International Motion Picture Almanac

Film Comment, May-June, 2005 by Gavin Smith

International Motion Picture Almanac. edited by Eileen S. Quigley Quigley Publishing, $150

Now in its 90th edition, the 2005 International Motion Picture Almanac is a handy desk reference for film industry professionals. Primarily intended (and priced) for producers, distributors, and exhibitors rather than moviegoers per se, its 1,135 pages nevertheless contain a variety of useful info. Setting aside the 450-page film business Who's Who, which seems somewhat obsolete given the existence of IMDb.com, there's a complete listing of all U.S. theatrical releases in the past five years, instructive brief histories of the eight major studios, and an invaluable directory of distributors and production companies. In addition, there's a useful statistics section: want to know how many more films were released in 2003 than in 1996? (227.) The highest grossing films of all time adjusted for inflation? (Gone with the Wind is number one, with Titanic trailing at 13.) The top money-making star of 1940? (Mickey Rooney.) You'd think in this day and age the logical format for this material might be a subscription-based website, or at least a CD-ROM--but then again, more often than not, picking up a book is still faster than going online.