In 1975, David Thomson published his Biographical Dictionary of Film, and few film books have enjoyed better press or such steady sales.
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reviews
Dec 06, 2009
Charles
rated it: 
Everybody loves a list. The American Film Institute, for example, gets a couple of TV specials every year out of listing the 100 best movies in some genre or other. And every film critic in the country is annually obligated to come up with a list of the top ten movies of the year.
But a list of 1,000 films? The vastness of such a project betrays its absurdity: No one's critical sensibility is so fine-tuned as to allow a convincing distinction in quality between the thousandth film on More...
But a list of 1,000 films? The vastness of such a project betrays its absurdity: No one's critical sensibility is so fine-tuned as to allow a convincing distinction in quality between the thousandth film on More...
Jun 19, 2009
Read the STOP SMILING interview with author David Thomson
The 21st Interview: David Thomson
by José Teodoro
David Thomson is a historian, critic and the author of several books on movies of tremendous influence, among them The Biographical Dictionary of Film, The Whole Equation and, most recently, Have You Seen…?: A Personal Introduction to 1000 Films and Try To Tell the Story: A Memoir. He’s contributed to publications such as Film Comment, Salon and the Guardian. His More...
The 21st Interview: David Thomson
by José Teodoro
David Thomson is a historian, critic and the author of several books on movies of tremendous influence, among them The Biographical Dictionary of Film, The Whole Equation and, most recently, Have You Seen…?: A Personal Introduction to 1000 Films and Try To Tell the Story: A Memoir. He’s contributed to publications such as Film Comment, Salon and the Guardian. His More...
Feb 20, 2011
Lize
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I own Thomson's "New Biographical Dictionary of Film", which is excellent, so I picked this one up from the library to 'audition' it and see if I wanted to buy it (I did). It's a monster of a book, covering 1,000 films, one per page, with Thomson's personal thoughts on each one, which, being nowhere near as objective as a review might be expected to be, are fascinating and often great fun to read. And Thomson's encyclopedic knowledge of detail always tells me something I didn't know, e
More...
Dec 23, 2010
Robert
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David Thomson, Have You Seen...?: A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films (Knopf, 2008)
I am enough of a film geek that I have a favorite critic, Jonathan Rosenbaum. He's witty, acerbic, and all too clear-eyed (enough to make an amateur like me wonder where I, or he, has gone so horribly wrong on certain movies). But after reading David Thomson's capsule notes on a thousand movies ranging from stuff everyone's written column inches on to movies even you have never heard of, Rosenbaum has More...
I am enough of a film geek that I have a favorite critic, Jonathan Rosenbaum. He's witty, acerbic, and all too clear-eyed (enough to make an amateur like me wonder where I, or he, has gone so horribly wrong on certain movies). But after reading David Thomson's capsule notes on a thousand movies ranging from stuff everyone's written column inches on to movies even you have never heard of, Rosenbaum has More...
Dec 02, 2008
Hope
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An interesting catalog of movies. I don't know anything about Thomson, but he seems to suffer from the same disease as most film reviewers: that of believing the darkest and oldest movies are the most interesting. His writing style is rather cryptic and he never tells you much about the plot or the movie in general. It is not really for people who are trying to find something to read on a Saturday night, but might be more interesting to the serious movie buff or scholar of cinema.
Dec 14, 2008
Dave
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I mentioned that reading this was like eating potato chips--but how many potato chips can you eat in one sitting? After the second bag (the Ds), it got a bit much. I'll get back to it.
He is fun to read because he's seen Everything, and so has a comprehensive view of the whole film tradition of most of the world. Of course, just because you have experience and a consistent view and a critical vision doesn't mean you're right. Very similar to reading Edmund Wilson, Robert Christgau More...
He is fun to read because he's seen Everything, and so has a comprehensive view of the whole film tradition of most of the world. Of course, just because you have experience and a consistent view and a critical vision doesn't mean you're right. Very similar to reading Edmund Wilson, Robert Christgau More...
