The Off-Hollywood Film Guide: The Definitive Guide to Independent and Foreign Films on Video and DVD (Paperback)

by Tom Wiener (Author) "C: Sandrine Bonnaire, Dominique Besnehard, Maurice Pialat that an actress like Sandrine Bonnaire, with her impressive filmography, is almost totally unknown in this country is..." (more)
Key Phrases: restoration demonstration, audio commentary, audio essay, Drama Dir, Comedy Dir, New York Film Critics Circle (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"[T]he movies that I love most are the ones that offer something unexpected, something a few feet (or maybe a mile or two) off the beaten track," says film writer Wiener. His book, a compendium of over 650 foreign and independent films, praises "less-than-famous men and women filmmakers" from the 1960s through the present time. With a massive listing of films from the French C‚sar Award-winning A Nos Amours to the 44-minute-long Zero for Conduct, Wiener offers key facts and about a paragraph of background information for each entry. A section on subgenres and indexes of directors, actors and countries round out this authoritative reference.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Since Wiener has 25 years' experience in film commentary, his judgment as to what constitutes an important or "essential" movie for an independent and/or foreign film buff's home collection is worth noting. Here he annotates over 650 of the best foreign and independently produced films from the silent era through 2001, noting year and country of release, principal cast, director, MPAA rating, type of film (e.g., documentary, fantasy), and DVD features; of special interest is a "double feature" suggestion, followed by an often amusing one-paragraph critique. An appendix breaks out films by subgenres, and director, actor, and country indexes also facilitate access. Wiener's suggestions are excellent, and the "double feature" choices (e.g., My Night at Maud's coupled with The Tao of Steve) are always dead-on and sometimes provocative. Many of these titles will be familiar to anyone who pays attention to film hits such as The Piano and The Remains of the Day are featured but even those who consider themselves film buffs will be pleased to discover films like I Know Where I'm Going! and Memories of Underdevelopment. As a core title list for libraries and individuals, Wiener's new work ranks near the top, replacing Richard Skorman's Off-Hollywood Movies and supplementing the Time Out Film Guide 2002 and Monica Sullivan's Videohound's Independent Film Guide (1999, 2d ed.). Essential for all film libraries. Anthony J. Adam, Prairie View A&M Univ. Lib., TX
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 560 pages
• Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks; 1st Trade edition (August 13, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812992075
• ISBN-13: 978-0812992076
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #771,047 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars every film buff needs this unusually spot-on book, September 10, 2008

By	Adie Mahony (denville, nj) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

interesting and informative as well as downright entertaining-cover to cover; worth every penny as a films resource and a great catalogue to use in choosing classic, off-market , art and indie films to rent for home viewing.