RIP: Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide (1 Viewer)

[CraigF]

^ Third party vendors seemed to grab a lot of the 2015 orange/red book in the U.S. Possibly the final edition CMG will be similar, it being the best/only version, so people should grab a copy probably at the best price while they can.

 

[Tony Bensley]

Just a reminder for those who still like these: the final (3rd) print edition of the Classic Movie Guide is available. It is in the same format as the larger format version (orange/red cover) of the 2015 Movie Guide (also the final print edition).


My take: online, you have to specifically search for something, and get additional recs based on some (often vague) connection/similarity decided by algorithm. With the books, you can browse randomly and find good-sounding movies you (well, I) haven't heard of.

Hi Craig!


Thanks for the heads up! This is on my Christmas Wishlist!


CHEERS!


Tony

 

[Mike Frezon]

Okay.


I'm intrigued.


But also confused.


The third printing of the 2015 CMG seems to only cover silent films through 1965. While the first printing covers 1965 to present.


Is that correct? Or is there something I'm missing?

 

[Tony Bensley]

Okay.


I'm intrigued.


But also confused.


The third printing of the 2015 CMG seems to only cover silent films through 1965. While the first printing covers 1965 to present.


Is that correct? Or is there something I'm missing?

Hi Mike!


The first printing of the CMG only covers up to 1960.


CHEERS!


Tony

 

[Mike Frezon]

The first printing of the CMG only covers up to 1960.

And yet the links I included in my post seem to indicate otherwise.


Amazon says the first printing covers 1965 to present...and the third printing covers the silents up to 1965. (Nothing about 1960.)


Does a buyer need to buy the two volumes to get all of Maltin's content on the wide spectrum of film-making from the silents to the present? THAT is my main question here. Or, is there a single volume which includes both?

 

[Mike Frezon]

And I'm also not understanding references to the "orange/red" book made in some earlier posts. None of the Amazon editions seem to be "orange/red."

 

[Mike Frezon]

I thought I had the cover color thing figured out...but the Amazon descriptions (and dates) are driving me crazy.


Which one do I want to be as current as possible?

And I'm also not understanding references to the "orange/red" book made in some earlier posts. None of the Amazon editions seem to be "orange/red."

Okay. I think I've got this question covered. The first printing of the 2015 edition is orange/red:

But the third (and last) printing is green:

 

[Tony Bensley]

And yet the links I included in my post seem to indicate otherwise.


Amazon says the first printing covers 1965 to present...and the third printing covers the silents up to 1965. (Nothing about 1960.)


Does a buyer need to buy the two volumes to get all of Maltin's content on the wide spectrum of film-making from the silents to the present? THAT is my main question here. Or, is there a single volume which includes both?

You need both volumes.


CHEERS!

 

[Robert Crawford]

And I'm also not understanding references to the "orange/red" book made in some earlier posts. None of the Amazon editions seem to be "orange/red."

Mike,


I ordered the 2015 Movie Guide (The Modern Era) on 11-28-14 and it shipped on 11-30-14. Even though the picture of the book showed orange/red on Amazon's site, the actual color of the book was only orange. I went back through my Amazon orders to verify and the book is right next to me as I type this post.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

And yet the links I included in my post seem to indicate otherwise.


Amazon says the first printing covers 1965 to present

That Amazon listing makes no sense. The picture on the cover of the first edition is from The Philadelphia Story, a 1940 film. I'm quite certain that all three editions of the Classic Movie Guide have been from the silent era through 1965. The third edition has approximately 1,000 more entries than the first edition.

 

[Robert Crawford]

And yet the links I included in my post seem to indicate otherwise.


Amazon says the first printing covers 1965 to present...and the third printing covers the silents up to 1965. (Nothing about 1960.)


Does a buyer need to buy the two volumes to get all of Maltin's content on the wide spectrum of film-making from the silents to the present? THAT is my main question here. Or, is there a single volume which includes both?

Yes, you need both volumes for silents to the present. I only have one copy of the 2015 Movie Guide (The Modern Era), but I do have three copies of the Classic Movie Guide (From Silent Era through 1965) third edition.

 

[Dick]

Halliwells Film Guide was my bible back in the late 70's and 80's but I was also frequently leafing thru Maltin's Movie Guide too. I kept a couple of books as souvenirs. I also remember buying very similar fat paperback movie guides by 'Steven Scheuer'?

Remember the Judith Crist guide? Mostly for pre-video t.v. broadcast presentations, but that is also how Maltin's guide began as well. Fortunately, he has recently released a third edition of his Classic Movie Guide. I hope that, perhaps, he will go ahead and publish a new post-1965 movie guide every five years or so rather than every year. I've always wished he'd have produced a book containing reviews of exclusively made-for-t.v. movies.

 

[Robert Crawford]

That Amazon listing makes no sense. The picture on the cover of the first edition is from The Philadelphia Story, a 1940 film. I'm quite certain that all three editions of the Classic Movie Guide have been from the silent era through 1965. The third edition has approximately 1,000 more entries than the first edition.

Leonard Maltin Classic Movie Guide.jpg

I have all three editions next to me as I type this post. The first edition with The Philadelphia Story on the front cover, doesn't state from the silent era through 1965 anywhere in the book with its more than 9000 movies. However, in the first edition introduction by Maltin, he states the following:

Today, Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide has approximately 18,000 entries, and it's become impossible to add three hundred new titles every year while retaining all the existing entries. That dilemma has led to the new guide you hold in your hands.