Apr 21, 2009
Bert
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This is not intended to be a book about the best 1,000 films; it’s Thomson’s thoughts on films that are worth seeing for a variety of reasons. All the write-ups are one page or less. Like Pauline Kael, Thomson has his own unique perspective on films -- the “Personal” in the title should be taken seriously – so I often don’t enjoy films I’ve watched on his recommendation but his observations are worth reading.
Jun 13, 2009
Karen
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Of course I skimmed this mammoth book, passing over the esoteric entries like Un Chien Andalou in favor of movies I love like Angel Face. David Thomson is such an idiosyncratic writer, even when he's writing about movies I know really well, I have no idea what he's talking about half the time. Which is kind of fun and kind of annoying. But, still, I ate it up like popcorn.
Mar 27, 2010
Gordon
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A very good reference book for 1,000 films selected by this critic. I took a History of Film class from David Thomson at Dartmouth in 1980 and I have a lot of respect for him as a film critic and author, as well as a teacher. Each film gets a page, and a review, good, bad, or conflicted.
Dec 22, 2009
Ed
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This is a very good book, encyclopedic in that he takes a great effort to include films that he thinks you ought to know about. His opinions are quirky (because he sometimes disagrees with me in ways I take violent exception to). However, he always voices coherent reasons for his positions.
I good book for a film buff.
I good book for a film buff.
Jan 04, 2011
Neil
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Personal essays on 1,000 + films. Thompson unearths rare gems and attacks sacred cows without succumbing to the tired notion that art of any sort can really be ranked in any sort of top ten style hierarchy.
Dec 22, 2008
I've got to Amazon this for my son Greg...it's too late for Christmas, but his birthday is coming up in April! I'm going to wrap it up with a bag of microwave popcorn and a box of Milk Duds:)
Dec 09, 2008
Patricia
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Perversely leaves out important films by Woody Allen and Ingmar Bergman. He really doesn't like comedy. But he can write short essays about films better than just about anybody.
Dec 18, 2008
Stephanie
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I do love movies, especially ones before 1970. This is an amazing book for the movie buff. He writes very engaging essays, giving you just enough plot information.
Feb 24, 2009
Roy
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Thomson's knowledge of the cinema is extremely deep. He is a quirky writer but always very readable.
Mar 18, 2010
Dan
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I disagree with a lot of his thoughts on the films included, but this is still kind of awesome. Definitely worth a read for movie fanatics.
Jan 04, 2009
Melissa
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It's a big thick book, great stuff for a movie lover. I only read about movies I'd seen or were curious about. Honestly, I didn't know what he was talking about quite a bit of the time, but his is a quirky, opinionated voice I enjoyed. I also got a long list of movies to see or to watch again.
Jan 12, 2009
Amy
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Very interesting!
Films are arranged in alphabetical order. The date that the film was released is in ( ) after each title. Each film rates a 3/4 page "review". Of the 1000 movies in the book, I have seen approximately 200.
Some noteworthy absences: Chicago, A Chorus Line, Ghosts of Mississippi, Harry Potter, Laurence Olivier's MacBeth, Mississippi Burning, Philadelphia, Private Benjamin, Risky Business, Top Gun.
Films are arranged in alphabetical order. The date that the film was released is in ( ) after each title. Each film rates a 3/4 page "review". Of the 1000 movies in the book, I have seen approximately 200.
Some noteworthy absences: Chicago, A Chorus Line, Ghosts of Mississippi, Harry Potter, Laurence Olivier's MacBeth, Mississippi Burning, Philadelphia, Private Benjamin, Risky Business, Top Gun.
Nov 02, 2009
John
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Great fun to pick up and read randomly or to consult as a partial reference. Good writing and strong opinions -- or not depending on the review and the reason the film was chosen for the collection. It's the contrarian views that most light the imagination.
Apr 12, 2009
steph b.
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I LOVE movie lists. I checked this book out from the library and reluctantly returned it three weeks later. A fantastic reference for anyone looking for an "education" in world cinema. If only it had some pictures.....
Mar 06, 2009
Nixycoco
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Glib - i suppose that's down to the length of the 'reviews'.
Very heavy too.
Very heavy too.
Feb 06, 2012
Jan 28, 2012
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