The Phantom of the Movies' VIDEOSCOPE : The Ultimate Guide to the Latest, Greatest, and Weirdest Genre Videos

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Summary: HOORAY FOR THE PHANTOM!
Review: hey, if you want to read a film critic who reviews the masterpieces(john woo's HARD-BOILED), the good, the bad, the ugly(RE-ANIMATOR), the very ugly (like the disgusting I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE; he gave it 2 stars? roger ebert=ZERO!), the sleazy(abel ferrara's putrid MS. 45), the grade-z movies (MANOS! THE HANDS OF FATE + any Ed Wood movie), etc. etc., then The Phantom a.k.a. Joe Kane's VIDEOSCOPE is for you! it is must-read!

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Summary: Your Oddball Movie Collection Starts Here...
Review: I can't possibly think of a better resource to get you jump-started on your way to the weird and wacky world of genre movies. The Phantom of the Movies' Videoscope is the definitive guide to anything and everything obscure.

The book is divided into eight major sections, each covering a specific genre of movies. The first is "Inside the Frightfest", a section totally devoted to horror movies ('Night of the Living Dead'). Following this are sections for action ('The Killer'), science fiction ('Invasion of the Body Snatchers'), thrillers ('Blue Velvet'), comedies ('Brazil'), camp classics ('The Brain That Wouldn't Die'), exploitation films ('Beyond the Valley of the Dolls'), and "celluloid delinquents" ('Beat Girl'). Just scan through those titles again... if those films aren't your idea of a good time, you should probably skip this purchase. On the other hand, if you're the kind of person who would watch 'The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across The Eight Dimension' more than once (willingly), then you've found your book!

The films are organized alphabetically according to their specific genre. For instance, all the horror films are listed alphabetically first, then the action films and so on. Therefore, unless you know what kind of genre the film is classified under, you'll have to consult the Index. You'll probably end up having to search through the Index anyway, since many multi-genre films can be classified either way (i.e. 'Basket Case' is classified as a comedy).

The reviews of the films are ranked on a scale of one to four stars. It's important to note that some films that are normally regarded as "trash" are seen here as masterpieces. As with any book on this subject, the first review you should turn to is 'Plan 9 From Outer Space'. Ed Wood's most famous outing is almost universally acknowledged as the worst film ever made. Here, it gets the four star treatment, being hailed as "the most enriching, entertaining bad movie ever made"!

"The Plan 9 Test" is usually a good indicator to how well the book covers this kind of subject area. Many film critics look at movies with an emotional detachment, trying to review them in a way that the majority of the population would see them. Videoscope is a film guide that takes a more fan-oriented approach to the practice, reviewing films in the way that the target audience would see them. And although you may not always agree on the reviews (David Lynch's 'Lost Highway' is a film that I would have personally rated four stars), it's refreshing to be reading movie reviews from somebody who's on the same wavelength as you.

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Summary: VideoScope Rules!
Review: New York Daily News columnist Joe Kane has accumulated over fifteen years worth of reviews in his latest book. He examines over 3,000 videos, most of them of the sci-fi, horror, fantasy, action/adventure, martial arts, or lowbrow comedy schools. An admitted B-movie aficionado, Kane does have a good sense of what the seasoned moviegoer will enjoy. Like drive-in movie critic Joe Bob Briggs, Kane forgives bad acting and clichéd dialog if the movie is well paced and offers sufficient stimulation, such as ambitious special effects, copious amounts of grue, or a bevy of undressed beauties. A micro-budgeted indie flick that shows a glimmer of talent or originality will bring raves over a bloat-budgeted, studio regurgitation that wastes the talents of everyone involved. Besides gutsy reviews of everything from Abbott & Costello Go to Mars to Zulu, Kane peppers the book with interviews with such genre favorites as Jackie Chan, Pam Grier, Wes Craven, John Waters, Jean-Claude Van Damme, Clive Barker, Stuart Gordon, José Mojica Marins, Abel Ferrara, Gary Oldman, and even the late Herk Harvey (Carnival of Souls). Kane kindly offers a chapter listing mail-order, specialty, and full-service video suppliers, for those rare and out-of-print tapes, laserdisc, and DVDs (including a list of defunct labels), as well as a section of on-line video sources and entertainment sites. Now that everybody and their second cousin has a video guide book out, most of them covering many of the same titles as Kane`s VideoScope, I guess the best recommendation for buying it over the other guides is that Kane has watched thousands of clunkers that make Glen or Glenda? look like a masterpiece, yet he can still enthusiastically endorse Peter Jackson`s Bad Taste. That`s the sign of someone who hasn`t become jaded or desensitized by forty-plus years of B-movie viewing.

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Summary: Genre Video Guide Distinguished by Pedigree of Author
Review: The Phantom of the Movies has been working the B-movie circuit in the NY Daily News since 1984. An urban Joe Bob Briggs, he was raised on a diet of sci-fi, horror, fantasy, and exploitation flicks from the late '50s, stale popcorn, too-sweet fountain sodas, and single-screen neighborhood bijous and second-run houses. A veteran of the notorious grind-houses of Forty-second Street from its '70s & '80s heyday, the Phantom (a.k.a. Joe Kane) was also once editor-in-chief of the '70s tabloid monster mag THE MONSTER TIMES. With these qualifications, the Phantom brings an experienced eye and a seasoned opinion to reviewing the 3,000 films in this book. There are also some great sidebars and interviews with genre personalities such as Jean-Claude Van Damme and Jose Mojica Marins (a.k.a. Brazil's "Coffin Joe"). For fans of Michael J. Weldon's PSYCHOTRONIC ENCYCLOPEDIA OF FILM and PSYCHOTRONIC VIDEO GUIDE, this book covers a lot of the same ground; but, whereas Weldon always tries to find SOMETHING positive to say about even the WORST clunkers, the Phantom isn't afraid to call a stinker a stinker! Required reading just before going out to rent the latest direct-to-video obscurity.

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Summary: A Definitive and Highly Entertaining Resource!
Review: This latest edition of the Ultimate Guide continues from the highly successful first edition (no longer in print) in providing the reader with sharp, concise, reviews of every important (and a few not-so important) genre films. The Phantom's unique style and no nonsense approach are refreshing in this era of overblown hyperbole in movie reviews. His rating system is eminently simple and easy to use and while I don't always share his opinions on certain films, I do respect his point of view. The book is well organized with interesting contributions from major people in the genre. Apart from being a terrific resource, the book is entertaining as well. If you like his style, as I do you, should also check out his quarterly magazine- Videoscope - available on newstands everywhere - I think.