This book is a little too dense as a whole read but would be very useful in my film classes if broken down into excerpts and topical chunks. The author was extremely knowledgeable but the book stays at a technical level and never feels like achieves any story telling and personality.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher Rowman & Littlefield Publisher for an advanced copy of this guide to watching and enjoing movies both as art and as entertainment, with many suggestions to view and enjoy.

My first movie experience was seeing Walt Disney's Robin Hood in a small theater in the Bronx. My mom and I got there early and we had to line up outside the doors while the movie was still playing to wait to get in. Occasionally the doors would open and I could see a castle. Later a snake, after that a fox. With loud music and sounds. I was hooked just from what I saw outside the theater and a long love affair began one with a few breaks and for a while a long separation. My DVD and VHS collection and laser discs for that matter are awkwardly big, as are my watch lists on Kanopy, MAX and others. And I have always read about movies, even when not watching them, from magazines to film booklets, and more. This is the kind of book I would have loved years ago, and I am glad to be reading now. The 12-Hour Film Expert: Everything You Need to Know about Movies by Noah Charney, James Charney is a guide with what to watch, how to watch, and the tricks of the trade that keep people watching, along with a history of films, and some of the important people who played a role in film history.

The book starts with the authors, son and father, discussing how they became interested in films and how they started watching. The book than goes into a history of the moving picture, how it came about, with names like Edison, Georges Méliès, and others. Readers follow the growth of films from shorts, to longer movies, from silent to talkies, along with the advent of technology, and ideas of how to make a scene that are still used today. Once sound is introduced the book breaks into genres film noir, musicals, science fiction and more. Films are recommended to be of importance, key directors, actors and changes in the studio system, and film distribution is looked at and discussed. And as always lots of movies.

The title comes from the idea that the book should take about 12 hours to read and at the end one should have a better appreciation for films. As an uncle who has a hard time getting nephews to watch movies, I can understand how hard it is for people to appreciate older movies. Once my nephews see a black and white film they are over it. This is a good introduction to film as it covers quite alot, from the people behind the camera, the terminology, and what appears on the screen. The writing style is very good, never bogging down on technique, or getting lost in the ideas of so many film movements, but explaining ideas clearly and moving on. Film choices will always cause in argument, but the films suggested really do serve as prime examples of their genre.

Recommended for beginners in film who want to know more, and for film lovers who can't get enough information about movies. A good collection of history and information, and a lot of fun to boot.