Variety Movie Guide - Softcover

Derek Elley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0600587053 ISBN 13: 9780600587057

Publisher: Focal Press, 1995

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Containing over 8000 film reviews, over a 1000 of them new to this edition. This updated version of the classic film guide draws on material from "Variety" magazine, noted for the impartiality and detail of its reviews, and includes films not yet released in this country, a large number of the best foreign films, and classic films dating from as long ago as 1914. It also has information about the availability of films on video and laserdisc, information about cast lists, production teams and points of special interest for each film listed. It also contains an index of directors.

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Review

With 8,600 entries, the Variety Movie Guide 1999 is not as comprehensive as standard references like Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide, Halliwell's Film & Video Guide, and VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever. But as of March, 1999, it is the most up-to-date guide on the market, reviewing movies up through the winter of 1998. And the detail of each listing makes up for what the guide lacks in breadth. Editor Derek Elley not only provides the running time, country of origin, principal cast, and director for each entry but also the producer, screenwriter, photographer, and other significant credits, as well as its availability on tape, laserdisc, or DVD. Rather than settle for the mere capsule review, Elley appends several paragraphs of prose to each title--summaries of articles that originally appeared in Variety.

The tone of the volume is buoyant and slangy, faithfully reproducing the slick terms for which the magazine is famous. If you don't know what "hoofology" is, if you wouldn't know a "shutterbug," a "megger," or a "yahoo" if you tripped over him, Elley provides a glossary of every zaftig phrase in the book. Though it shows signs of being rushed hastily through the press, the guide is a worthy friend to movie lovers, particularly if you are interested in mainstream films. You will find detailed commentary on independent, low budget, and foreign pics, but the tastes of the directory are geared primarily toward blockbusters and crowd pleasers. --Raphael Efrem Shargel

About the Author

Derek Elley has written for and edited a wide variety of film publications in the past twenty years, as well as arranging programs for London's National Film Theatre and advising for international festivals. His books include The Epic Film: Myth and History (1984) and Chronicle of the Movies (Ed. 1991). He currently works as a Senior Film Critic for Variety.

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