Rating: 
Summary: "Too Long" Leonard?
Review: While this book remains the staple of movie buffs everywhere, in the 2004 edition, I get the sense that Maltin is growing weary. Either that or he's growing too old for sitting and watching movies. Why? Well, in review after review it seems he makes some comment about movie length. Even in good movies that he's given high ratings too there are so many references to him complaining that the movie "goes on too long", including both "Harry Potter" movies (hey, they have to stay true to the books!), as well as "Holes" (come on, Leonard!), any James Bond movie, and a handful of others. Nonetheless, if you have only one film reference book in your library, this should be the one.
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Summary: Keep next to the television.
Review: Leonard Maltin's Home Guide is quite simply the most extensive guide on the market and for a great price it's a must have. With ratings and reviews on mainstream box office hits, foreign films, independent films, cult classics, sequels and many other types of films it is heads and shoulders above the rest. The only problem I have with the book is it's ratings. Finding deserving contemperary classics like "Pulp Fiction, Being John Malcovich, Fargo, Waking Life, Bowling For Columbine, Happiness and many others fall short of 4 stars is a huge disappointment. Either Mr. Maltin and company are too stingy or greedy with their 4 stars or they're being too tough. But for your average movie viewer this one is a keeper.
Rating: 
Summary: Best All-Around Movie Guide
Review: Leonard Maltin has been publishing his annual movie guide for well over 20 years, and it keeps improving. The 2004 edition includes over 18,000 movies, 300+ more than the prior edition. Each review details the year of release, length, director, stars, brief plot description and critique, and other pertinent information. Maltin also rates each movie from Bomb to 4 stars. In addition, many of the biggest movie stars and their movies are listed in an appendix. The guide is simply the most comprehensive of the major movie guides. However, some readers may be disappointed by the brevity of each entry; the guide is designed to provide basic movie information, not an in-depth analysis. If you're looking for that kind of guide, then check out the work of Roger Ebert or Pauline Kael. The only quibble I have is that Maltin and his editors tend to have rather conservative tastes, so I often disagree with their ratings for more cutting-edge films. If you don't have an earlier edition, then I highly suggest you purchase this guide. If you have an earlier edition, then you'll likely be pleased with a new addition - a list of 50 overlooked movie gems recommended by Maltin. Most highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: Maltin is Overrated
Review: I have purchased Maltin's book twice and was burned both times. He omitted actors and films; one review made me wonder if he attended the movie at all. Give me Martin and Porter anytime!
Rating:
Summary: We Wear It Out Every Year
Review: Our family watches a lot of movies and uses a lot of reference books. This is the movie guide we would have to replace every year even if it weren't updated, because by the end of the year it is in pieces and ragged from use. The descriptions are concise, but useful, and the ratings are consistent. We can count on a 2.5 rating or better to be a pretty good movie and any less than that is a risk. Along with David Thomson's Biographical Dictionary and Halliwell, this belongs on your video reference shelf.
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Summary: Still the Best
Review: When I was a film student in 1969, there were three books which I kept close to my side, "American Cinema" by Andrew Sarris, Halliwell, and Maltin. Always picked a update every two or three years and in the last decade, the Internet Movie Data Base seemed to replace Sarris and Halliwell. This book is useful for a singular purpose-raw information: Title, cast, director, year and logline. It is up to the viewer to rate a film, I believe...and though I don't necessarily share Maltin's and his teams taste (I am constantly checking for a revision on "Alphaville" which is my personal touchstone in this case), this book was and continues to be an important reference for the general viewer and serious scholar. It was never intended to represent serious scholarship, nor does Maltin represent himself as the arbiteur of what is good. Occassionally, his team is able to be ahead of the pack on spotting little masterpieces. Quibble as you may with individual reviews, overall the entire body of work represents one of the most important efforts in cataloging the motion picture. It was and continues to be the one resource which MUST be had and used by any film lover. Period.
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Summary: The Standard---Highly Recommended!
