The New Biographical Dictionary of Film
When this book was first published in 1975, it ignited arguments  among many film buffs who disagreed with London-born critic  Thomson's strongly opinionated summations. This latest  upgrade which includes 300 new entries promises to do the same.  Thomson retitled it, he says, "because so much is fresh and  different." Now that the reference includes talents who've shot  to fame during the past decade or so, including Renee Zellweger  ("great range") and Ben Affleck ("boring, complacent and  criminally lucky to have got away with everything so far"), it  is truly massive, running the gamut from Abbott and Costello,  who achieve the "lyrical, hysterical and mythic," to Ghost  World's Terry Zwigoff, "a rare, individual voice". A critical  minimalist, Thomson often nails the essence of a personality or  career in less than a dozen words, such as Johnny Weissmuller:  "No subsequent Tarzan ever matched him the loincloth was  retired." He deftly distills entire movies down to single  sentences, with Internet-like linkages. Since his Haley Joel  Osment profile sneaks in a critique of Spielberg's A.I. ("Osment  was uncannily good as the robot/puppet coming to life, but  ultimately betrayed by the inability of his director to keep  control of the very ambitious material"), the hypnotized reader  feels compelled to seek his lengthier comments on Spielberg:  "Schindler's List is the most moving film I have ever seen."  After the publication of a 1994 edition, the Internet Movie  Database became one of the book's major competitors, linking  nearly a half million performers with over 260,000 titles, but  one still turns to Thomson for witty writing and potent,  razor-sharp insights. With an immense passion for pictures, he  plunges past the IMDb into the very soul of film. Agent, Laura  Morris. (Oct. 11)  Forecast: Older readers will want to replace their earlier  edition with this one, while an author tour, radio giveaways and  advertising in the New York Times Book Review and Film Comment  will attract a new generation.Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.