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''Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide'' was a book-format collection of movie
capsule review A capsule review or mini reviewThe Word, 1976, issue 12, page 1Google Books/ref> is a form of appraisal, usually associated with journalism, that offers a relatively short critique of a specified creative work (movie, music album, restaurant, pa ...
s that began in 1969, was updated biannually after 1978, and then annually after 1986. The final edition was published in September 2014. It was originally called ''TV Movies'', which became ''Leonard Maltin's TV Movies and Video Guide'', and then ''Leonard Maltin's Movie and Video Guide'', before arriving at its final title. Film critic Leonard Maltin edited it and contributed a large portion of its reviews.


Features

The book used a
star rating Star classification is a type of rating scale utilizing a star glyph or similar typographical symbol. It is used by reviewers for ranking things such as films, TV shows, restaurants, and hotels. For example, a system of one to five stars is ...
system. The lowest rating was "BOMB", followed by one and a half stars, rising in half-star increments to a maximum of four stars, and frequently giving out two-and-a-half star ( **1/2 ) reviews. The sole exception to this was '' Naked Gun : The Final Insult'', which was rated with two and one third stars out of four, referencing the film's title. Maltin did not cover direct-to-video films because of their great number (six released each week by 1994).
Made-for-television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
s were included in the guides for many years, though in the late 1990s, Maltin gradually began to phase them out to make room for current feature film releases. All had been removed by the early 2010s, and no TV movies made after 2004 were included in new editions. Maltin used a different system for rating TV movies: "Below average", "Average" or "Above average", with select variants for highly rated films, including "Way above average" for '' The Day After'' and the
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
-winning '' Special Bulletin'' (each from 1983), and "Outstanding" for ''Minstrel Man'' (1977). Certain theatrically-released films (usually low budget, obscure, foreign, concert, or serial films), as well as the majority of films based on Edgar Wallace novels, were also removed from the guide over time to allow the inclusion of new titles. Another notable feature of the Guide was that each review included a reference to the source material for the film if it was based on previously published material. Films were listed alphabetically letter-by-letter, ignoring punctuation and spaces.
Articles Article often refers to: * Article (grammar), a grammatical element used to indicate definiteness or indefiniteness * Article (publishing), a piece of nonfictional prose that is an independent part of a publication Article may also refer to: G ...
were also ignored and transposed to the end of the title. The Guide was notable for containing what the ''
Guinness Book of World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
'' calls the world's shortest movie review. His 2 out of 4 star review of the 1948 musical '' Isn't It Romantic?'' consisted of the word "No". Another very short review concerned the film '' Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed'' where Maltin wrote, "It is what it is." Yet another was of '' Are Husbands Necessary?'' in which he wrote "And what about this film?", and one more right behind these is '' Police Academy 4: Citizens on Patrol'' where, in comparing it to the previous installments, he commented, "More of the same, only worse."


Bombs

Along with typically listed worst pictures of all time, the hundreds of films Maltin designated as a "BOMB" in his guide also included the following: ''
American Gigolo ''American Gigolo'' is a 1980 American neo-noir crime drama film written and directed by Paul Schrader, and starring Richard Gere and Lauren Hutton. It tells the story about a high-priced escort in Los Angeles (Gere) who becomes romantically ...
'', the Woody Allen-directed ''
Anything Else ''Anything Else'' is a 2003 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Woody Allen, produced by Letty Aronson, and starring Jason Biggs, Christina Ricci, Allen, Stockard Channing, Danny DeVito, Jimmy Fallon, Erica Leerhsen and KaDee Stri ...
'', '' Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever'', '' Battlefield Earth'', '' The Benchwarmers'', ''
Best of the Best Best or The Best may refer to: People * Best (surname), people with the surname Best * Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer Companies and organizations * Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain * Best Lock Corporation, ...
'', '' Bobby Deerfield'', '' The Bonfire of the Vanities'', '' The Cannonball Run'', '' Cannonball Run II'', '' Captain Ron'', '' Celtic Pride'', '' College'', ''
Cop and a Half ''Cop and a Half'' is a 1993 American family buddy cop-comedy film directed by Henry Winkler, and stars Burt Reynolds, Norman D. Golden II, and Ray Sharkey in his final role. Reynolds plays a veteran cop who reluctantly takes an eight-year-old ...
'', ''
Delgo ''Delgo'' is a 2008 American computer-animated fantasy adventure film directed by Marc F. Adler and Jason Maurer, written by Scott Biear, Patrick J. Cowan, Carl Dream, and Jennifer A. Jones. It stars Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anne ...
'', '' Driven'', '' The Dukes of Hazzard'', ''
88 Minutes ''88 Minutes'' is a 2007 thriller film directed by Jon Avnet and starring Al Pacino, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, William Forsythe, Deborah Kara Unger, Amy Brenneman, Neal McDonough and Benjamin McKenzie. In the film, famed forensic psychiatris ...
'', '' Endless Love'', '' Every Which Way but Loose'', '' Fatal Beauty'', '' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'', '' Four Rooms'', '' Freddy Got Fingered'', '' The Garbage Pail Kids Movie'', '' Grease 2'', 2010's ''
Gulliver's Travels ''Gulliver's Travels'', or ''Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, First a Surgeon, and then a Captain of Several Ships'' is a 1726 prose satire by the Anglo-Irish writer and clergyman Jonathan ...
'', '' Howard the Duck '', 1980's '' Jazz Singer'', '' The Karate Kid Part III'', '' Little Man'', '' Mame'', '' Mannequin'', ''
The Missouri Breaks ''The Missouri Breaks'' is a 1976 American Western film starring Marlon Brando and Jack Nicholson. The film was directed by Arthur Penn, with supporting performances by Randy Quaid, Harry Dean Stanton, Frederic Forrest, John McLiam, and Kath ...
'', the 1980 adaptation of '' Popeye'', '' Prêt-à-Porter'', 1998's remake of '' Psycho'', ''
Silent Night, Deadly Night ''Silent Night, Deadly Night'' is a 1984 American slasher film directed by Charles E. Sellier, Jr., and starring Robert Brian Wilson, Lilyan Chauvin, Gilmer McCormick, Toni Nero, Linnea Quigley, Britt Leach, and Leo Geter. The story concerns a ...
'', 2007's remake of '' Sleuth'', '' Street Fighter'', ''
3000 Miles to Graceland ''3000 Miles to Graceland'' is a 2001 American heist black action comedy film directed, co-written, and co-produced by Demian Lichtenstein. Lichtenstein co-wrote the script with Richard Recco. The film stars Kurt Russell, Kevin Costner, Courte ...
'', ''
Valley of the Dolls Valley of the Dolls may refer to: * ''Valley of the Dolls'' (novel), a 1966 novel by Jacqueline Susann ** ''Valley of the Dolls'' (film), a 1967 film adapted from the novel *** " (Theme from) Valley of the Dolls", the title song from the film, pe ...
'', '' Van Helsing'', 1985's '' Water'', ''
Year One The term "Year One" in political history usually refers to the institution of radical, revolutionary change. This usage dates from the time of the French Revolution. After the official abolition of the French monarchy on 21 September 1792, the N ...
'', and '' Your Highness''.


