Customer Reviews:
 Really just a stocking filler August 17, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a strange little book. It's quite tastefully presented and will look nice on your book shelf. But it has no real structure and the quality of the research is not high. It's really just a collection of anecdotes and various unsourced "facts" and figures. Quite often the authors only tell half a story or anecdote, and manage to miss the most interesting or significant part. A lot of the facts and figures are completely unsourced and leave you scratching your head, e.g. the "Top ten importers of UK films" gives a list of countries with the number of films imported in one year - but it doesn't tell you which year. Or "124 - The number of cinema admissions in the UK in 1996". What, is that 124 thousand, 124 million, or just 124? The writers also include a "quote" from Sam Goldwyn: "Our comedies are not to be laughed at." Ho ho, very funny, although about 90% of Sam Goldwyn quotes are invented, and this just sounds like another one. The British author Gilbert Adair is referred to as a "US critic". There are many more of these inaccuracies.
Maybe I shouldn't be too harsh on this book. It's probably OK for anyone who knows little about films, wants a very light read they can dip into for five minutes, and who isn't put off by lack of structure, and the fact that some of the facts should be taken with a pinch of salt.
 Brilliant Present for a Movie Fan December 21, 2004
i got this book as a present and sat down to read it straight away - its addictive! For those of you that always want to have fantastic facts to amaze people with, its a great book and each book in the series costs a tenner so it doesnt break the bank as a present either. Fantastic book and looks good on any book shelf - collect the whole set!
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