Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

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Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by markfp »

Great literature it may not be, but being a book I thought it would fit in here. For those of you who, like me, depend upon CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE here's some good news. In his introduction to the 2010 edition of his other MOVIE GUIDE, Leonard mentioned how difficult it's become to cram any more titles into that one. He goes on to say that an updated edition of CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE will be published in the spring of 2010. When the first one came out in 2005, he said his plans were to update every five years so he's keeping to that.

Thank you Leonard, my copy is so worn out that I was thinking of getting another, but now I'll hang in there until the bigger and better one comes out in the spring.
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by movieman1957 »

I have about 4 of these books. Only one by him but the oldest goes back to 1988. Now I suspected the same thing in that you can only get so many titles in one of those. I figured they can't all be in everyone so it has been helpful to find something in one of them. The downside is the print seems to have become much smaller in each newer version. A lot smaller.
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by markfp »

The first edition of CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE contains films up to 1960. I'm guessing with the new edition he'll increase that to 1965 or 1970 to take some of the load off the other book.
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by movieman »

Hi!

I bought his regular Signet edition 2006 Movie Guide. Much to my disappointment I discovered he had removed a lot of the classic titles from the book.

I then read reviews of the books on amazon.com. I found that I'd have to buy the 2001 Movie & Video Guide to get the most complete edition regarding classic movies.
This, earlier, book has "More than 20,000 entries, including 300+ new entries". The 2006 one only has "More than 16,000 entries, including 300+ new entries".
So, I bought a copy of the Plume print which is bigger in size with bigger letters. I'm very happy with that one! The pages are starting to fall out, though...

I might consider buying the new CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE if it contains classics not mentioned in the book I have + includes titles up to 1970.

Even B
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by moira finnie »

I have a copy of Maltin and his editor's Movie Guide from 1985. It is held together with duct tape on the cover and is still a great reference, though I should probably break down and buy a new one. Has anyone purchased the book, Leonard Maltin's Movie Crazy (M Press, 2008), which is a collection of some fine pieces from his subscription only newsletter?

It is really a delight to open any page and read about everything from publicity trains during the studio era to a remarkably frank conversation with actor Robert Young to profiles of cinematographers Richard Kline and Joseph Biroc. In a nutshell, it's wonderful and I can't recommend it more highly for information and entertainment for serious and casual movie fans.
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by TalkieTime »

Leonard Maltin's original "everything" guides carry the title Leonard Maltin's (year) Movie & Video Guide. I have the 1996 and 2001 standard editions that have small print. The 2001 edition has lighter ink, very hard to read without reading glasses. The 1996 edition has darker print. Both editions include pre-1960 movies. More recent editions have only a sampling of "classic" movies.

Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide (2005) covers movies only through 1960, a good place to separate "classic" movies from whatever it is that came later. The Classic Movie Guide, with more than 9,000 movies, is the most complete classic movie guide, an essential resource for TCM viewers. The Classic Movie Guide has larger print than the Movie & Video Guide.

Leonard Maltin's book covering short subjects, The Great Movie Shorts (hardback version) and Selected Short Subjects (paperback version), is another essential resource for TCM viewers.
"A rose by any other name will smell as sweet. But it does not follow that whatever we choose to call a rose will possess the rose's fragrance." --Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1917)
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by feaito »

I have many editions of his TV Movie Guides and the 2005 issue of his Classic Movie Guide, which is the best of all his Guides -due to my greatest interest in Classics Pre-1960-, but, are there any other TV Movie Guides in the States besides Maltin's? I seem to recall having seen a similar Guide by Rogert Ebert...Am I wrong?

I began buying Leonard Maltin's Guides back in the mid 1980s and they have been a treasure trove for me, especially before internet and http://www.us.imdb.com, http://www.allmovie.com et al ever existed. But I have to admit that nowadays, the TV Guide I treasure the most -due to the fact that his tastes and opinions match more mine- is the British TV Guide authored by the great Steven H. Scheuer, Movies on TV, which was -apparently- last issued in 1993-1994. I have that one really worn!
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by movieman1957 »

I have Scheuer's 1989-1990 guide. I keep it in my desk at work just in case.
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by feaito »

movieman1957 wrote:I have Scheuer's 1989-1990 guide. I keep it in my desk at work just in case.
I keep the Scheuer Guide together with the Maltin Guide in the drawer of my night table, for frequent consulting.
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I have the Radio Times film guide, it has 21,000 films listed, it's not great for silents and is a little patchy on World cinema. All in all, it's a well thumbed book.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by markfp »

What's the Radio Times Film Guide like? Short thumbnail listings or more detailed? I've never seen it in the stores here in the states. I do have the Time Out Film Guide which isn't bad. My only complaint is that the printing is pretty small and hard for me to read.
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by charliechaplinfan »

I chose it because it mostly agreed with me on my favorite films, I stood there in the store going through many of the different ones it had to offer before chosing this, it has been rated by many people so you don't just have one person's opinion and if that person doesn't like musicals you're not going to get good reviews. It is thumbnails and lists the actors and director, country genre and B&W or colour. In the reverse there are awards given to films over the years and full filmographies of actors/actresses and directors. A little lacking on silents but overall, it's been invaluable.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by markfp »

Thanks for the information. Since my interests are mostly for older films, I don't need to update each of them every year and since I have the 2009 Time Out, this year I'll get the 2010 Radio Times guide. In fact, I think I'll go over to amazon uk and check it out right now.
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by charliechaplinfan »

Hope you find as much interest with your copy as I've had with mine.
Failure is unimportant. It takes courage to make a fool of yourself - Charlie Chaplin
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Re: Leonard Maltin's CLASSIC MOVIE GUIDE

Post by srowley75 »

The only book of this sort that I treasure is Danny Peary's OOP Guide for the Film Fanatic, which I always recommend because of Peary's refusal to incorporate any kind of silly star rating system. He simply writes a response to the film in question and lets it be. As a result, this author of books about cult movies has something of a cult following himself. He's an entertaining writer with tremendous insight, and unlike most (Maltin included), he encourages an interest in all kinds of movies, even those by directors like Stephanie Rothman, Ed Wood and Herschell Gordon Lewis.
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