At first, we thought we'd simply transfer all pre-1960 films to this volume, including hundreds we'd had to weed out of the annual in recent years. Then we realized that it would make sense to beef up our inventory to reflect the many older films that are back in circulation on DVD and such outlets as Turner Classic Movies, Fox Movie Channel, and the Western Channel.

Now, the second edition with Gone with the Wind on the cover, it does state "From the Silent Era through 1965" on the front cover of the book along with more than 10,000 movies.


The third edition with Casablanca on the front cover states the same thing as the second edition..

 

[Mike Frezon]

Thanks, fellas!


I guess that adding to the confusion is that there are both trade paperback editions and mass market paperback editions of the "Movie Guide" (newer films).


I think I'll wait until I get to my local Barnes & Noble and can actually see what I'm dealing with. I think I'd prefer the larger (trade) paperback for the modern films.


The third edition of the "Classic Movie Guide" (older films) has Bogie & Bergman on the cover. That one now seems pretty straightforward to me.


Man. That was confusing.

 

[CraigF]

^ amazon.com's listing for these books is confusing, with information that sometimes conflicts with the exact same books on their .ca site (where I got mine). There aren't versions printed in Canada.


It has been a fair time since amazon.com directly had the "orange/red" 2015 book in stock, as told to me by people when I recommended it i.e. it "sold out" there relatively quickly. Thus my wanting to notify people here JIC re the CMG which has been available for more than a month (but I only finally received mine last week). Not that they can't print more if demand persists. amazon.ca has stock of them all at reasonable prices in ice-pesos.


In reality the 2015 Movie Guide is mostly orange, and is clearly distinguishable from the green book, I hope, which was the intended point. I don't know what this non-green format of the 2015 Movie Guide is properly called, but I call it a "trade paperback" myself, though I don't know how common this term is or if it's generally well-understood. It = "better" IMO, and in this case is slightly larger, has a sturdier "binding", lays flat better, etc. Considering it's thickness, the way the print is formatted makes it easy to read, no print receding into the binding side of the page so you have to crack the book just to read the inside print (like some other thick paperbacks, and this is thick). The green MG has the same content as the non-green MG. The CMG only comes in the larger "trade" format.


I think other people have clarified that you need both books (MG + CMG) to be Maltin-complete. Bear in mind that the MG does have plenty of pre-1965 movies in it. Mainly just the better-known/significant ones once you get pre-50s, but still quite a lot of them. One book may direct you to the other, and there is some overlap.

 

[Rob_Ray]

Mr. Maltin stated in the forward to the 2015 Modern Era guide that this edition would be the last. He makes no such statement in the new Classic Movie Guide. Might we hope that there will be updated Classic Movie Guides in the future?

 

[Richard Gallagher]

Mr. Maltin stated in the forward to the 2015 Modern Era guide that this edition would be the last. He makes no such statement in the new Classic Movie Guide. Might we hope that there will be updated Classic Movie Guides in the future?

That's certainly possible, considering that Turner Classic Movies is involved. Now that the Classic Guide has more than 10,000 films listed, updating it every five years would not be nearly as costly as updating the annual guide.

 

[Robert Crawford]

In reality the 2015 Movie Guide is more orange than orange/red, but in bright light you can see the color transition that is "enhanced" in the amazon pic. It is clearly distinguishable from the green book, I hope, which was the point. I don't know what this non-green

You're right, now that I can see it in the daylight on this fine sunny day in Michigan there is a slight tinge of orange/red that is more orange.

 

[CraigF]

^ Damn it, sorry, I just changed my post after re-reading because it sounded a bit (unintentionally) snarky to me re the color thing...didn't notice you had quoted...


People may be right that it's not the last print edition of the CMG (no way to know now), that just may have been my impression from reading the info on Maltin's site last year, somehow I had it in my mind... OTOH you have to wonder just how many more pre-1965 movies they're going to make in the future. Alright, I guess they can keep moving the end date so that "classic" = 50 years old +.


Frankly, I wish they had set the date to pre-1950 = classic, something like that, but I get the point that while there are two books going, you can't make the "modern era" book that much thicker every year, better to move the qualifying classic date forward every so often and split the content. Helps sales too. Really though, as a consumer it seems dumb to keep re-buying the old stuff (pre-2015 now) when all you really need is the new stuff; maybe a new book title of only post-2014 stuff every 5 years would work, IDK.

 

[Richard Gallagher]

I have all three editions next to me as I type this post. The first edition with The Philadelphia Story on the front cover, doesn't state from the silent era through 1965 anywhere in the book with its more than 9000 movies. However, in the first edition introduction by Maltin, he states the following:



Now, the second edition with Gone with the Wind on the cover, it does state "From the Silent Era through 1965" on the front cover of the book along with more than 10,000 movies.


The third edition with Casablanca on the front cover states the same thing as the second edition..

I have the second edition and the third edition. I see that the introduction to the second edition states that the cutoff year for the first edition is in fact 1960. So the first edition is silent era-1960 and both of the subsequent editions are silent era -1965. That information should clear up the confusion.