Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide 1989

by Leonard Maltin

With over 19,000 reviews, including more than 14,000 video entries and 13,000 DVD and laserdisc listings, this work, by the film critic of television's "Entertainment Tonight", aims to be one of the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0451156196
• ISBN13: 9780451156198
• Release Date: October 1988
• Publisher: Signet Book
• Length: 1232 Pages
• Weight: 1.15 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Still the Best

When I was a film student in 1969, there were three books which I kept close to my side, "American Cinema" by Andrew Sarris, Halliwell, and Maltin. Always picked a update every two or three years and in the last decade, the Internet Movie Data Base seemed to replace Sarris and Halliwell. This book is useful for a singular purpose-raw information: Title, cast, director, year and logline. It is up to the viewer to rate a film, I believe...and though I don't necessarily share Maltin's and his teams taste (I am constantly checking for a revision on "Alphaville" which is my personal touchstone in this case), this book was and continues to be an important reference for the general viewer and serious scholar.It was never intended to represent serious scholarship, nor does Maltin represent himself as the arbiteur of what is good. Occassionally, his team is able to be ahead of the pack on spotting little masterpieces. Quibble as you may with individual reviews, overall the entire body of work represents one of the most important efforts in cataloging the motion picture. It was and continues to be the one resource which MUST be had and used by any film lover. Period.

INDESPENSIBLE....

I have used this guide for over 20 yrs. I have to get a new one every year or I'm lost. I trust Maltin and his crew more than any other critic group. His guide is complete and comprehensive and has provided me with the most accurate information I could probably find. I prefer the large size and keep it like a Bible within easy reach at all times when I'm home. The use it has given me over the years is invaluable. It has guided me in my search for movies for so long that I could never get used to using anything else. I don't always agree with the reviews but then they wouldn't be doing their job, would they? For my money, Maltin is the best and I will continue to be a faithful follower as long as his guide keeps coming out. I personally recommend this guide above all others to anyone looking for a reliable and indespensible resource and reference book.

Solid, learned, and complete

I love Leonard Maltin's movie guide. I had a 1998 edition, which was probably one of the most thumbed books in my house, and finally rewarded myself to upgrading to the latest, 2003 version. What inevitably happens is this: I go to look up one film, and on the way, flicking through the pages, see another. That makes me think of a third which I then start to look for, but then I see a fourth... and before you know it, and hour has passed and I've completely forgotten which movie it was I was looking up in the first place. A very organic way of reading, and thoroughly, personally recommended as a way of passing the time waiting for your two-year old son to fall asleep! This is a terrific resource: Maltin and his team of editors have a huge knowledge of the history of cinema, and the small amount of text which is afforded to each entry (by necessity - there are something like 14,000 movies reviewed - is unfailingly to the point - curt, in many cases - and gives a very good flavour of the reviewer's view of the movie.The reviews, and star ratings, are very tough indeed, and in no sense does Maltin concede to public (or fashionable) opinion: if he doesn't like a film, no matter how well regarded it may be, he'll mark it down. Blade Runner, for example, gets just two stars our of four, while Memento, in my view a fantastic film and one which I've never heard a bad word said against, avoids the dreaded "BOMB" rating by just half a star. While often times you may not agree with this rating, you do have to respect Maltin's integrity.There are one or two items I would mention (although, as Maltin would say, why carp?) which probably add up to imperfections, but which don't rob the book of my five stars:In terms of its judgments, Maltin is guilty of the "They Don't Make Them Like They Used To" complex: there is a rather pompous introduction which says as much, and I have not been able to locate one film released since 1998 which has been awarded the full four stars. On the other hand, the top rating is liberally thrown about for films made in the forties or before: Adam's Rib: ever heard of that? Me neither. It may be true that there is a lot of commercial rubbish around now, but no more so than there ever was, and I think Maltin should be courageous enough to say at the time of release (rather than waiting for a film to pass the test of time) to pronounce a film a four star effort.In much the same vein, Maltin seems to be no great fan of comedy. Having looked through all the greatest comedy films I could think of, only two have been awarded four stars, and both of those by the Marx Brothers: Duck Soup and A Night At The Opera (oh, and Adam's Rib is a comedy too, apparently). I think there is some cinema snobbery going on here. Films should be judged according to their genre, and the fact that none of Zucker & Abrahams, Monty Python, the Coen Brothers, or Rob Reiner has had any of their comedies credited as four star movies is a little telling.A couple of

A must-have reference for movie buffs

You might not agree with all his reviews, but you'll certainly appreciate his learned opinion. I love having this book near my tv so I can quickly gauge which movie on cabel is worth my time. Once you get to know Leonard's style, you can gauge it to your own and then be able to tell what movie you'll like based on what he says.My friends love it too. Now when we're watching a movie, one of them will inevitably ask "What did Leonard say?" and we'll go look it up. I also love the adjectives he uses to describe movies like "stupefyingly unwatchable" and "So mesmerizingly awful it actually improves (so to speak) with each viewing."My only criticism is actually with the book's format. The mass market edition is so thick and the type is so small, it's not as much fun to read. If available, I would recommend the larger format. Unless you're going to cart it around every day! Then you might want the smaller book.

FOR 25 YEARS

I've been a regular buyer of MALTIN's book for many years.I usually buy it after my old copy wears out.I remember when LEONARD's only competitor was STEVEN SCHEUER who also had an annual guide.Nowadays,books of this type are legion.It is hard to put on the market a book like this for many reasons:taste is such a personnal thing;everyone's opinion can match a film critics most of the time.I admire MALTIN for persisting every year with a new édition.You may contest some of his reviews,but this guy sincerly love movies and wants you to do the same if possible.Imagine the time you save by skipping the bad movies.Thanks LEONARD.Keep on coming back to us and don't forget the FRENCH movies.