1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die Hardcover – January 1, 2008

I have been a movie lover since I was a little kid. I used to go to movies alone in Chicago when I was 11 years old. At that time the theaters would show two movies and numerous cartoons. Now you see one movie and twenty minutes of previews of coming attractions now known as trailers. When I saw this book (1001 Movies you must see before you die by Steven Jay Schneider and updated by Jan Haydn Smith) on Amazon for a bargain price I immediately purchased it.This giant 960 page hardcover book is amazing and this short review cannot do it justice. This highly informative and enjoyable to read book is a movie lover’s dream. Even though this is the kind of book you can open to any page and enjoy the book; however, I have always been the type of book reader who always begins reading a book from the front first page to the last. Further I also always read the preface and introduction parts of the book.This fantastic book is organized by year. There is a film index and checklist in the beginning portion of this volume. Movies that came out from 1900 up to 2011 are covered in this book. Each page gives a brief overview of the movie and why it is a must see film. There are so many great films in this collection that it would be impossible to list all of them. I was surprised at how many I had already seen. There were even a few of the silent films that I had seen in the past being a lifelong movie buff. One of the things I was surprised at was out of 1001 must see movies; Cyrano De Bererac starring Jose Ferrer was not mentioned. I know there were many movie versions over the years, but the 1930 film is certainly a classic. I am also disappointed that the movie “The Adventures of Don Juan” starring Errol Flynn in 1948 was also not on this must see movie list.Once I began reading this book, it was hard to put down. I had already read half of this volume before I had to rest. If you are a movie buff you should check out this giant book. I am sure it is probably updated every few years. This one only goes up to movies made in 2011; nevertheless, it is still a fantastic read.Rating: 5 Stars. Joseph J. Truncale (Author: The Samurai Soul: An old warrior’s poetic tribute).

I have been a film lover for 40 years. Five years ago, when I was in a position to begin collecting films, I built a wish list of four-star titles using the late, lamented software program Cinemania, which contains reviews of 30,000 films. That list has since grown to more than 1,500 titles, of which I have more than 1,000 in my collection. I also have a decent library of books about film.This book is simply the best collection of concise, informative reviews of quality titles that I have seen to date. I could quibble with some of the inclusions and omissions, but by and large, the book, along with Roger Ebert's Great Movies series, is an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to explore the riches of a century of film.One of the book's greatest values is the fact that it includes films that are rarely shown in the United States and that I had not heard of before. Thus it has helped me to broaden my horizon. I believe that the reason for the inclusion of these unfamiliar titles is that the contributors come from many different countries, as well as from cities such as London and Paris where film is taken more seriously than in most of the United States. Simply put, they get to see titles that we don't, and vice versa.Other reviewers have pointed out some errors in the sidebar information that accompanies each review. This information includes cast, credits, and awards. These errors are unfortunate, but in a work of this scope, they are bound to happen. Accurate information for the more obscure titles is next to impossible to come by, particularly if they are in a foreign language. In the case of DVDs and VHS cassettes, I have often seen disparencies between the credits on the screen and those on the packaging.Only a handful of my film books are in the night table next to my recliner. This book is one of them, and I refer to it almost every day.

I bought this book for the same reason I bought Tom Moon's "1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die." I am fascinated by the topic and this book has exposed me to films I might not otherwise have ever been aware of.The first movie I remember seeing in a theater was "The Absent-Minded Professor" in 1961. I was nine. So my knowledge of the first fifty-plus years of film making is a bit sketchy. Of course I'm familiar with (and own) copies of such titles as Chaplin's "The Gold Rush" (1925), Buster Keaton's "The General" (1927), as well as most of the domestically available films of the Marx Brothers, Laurel & Hardy, and W.C. Fields.However, this book has intrigued me to look deeper into the silent film era, and there are no fewer than forty silent films listed. Of special interest to me are the two earliest entries: French director George Melies 1902 film "Le Voyage Dans la Lune (A Trip to the Moon)," 14 minutes; and what most regard as the first western, 1903's "The Great Train Robbery," 12 minutes, which was made by the Edison Company.The author makes no attempts to rank the films included, and please note that nowhere does the title suggest that these are the 1,001 "best" films. Sure, many are great films. However, some are included mainly because of their historical or cultural significance. Bottom line, this is fascinating reading, and will certainly make for spirited debate around the office water cooler. If you approach this book with an open mind, you will not only be entertained but you might learn something as well. [Note: This is the 2011 updated edition. The final eight films are all from 2010; the most recent being "True Grit," which was released in December of that year.] RECOMMENDED

Need to get an updated version now but recipient loved ticking off the films but found that many are no longer available.

Dit is een geweldige lijst van films met een professioneel uiterlijk.Ik werd al een tijdje moe van dezelfde 20 favoriete films, of de honderden "meh" films op Netflix.Het boek van 900+ A5 pagina's is in het Engels en bevat veel afbeeldingen (filmposters en momenten uit de film).Het boek kwam in een te ruime doos met één stukje vulpapier, waardoor er wat kleine deukjes in de kaft zaten, jammer.

...wenn man mal nicht weiß “was anschauen “, speziell alte Filme, dann ist das sehr hilfreich !

OK

書物ではHalliwell's Film Guide （1994年）やシネマクラブ洋画編（1996年）を参考に映画を鑑賞してきた者としては、新しい参考書を求めていました。選択に文句を言うつもりはありませんが、１ページ丸ごと写真だったりするページも結構あり、あと500本くらい入れてもよいのでないかと感じます。特に、非英語圏の作品、30年代以前、およびドキュメンタリー系が弱い感じです。ちなみに評者は個人的にはこの20年は主にIMDbを活用しています。