The Movie Book: Big Ideas Simply Explained

When I bought this book I saw that it was a series, and after reading this book, I'm sold. This book is so well set up that it's easy to go from movie to movie, starting with the 1902-1931 visionary movies. I have to admit that I haven't seen many of these but they are laid out on a time line that shows how the movies slowly built from a 46 second short to movies with talking in them, though the last movie of this series is the Charlie Chaplin hit silent movie City Lights. Each movie is broken down to in context which gives you the genre, director, writers, stars and then some movies that have either come before, or after the title movie. There's a box where you learn a little something about the director and other movies he also directed. In large block letters above the title of the movie, there is whatever saying the movie might be famous for. The book is broken up into these sections. Visionaries 1902-1931 A Golden Age In Black And White 1931-1949 Fear And Wonder 1950-1959 Rebel Rebel 1960-1974 Angels And Monsters 1975-1991 Small World 1992-Present There were many movies I'd never seen, yet with this book, I feel as if I can get the main theme of the movie, who was in it, who directed and why it's significant. There are even gems like Travis Bickle's(Robert De Niro in Taxi Driver) transformation, something you might not have realized or seen drawn out so clearly. With it's wonderful movie photos, this book reminds me of the books I used to buy for the kids(the Ripley's believe it or not). I really enjoyed this book and will be looking for other books in the series that have a subject that sparks my interest.

Detailed and well done. A wealth on information. More text than I expected, not for children. Love their entire series. Awesome

I'm enjoying this book and I do recommend it, it's just exactly what I hoped for. Close, though. The author's focus is more on movies that were influential, broke new ground, or changed the way movies were made - which is fine, but it results in an odd list of movies. I love movies of all eras, and perhaps this is a bit unsophisticated of me, but I really don't care to read about foreign films - not because they're foreign, but because I know I probably can't jump over to Prime or Netflix or the DVD section at the library or the store and find any of them. If I can't watch them, I don't care to read about them. I haven't counted, but I'd say 20-25% of the movies here fall into that category. In the back, the author lists brief descriptions of scores of runner's up - there are a lot of movies on that list I would have loved to see instead of the tiny-budget and/or foreign films. But, of course, what to include is always going to be subjective... but I'm sorry, any book that covers a handful of relatively boring Westerns and makes no mention of the incredible "Unforgiven" has missed its mark. I do like the analysis of the story, but oftentimes I'm left wanting more. On one hand, I'd like the book to cover a lot more of the good, popular movies, but at the same time, I'd like to see even more analysis of some of the deserving films. How the author chooses to fill the pages is interesting as well. Star Wars, for example, gets one page, but Blade Runner gets six. And this is probably my fault, but the latest movie in the book is 2014's "Boyhood". For some reason, when I saw the Amazon promo for this book, I thought it was a new release (2020) but it's actually 2016. So, it really is a good book - but probably every reader will wish for more, less, different content from such a broad field.

My SO is a HUGE movie fan, will watch pretty much anything and everything. HE ADORES this book. He loves all the quirky details, and finding out things he maybe didn't know before. And his son and mine are both clamoring after him to hurry up and finish it so that they can read it to. Great find.

I’ve seen a great many of the movies in this book which reminds me of the movies I want to see again. The plot summaries are excellent and I will endeavor to see some of the movies I haven’t seen. On the other hand, there are movies I won’t waste my time or money to see. A great movie reference book that should be in every movie lover’s library.

The book, at least what I've read so far, seems so thorough. Imagine my surprise when he lists the part played by Natalie Wood (and her younger sister when the character is a child) is described as being played by Vera Miles. I think it's hard to explain a mistake like this one. I will say, though, I bought the ebook several years ago, and don't know if that error has been corrected.

I'm a fan of the concept of Big Ideas Simply Explained books by DK. This is a good general reference regards the topic of movie history in my opinion. There are chapters that cover a movie of note, headed by a relevant quote, description of genre, silent era, sci-fi, drama, etc., with brief suggestions of why the movie stands out. There is information on directors of each movie. Actors, cinematography techniques, importance of musical score if relevant. In the back of the book lists of important movies not given a chapter of their own seem like "honorable mentions". With a follow up paragraph or so of insight into the relevance of that movie. It did whet my appetite to learn more and see some of the movies covered that I may have missed.

The inside is perfect. The cover was scratched as if someone would use their fingernails to draw on it.

Bought it as a gift and I'm very happy about it. The only issue was the very late delivery. I ordered this one taking note of the arrival timing but was quite disappointed.

I really enjoy this book. If you enjoy movies this is a must have book

A very useful book for those who are interested in the field. Also useful for entertainment quiz etc.

Un gran libro con alta calidad y explicaciones sencillas, de manera amigable ilustradas, y como indica en la portada, con grandes ideas simplemente explicadas. Descripciones breves y a modo de referencia sin duda alguna de mucha utilidad. Muy recomendable.

Great and informative book, perfect as a present