I’m pleased to announce the publication of Leonard Maltin’s 151 Best Movies You’ve Never Seen. As those of you know who watch my weekly show Secret’s Out on ReelzChannel, there’s nothing I enjoy more than steering movie lovers to good films they may have missed. HarperStudio gave me an opportunity to write essays about 151 such films, and I jumped at the chance.
Because I couldn’t count on readers being old-movie buffs, I decided to concentrate on…
…contemporary titles for the most part—foreign and domestic, documentary and fictional. Of course, I couldn’t resist putting in a handful of older titles, like the 1931 version of The Maltese Falcon, Frank Capra’s Lady for a Day, and Henri-George Clouzot’s amazing documentary The Mystery of Picasso.
But by and large these are films of the past twenty years that didn’t get the attention they deserved: romantic comedies like Priceless, with Audrey Tautou, stark dramas like the gritty prison picture The Animal Factory, and small-scale independent films like Ramin Bahrani’s Man Push Cart and Chop Shop, which offer greater rewards than most of what Hollywood has to offer.
In some cases I’ve met the filmmakers, or heard them speak about their work, and incorporated those experiences into my essays. In other instances I’ve “field tested” the movies in question by showing them to my students at USC. In every case I’ve attempted to explain my choices, even when they may swim against the tide of critical opinion.
I’m always being asked, “What movie should I watch this weekend?” I hope this book provides useful answers…and food for thought.(HarperStudio).
