Other Sources and Links

There is lots of information on film and movies out there; also about film societies. Some is on the web; some, in books. Here is a brief selection which we shall add to as we learn.

Helpful Web Sites generally

1. The Wells Film Centre at www.wellsfilmcentre.co.uk. (Without the cinema’s huge support TWFS would not exist.)

2. The Internet Movie Data Base, www.imdb.com, a US database and immense listing of films, with descriptions, details of year, director, producer, scriptwriter, cast, gaffer, stable boy, third extra from the left, etc. It also has reviews of films by those who choose to pay and contribute; needless to say, these vary both in opinion and quality.

3. The British Film Institute, www.bfi.org.uk, whose rapidly growing site has detailed and critical analysis of British films, directors, producers, actors, cinematographers, etc. The trouble is that it seems to have changed a few times since we first included it here. Once upon a time it was quite easy to find detailed information on a film. Now it's certainly slicker, but finding what you want is increasingly difficult and this writer has stopped bothering to try. We keep the link here out of a sort of loyalty and in the hope that things will improve. After all, the BFI has provided us with some excellent films, once or twice at short notice when other distributors have let us down.

4. The British Board of Film Classification, www.bbfc.org.uk, which tells you of film release dates, their media and classification. To understand the meaning of the various classifications (U, Uc, 12, 15, etc.) visit this web site, which is, one assumes, authoritative.

5. The Movie Review Query Engine, www.mrqe.com, which is an index to about 560,000 reviews of over 60,000 films, sometimes (perhaps always?) on other sites, including ...

6. Filmcritic.com, www.filmcritic.com, a US company which reviews films, and places its reviews on its website - with full copyright protection. Over 5000 quite detailed reviews exist at present, including plot summaries. What you will find is that there is usually an invitation to buy the DVD.

7. Wikipedia, www.wikipedia.org, the free on-line encyclopedia, which relies on voluntary contributions and constantly improves. The content is already surprisingly wide-ranging.

8. The on-line Guardian’s 1,000 films to see before you die. And we've already made a start for you!

9. The British Federation of Film Societies (BFFS), of which TWFS is a paid-up member, has a list of other local film societies. The website for the South West Region is www.bffssouthwest.org.uk.

10. The Unofficial UK Film Societies Site also holds some interesting information.

11. A country-wide events web site, Britain's What's On Events Guide.

Books on Film

The following this scribbler has found useful in varying degrees, but you will find fact interlaced with his personal opinion. The editions quoted are almost certainly not the latest — but they are all that he has and appear quite sufficient bearing in mind the purposes of the society (excellent films of all ages). Many can be found through the umpteen secondhand bookshops and portals on the web.

100 Best Films of the Century, by Barry Norman

1992, 276 pages, published by Chapman Publishers Ltd, ISBN 1-85592-577-X.

In the first few chapters offers his own summary of the development of cinema since 1900. Then chooses 100 films, 2 pages per film, always with one or more stills. As he unnecessarily says at the beginning, you will not agree with all his selections, but you will with some. From a charity shop, in my case, and a useful addition.

The Golden Screen: 50 Years of Films, by Dilys Powell

1989, 302 pages, published by Pavilion Books Limited, ISBN 1 85145 342 3.

Many, many film reviews from the mid to late 19C doyenne of film critics, all in one volume. In his introduction Dirk Bogarde says "She is unfaultable in her clear, often crisp, but never cruel, summing up of a film." Because of the style, immensely readable, but Dirk Bogarde is sometimes incorrect in his summary, viewed from the distance of 25 years.

Time Out Film Guide

14th edition, 2006, 1766 pages, published by Time Out Film Guides Limited, ISBN 1-904978-878.

Provides short, opinionated reviews of more than 16,000 films. Occasional picture. This TWFS committee member at least thinks it excellent. Usefully indexed by Director and by Actor; also by Genre and Subject; also listing major awards. Seldom have I failed to find a film that I am looking for, with its incisive opinion, which will not always match your view.

Empire Film Guide

2006, 1128 pages, published by Virgin Books Ltd, ISBN 0 7535 1046 4.

While not matching the coverage of the Time Out Film Guide in terms of numbers of films, it offers thoughtful and lengthier reviews. 5* rating system.

1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die

960 pages, published by Cassell Illustrated (Octopus), ISBN 1-84403-044-X. There is now a later edition.

Offers considerably more detail on fewer films - usually a page, sometimes 2, per film. Physical quality is high: glossy, good paper, with lots of super stills and thoughtful descriptions! By its title you must expect lots of omissions; on the other hand, many included films we shall ignore. Interestingly and despite quality, it’s very similar in price to the film guides. Could this be because it’s printed in China?

Halliwell’s Top 1000

572 pages, 2005, published by Harper/Collins, ISBN 0 00 718165 5.

Though the cover also says "The Essential Guide for DVD Collectors", it rates many of the films that we would wish to watch and some that we certainly shan’t. He dares to rank them, the best being at the end of the book: one can only agree and disagree. A decent paragraph on every film listed, with contemporary review quotes. So two films per page, usually, with details of director, etc. Few pics.

The Virgin Film Guide

858 pages, the seventh edition, from 1998, so way out-of-date. Picked up at Wookey Fête 2005. According to Amazon a thirteenth edition comes out in September 2005.

Articles are longer than the Time Out Film Guide’s. As the volume has fewer pages and a similar font size, it obviously covers fewer films. The preface, however, says ‘Other guides may cover more movies, but the VFG gives you more information on the films that matter’. Comment is unrestrained. No pics. Rather good, but limited: some films that we are interested in simply do not appear. I emphasize, however, that my edition is 7 years old (which ought to be no problem for this society). 5* rating system.

Radio Times Guide to Films

1934 pages, 2003, published by BBC Worldwide Ltd. ISBN 0 563 48754 2.

Format very similar to Time Out Film Guide, offering an A-Z of films, a Directors' Index, Actors' index, list of awards, etc. No pics at all, though this is, of course, an old edition, and the latest may be different. 5* rating system.

The New Biographical Dictionary of Film

4th edition, 963 pages, David Thomson, published by Little, Brown (Time-Warner Group), ISBN 0-316-85905-2. There may now be a later editiion.

An A-Z of movie people - directors, producers, actors. Sharp and clearly expressed personal opinion from a devotee. Quite indispensable for addicts, though everyone will disagree with some of his views and articles!

There is, of course, a host of older books, found only in second-hand bookshops, if at all. For instance:

Early Classics of the Foreign Film

253 pages, Parker Tyler, 1962, published by Citadel Press, ISBN 0-8065-1156-7.

60 films which the American commentator regards as the great foreign-language masterpieces from 1919 to 1961. Dated, perhaps, but containing full reviews of each film, and many stills in black and white. Highly informative on its limited range. Why isn’t High Noon included? Check the title again!

Great Movie Moments

208 pages, John Russell Taylor, 1987, Conran Octopus, ISBN 1 85029 133 0.

Image-centred, this book has 185 superb stills from the Kobal Collection. The book is organized by genre, with a brief comment on each film selected, but it’s the very high quality photographs which determine whether a film appears. They are, of course, all under copyright.

The Great Movies

252 pages, William Bayer, 1973, The Hamlyn Publishing Group Limited, ISBN 0 600 33944 0.

60 films which another American commentator regards as the greatest, organized by genre. Unconstrained by Parker Tyler’s title, he includes [too?] many American films. Between the two books, however, there is a good range. But what's so special about 60?

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