard's prejudices. Whatever your technique, the book is a valuable tool to ensure mostly pleasant movie viewing experiences. Why doesn't he put it out on CD?

Maltin's guide is very helpful and better than most. Just about every available video is in here, really the best guidebook out.

When it comes to rating judgments I don't always agree with Maltin and his crew, but who would? I don't think there are any video guides that come close to matching the Maltin series for comprehensiveness and user-friendliness. I always reach for mine when an unfamiliar movie looms, and I often check the rating when an old favorite comes up--more often than not Maltin or one of his editors will offer some beguiling bit of production gossip or shed some other light on a favorite film. Yes, the book is so big it's getting hard to deal with but that's because it's an embarrassment of riches.

One unusual feature of the book is its alphabetization system. It uses a STRICT letter-by-letter system where spaces don't matter; in other words; "Intermezzo" precedes "In The Line of Fire." Really, it's quite a rational system once you get used to it.

Some of Maltin's judgments make me hoppin' mad, but overall the book is a gem.