The 100 Best Films to Rent You've Never Heard of: Hidden Treasures, Neglected Classics, and Hits from By-Gone Eras

Very interesting, provocative and varied; admittedly, some of the films are extremely well known to buffs and thus do not fit the "never heard of" label, but it is a great start for a Netflix queue or a Blockbuster trip. Unfortunately, since many of these are minor classics, many Blockbuster stores won't stock them -- you need a specialty video store.

This is a wonderful little book, with great suggestions that are very easy to read. Each movie gets a page, and a plot synopsis. I just worked through it and checked everyone I wanted to see. So far I have discoved some wonderful treasures! Buy one for your friends as well.

As a person who looks for hidden treasures away from the "new release" section, this book is a treasure in itself. We only got it a couple of weeks ago, and we've already seen several films from it- Let it Ride with Richard Dreyfuss and The Tall Guy with Jeff Goldblum and Emma Thompson. Both were worth the price of the book.If you want to try going off the well-beaten path for a movie once in a while, this is the book for you. Enjoy!!

David Meyer, in his book, accomplishes what other movie critics fail to even remotely understand. In his own unpretentious way, he lifts the craft of film criticism to the same lofty heights as literary criticism. And if he continues to produce works of the same quality, he may reflect the soul of cinema as well as Northrope Frye revealed the soul of Shakespeare. In other words, David Meyer as a critic has become an artist himself.Taken collectively, Mr. Meyer's essays in this book act as a thread which, when followed, will take you into the heart of cinema. The journey best begins with Black Narcissus - a film about which Mr. Meyer writes, "rent me first." Black Narcissus is the dream we have all experienced. It sits on the edge of our consciousness like a beautiful stained glass window, allowing the light of the soul to shine through in its many colors. And after you've watched the movie several times, you may find that Black Narcissus has the symmetry of a diamond - each time you look at it, a particular facet of the story will reflect light in a slightly different, yet beautiful, way. From there, I would use your own intuition to decide the next film listed in his book. Perhaps, your intuition will lead you, as it did me, to the film noir classic, In a Lonely Place and then to the creative genius of The Thief of Baghdad. Or it will take you somewhere else. It's your voyage - I'd just use Mr. Meyer has your navigator.This last point illuminates what lies behind all of Mr. Meyer's reviews - trust. In my opinion, he'll guide you in such a way that you won't end up crashing against the rocks, caught up watching movies that are of no value or, worse yet, ones that unconsciously pull you down into the dark waters. You can rely on his judgment to avoid the bad trip and fully experience the brilliant world of movies.

David Meyer manages to say just enough about each of these 100 films to whet your appetite without sounding pedantic or critical. He provides categorizations of the films (so that you don't accidentally rent a Screwball Comedy when you're in the mood for a Psychological Thriller), and he points out interesting things to watch for in each film without ruining any of the fun of discovering a film for yourself (i.e. he never reveals the ending for you). Films (as he says) you've "never heard of", and even some you may have but have never gotten around to renting, are made to sound inviting, and I can vouch for all five of the suggestions I have taken so far: these _are_ great films, and a great book. BTW, those of you worried that this book only contains "art" films or boring dramas, take note that TWO John Woo films and a selection of comedies are among the wide range of genre and category covered in this book. Meyer even includes other selections indexed by director, so that the book really contains far more than 100 suggestions. If you've ever wandered the halls of your local Video Monster or Tape Barn, thinking "What the heck am I going to rent THIS time?", this book can surely point you in the right direction. Indispensible for anyone with a VCR