After reading through some of the entries, it seems this should be a biographical dictionary of movies rather than film.I am almost as shocked by the entries Mr. Thomson has LEFT OUT of the book as by the ones he decided to put in. Almost.Reading through, one notices that Thomson loves character and, almost as much, loves story. Not just any story though, but the tried and true, loveable and optinmistic story that Hollywood has some quaintly put into all of our eyes. Anyone who hasn't worked towards this ideal is a goof, and no matter how beautiful or powreful an actor's or director's work may be, Thomson glosses over it or trashes it if it doesn't meet his criteria.The book is HEAVILY opiniated, with a ridiculous amount of undeserved space given to some entries. This is by no means an objective reference, nor a definitive volume.