Customer Reviews

The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide

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The Greatest Video Store in the World has released THE SCARECROW VIDEO MOVIE GUIDE. The Scarecrow Video Store is a true mecca for movie lovers located in Seattle Washington's University District. This 808 page celebration of film is written by the friends and workers of the store. They bring to the concept of Movie Guide Books exactly what they bring to Video Store--obsessive passionate iconiclastic eclectisism. After an introduction the book starts with a section on

14 Chapters categorize the movies in a unique way.

In Chapter 1: DIRECTORS you'll find movies listed according to the last names of the fine folks who directed them. So this section starts out with 3 movies by drive in trash maestro, Al Adamson: Black Heat, Mean Mother and Satan's Sadists. No, they don't include all of Adamson's film (and skip over perhaps his best known Dracula Versus Frankenstein) but the idea seems to be to travel down roads not as well traveled as other movie guidebooks. So what movies do they include of Woody and Altman and Richard Lester and Herschell Gordon Lewis? Who did they leave out of the director's section that they should have in there (Doris Wishman, Richard Rush, Ted V. Mikels perhaps?)

Then there's 13 more chapters and you get nearly 4,000 capsule reviews from a variety of perspectives and some mini-essays on diverse filmmakers from Anthony Mann, and Les Blanc to Silent Film-maker Nell Shipman. There's bonus lists like 'Movies We Wish Were on DVD', 'The Most Depressing Movies Ever Made' and 'Best Musical Documentaries Ever Made.'

If you're confused by how this book is organized there are 3 indexes that will help sort it out for you.

Also readable is what amounts to the Scarecrow Video Store story which opens the book. George Latsios (and Rebecca) started the world famous store with little more than George's passionate obsession with movies both very good and very bad. They built a remarkable rentable collection that includes many impossible to find treasures. Brain cancer took George from us, but there were two saviors who wanted to preserve and take further what George did with Scarecrow Video.

Do I really believe that a Movie Guide book that actually features a good review for the awful Bond movie A VIEW TO A KILL can possibly be worth buying and treasuring. Yes, I sure do.

The capsule reviews are not written by professionals but by a large group of knowledgeable movie nuts, most of who work, or use to work, at Scarecrow Video Store.

You see most of us who are likely to read from cover to cover a movie guide like this already know that A View to a Kill is the last Roger Moore Bond movie and it feels so tired and forced that even Christopher Walken's somewhat restrained performance and Grace Jones' outrageous fashion can't help overcome how awful the film is or how annoying Tanya Roberts and her many many "Oh James" exclamations truly are. So the review really sticks out as something so completely wrong and out of touch that it is... well. . . worth reading. Yeah that also meant you'll have to pay attention when this reviewer: N.J. aka Nathan Jensen recommends a movie you don't know anything about because perhaps his taste meter is on a completely different scale than yours. You'll also find a few minor research errors like the one in the listing for 1983's Octopussy, N.J. writes "It's little wonder Moore quit after this film." Moore's last Bond film was of course 1985's A View to a Kill. Oops. Might want to fix that one for the Second Printing.

Please Note: Scarecrow founder George Latsios. would have expected nothing less of me than to find a few mistakes and to nit-pick about a few things in this book. After all I'm the guy who embarrassed him about not having a copy of THE GLORY STOMPERS in Scarecrow several years ago as well as many other... uh memorable films. (And of course TGS is NOT in the guide book! As Dennis Hopper might say: "Man, that's just not cool, man." )

Every once in a while a movie gets two reviews. Sometimes this is a necessary like say with Wes Craven's Last House on the Left. Sometimes both reviews say about the same thing like for 1985's Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins so you wonder why two reviews were necessary.

There are plenty of examples of worthless movies getting their due in this guide too. You'll find 1997's Spice World appropriately dissected as a movie not bad enough to be good and not good enough to watch. And I don't know what bet "N.H." lost that he got to review King Kong Lives, but at least he got to have his say about Posession elsewhere in the guide.


