Pocket Guide to Collecting Movies on DVD: Building an Essential Movie Collection-With Information on the Best DVD Extras, Supplements and Special Features-and the Best DVDs for Kids [Mass Market Paperback]

Steven H. Scheuer (Author), Alida Brill-Scheuer (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 1, 2003

Citizen Kane • Boogie Nights • Sunset Boulevard • My Fair Lady • Almost Famous • Jaws • A Hard Day's Night • Lord of the Rings • Monsoon Wedding • Apocalypse Now Redux • Moulin Rouge • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid • A Beautiful Mind • Shakespeare in Love

THEY'RE NOT JUST MOVIES ANYMORE.

THEY'RE DVDs.

Supplements...special collector's edition...extras...Words that set the heart pounding of every DVD lover. But how do you decide which DVDs to buy? Where do you begin collecting? Which special features are really special? What commentaries are informative or entertaining? Which disks are worth your time and money? Here at last is the portable, one-of-a-kind DVD buyer's guide -- from veteran film and television critics Steven H. Scheuer and Alida Brill-Scheuer.

Director/star/crew audio commentaries • Outtakes • Filmographies and biographies • Alternate takes, music, and endings • Celebrity interviews • Deleted scenes • Trailers • Lost footage • Hidden features and Easter eggs • Animated menus • Production notes • Storyboards • Promotional art • DVD-rom extras • Behind-the-scenes footage • Screenplays • Souvenir booklets • and a special afterword on the best DVDs for kids

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Steven H. Scheuer is a distinguished film and television critic, and a syndicated columnist. He is the author of several books, including The Complete Guide to Videocassette Movies and Movies on TV and Videocassette. A renowned lecturer, he has also hosted the television series All About TV and the new series Television in America: An Autobiography.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Pocket; First Pocket Bks Printing, Oct. 2003 edition (October 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743475712
• ISBN-13: 978-0743475716
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,431,832 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #14 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Movies > Guides & Reviews
  • #42 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Reference > Consumer Guides
  • #78 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Entertainment > Movies > General

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars I liked it, but ..., November 18, 2003

By 

Bruce Albrecht (MN United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Pocket Guide to Collecting Movies on DVD: Building an Essential Movie Collection-With Information on the Best DVD Extras, Supplements and Special Features-and the Best DVDs for Kids (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a really good book, and I do recommend it. This, and the Video Hound's Guide to DVDs series are the only ones I've found that describe and rate both the movie and the DVD, as most movie review books really only give capsule reviews of the movie and ignore the DVD extras. This book has in-depth reviews of 134 good movies and their DVD editions, whereas the Video Hound guides try to give a capsule review on a much larger set of DVDs. I think the reviews in this book are very good, and the information about DVD extras are even better.

However, there's one thing that I really didn't like about this book: It doesn't list any identifying information about the DVD, like the studio catalog number and / or UPC number. A number of the titles reviewed in this book have had several releases, and even though the review will mention which version to buy (at least by which studio released it), it's not always easy to pick it out of the review. They really should, at the very least, clearly list the catalog and UPC number of the versions they are reviewing at the beginning of the review (with recommended version if there is one), and ideally also use this information when they are comparing features of different releases of a title.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Helpful, November 5, 2003

By 

WeHaveSixFeet (Montreal, Quebec Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pocket Guide to Collecting Movies on DVD: Building an Essential Movie Collection-With Information on the Best DVD Extras, Supplements and Special Features-and the Best DVDs for Kids (Mass Market Paperback)

With all these "Special Edition" "Extended Version" and "Director's Cut" DVD's floating around, this cheap little book is worth the money to anyone building a library of DVDs. What's on the three-disk Fellowship of the Rings that isn't on the original DVD release? Which version of Casablanca has the interview with the writers? Which 80-dollar "Special Edition" of the movie is the same old DVD but in a fancy box with a poster? The writers of this pocket guide have watched all the supplemental material and can tell you what's there. They're not afraid to tell you what's worthwhile and what's drivel. As a screenwriter and an author (Crafty Screenwriting), I like to watch my DVDs over and over. I'm glad I've added this book to my library.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Bad at All for Such a Small Price!, December 18, 2003

By 

Paul Chin "pchin" (Manila, Philippines) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Pocket Guide to Collecting Movies on DVD: Building an Essential Movie Collection-With Information on the Best DVD Extras, Supplements and Special Features-and the Best DVDs for Kids (Mass Market Paperback)

Normally, I would read DVD reviews found in the internet (as they are up-dated on a regular basis) as I collect both NTSC & PAL versions. However, I did pick up this book out of curiosity (probably due to the low price). Can't say that it's really outstanding but it is useful to some extend. The obvious advantage is its small size, thus you could bring it anyway & read it during your leisure.

For those serious DVD collectors, then this is a must buy. For me now, not only I'm colleting DVD movies but also any interesting DVD books!