VideoHound's DVD Guide, Book 2

Rating:
Summary: Not quite the pedigree one would expect.
Review: Having been an avid and exclusive user of the VideoHound Golden Movie Retriever (GMR) since 1996, I had high expectations of this DVD review guide sporting the VideoHound moniker. Unfortunately, many of the qualities I'd come to appreciate in the venerable Hound are largely lacking in this DVD guide - most notably, a sense of objectivity... First, it should be pointed out that each entry in this guide is comprised of two reviews: a review of the movie and a review of technical qualities of the DVD. As far as the technical DVD reviews are concerned, the editor(s) confesses in the one of the introductory chapters: "It would be wonderful if all of us - reviewers and readers - could have state-of-the-art 'reference' systems... But that's not the case, and so we don't presume to make definitive judgements." The problem is, one *must* have reference quality equipment to properly review DVDs. Otherwise, why bother going to the trouble of "reviewing" the technical aspects of each disc if the unknown quality of the reviewer's equipment is going to cast a questionable shadow on each review? That said, one good thing I can say about the technical aspects of the reviews in this guide is that each review list all of the special features of each disc, as well as the aspect ratio, the packaging format (i.e., snap case, keep case, jewel case etc.), the list price and so on. Most useful were the reviewers' comments on the cast/crew commentary tracks included on many DVDs, which seemed to be less biased than the reviewers' comments on the movies themselves. As for bias, the actual movie reviews presented in this DVD Guide were what was most disappointing to me. One of the advantages of the classic VideoHound GMR is that there are many contributors, a practice which seems to engender balanced, fair reviews. Although this guide also features contributions from several reviewers (the vast majority, however, being handled by editor Mayo and chief contributor Jim Olenski), I noticed a very odd and disconcerting practice that was employed numerous times: that of taking a film review from the classic VideoHound GMR and changing a couple of words here and there to support a newly altered rating (changing the 'spin' if you will); or else, incredibly, changing the rating without changing a word of the review. In a few cases, the movie was completely re-reviewed, and a different "verdict" passed on its merits, which would be fine except that we now have two inconsistent reviews of the same movie, both of which are apparently advocated by The Hound. Also, when an oddball euro-cult flick such as 'Lisa and the Devil' (originally dismissed with a "woof" by the GMR, which was perhaps a bit extreme) is suddenly bestowed a "four-bone" rating (a Masterpiece!) by the reviewer; or conversely, a moderately successful, more well-received movie such as 'Mystery Men' is given a "woof" (the actual VideoHound GMR gives it a more fair rating of 2-1/2 bones) - one tends to become wary of excessive bias in the reviewer. It goes beyond one person's opinion of this or that movie: a reviewer should try to put aside their likes and dislikes and concentrate on the movie's objective merits and demerits. Having used this VideoHound DVD guide now for about eight months, this annoying tendency towards subjective bias is something that is seen to come through in the reviews all too frequently. So my advice is: For good and fair movie reviews, buy the latest VideoHound Golden Movie Retriever instead. For good technical DVD reviews, try the Widescreen Review.

Rating:
Summary: Needs To Be Updated
Review: Published in 2000, Videohound's DVD Guide is already outdated. Why? Because so many DVD titles -- both old and new-- are being released on a weekly basis that it is simply impossible to keep current. Anyone using this guide is bound to be disappointed in the large number of currently available DVDs not listed. Until studios complete the transition of all -- or at least most -- titles from VHS to DVD, such guides will continue to be out of date and of little use. As for the actual content of Videohound's Guide; it is adequate. The reviews, which are all subjective, will strike a chord with some readers, while striking a nerve with others. One useful aspect is the rating of extra features (outtakes, documentaries, trailers, etc.) which make DVDs so much fun. Unfortuneately, Videohound is inconsistent with its extras reviews. For example, the entry for the James Bond classic "Goldfinger" fails to mention the two commentaries and two documentaries featured on the "Special Edition" release. However, the entry for another Bond film, "Thunderball", does list all the extras. Overall, this guide is a great idea. However, it needs fine tuning. Videohound's VHS guides are very good and I suspect that in a couple years -- when the transition from VHS to DVD is complete -- that Videohound's DVD Guide will also be up to par. Until then, I'd wait this one out.

Rating:
Summary: A Videohound's Best Friend!
Review: Videohound's DVD guide is a perfect companion to the Retriever 2001. The DVD guide is somewhat smaller in comparison, it only covering over 3,000 films on DVD and the Retriever covering around 24,000 on VHS, LD, and DVD. What makes the DVD guide so special is that it reviews the film as well as the DVD. Each review covers format comparison, sound and picture quality, special features, and retail price listings. All of these are important to the DVD enthusiast. Also included are 8 indexes (cast, alternative titles, director, screenwriter, cinematographer, composer, category, and distributor) for your searching convenience. The Videohound book collector will have already made up their mind but anyone interested in more in-depth reviews of DVD releases will want this. The book reviews DVDs as recent as 1999 and uses the classic "Woof!" to 4 bones rating system that houndheads have grown to love. Out of 728 pages, 510 are reviews, so it is somewhat "lighter" than the Retriever and easier to carry around too. Because this is a DVD guide, you may not find your favorite movie in it (thats why you have the Retriever, right?) but you will find most of the big DVDs and quite a few of the small ones, even some forgotten ones. Just to give you an idea of it's wide variety, tonight I have read reviews for Shaft, 101 Dalmations, and 2000 Maniacs. If you know these films you might be laughing right now, hearing them mentioned in a sentence. This book should be on top of your DVD player, in the vicinity of it, or sitting in the empty space where your DVD player will go when you get around to buying one. Ah, I likes the movies.

Rating:
Summary: A Videohound's Best Friend!
Review: Videohound's DVD guide is a perfect companion to the Retriever 2001. The DVD guide is somewhat smaller in comparison, it only covering over 3,000 films on DVD and the Retriever covering around 24,000 on VHS, LD, and DVD. What makes the DVD guide so special is that it reviews the film as well as the DVD. Each review covers format comparison, sound and picture quality, special features, and retail price listings. All of these are important to the DVD enthusiast. Also included are 8 indexes (cast, alternative titles, director, screenwriter, cinematographer, composer, category, and distributor) for your searching convenience. The Videohound book collector will have already made up their mind but anyone interested in more in-depth reviews of DVD releases will want this. The book reviews DVDs as recent as 1999 and uses the classic "Woof!" to 4 bones rating system that houndheads have grown to love. Out of 728 pages, 510 are reviews, so it is somewhat "lighter" than the Retriever and easier to carry around too. Because this is a DVD guide, you may not find your favorite movie in it (thats why you have the Retriever, right?) but you will find most of the big DVDs and quite a few of the small ones, even some forgotten ones. Just to give you an idea of it's wide variety, tonight I have read reviews for Shaft, 101 Dalmations, and 2000 Maniacs. If you know these films you might be laughing right now, hearing them mentioned in a sentence. This book should be on top of your DVD player, in the vicinity of it, or sitting in the empty space where your DVD player will go when you get around to buying one. Ah, I likes the movies.

Rating:
Summary: Video Hound has cranked out a nice film guide!
Review: Want to read the reviews for a movie that has not been in the theatre for while then one should buy/use this source/reference tool/book in question,i.e., Videohound's Dvd Guide by Mike Mayo, Jim Olensk. In here one will find titles such as the stigmata and other classics. Recomended.