Rating: 
Summary: 13,300 MOVIES
Review: OK: first things first. What this book is NOT. This book is NOT one of those volumes filled with 1-4 stars which rate each movie and let us know which is available on DVD. It is also NOT one of those volumes written by a cheesy, so-called critic who, simply because he's got good hair, is allowed to put thumbs up or down on movies and plays for your local tv station.What IS it? It is the 9th edition of a 1500+ page, soft-covered film guide written by more than 200 British film critics. "Time Out," itself, is the best guide to what's playing and what's happening in London (and, more recently, New York City). This weekly magazine includes film reviews and the "Time Out Film Guide" is the latest collection of those reviews. The movies are listed alphabetically, but at the end of the book we are treated to a list of "Time Out's" readers' top 100 favorites, obituaries for the year 1999-2000, and a section on how to find movies on the web. There are also 15 appendices grouping films by type. i.e. horror movies, musicals, swashbucklers, etc. And then, along with several other indexes, one that I've not seen in any other periodical or bound collection: it is a general subject index. Interested in finding a film that was adapted from the works of Bertolt Brecht or movies that feature the British Museum, a list of Israeli, Iranian or Indian films, or perhaps you need to find movies about child prodigies---this is your source. In all, 13,300 movies are reviewed, with very strong coverage of independents and international films. And it weighs less than my cat. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Guide But Superceded by a New Edition
Review: The 11th edition of the Time Out Film Guide (2003) is an excellent guide, offering the best capsule reviews of any of the film guides. However, it has been superceded by the 12th edition (2004), which is much improved. The items present in the 11th edition but missing in the 12th do not, in my opinion, offer sufficient reason for a separate purchase of the 11th edition, unless you simply must have every top-100 and top-10 film list ever printed. On the other hand, even if you already own the 11th edition, there is every reason to purchase the 12th edition. Besides being up-to-date it offers new and valuable features and a much spiffier presentation. Check out the reviews of the 12th edition to found out what these are.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Guide Made Greater---Highly Recommended!
Review: The 12th edition of the "Time Out Film Guide" (2004) has a totally new look. Gone is the drab unbleached paper of the earlier editions, replaced now by glossy white paper printed in black with blue highlights. Many pages are in full color. The "Time Out Film Guide" always had classy contents, now it also has classy packaging. Another big change is the inclusion of 101 cinefile pages, each devoted to a long fascinating review of a single film. Other changes are discussed below. Of all the film guides, that by Time Out has certainly the best capsule reviews. They are longer and tell you much more about the artistic aspects of the film than either the Maltin or Halliwell guides, which are the main competition. Occasionally, because it gives you more detail on the plot, it sometimes makes small errors or tells too much. This is a small price to pay for analyses that are generally very incisive and right on the money. This is a great guide. But it is not a perfect guide. No guide is. THE DIRT: Number of Reviews: The 2004 Time Out guide reviews slightly fewer films (about 15,700) than Maltin (about 19,000) or Halliwell (about 18,000). If you must have a guide that is likely to have a capsule review of every movie that comes up on cable, even if the reviews aren't nearly as detailed, then you had better get Maltin. Technical Data: If you want a lot of technical data beyond duration, year, color or B&W, widescreen process, country of origin, MPAA rating, director, and principal cast, which are the technical data in Maltin, then you should turn to Time Out or Halliwell, which also display systematically, for example, the producer, production designer, screenwriters, composer, cinematographer, editor, assistant director, and the title in the original language. Halliwell has a slight edge over Time Out in the amount of technical data (for example, it also tells you the production company and distributor) and it is also the size of a telephone book. Completeness: Does the "Time Out Film Guide" review all the really good films? No, but almost. Remember, this guide is a collection of capsule film reviews from a weekly London entertainment magazine (Time Out), and that magazine has been around only since 1968. Thus, if the film is much earlier than 1968 and hasn't been screened in a London repertory cinema in the last 35 years, you might not find it in the Time Out guide. It