Rating: 
Summary: A boring read
Review: A misleading title. Most of the movies listed here are NOT "apocalypse" films. There is also very little analysis. A pretty book with little substance. Poor.
Rating:
Summary: A boring read
Review: A misleading title. Most of the movies listed here are NOT "apocalypse" films. There is also very little analysis. A pretty book with little substance. Poor.
Rating: 
Summary: Perhaps Best Book Ever Written on the Subject
Review: Had heard of Kim Newman from his 'Anno Dracula' novels (esp. the well-done 'Bloody Red Baron.')When I saw this book on shelf, couldn't believe it. Couldn't believe the author. Newman has also contributed to some of the Overlook Encyclopedias of Film. In short: Vivid, intelligently critical, perhaps best book ever written on the subject. Film history is all about choices. Newman's concise, no-bones prose keeps you humming through the book, all the way from the post-WWII 'bomber command' cycle of American war films through the 'asteroid-threatens-the- earth' cycle of the late 1990s (even an aside to last year's 'Arlington Road.') Special treats: two chapters devoted to the now classic fifties cyles 'Monsters & Mutants,' and 'Norms vs. Mutates.' The common thread, from post-1945 on, is The Bomb, and as Newman's sublime thesis suggests, ALL MOVIES post WWII have had to acknowledge the reality of the nuclear genie in some way. Most insightful chapters: 'Learning to Love the Bomb,' focusing on sci-fi films during mid-sixties, early-seventies detente' and 'There ain't no Sedalia!' examines the last major burst of made-for-TV nuclear war movies in the mid-(Reagan)eighties. Newman's critical eye, sharp prose turns this into a landmark book of film scholarship. Film buffs: buy it, read it, read it again.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant piece of scholarship
Review: I had the good fortune of stumbling on this book accidentally, and as post-nuclear literature and film is a hobby of mine, I snatched it up and immediately read it cover to cover. I have rarely been so impressed by any book about film. Newman provides a fantastic survey of post-nuclear, disaster, and other "apocalypse" types of movies while maintaining a scholar's approach and a likable wit. The writing style flows easily, and the humor helps maintain a slightly "human" perspective about such grim subject matter. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in post-nuclear or disaster/apocalpse movies either for fun, research, or learning. The lists of movies, let alone the discussion of them, make this book worth every penny.
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant piece of scholarship
Review: I had the good fortune of stumbling on this book accidentally, and as post-nuclear literature and film is a hobby of mine, I snatched it up and immediately read it cover to cover. I have rarely been so impressed by any book about film. Newman provides a fantastic survey of post-nuclear, disaster, and other "apocalypse" types of movies while maintaining a scholar's approach and a likable wit. The writing style flows easily, and the humor helps maintain a slightly "human" perspective about such grim subject matter. I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in post-nuclear or disaster/apocalpse movies either for fun, research, or learning. The lists of movies, let alone the discussion of them, make this book worth every penny.
Rating:
Summary: Informative and Fun
Review: Kim Newman's Apocalypse Movies (End of the World Cinema) is actually broader than the title implies as it covers all forms of threats to humanity over the decades in cinema. It is a fascinating, well-researched account that lets the author roam freely and entertainly over the horror and science fiction cinematic landscape. This book will have the reader running to the video store in order to spend many hours sitting in the dark watching (or more likely) re-watching much schlock (glorious, glorious shlock) with a new perspective and an ability to put these tarnished gems in their broader context. A wonderful read for film buffs or those who would like to become one.
Rating:
Summary: Informative and Fun
Review: Kim Newman's Apocalypse Movies (End of the World Cinema) is actually broader than the title implies as it covers all forms of threats to humanity over the decades in cinema. It is a fascinating, well-researched account that lets the author roam freely and entertainly over the horror and science fiction cinematic landscape. This book will have the reader running to the video store in order to spend many hours sitting in the dark watching (or more likely) re-watching much schlock (glorious, glorious shlock) with a new perspective and an ability to put these tarnished gems in their broader context. A wonderful read for film buffs or those who would like to become one.
Rating: 
Summary: Jam packed with movie names and pictures
Review: That is about it. This book contains more movie names and pictures than you would get in 10 of them there movie magazines.
However the writing is more of a rattling with a few names dropped now and then to try to keep it coherent. There are a few tidbits of history and biography with no real backup information and the author is strongly opinionated.
If you already know the movie then you can find this interesting as memorabilia and the pictures are fun for reminiscing. However, if you have not already seen the movie, at best this book will give you some tittles to look-up. There the author has no time or inclination to really explain much as the next sentence must be reserved for another movie or two.
There is a small three page bibliography that des not contain any ISBN numbers
There is an extensive index to help handle the volume of tittles. I looked-up "Them!" and got several references that were half sentences talking about something else and said like in the movie "Them!."
Again the black and white stills from the movies are worth while.
Rating:
Summary: The End of the World Was Never So Much Fun
Review: To appreciate this book you must have enjoyed watching either giant insects (of any sort) or a zombie-like person stumbling after someone with a delicious brain. If either of these concepts sound like a bad idea for cinema, this book may not be for you. Kim Newman's Apocalypse Movies (End of the World Cinema) is a joy to read as he takes the reader through a rogue's gallery of weird charaters while charting the science fiction and horror movies that have signaled mankind's doom since cinema began. The book is well researched, nicely written and much fun. These joyous films will be presented to the reader in a new and larger context that will only deepen their delightfully guilty pleasure. A wonderful book.
Rating:
Summary: The End of the World Was Never So Much Fun
Review: To appreciate this book you must have enjoyed watching either giant insects (of any sort) or a zombie-like person stumbling after someone with a delicious brain. If either of these concepts sound like a bad idea for cinema, this book may not be for you. Kim Newman's Apocalypse Movies (End of the World Cinema) is a joy to read as he takes the reader through a rogue's gallery of weird charaters while charting the science fiction and horror movies that have signaled mankind's doom since cinema began. The book is well researched, nicely written and much fun. These joyous films will be presented to the reader in a new and larger context that will only deepen their delightfully guilty pleasure. A wonderful book.
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