Yeah this thing might drive you a little crazy. (I mean where are reviews forBad Girls Go to Hell,Girl with Gold Boots and did I mention Glory Stompers? But that's a good thing that it engages you and gets you passionate about movies again isn't it? Sure it is.

I mean I think there's something wonderfully subversive that you review a few Oliver Stone movies and completely ignore Platoon and Wall Street.

What else can I say about a book that features reviews that embrace Brewster McCloud, el Topo, Oscar (! With Stallone!!!) and understands the appeal of Rudy Ray Moore movies, pays tribute to Les Blanc, gives a thumbs up review to A View to a Kill and wonderfully insists Amityville Horror is a ridiculous boring movie? Read with pleasure what is written in the reviews of all the Texas Chainsaw Massacre Movies (the re-make and Leatherface too)!!! Discover Poland's Sargossa Manuscript, Sweden's The Man on the Roof, Thailand's Killer Tattoo, Iran's Secret Ballot and The Circle, Germany's Tuvalu, Videograms of a Revolution and much more.

Sure you might get frustrated when a list tells you one of the best Musical documentaries is something called Inside Bjork but you won't find a review of it anywhere in the book. (Gee, guess you'll have to get to Scarecrow Video in Seattle and rent the thing yourself, huh?). Feel utterly vindicated when 1998's Armageddon and Michael Bay are torn new ones by the kind of capsule review you wished a published critic would have written and then read a review of the same flick in which it is declared a wonderful guilty pleasure of a movie!!! Ah one man's rotting bile is another's junk food pig-out. Throw up your hands, dance the Watusi and read the book some more.

If you liked Michael Weldon's Psychotronic books you'll do flips over this one. If you want the guide-book with the most accurate running times and release dates of movies then buy Leonard Maltin's book. If you want a mostly accurate and exhaustive listing of lots of movies rated with dog bones by a team of reviewers whose tastes run the full gamut of all genre but are fairly predictable and mainstream-then be sure to get your copy of the Videohound's Golden Movie Retriever Book. However if you want an alternately brilliant and frustrating guide to movies-many of which aren't found in other guides-then buy The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide ASAP. It may be-- or is that, maybe-- the best guide of them all.


Christopher J. Jarmick co-wrote the critically acclaimed mystery suspense novel: The Glass Cocoon

Copyright© Christopher J. Jarmick 2004

Uh, this is actually a very easy to use book - though i suppose having a brain might help a little - what's wrong with using the index? Every film reviewed is listed by title in alphabetical order along with its respective page number . . . flip to the page in question, and VIOLA!! Simple, efficient, and about as remedial as it gets . . .
AND the contents of the book are fantastic - an extremely broad and eclectic array of films are covered, all reviewed with pith and wit, blessedly without the stale academic dictionary approach of so many other movie guides. The arrangement is unique, simple, and clever: how many times have you been in the video store not looking for anything in particular, but with a general idea what TYPE of movie you want? Well, next time, before you even leave the house, you can just open to section corresponding with your desired film-type and scan through it, picking out a few possible promising-looking titles to search for once you get to the rental spot.
Be warned however, this is NOT a comprehensive movie guide, nor is it meant to be - there are some really blatant ommissions. But at the same time there is such an awesome wealth of classical knowledge combined with esoterica in here that one is virtually guaranteed a plethora of great and enlightening cinematic discoveries for years and years to come. This is GENUINE film scholarship compiled by true film buffs who clearly love and enjoy turning others onto good movies. I couldn't recomend it more!!

Fantastic, obscure, wildly entertaining...the only complaint i have is that not all the films in the store are reviewed in here...

I bought this book about two months ago and I've kept it close by ever since. It never claims to be a complete guide to every movie ever made (there are plenty of those around). Dip in on any page and you'll still be reading 20 minutes later. Frustrating? Sometimes. Opinionated? Quite often. It's all part of the fun! It's like walking into the world's greatest video store (go figure!)where you'll fall in love with some of the staff's recommendations and occasionally howl in anguish at some of them too. Pretty much like what happens when I talk movies with the other movie geeks at work! That's how this book should be taken, a bunch of people who really love movies (pretty good qualifications as far as I'm concerned) who want to let you know about a huge bunch of movies they like (or hate). I guarantee dozens of new discoveries that slipped by when reading the other guides. So by all means buy the "complete" guides (and see if you agree with all THEIR reviews) and get this one too. Read them often and above all watch movies!! Oh and by the way, Mimi Noyes ROCKS!

