A fun listen but somewhat misleading

I really enjoyed this audiobook, however the subtitle “a history of Hollywood in a century of flops” made me think we were going to get a more in depth history of Hollywood as told through failure. Instead what you have is a collection of “making of” of individual movies, which is fine, and a lot of fun, but not quite what I was expecting.

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Superb

Brilliantly incisive and utterly addictive. I didn’t want it to end. The writing was really great

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no mess, no fuss, all the info

a lot of book about film history tend to go too far wide and away from the core. this is to the point and genuinely informative. I work in cinemas and screened many of these films and still didn't know the full story. great stuff

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Well read and engaging history

Really enjoyed this history of Hollywood. A well detailed history of forgotten films and tragedies, engaging anecdotes and interesting insights to the careers of film makers and actors following terrible movie decisions.

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Informative and Entertaining

A fascinating look at how changes in the way movies have been made in the last 100 years gave filmakers new and exiting ways to burn enormous sums of money. With a couple of exceptions such as Cutthroat Island and Cats, Tim Robey avoids exploring the most infamous examples of critical and financial failure, making this book feel far more than a tired and lazy rehash. This is especially the case for films such as Synecdoche,New York that failed but Robey takes the opportunity to champion. This book is well read by the author.

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In-depth and entertaining, a must for film buffs

I first heard Tim Robey on the MUBI podcast, and soon after decided to give his book a listen. Plenty of interesting facts and stories behind some of the biggest flops in cinema history, written and read in a very engaging way. Highly recommended.

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Entertaining romp through Hollywood history

I got this having read the review in the economist and it's exactly what I want in non fiction. Enjoyable lighthearted stroll through cinema history, most of which I didn't know, peppered with fascinating facts and jaw dropping stories of disastrous film shoots. The author is witty but is pleasingly not condescending to the films (with the possible exception of Cats). He clearly loves film and has a soft spot even for the bombiest bombs discussed here. nb: there are a couple of small editing glitches early on but they don't recur so don't let them bother you.

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Box Office Poison

Very thorough and enjoyable read/listen for the movie buff in your life. Great potential gift this time of year.

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Very funny

A highly entertaining series of short essays about some of the biggest film flops from the last 100 years.

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Interesting concept, but overly serious

I liked the idea of the book. Just for me, when you're talking about poorly performed films, for whatever reason, if it was due to massive overspending or bad performances from actors etc, I would have liked it to have been less serious and more funny.

Clearly well-researched, but don't listen to it if you want some light relief on big budget films that were a commercial flop.

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