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Review
'I just wish I could be as concise, accurate, well balanced and full of love for the movies as Halliwell’s manages to be year after year.' Simon Bates, Classic FM, Christmas 2005
‘At the end of the day, Halliwell’s is top of the pile.’ Film Review
‘The King Kong of movie reference works.’ Mail on Sunday
‘The indispensable reference guide for the avid moviegoer’s bookshelf.’ Empire
‘Often imitated, never bettered.’ Guardian
Product Description
A major reworking of Halliwell's, the definitive brand in movie publishing, featuring the Editor's personal selection of 3,000 essential films – from the 1930s classics to the modern-day blockbusters. Includes over 350 new releases in the UK in the last year, plus stand-alone feature articles on new talent, film genres and movie news for 2008.
Long established as the first and last word in movie-going information, this new-look guide promises to be as cutting edge as it is wide-ranging. And as always, it’s a promise that Halliwell’s guarantees to deliver.
These are the movies that have created a benchmark – the 3,000 films that stand out through more than seven decades of movie making. From the black and white classics of the pre-War years, through the golden period of the seventies and eighties to the genre-breaking films of the 21st Century, these are the movies that matter.
This beautifully designed, perennially entertaining and indispensable guide includes plot synopses and evaluations, plus reader-friendly icons denoting films suitable for family viewing, Academy Award winners and nominees, and lists of best films by genre.
Brand new to Halliwell’s, editor David Gritten will introduce a series of features on topical issues, ranging from actor and actress profiles, the rise of the family movie and video-on-demand through to the glitz and glamour of film festivals, what’s hot in the current film industry and a look ahead to what the forthcoming cinematic year will bring.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Regular Halliwell's readers beware, the famous film guide has been pared to the bone. As the introduction states, the ever increasing size and weight of previous editions and the rise of the internet as an alternative for film reviews has led to radical changes, with the number of reviews in this edition only numbering approx 2,800 compared to over 24,000 in last year's.
So what has been kept? 350 of the past year's new releases, 2,000 from the last 20 years, and 500 notable films from pre-1988. Several films have been given new reviews, and although the format remains relatively unchanged, the drastic reduction has allowed for much bigger print size, making the book (with only half as many pages as last year and much lighter) easier on the eyes.
There have been a couple of editions, a top 10 films by genre list at the back and 10 well written essays on various film topics are scattered throughout the book, but whether this will make up for the deletion of almost 90% of film reviews is doubtful.
Halliwell's is still an essential purchase for any film buff, but it can no longer claim to be "the only film guide that matters." The drastic cuts made leave the Time Out Film Guide as probably the most comprehensive film guide currently on the market. Alternatively, movie connoisseurs may wish to purchase (or hang on to) last year's Halliwell's, it seems it may be the last of its kind.
So what has been kept? 350 of the past year's new releases, 2,000 from the last 20 years, and 500 notable films from pre-1988. Several films have been given new reviews, and although the format remains relatively unchanged, the drastic reduction has allowed for much bigger print size, making the book (with only half as many pages as last year and much lighter) easier on the eyes.
There have been a couple of editions, a top 10 films by genre list at the back and 10 well written essays on various film topics are scattered throughout the book, but whether this will make up for the deletion of almost 90% of film reviews is doubtful.
Halliwell's is still an essential purchase for any film buff, but it can no longer claim to be "the only film guide that matters." The drastic cuts made leave the Time Out Film Guide as probably the most comprehensive film guide currently on the market. Alternatively, movie connoisseurs may wish to purchase (or hang on to) last year's Halliwell's, it seems it may be the last of its kind.
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
'Halliwell's Film Guide' had been regarded as the bible of all film guides. It's author, Leslie Halliwell, was a very conservative film critic but he was often consistent with his criticism but his rather savage reviews of many modern films exposed his viewpoint as rather myopic. Leslie Halliwell would not have given any time to pretentious arthouse film makers like David Gretten has done in this shortened and slickly presented version. Gone are many of the films from yesteryear from what was the Golden Age of Cinema and a welcome has been given to the works of contemporary indie film makers such as Michael Haneke and Paul Thomas Anderson. The book has become less of a valuable guide and more of a collection of anecdotes from a Daily Telegraph arts critic whose entries can be a tad confusing, for example,'Ben-Hur' is referred to as a film classic but the movie ratings are rather low. 'From Russia With Love', possibly the best of the Bond films, receives only two stars now while the overrated arthouse flick 'The Piano Teacher' receives three stars (it originally had received none). For customers who argue that we should move on from the Halliwell style of reviewing should ask themselves then why his name is used in the title of the book? One point is certain that this edition is no longer the important film guide for genuine film enthusiasts.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Halliwell's (until recent editions) used to be the undisputed authoratitive, comprehensive and definitive guide to the movies. But unfortunately, under the new editorial regime, these attributes have successively been compromised at the expense of brevity. This latest edition has been scaled down to the point where it has effectively become useless. For example, many of the older 4 star films which remain historically significant have now been ommitted - a fundamental oversight that undermines the publisher's claims for the guide's greatness. There is, for instance, no longer any room for films of the stature of, amongst others, 'Being There', 'The Tin Drum' and 'The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith'. This latest edition is a travesty.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Desecration of a classic
This book was the death of the Halliwell's Film Guide Franchise. It is pompous, sketchy, and omits films which deserve attention and demand reappraisal. Read more
Published 8 months ago by C. A. Thomas
Some of the movies that matter and some that don't!
An American bias, but even some of my favourites, Vanishing Point, Two Lane Blacktop aren't there and rubbish like The Bucket List is? Read more
Published on 8 Jan 2010 by A Reader
This Book is an Insult to Leslie Halliwell
I thought this book would be something like the Halliwell's 1000, 3000 or so of the most important films in history or at least the ones the authors felt that should be viewed by... Read more
Published on 21 Oct 2009 by Daniel Oconnor
A book that no longer matters
Oh dear. This is awful to anyone who favoured Halliwell's in its original and updated form. It is hard to see that this pared down version could satisfy anyone but the most casual... Read more
Published on 20 Oct 2009 by dmart7
Pretentious and Biased
When i bought this, i was hoping for an accurate guide to which films are worth watching, and which to avoid. Sadly, what i found was a dated and biased mess. Read more
Published on 24 July 2009 by Lord K1tten
hope this isn't the only 2009 release of Halliwells
Perhaps this is just a quickly bashed together gift idea aimed at the discount bookstores, lets hope so, there are a lot of films that don't matter in here and quite a few good... Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2009 by Duncan Disorderly
Let's go to the Movies!
This was a Christmas present to one of the family and, we were told, is very much enjoyed - very comprehensive.
Published on 10 Feb 2009 by Mrs. Patricia A. M. Smith
Film Fanatic
This was a present for my younger son (though not so young) He was thrilled to receive it and couldn't wait to get stuck into it. Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2009 by Eric Beckett
Movies that matter
Excellent book that gives you hundreds of movies that really do matter, of course this is not an exhaustive work and there will be films that you think should be in there that are... Read more
Published on 7 Feb 2009 by Mr. P. Wind
Halliwell's - only some of The Movies That Matter
Halliwell's certainly was the only film guide that mattered, covering some 24,000 films and offering a star system that listed (in the 2008 edition) 298 four-star and 863... Read more
Published on 20 Dec 2008 by L. E. May
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