There is something comforting about having a big paperback volume of movie information at your fingertips whether it comes from Leonard Maltin, Roger Ebert or any number of video guides that line the movie book section of Borders. I used to pore through a tattered of Danny Peary's "A Guide for the Film Fanatic" last published in 1986 because I prefer a more eclectic viewpoint. This volume is a bold attempt at something unique based on what must be quite an impressive video emporium in Seattle, Scarecrow Video, which holds over 70,000 titles in a single store.

The book itself contains capsule reviews of nearly 4,000 of those films organized primarily by genre and category such as famous directors. It's a great concept but somewhat challenging to use if you are not prepared to absorb the whole of the book. While I like the idea of such an informed volume, the usability of the book feels compromised when you are relegated to the index for an alphabetical listing to look for a film of interest. As with any such movie guide, each entry includes the film's running time, director, a brief cast list, and usually a combination of a plot summary and an appraisal by one of the book's contributors. This brings up the book's other shortcoming, the lack of a singular perspective that Maltin, Ebert or even Peary provided in favor of an editorial staff of 67 reviewers. Consequently, there is a variable quality to the entries - some feel trivial and truncated, others reflect more meandering viewpoints.

On the upside, there are numerous essays on topics as diverse as anime, Roman Polanski's work, early film music and prolific sex filmmaker Joe Sarno. There are also fun lists such as "Most Depressing Movies" and "Movies You'd Have to Be Kind of an Asshole to Hate". There are even sections for sexploitation, TV series and gay cinema. In the right light and if you have more than a few minutes to kill, this guide can be quite fun, but beware if you are looking for a film to rent fast.

How my ratings work:
5 - I really liked/loved it
4 - I liked it
3 - Could've been better/worth a look
2 - Just didn't live up to the potential
1 - Simply awful

I bought this book about a year ago, maybe longer. It has a great list of films (though there are many they leave out). But there are many flaws to it. For one the orginization, such as the director's section that only has one film meantioned for certain directors. Then they put certain films in the wrong categories. The second opinion on a film gets annoying in ways because they don't really bring anything new. There are also plot summaries that they get completely wrong (like Highlander and Whatever It Takes). I'm sure they've seen the movies many times, but if I were to write a review that was going into a book I would most likely watch it as I write a review so I have it all fresh in my mind. There are better movie review books out there, but this one isn't bad for certain things such as more obscure films that you may not see in more mainstream review books. Overall it wouldn't be a bad book to have in your collection. I would still like to check out the video store itself one day.

This book is fun to pick through as a light read, but I would never consider it as my authoritative film guide. It's too loosely (and often confusingly) organized, and too many key films are missing. The employees of Scarecrow Video in Seattle have basically reviewed only what they wanted to review, and they've written in a very conversational style. This makes for some entertaining entries, especially in those cases where they've published two reviews that completely disagree with one another. However, I'd go with Halliwell or Golden Movie Retriever for a comprehensive reference on movies. Those guides are more complete and easier to use.

I really wanted to like this book,but was unfortunately disappointed by it. The layout of reviews makes it very difficult to find the reviews that you want. Then once you find them, nearly every movie receive a positive review! The few movies that are negatively reviewed are immediately followed by an opposing positive review. So apparently every movie is great! In addition to these problems, the book also includes television shows?! - Still, for the Amazon price it might be worth a brief look...But mine went into the trash can shortly after I bought it.

I have to say that the reviews are witty and a good read but trying to figure out where the minds behind this book have put anything is difficult and make this a useless reference tool.

