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Maltin Ends Annual Print Update after 45 Years

Pete Hammond at deadline.com reports that the 2015 edition of Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide, due out in a couple of weeks, will be the final print version update.

Maltin and his guide were mentioned several times on MST3K, most notably a closing credits conversation in episode 706- LASERBLAST. Of course, Maltin himself appeared on the show — and held up a copy of the book — in episode 909- GORGO (and also appeared in a DVD extra when that episode came to DVD).

20 Replies to “Maltin Ends Annual Print Update after 45 Years”

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  1. Fart Bargo says:

    I always thought Leonard was a class guy to appear and be lampooned by Pearl and the gang. I’m sure both Gene and Roger would give him two thumbs up as a film critic.

       10 likes

  2. MSTJon says:

    During his last appearance on Doug Loves Movies he also said the app isn’t being updated because they couldn’t come to terms (or something close to that). Is this the end of Maltin and movie critics in general?

       3 likes

  3. jaybird3rd says:

    How very sad. I still see real and tangible advantages to printed books, so it’s a little disconcerting to see so many people dropping print media; lots of great resources are being swept away in the process.

    I used to look over Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide in the library every time I visited it as a kid, and I always found it to be an excellent resource, and apparently the MST3K staff did also. I’ve been meaning to pick up a current edition for some time, and it looks like the 2015 edition will be the one.

       3 likes

  4. Torgospizza-NJ says:

    I remember getting a free copy of the 1974 edition of Maltin’s Movie Guide as a bonus when I joined the Movie Book Club that year. I was hooked and looked forward every October to getting a new edition. I kept all of them until I got married…you know how that goes (Q: “why are you keeping all these old, dogeared paperbacks?” A: “Dunno” ) Around 1997, when I got my first home computer
    (ok, it was just Web TV…) I began to use IMDb and other sources as well as Maltin’s book. Sad
    to say, I can’t remember the last year I bought it, but I just stopped. Another era comes to an end…Good Luck Leonard and thanks.

       1 likes

  5. Kenneth Morgan says:

    Ugh! You kids today with your Kindles, and your i-Phones, and your Fathom Events, and your Amazon Primes, and your Guardians of the Galaxy, and your Blu-Rays! Why, in my day, we had Maltin’s guide on paper! In a book! And we had to make do with only one every year!

       12 likes

  6. Ryan says:

    I like Leonard Maltin (even though I don’t always agree with him). And he was a class act for cameoing on MST3K. But I didn’t even know he was still making his yearly guide. I’m not surprized that it’s not manterily feasable to print it anymore given the industry. But I don’t see why that would be a factor given that he surely has a website anyway that people can go to and even search better than they could the book.

       3 likes

  7. Leo Artunian says:

    I find Maltin’s most useful movie book to be his Classic Movie Guide, which covers films from the silent days to 1965 (beginning of “the noisy days,” I guess). Needless to say, it includes a lot of MST-ed films and doesn’t require updating. It’s available in what we old-timers (like Billy Slater) call “a paperback.”

       6 likes

  8. Goshzilla says:

    Good. Printing a new book every year was a colossal waste of money and resources. Now stop leaving goddamn phonebooks in my driveway.

       9 likes

  9. radioman970 says:

    I used to live and breath for his short capsule descriptions/reviews. Disagreed sooooo many times. But seeing what this or that was about just before heading off to rent a huge stack of VHS tapes. :*) nostalllllgia all over the place with those.

       2 likes

  10. noplot says:

    Leo: some of the articles are stating that Maltin’s revision of the Classic Movie Guide, set for spring 2015, is still coming, though that will presumably be the last of its kind as well. The original covered through 1960 and the current one through 1965; presumably this one will cover through 1970? At least the Golden Movie Retriever still survives as of now…

       1 likes

  11. mst3ktemple says:

    I’m guessing if I gathered up the copies I still have there would be about 8 to 10 editions of Leonard’s book around here.

       2 likes

  12. trickymutha says:

    Internet killed the movie guide book.

       5 likes

  13. Bruce Boxliker says:

    I’ve never cared for the opinions of any movie critics. I’ll decide for myself whether I like a movie or not. However, I’ve always respected Maltin for his MST3k appearance. Also, in his guides, he actually talks about movies that almost every other critic wouldn’t even acknowledge.

       2 likes

  14. mstgator says:

    I give this news three stars.

       4 likes

  15. Rachel says:

    The end of an era. I like Leonard Maltin, mostly because he’s a film buff in addition to being a critic, and because he pretty much came up with the idea for the Walt Disney Treasures series.

       2 likes

  16. itsspideyman says:

    My favorite Maltin reference is during “The Undead” while Crow is imping and Tom asks Mike to put on the beard and glasses and start talking like Maltin so Tom can come unhinged.

    An awesome line: “I have visited the proletariat areas and have consorted with the prostitutes!….that seems a bit harsh..”

    For being such a reasonable guy Maltin gets 3 1/2 stars from me.

       3 likes

  17. ck says:

    I liked how on the Making of Caddyshack Harold Ramis said
    that the number of stars awarded it had increased since it was first reviewed.
    Now was that Leonard Maltin or TV Guide stars?

       2 likes

  18. Luther Heggs aka Number 6 says:

    @ 1 “I’m sure both Gene and Roger would give him two thumbs up as a film critic.”

    Now let’s not get all crazy here.

    – – –

    I want this final edition available as an audiobook read by that chick from Robot Holocaust:

    Valaria: “I shall now read aloud for Linod Maldun.”

    Crow: Did she say,’Lean On Mall Dune?’

    Joel: Was that ‘Lend A Mold One?’

    Tom: Is she trying to say ‘Lynard Skynard’s Maudlin?’

    Gypsy: I told you we should have gotten it read by Stephen Hawking! Braille would be better than Valaria!

       1 likes

  19. Rich says:

    I’m sure Maltin’s book was absolutely worthwhile but for years I’ve looked at nothing but Ebert’s movie guide. I had two different old editions (1990 and 1996) and that was sufficient for me. I appreciate long-format reviews and if Maltin did that and I can still get them, I’ll certainly check them out.

       1 likes

  20. Huggybear says:

    I’ve always been struck by how well Maltin handled the ribbing the Mst gang gave him. It takes a big man to be able to laugh at himself. In my book that makes Maltin six-foot-ten. So many others had no sense of humor when it came to BBI. Maltin scores four stars for his good nature.

       1 likes

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