The Movie Puzzle Book: Think you know your Hitchcock from your Herzog? Spielberg from Scorsese? Think again...

by Ian Haydn Smith

What are the dying words of Charles Foster Kane in Citizen Kane?  In The Matrix, does Neo take the blue pill or the red pill?  From Steven Spielberg to Martin Scorsese, Alfred Hitchcock to Werner Herzog test your knowledge of the movies with this lively and entertaining puzzle book.

Packed with history, facts, puzzles and images of all the most famous movies, stars and director, it will make the perfect Christmas gift.  Covering all genres of film from horror to sci-fi, superhero to art house, the book will suit both film aficionados, who know the details of every Godfather film, to those who just love a weekend blockbuster.  Organized thematically, there are sections on all the key genres of film from all periods. The puzzles are designed so that you can work out the answers if you don’t know them already, so you don’t have to be a film expert in order to enjoy the book .  Written  by Ian Smith , with the puzzles generated by expert puzzle creator, Gareth Moore. 

Genres: Media Tie In

192 pages, Flexibound

Published October 10, 2023

About the author

Ian Haydn Smith is the editor of Curzon and BFI Filmmakers magazines. He has written and broadcast widely on film and photography.

Reviews

[Theediscerning]

I thought I'd seen a similar book to this concerning literature, but can't find proof of it in my archive. Either way, this is a blend of non-fiction writing on the left-hand page, with the attendant puzzles on the recto. The information about the movies is probably what anybody should already know before they join an A-level media studies class, whether it's on the different genres of cinema, the Hollywood star system, or suchlike, while the puzzles are probably the greater draw. Here they're a mix of posers, ranging from the fresh-seeming and bespoke to the old tropes you get in any newspaper supplement. There's a film with a train in – so here's the train track puzzle! Some numbers can count as answers – here's those chains of sums we have to do mentally to get us to them. Luckily there's no film major enough for this called "Nine" or we'd have a sudoku. (PS, we do.)

But generally the tasks are more actually cinema-related, whether it be piecing together the names of superstar alter egos, or solving anagrams ("the wow hit ending" a most suitable one, once you've worked it out). You get some plain trivia questions when space and subject allow, as well, with all the answers in a spoilerific layout all together at the back. I thought this was a success in being up to date and yet having more than enough detail about the silent era, and the puzzles could certainly be started off by someone with only passing interest in the artform using a bit of logic and experience with the hobby. Once you've filled it in it might not demand a place on your shelves, and therefore be kind of redundant, but as a pastime for cineastes it's certainly no two-reeler.

[Dani White]

The Movie Puzzle Book would make a great gift for Christmas for those who like coffee-table books, or "bathroom reads" (or something you would read at the cabin!). It was a generally good overview of different aspects of movies, from a broad-stroke overview of varying genres and other important elements that goes into film making. The author provided a bunch of examples that best capture that theme, and then some fun little quizzes.

It didn't delve that deep (particularly in offering any insight to the rises and falls of that genre). I also might have benefited from exploring how the the at-home viewing experience (VHS/DVD/Online/Streaming services) or external world events affected the genre and movie-viewing experience.

I recommend this to (or for) someone have an established interest in this subject matter and want to flex their movie-trivia muscle. The ideal target audiences are probably Xennial/Gen-X and older, and younger people who are particularly enthusiastic about movies made pre-2000's.

Thank you NetGalley, Ivy Press, and the author for a DRC copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

(I am a bit late in writing this review due to a serious illness).

[Rachel N]

This book was far more than I expected, a combination of interesting facts and history relating to the film industry, alongside a wide range of puzzles. It's not just the usual quiz book of film trivia, but also contains a huge variety of all sorts of puzzles, including anagrams, number puzzles, wordsearches and cinema history.

Divided into sections that cover the whole process of making a film all the way from initial pitch to advertising, it has a really interesting selection of people and films, including world cinema, and some genuinely challenging puzzles.

it's produced to a really high quality and would make a fantastic Christmas gift for cinema fans who enjoy a proper test of their knowledge.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy in return for an honest review.

#TheMoviePuzzleBook #NetGalley

[Bright Book Reviews]

If you enjoy learning about movies and doing many different types of word puzzles to test your knowledge on the subject, this book may be for you.

The Movie Puzzle Book by Ian Smith and Dr. Gareth Moore, published by Ivy Press of Quarto Group of London in the UK, takes us through overviews of the history of cinema and the filmmaking process, including different genres, trends, and Directors and adds in a good dose of fun with different types of word puzzles and quizzes throughout the book.

I enjoyed looking at the photographs and reading the information provided in each section the most.

[Lisa Davidson]

I love movies, good movies, bad movies, movies so bad they're good. I was excited when NetGalley let me read this, and it was a lot of fun. The sections are divided logically and there are puzzles about genre, director, language, etc. The puzzles themselves are unique and different, and often quite challenging. There was also a good deal of material about the history of film and specific people, and some wonderful photos.

[Danielle]

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book!

If you're looking for a book that combines movie tidbits/history and puzzles, this is the book for you. Lots of different topics covered and genres. There was a good range of puzzles- ranging from easy trivia to harder word scrambles. Some will really challenge you.

[Andrew Carolan]

Bit of fun with some exercises; others mundane and pointless. A good overview of cinema to peruse and nicely presented.

[Luther Manuel]

Pretty basic but fun.

[Ismael Fernández]

Muy básico como quiz de preguntas para cinéfilos , parecen crucigramas preparados para cumplir y la parte documental del séptimo arte está a la altura de un trabajo de instituto.
Un libro muy básico y sin nivel.