In order to find any movie you're best to turn to the index since the arrangement of the films is seemingy random. The most annoying example is the first 300 or so pages called "The Directors" where many films are listed by their directors. This would be nice if you knew the director but more often than not you don't so its a bad way of finding anything. Worse not all of a directors films are listed in the section or even in the book. Some are given only one film. One film? Why does that make them a great director? Why is say Denys Arcand's Jesus of Montreal the only film listed here while he's directed several other great films as well? (and who would think to look for Jesus under A?

Films in the other sections don't end up where you think they should. For example not all documentaries are in the documentary section. The two Paradise Lost films on the killings of three boys in West Memphis are in the "Murder, Mystery, Suspense" section between Our Man Flint and Phone Booth. The films of Neil Simon like Seems Like Old Times are listed under "Performance, Literature and the Arts". I like the film, but it belongs in comedy.

I could go on and talk about factual errors like Samurai Fiction not being listed as a Japanese film, but I won't. Nor will I ponder about why some films were included while others were not.

Its all well written but too hard to use as anything other than a book to randomly read reviews from. I wouldn't care except that this is suppose to be a film guide and its not very useful as that.

Pick this up if you want interesting personal reviews for casual reading but do not pick this up if you want a real reference guide, because its not.

This conversation-starting guide assumes the reader is passionate about movie-going and fascinated by the relationships between films. If you're an adventuresome movie buff who wants to discover brilliant or thought-provoking films in an organic way, as you might make connections while talking with a friend or a knowledgeable clerk at Seattle's Scarecrow Video, this book can help. If, on the other hand, you have no idea what an auteur is and frequent Blockbuster or Red Box, the guide will probably strike you as needlessly obscure and preposterously elitist.

Full of opinionated short reviews written by roughly 50 Scarecrow employees and customers, some of whom care more about the art of cinema than about good writing, it does not pretend to be definitive or comprehensive. Indeed, since the store stocks more than 100,000 titles, many of them rare, out of print, or never available on DVD, tens of thousands of worthy films had to be omitted. It's never been updated, and there are no ratings of any kind, so if you're hoping to find recent releases or one to five stars at each entry, look elsewhere.

Most of the videos profiled are either excellent or intriguing, but the authors occasionally recommend unmitigated dreck or praise arcane tripe that exists solely to shock. They can be, as the blurb on the back cover states, "laughable, important, fluffy, gory, illuminating, so-bad-it's-good videos." It goes without saying that a reviewer's tastes will not always match yours, so you need to be discerning when choosing from among nearly 4,000 titles spread over 800 pages. And note that a number of middlebrow blockbusters are given no mention whatsoever; you won't find "Terms of Endearment" here.

There are standard categories, of course, like action/adventure, comedy, drama, documentaries, foreign film, kids' movies, and mystery/suspense, but the book is most interesting and useful when focusing on less-common classifications: great directors, gay cinema, anime, sexploitation, silent film, and something called "psychotronic" (a mix of horror, sci-fi, and fantasy). Each chapter has a theme and is prefaced by a brief explanation of the editors' criteria.

I must criticize the chapters on music videos and literary adaptations as rather skimpy. Moreover, some of the reviewers clearly aren't very well read. (If you're writing about Michael Winterbottom's "Jude," for instance, it pays to know something about the novels of Thomas Hardy; "everything just gets weird and complicated and downright sad" does not qualify as insight).

The guide is fully indexed by director and movie, but not by actor (except for 100 Scarecrow faves). There are sidebars with about 50 concise introductions to particular directors, half renowned, half little known, as well as cinematic subcultures both popular (screwball comedy, film noir) and emphatically offbeat (Chinese vampires, Blaxsploitation).

Lots of clever lists pepper the book: directors who should have larger followings, movies we like from directors we usually hate, worst movies by favorite directors, movies that didn't seem that great until we saw them more than once, movies we like that most people hate, etc. And there are plenty of "best" or "favorite" film lists: war, antiwar, comic book, food, postapocalyptic, remakes, animal stars, giant monsters, funniest, most depressing, scariest, sexiest, and so on.

You can pick up a used copy of "The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide" for next to nothing. Give it a try!