Steven Jay Schneider

This is a terrific companion for the committed film buff, or someone looking forward to expanding their knowledge of world cinema.
I am sure many discussions have and will be provoked by what has been included, what left out. I have already started writing a list of omissions which I find scandalous! I am sure it won't accord with anyone else's!

I really like the genre indices - for dipping into when you are in the mood for finding something at the video shop in a certain style.

My personal show more 'shock-horror' omissions?

So far:
They Shoot Horses, Don't They?
Le Cercle Rouge
Funny Girl
Harvey
Guess Who's Coming To Dinner
Mrs Miniver
Carnival of Souls
The Party
The Court Jester
Zulu
Ryan's Daughter (if only because it played forever in Australia!) show less

This is an excellent review of meaningful movies of all countries since the inception of full-length film in modern times. There are many questionable titles included but an argument for their inclusion can be made for most of these dubious selections. For sure, the vast majority of what most people would consider great films are included. One exception would be The Mission which is an 80s movie and the list is already 1980’s heavy as it is. Why wouldn’t it be? The editor says that this show more list was drawn for other preexisting lists which was then expanded in scope to be as diverse as possible. I have only seen a few of the foreign firms listed, but I had heard the names of most of them. Many of the pages have screen stills or lobby posters. The descriptions are all concise and objective. I first saw this book for sale in the bookstore of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, Los Angeles. The films appear in the book in chronological order with name indices for the type of film it falls under (Action, Horror, Musical etc.). I suppose this is a reference book, but also serves as a quick listing of work on which new directors and actors can build upon. 959 pp. show less

The layout and colors are stunning and I enjoyed the commentary and fun facts about each of the movie. I did love many of the choices, but there were some movies I would not have included and some movies that were not there. Therefore, it was hard to be fully invested in this list because it is objective, but I still absolutely adore my copy.

Something of a coffee table book, something of a guide to the horror genre. Comprehensive enough as a introduction, explaining a bunch of conventions and subgenres before listing some notable classics. Nothing too shocking in the picks of Best Movies nor the description of why said movies are the best, but enjoyable. I wish the book was physically larger, like a proper coffee table book, so I could appreciate the images more. The font size would probably be easier on the eyes as well.