Rating: 
Summary: Comprehensive, multi-indexed; a great movie reference
Review: Compared to all the movie review books out there, this is the one where I'm most likely to find what I'm looking for. Aside from the huge listing of films, there are numerous cross references that serve as an efficient guide as well as a valuable resource for cinemafiles. My favorite is the alphabetical listing of actors/actresses, because I often can't remember a movie title, but can remember who was in it. You know how that is.As far as the reviews go, I'm not so picky. Opinions are opinions, and I'm more concerned with the plot, presentation and straight movie facts, rather than who thinks what film is good or not. The individual film listings go way beyond director and key actors. Even less-than-star players get a mention, as well as the director, writer, cinematographer, and composer/lyricist. Also included is a listing of all the nominations and awards a film received. Although I wouldn't necessary delve that deeply to learn about movies unless I was trying out for Jeopardy, the information is interesting nevertheless. In comparison to the 1999 guide, there are two deletions in the 2000 edition that keep me from giving this a 5-star rating: 1) the foreign film index, to which I referred quite often last year; and 2) the "content warning" description, which, while not the determining factor as to what movie I rent, is still useful to me. I hope this information re-appears in subsequent editions. All in all, this guide is a worthwhile purchase, and the space is reserved under my TV for the 2001 edition.
Rating: 
Summary: Wow! What a book!
Review: I could go on and on about how wonderful this guide is: how it lists almost 24,000 movies; how it indexes and cross-references by so many criteria that your head will spin like Linda Blair's in "The Exorcist"; how the 2002 version [again] includes Academy Award nominations, as well as winners; and all the other great features of this book. But I won't, because many of the other reviewers have already gushed over them. Suffice it to say that if you're really into movies, or you would *like* to be really into movies, this would be a very valuable item to own. Literally one hundred years' worth of cinematic details at your fingertips, and presented with clarity and humor. As Roger Ebert might say, "A definite thumbs up!"
Rating:
Summary: The Best of the Best
Review: I have a bad habit of seeing someone in a movie and wanting to know where else I may have seen them or just what other movie is that beautiful lady in. This is the book of books. Looking for names, dates, places, and things you could not even begin to think of, it's all here fellow movie buffs. Don't own it, get it. It will be well worth your money. Want to start a DVD collection but would like to be more selective than you were with your VHS collection, this book will help you in getting just what you want, thereby, paying for itself in just a few months. Would like a little better website from these guys, but I will buy the 2003 model.
Rating:
Summary: Admirable!
Review: I work as a clerk in a video store, and plan on entering film school. I am often asked to find movies based on the slimmest of details. They range from "a two year old movie with Al Pacino" to "that movie who had the guy from that movie that was nominated for best picture last year". While sometimes I'm able to decipher my customer's meaning, I am often lost. This book has essentially eliminated that problem. I have never seen a video guide as cross-referenced or as complete as this one. You can use title, subject, actor, director, cinametographer, composer, award winning (you can look to see what movie won the academy award for best song in 1935 or the independent spirit award for first feature in 1987), and then you can find a description and a review. After searching half a dozen of these types of books, I found the 2000 version of the VideoHound - and then ordered the 2001 version that night. I had been rating these references by completeness, when I found Frank Whaley (star of independent movie Swimming with Sharks and minor character in Pulp Fiction) in the actor directory - I knew I had my book. The only reason that I didn't give this book a five-star review is due to personal preference. I didn't agree with many of their reviews. Somewhat unfair, I realize, but a problem for me nonetheless. This is perhaps the necessary guide for any movie lover. I know that I'm taking it to my store.
Rating:
Summary: Amazingly comprehensive
Review: I work as a clerk in a video store, and plan on entering film school. I am often asked to find movies based on the slimmest of details. They range from "a two year old movie with Al Pacino" to "that movie who had the guy from that movie that was nominated for best picture last year". While sometimes I'm able to decipher my customer's meaning, I am often lost. This book has essentially eliminated that problem. I have never seen a video guide as cross-referenced or as complete as this one. You can use title, subject, actor, director, cinametographer, composer, award winning (you can look to see what movie won the academy award for best song in 1935 or the independent spirit award for first feature in 1987), and then you can find a description and a review. After searching half a dozen of these types of books, I found the 2000 version of the VideoHound - and then ordered the 2001 version that night. I had been rating these references by completeness, when I found Frank Whaley (star of independent movie Swimming with Sharks and minor character in Pulp Fiction) in the actor directory - I knew I had my book. The only reason that I didn't give this book a five-star review is due to personal preference. I didn't agree with many of their reviews. Somewhat unfair, I realize, but a problem for me nonetheless. This is perhaps the necessary guide for any movie lover. I know that I'm taking it to my store.
Rating:
Summary: Good reference for American Films
Review: It is a very well written reference book. It has good, nicely summarized plots of the films withouth revealing the most important aspects. The only drawback is that it is a reference for only American films. It does not mention any European films.
Rating:
Summary: This guide has it all.
Review: Movie trivia fans will delight in the depth of information included in this volume. A great set of reviews that is unbiased and devoid of "fluff".
Rating:
Summary: This guide has it all.
Review: Movie trivia fans will delight in the depth of information included in this volume. A great set of reviews that is unbiased and devoid of "fluff".
Rating:
Summary: A Must for Film Buffs
Review: The Videohound's guides are the most comprehensive and user-friendly collections of movie reviews around. Films are sorted by title, genre, cast, director, writer and even composer and cinematographer, so if you can remember anything at all about a movie, you can look it up. Reviews are concise and often amusing, with ratings from Woof! to ****. Many of the Woofs! are low-budget horror films that fall into the "so bad it's good" category. Flaws? In my opinion, some of the reviewers (I assume they weren't all written by one person!) don't appreciate many low-key, offbeat independent films. Some of my favorite movies only get one or two stars. But no gigantic collection of reviews can expect to please everyone, and the primary value of Videohound's is that it's a superb reference tool. Whether you agree with the reviews is secondary.
Rating:
Summary: One Day They'll Put this on CD!
Review: This book is huge and every year before we buy it, we hope that they will come out with the searchable CD version....maybe one year soon. Other than that it's THE guide!
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