History

High-school senior Leonard Maltin was a film fan and publisher of ''Fanzine Monthly''. In spring 1968 a teacher introduced him to an editor at Signet Books, which wanted a competitor to
Steven H. Scheuer Steven Henry Scheuer (January 9, 1926 – May 31, 2014) was a film and television historian and critic. He edited all seventeen editions of ''Movies on TV'' published between 1958 and 1993 and wrote ''The Movie Book'' (1974), subtitled ''A Compreh ...
's '' Movies on TV''; impressed by Maltin's ideas for the book the editor hired him immediately, without telling others that he had hired a 17-year-old. The first edition of Maltin's book appeared in 1969; a second edition appeared five years later. After a third in 1978, new editions appeared every two years, and after 1986 every year. In 2005, logistical problems of a single book prompted him to launch a companion volume, ''Leonard Maltin's Classic Movie Guide'', restricted to films from 1960 and earlier, several of which no longer appear in the annual publication (some had been deleted over the years to make room for newer films, others removed at this point because the additional title permitted it) and many others that never had. The latter category includes the "complete" (according to Maltin's introduction) Saturday matinee cowboy programmers of
John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Gol ...
, William "Hopalong Cassidy" Boyd,
Gene Autry Orvon Grover "Gene" Autry (September 29, 1907 – October 2, 1998), nicknamed the Singing Cowboy, was an American singer, songwriter, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who gained fame largely by singing in a crooning s ...
and Roy Rogers. The second edition of the ''Classic Movie Guide'', published in 2010, moved the cut-off date to 1965. Besides Scheuer's ''Movies on TV'', similar books include ''
Halliwell's Film Guide Robert James Leslie Halliwell (23 February 1929 – 21 January 1989) was a British film critic, encyclopaedist and television rights buyer for ITV, the British commercial network, and Channel 4. He is best known for his reference guides, '' Film ...
'', by Leslie Halliwell, and ''The Good Film and Video Guide'', by David Shipman. Scheuer's guide was the first published, in 1958, preceding Maltin's by ten years, and the two were competing titles until the early 1990s. Scheuer's books had a similar format to Maltin's, except with more listings for made-for-television productions. Maltin announced in August 2014 that the 2015 edition, to be published in September 2014, would be the last:


App

The mobile application version of the guide was released, in 2009, to the App Store. However, the app was taken down in 2014 due to Penguin Group being unable to come to an agreement with Mobile Age, the creator of the app.


See also

* Turner Classic Movies *''
Entertainment Tonight ''Entertainment Tonight'' (or simply ''ET'') is an American Broadcast syndication, first-run syndicated news broadcasting news magazine, newsmagazine program that is distributed by CBS Media Ventures throughout the United States and owned by Para ...
'' *''
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ''Mystery Science Theater 3000'' (abbreviated as ''MST3K'') is an American science fiction comedy film review television series created by Joel Hodgson. The show premiered on KTMA-TV (now WUCW) in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on November 24, 1988. ...
''


References

{{Reflist Film guides Book series introduced in 1969