- Hardcover: 360 pages
- Publisher: Guinness World Records Limited; the ultimate guide to the best films ever... edition (9 Oct 1998)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0851120733
- ISBN-13: 978-0851120737
- Product Dimensions: 29.7 x 22.1 x 3.3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 402,594 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
Guinness breaks into the film reference market with the launch of its Book of Film, which promises to be both an informative and entertaining guide to the world of film. Without the established authority of Halliwell's Film and Video Guide or the Macmillan International Film Encyclopedia, but with classier presentation and more extensive information on a lesser number of films, the Guinness Book of Film succeeds because of its intended general audience. This ensures it is an engaging read that is user-friendly with a simple format, quick reference icons, and a colour-coded layout.
Uniquely structured in chronological order and beginning in 1927 with the first "talkie" (The Jazz Singer) the book journeys through each year of cinema to the end of 1998 and The Truman Show describing and reviewing what it considers to be the 1,000 greatest films, the criteria for which are popularity, critical acclaim, degree of influence, and whether the film broke any new ground. Glossily packaged with full colour photographs, including promotional posters and stills for many of the films, the book captures the eye as much as the mind and a surprising number of hours can be lost engrossed within its pages. Also featured are actor and actress profiles and an annual summary of Hollywood gossip and scandal, Oscar winners, and world news.
Any "greatest" book is ultimately subjective but providing it is intelligently argued with some objectivity, as this is, then most judgements will be sound. Therefore the majority of films featured will not be disputed. However, the book could benefit from more contrary opinion and a greater recognition of World cinema. There are also some notable flaws, for example, Godzilla, a box office and critical failure, is bizarrely listed as the 1998 "Guinness Choice of the Year", leading one to wonder if perhaps the entry was written before the film's release.
By concentrating on the films themselves as examples the book illustrates the history of modern cinema (post-1927) in a fascinating way. Whether for a nostalgic trip or as an enlightening experience, the Guinness Book of Film is highly enjoyable and thoroughly recommended. For film fans of any age. --Robert Brookes
Product Description
Beginning with the first "talkie", "The Jazz Singer" (1927), this book covers the 1000 best movies of this century. Each film is defined by a series of quick reference icons, with star profiles for each year featuring best actor and actress, birth and, where appropriate, death dates; brief filmography, scandal and gossip, and photography. "Guinness Choice" defines the best movie for each year, with a feature-length review. A window-on-the-world image defines the global event of the year, including political, sports, science and popular culture events together with the main Oscar awards. A guide to films on television and video is also included.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
THIS BOOK LOOKS BACK OVER THE LAST 70 YEARS OF FILM AND HIGHLIGHTS SOME OF THE CLASSIC MOVIES LIKE JAWS, GHOSTBUSTERS ETC. IT LISTS POPULAR FILMS BY DIFFERENT ACTORS SO THAT YOU CAN LOOK UP LESS KNOWN FILMS AND GIVES INFORMATION ABOUT 100S OF ACTORS AND ACTRESSES. IT IS A REALLY GREAT BOOK AND I RECOMEND IT HIGHLY.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
7 reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Decent until the 90s, then totally flies off the handle
14 Aug 2007
Format:Hardcover
In a review for another book (1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die) I wrote "I will not waste your time by expressing outrage over titles that should or should not have been included. Everyone has their own opinion and finding out what is and isn't written about is part of the fun." While I still feel that this sentiment is a wise one, I have to break it for this book because some of their choices are objectively ridiculous. Now, as the title of this review implies, by and large the book is pretty good. The factoids are interesting, as are the tidbits about films that never ended up being made. The reviews leave something to be desired, as the majority of them have little room for anything beyond plot summary, but they write one large review per year and the selections are largely good ones. But then the 90s happen and everything begins to tumble. Home Alone is apparently worthy of movie of year for 1990, Hook and Judge Dredd actually get articles written about them, as do The Cable Guy and the live action 101 Dalmations. Alien Resurrection gets an article, the Spice Girls are described as "naturals under the camera" in SpiceWorld, "one of the best pop films since A Hard Day's Night." As if that weren't bad enough, Godzilla is chosen as the *movie of the year* for 1998. Other dubious inclusions from the year include Armageddon, Scream 2, The Avengers, and Lost in Space. Obviously other people presumably have different opinions than I do, but do we really wish to extoll the virtues of The Avengers (currently sporting a 3.3 rating on IMDB) while omitting American History X, Shakespeare in Love, and other worthy picks? In what universe does Godzilla deserve twice as many words as Saving Private Ryan? Maybe the fact that the book was penned in 1999 left the writers with no perspective for the 90s, because something weird happened and it marrs the conclusion of the book.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Ever gone to rent a movie and wondered what to rent?
14 Nov 2002
Format:Hardcover
If so, this book will solve your problem pronto. It just might be the best general guide to movies I have ever seen. I doesn't cover EVERY movie ever made like some review books do, but it covers the cream of the crop for every year from 1927 to 1998. Granted, some of the more recent reviews are a little questionable, and some gems might have been missed (they can't please everyone). But overall this movie is a great way to find a movie that you might like to rent or buy that you have overlooked.
The descriptions are short, but give a good general idea what to expect. As another reviewer mentioned, movie MPAA ratings are missing, which is a minor inconvenience to the family oriented or morally selective. Finally, this movie book contains some REALLY cool pictures from classic movies, some of which you won't find in the actual movie because of the aspect ratio. So there you have it, my favorite movie book, and a bargain at any price.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
good book!
23 Dec 1999
Format:Hardcover
I think this book is very good but i also have a reason for not giving it the full five stars and that is that the book did not have the ratings for each movie and i think they should well,because i'm 11 and a lot of the movies sound good but they could be R or NC-17.
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