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(More customer reviews)I am something of a collector of "Best movie ever" type books, so believe me when I say that in many regards this is one of the best. The amount of information presented for each entry is very impressive, the color photographs well-chosen, and the writing of a high caliber. The book passed the ultimate test: it made me want to watch the movies listed that I hadn't seen so I could read the articles about them. However, the amount of factual material that is incorrect is somewhat staggering. A previous reviewer already mentioned a point about Natalie Wood; let me simply list the ones I saw off the top of my head.
-The authors say that The Graduate was Mike Nichols' directorial debut, when in fact he directed the (hardly obscure) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf the year before
-The authors talk about how the characters in The African Queen are worried about alligators. Alligators live in America and China, Crocodiles live in Africa.
-The authors say that Jean Renoir made Rules of the Game "having grown disturbed by France's complacency over the German occupation." Obviously untrue if you consider the fact that the movie was released in 1939 and the occupation didn't begin until 1940
-In the entry for Chinatown the authors state that Rosemary's Baby was released in 1963, a full five years away from its actual 1968 release date. Additionally, they attribute the famous "Forget it Jake, it's Chinatown" quote to Lt. Escobar when in fact Walsh says it.
-The authors state that The Last Picture show was released in 1968, when in fact it was released in 1971
-For some reason the authors write that Elia Kazan "made a comeback, after years of inactivity" with Reversal of Fortune when he did absolutely no such thing--Barbet Schroeder directed that film.
I watch a ton of movies, but I'm not getting paid to write about them--Gail Kinn and Jim Piazza are. Most of these errors are incredibly easy to avoid (just by plugging them into IMDB you can get your release year). I mean, anyone who knows the slightest detail about WWII would realize that a movie released in 1939 couldnt possibly be made to describe the French occupation by Germany. These authors' job is to write about movies; they should not be making half a dozen errors that I easily notice in the SECOND EDITION of their work. Other that that, though, as I mentioned before, it's a worthy read.
Click Here to see more reviews about: The Greatest Movies Ever: The Ultimate Ranked List of the 101 Best Films of All Time
The 101 best movies ever made—from around the world and across a century—unfold here in order, along with critical commentary, behind-the-scenes information, and hundreds of lush photographs. Movie ranking has become an annual sport, and this global, all-encompassing list features the best of all time. It is sure to be a must-have for every dedicated filmgoer eager to watch the greats that he or she has not yet seen and to recall favorite films from every era. Completely revised since its hardcover publication, it features movies from as recently as 2007, plus a new foreword. Full-color, three-page sections celebrate each film on the list, which has been carefully compiled by two expert critics to include films from every decade, every genre, and a wide variety of cultures. Classics include Citizen Kane, Casablanca, The Wizard of Oz, and Star Wars; international films include Rules of the Game, The 400 Blows, and Rashomon; additions to the list since publication of the hardcover include The Lives of Others, City Lights, Pan's Labyrinth, and Groundhog Day. Each section includes cast lists, plot synopses, biographies of the director and key actors, Oscar nominations and wins, "behind-the-screen" anecdotes, and more.
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