appears that for the 11th edition (2003), about 4% of the films rated **** or ***1/2 (Maltin) and 20% of the films rated *** (Maltin) aren't reviewed in the Time Out guide. This amounts to about 70 **** or ***1/2 films and 850 *** films (1/4 later than 1968). This situation has changed only slightly in the 12th edition. A solution to this problem: buy Maltin as well; it can be had for the cost of a small pizza. Ratings: The "Time Out Film Guide" has wonderful analyses and technical data, but no numerical ratings of the films. You will find words like wonderful, masterpiece, diaappointing or boring, but not systematically. Is the absence of ratings a disadvantge? I think so. Humans are pretty good at understanding ratings. They're good information, and one can absorb them much more quickly than an entire review. So what do you do if you must see stars? Same as before, you buy a copy of Maltin in addition to the Time Out Film Guide. The Halliwell guide rates only about 8000 of the 18,000 films it describes, so it's not as good as Maltin as a second guide for the ratings. Lists: The "Time Out Film Guide" still has great lists but not quite the same as in the 11th edition. In the front of the book, the Readers' Poll is still there but not the Cinema Century Top One Hundred list (sadly missed) or the ten-best-film lists of about 150 Sight and Sound critics, replaced now by the "Ultimate DVD Collection" (I was not impressed). All of the lists at the back of the book remain intact. The actor and director lists, however, are now in chronological order with the dates, a great improvement. The lists by country of origin, by genre, and by special topic are unchanged except for updating. If you have a hankering to rent a film about construction workers or polygamy, lotteries or lawnmowers (I kid you not) you can still find a dedicated list in Time Out. OTHER GUIDE CHOICES Although not as good, in my opinion, as Maltin, Halliwell, or Time Out, it is worth checking out the "Martin & Porter DVD & Video Guide 2004," and the "TLA DVD and Video Guide 2004." Roger Ebert's movie yearbooks are superb, of course, but a very different animal from the movie guidebooks. A FINAL WORD: If you are going to purchase only one guide, my recommendation is Maltin's guide because of its completeness and ratings. For a second guide, the choice is certainly the "Time Out Film Guide." The two complement each other very well. For a third book to keep next to your TV, consider Ephraim Katz' "The Film Encyclopedia," a marvelous book packed with information.
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Summary: The ultimate film authority!
Review: The market is awash with film guides but Time Out excels in bringing us concise, informative and often amusing reviews, in a dry British tone and from a fantastic range of films. Far more European film content that your average American guide. I couldn't dream of picking up one of those pulp fiction film guides, which clog the bookshelves of the world, after buying my first copy of the Time Out Film Guide. Mikael Colville-Andersen European screenwriter
Rating: 
Summary: They don't rate them but ...
Review: This film guide is packed with witty, engaging and wonderfully analytical writing by some of London's most capable film critics. Each film is presented with a short, terse description (larger than those given by Halliwell/Walker and Maltin, but shorter than Ebert's for instance) written by one of over 200 contributors -- the good thing about having so many disparate voices is that readers are bound to find one or two with whom they really connect, those critics that share their preferences in more ways than not. My own favorite, for instance, is Geoff Andrew, one of the few critics I've seen that admires Malick's "The Thin Red Line" for the masterpiece that it is. One thing that may put off some readers is the lack of star ratings given to certain films. This is not necessarily a bad thing since it forces readers to read the passages instead of relying on the short-hand rating that can't capture subtle nuances about a critic's opinion of a film. The book also has comprehensive indices where films are listed by actors, directors, genres, etc. Another bonus is the Critics and Readers poll results which lists the favorite 100 films of all time from both groups. There's no denying that this is a terffic book for casual flipping as well as serious research. It's surely a keeper!
Rating:
Summary: the best book for short reviews
Review: This is the best book for short synopses of many different films. It's not as exhaustive as the Maltin book (which has just about everything), but it's a cut above what else is out there (including Halliwell's). Not surprisingly, it's put out by the British version of Time Out, not it's American counterpart, which is completely mediocre. Buying this book plus the Maltin book is really all you need to reference most films.
