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What a fun read for the film lover! This book is another in the Big Ideas Simply Explained series and it provides information and anecdotes about film, starting with A Trip To The Moon (1902) by Georges Mélies through We're All Just Winging It (2014) by Richard Linklater. It covers all genres and all countries that produced quality films during this time. There are some surprises as far as what the editors consider great films but after reading each synopsis and critique, it becomes clear why th...
A great reference!From the first movie to today's films, this book has it all! There were some movies I had not seen or even heard of before. I plan on going through the book and trying to watch as many as I can.The movies I have seen were referenced well in this book. Most of the greats were in here, and were very thorough with the information they gave regarding the film. From the story behind it, to who did what, and even notes on what happened in and around that time accompany some great pho...
The best feature of a book like this is that you can read a portion, set it down, return a month later and you will not have missed a thing. This offering is nicely laid out by the contributors and it is assumed that they must have had to come to some kind of agreement before deciding on whether or not they should add a film to the book. The movies are assorted by era with each chapter containing the best movies from that period and giving each a review. Some reviews are longer than others but f...
The Movie Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained by Danny Leigh, Louis Baxter and John Farndon, a DK book10 out of 10Gratitude is one of the ingredients of happiness and we could be grateful for such a mesmerizing book on account of its intrinsic value, but more importantly, because it opens the Magic World of the Cinema, inviting readers to learn so much about various classic motion pictures – many of them are recent – often appealing aspects from the making of masterpieces, such as Ragging Bull, for...
258 - 2018No comic book movies... #sigh
I want to say that this rating does not reflect the book itself, what it reflects, in my humble opinion are the choices of films. I thought the fact that there were alot of films from outside the US was wonderful, it showed a wonderful diversity and creativity in filmmaking, though I will say there was I believe only 1 African film, and only a few Asian entries. However, what I felt was lacking, considering the description of the book, were films from the Star Wars franchise (there was only one)...
There are 115 movies in this book. Of these movies 100 are either American or European. Half of the Asian movies are Japanese and the authors of the books seem to have forgotten that South American cinema outside of Brazil exists. But at least they managed to find one(!) African movie, even though that one is an french co-production, but hey they tried. But seriously it's not a great book unless you're new to cinema/classic movies. Most of the movies are well known even though there are some odd...
The title of this book tells us clearly that this is about movies with Big Ideas. (It is not an attempt to list the best films ever, thankfully, as that has been done way too many times and is of course overly subjective.) Much of what is here isn't new to me. However, some Big Ideas were new to me: "Dr. Strangelove is a political satire, but it's also a sex comedy about the erotic relationship been men and war-the "strange love" of the title." What?! Well, now I want to watch that one again. Th...
An interesting book on the history of movies. Referencing 100 films starting in 1888, the authors discuss each one with short anecdotes on how it has impacted the evolution of film making over time, the actors, directors and writers involved, and some behind the scenes unfolding. I learnt a lot and found this an enjoyable read.
Well, the best part first.This is an excellent reference book for movie lovers. For last few months,I've been going through a serious crisis phase because of non availability of any recommendations for good movies.For me, this book has come in for a timely rescue.Now, I have my hands full with a large number of movies to watch. Each page of this book is adorned with classy photographs from the world of cinema and that's what makes the book look so elegant. Although, this book contains a bit of w...
This is a great book for film buffs like myself. It breaksdown many influencial films creatively, and the graphs show the industry changing ideas simply and nicely, with some very helpful parts. The films chosen can sometimes be a bit too little known arty for me - if Inception or a similar type of film had been in it, it would have been a lot better - but it's still a great read and worth your time. If you love films, buy it, and if you don't, get it as a gift for someone who does!
An encyclopedic approach for the world’s best movies! A great reference book for the movie lovers. The Movie Book chronicles more than 100 of the best films ever made - from comedies and dramas, to animations, documentaries, and brings cinema to life. It discovers everything we want to know about our favorite films. Full of passionate and informative descriptions about the films and their directors.
Fascinating look at the top 100 (ish) movies over the last century (ish). The sheer amount of information was mind-boggling. It was so nice to put into context all of the titles and names I had heard before but had never seen. I feel way more comfortable to talk about these influential films and artists. LOVED IT.
I enjoyed this book much more tan the big science book. I guess it's because the subject matter wasn't so complex and you could breeze through it without having to know each individual movie so for once I thought that this type of format worked perfectly. In fact, I found myself really wanting to watch the movies that I hadn't watched yet. I was particularly proud towards the beginning of the book when I knew or had watched the really old movies from the first half of the 20th century. But an ev...
2.5/5This book would be a five stars for you if you’re looking for a book to give you movie-recommendations. Although I sure will use it to at least watch 5 movies (since it’s written by a movie-journalist above all) the only reason I intended to read it is because I am bewildered by the movie industry and the way they produce films and all that effects and stuff.The book gives great insight about the start of the movie industry and the culture. But then after about 1930+ it’s only a guide for f...
A Movie Lover’s Guide to Great MoviesI’ve seen a great many of the movies in this book which reminds me of the movies I want to see again. The plot summaries are excellent and I will endeavor to see some of the movies I haven’t seen. On the other hand, there are movies I won’t waste my time or money to see. A great movie reference book that should be in every movie lover’s library.
This nonfiction book is terrific if you want to indulge yourself with endless facts and background knowledge of movies. It touches on the best 100 movies ( in Doring Kindersley's opinion). The book dances through time, talking about films from the 1900s, to black and white films, and to some iconic films of a couple years ago. My personal favorite section of the book was about, "The Wizard of Oz". After seeing the Broadway musical of Wicked I became rather amazed by the origin of the book and re...
It reads like a reference book simply because it IS a reference book. It is by no means a full and complete list of every single film that changed cinema, but it is pretty darn close. I highly recommend the audio version. The narrator gives it his all. Peter Guinness adds a little something to the narration which brings out the passion of author Danny Leigh. From beginning to end, it makes some of the greatest movies we all know better while also bringing to mind some films you may not have hear...
3.5-4 starsI didn't know which way this one would go. The book itself is documentary dry, but it is well narrated and the history of the movie industry was actually pretty fascinating. I especially got caught up thinking about what it must've been like for those first theater goers. Moving pictures must've been damn near witchcraft. Mention is made of viewers fleeing the theater because of a shot of a train barreling towards the camera. The book added a couple movies to my to-watch list.I have a...
A great and inspirational read for a cinema fan. This book sheds light not only on the movies themselves, but also on the context of their making, successors and predecessors and biographies of the people involved into production. Carefully chosen frames from the movies allow the reader to actually see the way film fells before even watching it and clear and apprehensible info-graphics allow for an easy and intuitive understanding of its story and connections between characters. Selection of the...