How many times has James Bond been told he’s going to die? In which film did the co-star get eaten by hungry pigs? Which director gave his audiences an extra fright by making their seats vibrate? Was “The Madness of King George III” really renamed “The Madness of King George” so that American audiences didn’t think they had missed the first two installments? And who shot a 90-minute movie in one take? If you have a burning desire to know the answers to these questions and hundreds more like it, this book is a must. Facts, fiction, statistics, lists—it’s the best collection of film trivia you’ll ever read.
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Editorial Reviews
From the Publisher
Ever wonder what happens to the 36,000 tennis balls used at the annual Wimbledon championships? Or what was on the menu at Henry IV’s coronation? Would you like to know how to master the Japanese art of packing a rucksack? Or how to say hello in 20 different languages? The delightfully eclectic, exceedingly collectable volumes in the Companion Series are bursting with useful trivia and quirky facts to amuse and amaze. Pleasingly designed, eminently browsable, downright addictive.
About the Author
The editor, Rhiannon Guy, has been watching movies since she was old enough to work the video, and is a self-confessed movie fanatic with a head full of useless film information. And writing this book has just made her worse.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Fun, varied book of movie insight and information,
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This review is from: The Moviegoer's Companion (A Think Book) (Hardcover)
This slim volume comprises surprising substance and lots of variety. For example, it has loads of surveys from film magazines and institutes (Hollywood's ten funniest films, ten most passionate films, ten scariest monsters, etc.). These are fun for sharing with friends as they are eternally debatable. Why isn't Godzilla on the scariest list of monsters? How does your list of screen villains match up with that of the American Film Institute?
It has excerpts from actors' memoirs, filmgoers' memoirs, and film moments in literary works. A favorite among these is the excerpt from Alec Guinness's memoir in which he tries to dissuade a young Star Wars aficionado from future viewings of the (then) space trilogy. It has humorous lists, such as how to survive a horror movie: "12. Slap the screaming hysterical girl, she will be the one to distract everyone when there really is danger." Or the ten things learnt from the movies, such as "4. When foreigners are alone they speak English to each other," and "8. All bombs constructed by madmen have a large red display of the time left before they explode." And there are bits of real information, such as a description of the Dogme 95 film movement and a glossary of terms like "best boy" and "gaffer." The book would benefit from an index, but that's my only complaint. This is a great bathroom book (to read in bits) or car book (to inspire conversation). Note for those who care about this sort of thing: of the 150 pages of entries, there are a couple that deal with the pornographic film industry.
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The longest film ever made (it says here) ran for 87 hours and was called The Cure for Insomnia. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Star Wars, Clark Gable, Compendium of Cinemagoing, Charlie Chaplin, Fight Club, Marilyn Monroe, White House, American Film Institute, Frank Sinatra, Ginger Rogers, James Bond, Jurassic Park, Ocean's Eleven, Rat Pack, Silent Bob, The Extra Terrestrial, Ben Hur, Bette Davis, Brandon Lee, Doris Day, Fred Astaire, Harry Potter, Home Alone, Humphrey Bogart New!
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Front Cover | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The longest film ever made (it says here) ran for 87 hours and was called The Cure for Insomnia. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, Star Wars, Clark Gable, Compendium of Cinemagoing, Charlie Chaplin, Fight Club, Marilyn Monroe, White House, American Film Institute, Frank Sinatra, Ginger Rogers, James Bond, Jurassic Park, Ocean's Eleven, Rat Pack, Silent Bob, The Extra Terrestrial, Ben Hur, Bette Davis, Brandon Lee, Doris Day, Fred Astaire, Harry Potter, Home Alone, Humphrey Bogart New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
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- My Lucky Stars: A Hollywood Memoir by Shirley Maclaine on page 26, and Back Matter
- Brave New World by Aldous Huxley on page 16, and Back Matter
- Return of the Jedi by Star Wars on page 70, and page 84
- A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess on page 125, and Back Matter
- Star Wars (Funfax "Star Wars" File Books) by Raith Black on page 53, and page 140
See all 100 books this book cites
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