Rating:
Summary: Best Overall Guide I Have Seen
Review: What sets this guide apart from the pack? The reviews are the reason. If you're not the type that needs some sort of rating system, such as stars, you should consider this guide. I recently replaced an ageing Maltin guide with this one -- I examined quite a number of guides before settling on the Time Out. Although Halliwell's is not bad, they sacrifice review space to lists of blurbs. The Time Out Guide provides the essential info, such as major credits and running time, and then you get a review that summarizes the plot and then provides criticism. Review lengths are based on the film's importance, so some reviews may be twice or even three times as long as others. The 10,000+ films that other guides will include won't be here for the simple reason that they are most likely not worth placing in a general film guide. So if you must have that sort of completeness, I would augment this guide with another (take your pick). Some reviewers think that this guide is snobbish -- well, no. It is clearly written by people who know film, and a glowing endorsement only accompanies a film that is well directed, written, photographed, and acted. They strive to point out each film's strong or weak points along those criteria; they may not always be successful, but they have hundreds of contributors. Others have found this guide Anglocentric; I have not, although I do believe it is much more complete than most guides in its inclusion of British film. Whether you agree with their assessment of a film or not, they are generally not far off the mark, and I would contend that most opinions they venture are the stuff of a lively discussion of film. All in all, a job well done. I reserve the fifth star to the guide that could outdo this one, once it is available. I could grouse about their unkind review of "Arsenic and Old Lace", or their overkind review of "The English Patient", but this is the sort of thing that comes with the turf. By the way, the print is tiny, so be forewarned.
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best film guide available!
Review: When it comes to film guides, Time Out can't be beat. It is by far the most comprehensive guide on the shelves and has been handsomely repackaged to include "cinefiles" on landmark movies down through the years. It covers not only anglo but many foreign language films as well. While other guides tend to focus on American, Canadian and British productions, Time Out will help you find a broad range of Russian, Indian, French, German, Italian, and Japanese films as well. You will even find such esoteric titles as Freedom (Laisve) by Sarunas Bartas. Imagine that! It breaks the films down in the appendices by categories, making it easier to track down movies whose titles have eluded you. In addition, it has extensive actors and directors indices to further narrow your search. It not only includes past Oscar winners, but those of the British Academy, Cannes, Berlin and Venice as well. The short reviews are well written with an extensive list of contributors. There is even a guide to help you build the ultimate DVD collection. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best film guide available!
Review: When it comes to film guides, Time Out can't be beat. It is by far the most comprehensive guide on the shelves and has been handsomely repackaged to include "cinefiles" on landmark movies down through the years. It covers not only anglo but many foreign language films as well. While other guides tend to focus on American, Canadian and British productions, Time Out will help you find a broad range of Russian, Indian, French, German, Italian, and Japanese films as well. You will even find such esoteric titles as Freedom (Laisve) by Sarunas Bartas. Imagine that! It breaks the films down in the appendices by categories, making it easier to track down movies whose titles have eluded you. In addition, it has extensive actors and directors indices to further narrow your search. It not only includes past Oscar winners, but those of the British Academy, Cannes, Berlin and Venice as well. The short reviews are well written with an extensive list of contributors. There is even a guide to help you build the ultimate DVD collection. Enjoy!
Rating:
Summary: Simply the best film guide available!
Review: When it comes to film guides, Time Out can't be beat. It is by far the most comprehensive guide on the shelves and has been handsomely repackaged to include "cinefiles" on landmark movies down through the years. It covers not only anglo but many foreign language films as well. While other guides tend to focus on American, Canadian and British productions, Time Out will help you find a broad range of Russian, Indian, French, German, Italian, and Japanese films as well. You will even find such esoteric titles as Freedom (Laisve) by Sarunas Bartas. Imagine that! It breaks the films down in the appendices by categories, making it easier to track down movies whose titles have eluded you. In addition, it has extensive actors and directors indices to further narrow your search. It not only includes past Oscar winners, but those of the British Academy, Cannes, Berlin and Venice as well. The short reviews are well written with an extensive list of contributors. There is even a guide to help you build the ultimate DVD collection. Enjoy!
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