The Rough Guide to Cult Movies

I bought this book and read most of it in one night; I couldn't put it down because the subject is so fascinating. A huge number of films are given short reviews: some I knew, some I didn't. The tome's small size and attractive design helped me keep reading into the wee hours. But I became gradually more annoyed when I discovered how carelessly the book was written and edited (if there was an editor at all). Misspells and typos abound: Herzog's film on Kinski, "My Best Fiend" is shown as "My Best Friend," thus completely missing the point. Great character actor Theodore Bikel is cited as "Theodore Bickel" - and these are only two out of dozens of similar, inexcusable mistakes. If Rough Guide can't afford a decent proofreader, maybe they should stick to travel guides. If they had only been more careful, the book would deserve an enthusiastic five stars, rather than the grudging four stars I give it.

There are lots of little tidbits of info to be gleaned from this cool little book. Hundreds of cult films are included, though there are some I wouldn't have included (like APOLLO 13, THE PERFECT STORM, SEE SPOT RUN and TITANIC), and some they overlooked (THE GOOD THE BAD AND THE UGLY, GREASE, THE MATRIX, etc.), but overall this volume has a nice mixture of titles, broken down into many categories and a handy index. Recommended for movie buffs everywhere!