This is the one film critic with whom I never disagreed. Leslie Halliwell was an exhaustively knowledgeable student of film, and this was his valentine's card to the art form he loved. He handpicked his 100 favorite movies and shared generous detail on the people who made them, what made the films great, and his own first experiences of many of them. It's a treasure trove for anyone looking to explore classic cinema; several film courses wrapped up in one book (and a heck of a lot more fun to read than most of the pretentious modern film theorists). Of course, this is just too good a book to actually still be available...
One of the greatest books of film criticism of all time
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 22 years ago
Forget the pretentious drivel of the post - deconstructionists. Here is a man who loves films and enjoys telling people about the films he loves best. I cannot believe it is out of print. I was searching for a new copy to replace the one I owned that has fallen apart from reading and re-reading. Halliwell delights in revisiting the classics, but also in highlighting some delightful minor films. I relish Father Brown which I had to go to a midnight showing. I have spent 16 years tracking down all the films in this book and every single one has been a joy. I have six to go and I hope I get to see them all. Halliwell repeated the dose with Halliwell's harvest - an equally enjoyable book. I cannot imagine that anyone who loves films could not enjoy this book. He can be a bit stuffy in his criticism, but this is a quibble for one of the best film books about. Not only does he tell you about the film. He talks about where he saw the film and I loved his story about Gaslight that he saw three times in one day. His mother eventually came to get him out of the theatre only to watch the film herself.
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