Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History Revised and Updated

by Gail Kinn, Jim Piazza

THE definitive guide to the Academy Awards, from the very first ceremony to this year's 80th anniversary spectacular, includes EVERY nominee and winner in EVERY category?and has been fully updated to include the most recent winners and losers, unforgettable photographs, and highlights.

Written by film experts who are sought out every year for their insider knowledge of movies and Hollywood, this book is both a comprehensive reference and a detailed history of the Academy Awards, complete with each year's facts, highlights, and controversies?all told with authority and attitude.

Packed with more than 500 photographs from the Oscar ceremonies and red carpet as well as the movies themselves, it outdoes any other book on the market in both information and illustrations. And compared to boring "official" books with less reportage and much less color, this "unauthorized" book delivers what fans want ALL the facts, enhanced by juicy commentary and pictures galore.

Now in its fourth edition, it?s the most popular, comprehensive, lavishly illustrated, and enjoyable Oscar book out there.

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, Media Tie In, History, Art

360 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2003

Reviews

[Lauren Stoolfire · Rating 4 out of 5]

The last year's awards featured in this is 2007. I was definitely the most interested in the behind the scenes info presented in each yearly section.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a must-have on any film-lover's bookshelf. This is a comprehensive guide for all of the winners throughout the Academy Awards' history. Having finished my blog a couple of years ago, (publishing my commentary on each Best Picture winner), I thoroughly enjoyed reading more details about each award ceremony and the who's who of Hollywood.

[TrumanCoyote · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh sure, there's the occasional oddball assertion (believing that Mommie Dearest was actually good, for example...when in fact Faye Dunaway was so scarily awful in that one that she would've frightened Joan Crawford herself). Not to mention them ragging on Valley of the Dolls and the Poseidon Adventure. But a very high percentage of the time the snarky one-liner approach suits the "unofficial" mood perfectly, and this tome is chock-full o' facts (as well as intriguing asides and what-ifs). Btw I definitely could've done without so much Pauline Kael. Seriously, did she like anything? (she certainly put the "critic" in "film critic"). Incidentally, in such a work I think only contemporaneous reviews should be used (no retrospective commentaries allowed!). Actually though, the only real problem with the book is that it's so damn cram-packed with info it takes forever to get through! :D (Seriously, I was at it for a month or more.) Oh yeah, and they definitely could've used the services of a proofreader/facts checker (at one point I think they implied that Joan Bennett and not Anne Baxter was the star of All About Eve; then there was Cuba Gooding Sr being a "one-hit wonder").

[Yves · Rating 3 out of 5]

Unofficial and by far the most enjoyable Academy Award book to actually read. Organized by YEAR, with the winners and losers, the real treat is the sidebar to the page, which details the "Firsts" (singular records or new innovations, longest speech, etc), "Sins of Omission" (basically snubs or good actors/actresses or films snubbed or ignored), "Unmentionables" (Scandals), "Role Reversals" (casting news, for example the fact that instead of Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in Casablanca ... originally the roles were slated for Ronald Reagan and Hedy Lamarr)

For the adult movie lover, this is a super bedtime book, where you can read one year a night and finish the book in roughly 80 days.

It stops at 2007 but as an unofficial history can document things that the official Academy would prefer to forget. It also has enough errors to make knowledgeable movie experts cringe (see other reviews) but each year is pretty faithful in a general way communicating, by decade, the feel of movies and direction of film-making.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall Impression This book provides exactly what one might expect from a work of this category. It covers its intended scope thoroughly and stays on topic throughout the pages. It is a reliable source of information or entertainment for a general audience. Check the link to see what other readers are saying about it. >>> https://script.google.com/macros/s/AK...

[Bruce Rego · Rating 1 out of 5]

So many errors and omissions in a historical account of 'facts' that i simply cannot recommend it to anyone. Ex: 1 - 'They shoot Horses, Don't They?' ('69) is the film garnering the most nominations - 9 - w/o a Best Picture nod not 'Dreamgirls' ('06) with 8 nods.; 2 - Charlie Chaplin's only competative Oscar win was for his 1952 'Limelight' winning the award in 1972 because the film 'had not been shown in an L.A theater until then!' (Maltin's Movie Guide). How can any book 'official' or 'unofficial' of the history of the Oscar leave this wonderful tidbit out of a 'complete history?' Moreover, 'Limelight' isn't listed in the book's index.; 3 -'Schindler's List' has three sections in color so it can't be mentioned as 'the first Black-and-white flim to win Best Picture Oscar since 'The Apartment.' Much of the wording in these entries is too muddled to make sense. These are but a few of many flaws that I came accross in the funfacts that I knew off the top of my head. Instead of doing the hard reseach they opted to include filler items unconnected with Oscar or films whatsoever. If I were to do a thorough investigation I'm confident I would unearth many more blunders. It's not worth my time. The book looks good tho.

[Douglas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very nice year-by-year summary of the Academy Awards and the movies and movie stars who made an impact in each particular year. It can be used as a reference book to look up a particular year's winners or nominees, or can be read through from start to finish with enjoyment. Small bio's of each winning actor/actress are provided, a summary of the winning movie, and a yearly overview detailing highlights of the awards show. It would have been nice to have some lists at the end or some overall summary pages digging a little deeper into the history of the awards, but a good review book nonetheless.

[Elizabeth Wylder · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an Oscar buff, I ate this big book up, but the frequent inaccuracies and random typos really detracted from what could've otherwise been a great, great book. It did lead me to a nice little Oscar clip session on YouTube, though.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yes, I have really been reading this book for more than a year! But I lost it for about nine months, and it's really more like a reference book that I read like a novel, because I'm that big an Oscar nerd. Anyway, full of lists, but I liked it!

[Eric · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great look at each Oscar night, not only an encyclopedia on each year but also includes all the behind-the-scenes drama and great little tidbits that an "Official" Academy Awards book probably wouldn't want you to know.

[Stephanie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of information in this book! It was the perfect read for Oscar week.

[Ryan · Rating 1 out of 5]

According to this book, Jack Nicholson was nominated for an Oscar for Batman. False.

[Marylu Sanok · Rating 4 out of 5]

An encyclopedia of stats with winners and some interesting stories on the sidelines. The odd facts of overlooked movies and/or stars who should have been nominated and won.

This was a research book

[Gillian]

awesome

[Tahnee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting but could do with some fact checking