Review: Leonard Maltin's movie guide has been around since 1969, a full decade even before we had VCRs, and it is not surprising that it has become the standard. Its reviews are short but efficient, and its ratings and information reliable. It's hard to ask for more. It is interesting to examine the distribution of the ratings in Maltin. Of the approximately 18,900 movies reviewed in the 2004 edition the number of films at each rating are approximately: **** (400), ***1/2 (1300), *** (4000), **1/2 (5500), ** (4700), *1/2 (2100), BOMB (700). (Those TV movies which are reviewed are rated on a different system.) The distribution, based on a sample of about 1200 films, is almost bell-shaped. In the opinion of the Maltin review team, obviously, there are about 400 excellent films, 1700 films that are very good or better, 6000 films that are good or better, and about 13,000 films that are less than good. But the Maltin guide does not abandon these lesser films. The guide still has four levels of ranking for the less than good films. This makes Maltin's rankings really useful for those of us who are not absolutely fastidious in our movie viewing choices. If you must have one film guide, this is the one to have, though there is certainly value to many of the others, especially Halliwell's, the Time Out Film Guide, and the Ebert yearbooks. But Maltin is the one to have if you're going to have only one. Would I change anything in the Maltin guide? You betcha! First of all, I would change the format of the large-print edition to have a larger trim size (but not as large as Halliwell's), and perhaps three columns, and be a lot thinner. A second partitioning of the text would have been an impossible expense in the old days, but not in today's world of digital typesetting. Secondly, I would include a list of films by directors. After 25 years of VCR and cable, American movie audiences are more sophisticated about film and are just as likely now to watch a film because of the director as because of a star. Thirdly, I would include a list of titles of films (with the ratings) that were added since the previous edition. Fourthly, I would include a list of the **** films for all years. Movie lovers will want the additional lists to better plan their movie rentals and purchases. Last, I would use word alphabetization rather than the present letter alphabetization, which I hate. But these are small improvements to an already excellent publication. And if your eyes are much better than mine, it can be had for less than $10. THE COMPETITION: Halliwell's Film and Video Guide 2003---Pro: very comprehensive (17,800 film descriptions, but not the 23,000 claimed), excellent extensive filmmaking data (the best there is). Con: Only 8000 films are considered to be worthy of ratings. Martin & Porter DVD & Video Guide 2004---Pro: Motivation given for the MPAA ratings, reviews TV series, very extensive director and actor lists, almost competitive with Maltin in comprehensiveness. Con: reviews sometimes low-brow, ratings less reliable than Maltin's (to this writer), many significant films omitted which appear in Maltin or Halliwell. Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbooks---Pro: Superb, long, penetrating, passionate reviews, many unique extra features as appendices. Con: Not comprehensive film guides (nor were they meant to be). Time Out Film Guide 2003---Pro: Excellent incisive usually longer-than-usual capsule reviews, almost as much technical data as Halliwell. Con: No ratings (some people may regard this as a plus), less comprehensive than Maltin and Halliwell (15,000 reviews), much more comprehensive than TLA, magnificent film lists. The Maltin and Time Out guides together make a formidable combination. TLA Video and DVD Guide 2004---Pro: Long thoughtful reviews, interesting film lists in appendix. Con: Not comprehensive (9000 reviews), many important films omitted, ratings too generous at top of spectrum (making it harder to make critical comparisons), many minor errors. A FINAL RECOMMENDATION: For a really fantastic trio of film books, consider acquiring: (1) "Leonard Maltin's Film and Video Guide," (2) "The Time Out Film Guide," and (3) Ephraim Katz' "Encyclopedia of Film."
Rating: 
Summary: 2004 Movie and Video Guide
Review: 2004 Movie and Video Guide (2003) 1644pg * D: Leonard Maltin Sequel in a long and tired franchise of Film Review books. Unlike many of it's predecessors, the new entries lack any actual opinions of the film. Maltin chooses to regurgitate information about the film, generally taken from other sources, rather than review them. Maltin ignores many non-hollywood movies, which makes this, now, only a reference of 'some' films that were released in 2002. Level of dissapointmenet in this installment reminiscent of such sequels as Matrix Reloaded
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Summary: EVOLVE OR FIND A DIFFERENT BUSINESS
Review: I've been buying this book on a yearly basis for over 15 years and I must say I'v become more and more dissapointed with each edition. You really can't ask a reviewer to share your exact feelings about every movie but it is sad to notice how little Mr. Maltin cares for any new film; if you are looking for any of his 4 star reviews don't even think about looking for any new release. He gives the impression he wouldn't have minded if movie making had ceased somewhere around 1948 which makes it hard to identify with most anything he says.
Examples: Minority Report ?... too harsh !; Catch me if you can ?...not original enough !, Red Dragon ?....needless remake !. I mean, these are not precisely once in a lifetime masterpieces but solid, above average films (speaking in all time terms).
On the other hand, four stars for "It happened one night" ?!?, this movie feels like and updated Three's company episode with a pretty unatractive female lead !
My suggestion: keep up with the Historian side of your career Mr. Maltin and don't dedicate your time with things you don't seem to love.
Rating:
Summary: An Excellent Reference Guide.
Review: I'm a big fan of Roger Ebert's guides, but Maltin is excellent in his own way. Maltin is a critic who isn't afraid to state his true opinion. Sonme criticts think that if a movie makes no sense, they need to look smart and talk about how brilliant it is, while Maltin will just say, "It makes no sense." Maltin is also a critic who appreciates the value of widescreen (there's even a widescreen guide on different aspect ratios in the book!) and will say when a movie must be viewed in letterbox format. He's clearly a man who appreciates great cinema and this 2004 guide features a very cool section about excellent films that have been forgotten. Some people complain that they don't agree with Maltin, but any mature person would realize we all have our opinions and whether yours and a critics' are the same is no reason to bash that critic. If you want a useful, pratical and honest guide to films over the 20th century and to today, this is the excellent guide to pick up.
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