Do many people still rely on them with the plethora of information on films online? If so, which one(s) do you find invaluable and would recommend?

I used to enjoy Video Hound's many years ago as well as a couple of others but haven't bought one since. I'm curious if I should make a place on my shelf for one again.

Video Hound has updated the Cult movie book (The new edition is huge!). I also picked up Video Hound's Dragon; a massive reference for Asian movies (It includes Anime, Martial Arts, HK action and even Korean movies).

I keep these 2 handy along with Leonard Maltins movie guide for reference.

Why do I have these, when the Internet readily available?

The reason is because I've worked in the computer industry for 20 years and after a long day of staring at computer screens, I find it more relaxing to use print media.

"Time Out Film Guide" is a reasonably priced, handy reference. It lists over ten thousand films, the capsules are well-written (much better than Maltin's), and it's worth buying for the "General Subject Index" alone.

as a film buff,before the internet came along,
I relied on cinemania 1994 cd-rom
cinemania 1995 cd-rom
for reviews by maltin, ebert, kael, baseline,emprhim katz ,which include the complete maltin, video companion, 5001 nights at the movies.
blockbuster guide to movies and videos 1st edition cd-rom, even though there ratings for a films are not that great, for example,wes craven's new nightmare was good, but not the rating they gave it with five stars. it wasnt that excellent. I give the film a three star rating respectively.

and now I have the internet, and they discounted cinemania in 1997, i still find comfort in print media, i still read ebert views on his website site at suntimes and browse thier ebert and roeper website for audio clips and ratings. I also have maltins video guides up to 2002. am am planning to purchase eberts yearbook 2004 in the next few months.

ps.I love the introduction maltin gives in his video guides. they are very informative and interesting to me.

I liked VideoHound quite a lot, but that was maybe ten years ago.

I picked it up then through a QPB enrollment then, and it is still available with them (5 books @ $1 + $14.25 s/h, 1 more to buy later at club price):

http://www.qpb.com

I always have the latest version of Videohound on the shelf. I don't keep my comp on all the time, so if I some quick info on a flick or cast member I just pick up the book.

For foreign and independents, Time Out Film Guide is far and away the best. I have bought every edition since the first in 1989. The TLA Film Guide is also terrific, but it doesn't contain enough new additions each year to make it worthwhile to buy on an annual basis.

Maltin's book and DVD and Video Guide by Martin & Porter are worth buying for additional opinions, and because they remain low-priced. I haven't bought Videohound's main tome since the '97 edition; it's too expensive. Halliwell's is decent, as are Variety, Elliott's, and Cinebooks's The Movie Guide (a.k.a. TV Guide's Film and Video Guide), whose entire database can be searched online at TV guide.

There are many other specialty guides of note, but the above-mentioned are the most comprehensive of the mainstreamers.


Incidentally, does anyone know what happened to Steven Scheuer? His annual Movies on TV and Videocassette was an even more thorough version of the Maltin pocketbook prototype, but it ceased abruptly in the early nineties. I still have a hardcover of the last edition. Did he die?