DVD & Video Guide 2004 (DVD & Video Guide (Quality Paper)) [Paperback]

Mick Martin (Author), Marsha Porter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 26, 2003 | Series: DVD & Video Guide (Quality Paper)

Wondering what video to rent tonight? This bestselling, fact-packed guide is the only sourcebook you and your family will ever need. Mick Martin and Marsha Porter steer you toward the winners and warn you about the losers. DVD & Video Guide 2004 covers it all—more films than any other guide, plus your favorite serials, B-Westerns, made-for-TV movies, and old television programs! Each entry, conveniently alphabetized for easy access, includes a summary, fresh commentary, the director, major cast members, the year of release, and the MPAA rating, plus a reliable Martin and Porter rating— from Five Stars to Turkey—so you’ll never get caught with a clunker again!

THE BEST IN THE FIELD FOR 19 YEARS!
Including
• BRAND-NEW DVD LISTINGS
• DIRECTOR AND STAR INDEXES
• COMPLETE ACADEMY AWARD LISTINGS
• WHERE TO BUY THOSE HARD-TO-FIND VIDEOS


“THE BEST.”
—People


“THE BEST ALL-AROUND VOLUME.”
—Newsday

Mick Martin, a lifelong film fan, has been reviewing movies professionally for thirty-one years in all forms of media. He worked for The Sacramento Union from 1976 until its demise in 1993. His other passion is blues music, which has resulted in ongoing tours of Europe and twelve CDs with his band, Mick Martin and the Blues Rockers. Their latest releases are In One Ear and Blues Rock, USA.

Marsha Porter, author of numerous short stories, articles, and a teacher’s handbook, holds a master’s degree in educational administration. She’s taught a foreign-films class and written a monthly column. Currently, she does freelance writing and editing and teaches English.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“THE BEST.”
—People


“THE BEST ALL-AROUND VOLUME.”
—Newsday

From the Inside Flap

Wondering what video to rent tonight? This bestselling, fact-packed guide is the only sourcebook you and your family will ever need. Mick Martin and Marsha Porter steer you toward the winners and warn you about the losers. DVD & Video Guide 2004 covers it all?more films than any other guide, plus your favorite serials, B-Westerns, made-for-TV movies, and old television programs! Each entry, conveniently alphabetized for easy access, includes a summary, fresh commentary, the director, major cast members, the year of release, and the MPAA rating, plus a reliable Martin and Porter rating? from Five Stars to Turkey?so you?ll never get caught with a clunker again!

THE BEST IN THE FIELD FOR 19 YEARS!
Including
? BRAND-NEW DVD LISTINGS
? DIRECTOR AND STAR INDEXES
? COMPLETE ACADEMY AWARD LISTINGS
? WHERE TO BUY THOSE HARD-TO-FIND VIDEOS


?THE BEST.?
?People


?THE BEST ALL-AROUND VOLUME.?
?Newsday

Mick Martin, a lifelong film fan, has been reviewing movies professionally for thirty-one years in all forms of media. He worked for The Sacramento Union from 1976 until its demise in 1993. His other passion is blues music, which has resulted in ongoing tours of Europe and twelve CDs with his band, Mick Martin and the Blues Rockers. Their latest releases are In One Ear and Blues Rock, USA.

Marsha Porter, author of numerous short stories, articles, and a teacher?s handbook, holds a master?s degree in educational administration. She?s taught a foreign-films class and written a monthly column. Currently, she does freelance writing and editing and teaches English.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 1632 pages
• Publisher: Ballantine Books; Revised edition (August 26, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0345449940
• ISBN-13: 978-0345449948
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.2 x 2.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,511,822 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best, complete, honest, no nonsense movie guide around, May 11, 2004

By 

Lynos - See all my reviews

This review is from: DVD & Video Guide 2004 (Video and DVD Guide) (Mass Market Paperback)

Ten years ago, long before Istarted surfing the web, I purchased my first ever copy of what was then called VMG. As I was passionate about movies (and still am), I read every single review there was in the book, and in the end it looked as tattered as hell. I still have my first copy, it's yellow-brownish and torn, and for me symbolizes my great love for this book and for movies.

I've leafed through Maltin's guide quite a few times, and the "video and dvd movie guide" is hands down the best there is. Here's why:
Five stars to turkey, a rating system flexible enough for nuiances, and there are also the 1/2 ratings, i.e ***1/2. This allows for great accuracy in reviews, as opposed to the broad strokes which a four star rating sometimes uses.

The book is very easy to read, the title is highlighted, the stars are bold and clear (unlike in Maltin's). Not to mention the Turkey!

The fabulous cast and director indexes. Today, at the Internet age, you can log on to imdb.com and find complete filmographies, but in the past those indexes taught me a great deal about cast and directors body of work. And it still does. Sometimes I don't feel like opening the computer to find something.

This is a no nonsense guide. It's totally unpretentious, it usually shows a movie true worth, without over analizing, without apologies. It is impossible to agree with everything in the book, yet I've seen hundreds of films which appear in this guide, and as far as I'm concerned, it stands at about 90 percent hit, 10 percent miss.

So, ten years later, I'm still buying the new editions of this book. It was and still is a great tool for me, and it taught me a great deal about movies.

People Magazine was right. This is THE BEST.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy manageable size. Reviews are very small., December 1, 2003

By 

OverTheMoon ([e-mail]) - See all my reviews

This review is from: DVD & Video Guide 2004 (Video and DVD Guide) (Mass Market Paperback)

I also own a stack of other film encyclopedias but for weight and manageability this is the best of the lot. The book is around 2 inches thick - but is the size of a novel and you can hold it in one hand. It is a full resource (with over 18,000 titles!), easy to carry around and has a full listing of directors and cast at the back along with Oscar winners. Overall the reviews are not very good and they are limited to just four of five lines at best. I mostly do not use it for the reviews though. It is more of a "find a director or star that you like and quickly flick through the index and the corresponding works to see what else they have done". For that it is very impressive but if you are looking for in-depth reviews then you should go elsewhere for the more unmanageable volumes and Arnold Schwarzenner to help carry them around for you.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great guide to DVDs and videos, October 7, 2003

By 

Geri (Syosset, NY USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: DVD & Video Guide 2004 (Video and DVD Guide) (Mass Market Paperback)

We've been using Martin & Porter's guides for about 5 years now. We keep buying it each year because it is so excellent. The reviews are insightful and the various indices (such as Directors Index and Actors Index), as other reviewers have noted, are both useful and enjoyable. We use this guide to help us determine what films to buy and it has given us great guidance to some terrific movies. Highly recommended.