Less pungent than their othe satirical works, this takes the Medved brothers into the realm of the hopelessly expensive financial flops of Hollywood. Thus Cleopatra, Heaven's Gate and the Fall of the Roman Empire all feature. Trouble is, few of these films are actually BAD films (I think highly of Cleopatra and FOTRE) so the previous rhythm and flow of the Turkeys is somewhat lost. Still, a fun account of what went wrong.

but harry medved writes the funniest books

This is a must read for anyone who grew up with, or who loves, the movies around the 1950's. It is presented in an "Oscar format" with comments and thumbnail descriptions by the Brothers Medved. Their love for these movies is evident; their humor is direct and presents perspective on actors, Hollywood, directors, plots, and America, in a time of greater innocence and before special effects were king. Hours of fun and a great guide to late movies. I was paging through this book in a bookstore when I saw the heading, "The Worst Movie Ever Made." Well, I knew what was the worst movie ever made, but was also sure the reviewers had never seen it. When I turned to see their choice--it was the same one! I bought the book on the spot and have been giving copies to special friends as gifts ever since.

Having achieved vast success with the original Golden Turkeys - itself a sequel to the Fifty Worst Films of All Time - this was the third instalment in the bad film saga. Though not quite as good as the first Turkeys, the Medveds had discovered a rich vein and this book delivers much mirth. Two-headed monster movies, bad lyrics, inane dialogue and bad special effects still have a special place in my heart.

Rarely has a book given me the continuous laughter that this one provided! The wry wit and "courage" to take "classics" and show their glaring deficiencies was a constant delight. My only regret is that there was no later edition.

This classic satirical effort chronicles the "fifty worst" films ever made as the end of the 1970s. When this was written, bad films were defined by their short cinematic run and scathing theater reviews. Twenty years later, the advent of video has given us an altogether more awful prospect: the simply unwatchable "straight to video" flick which isn't even watched by critics before being foisted on the unsuspecting home-viewer. SOME of the Fifty Worst Ever are "so bad they're good," veritable classics worthy of repeat viewing, e.g. "The Omen" (1976), "Robot Monster" (1948), "Valley of the Dolls" (1967) and "Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster" (1973). Others are plain, unwatchably, bad, such as "Jonathan Livingston Seagull" (1971); yet others, such as "Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975) are admittedly in bad taste but not actually bad films. Some of these line-ball calls are due to the fact that there was originally a core of about 20 really "good" bad films in the first draft - then the publisher insisted on 50.

Unlike most "best of" or "worst of" books, this one takes the time to really delve into what happened to the film, why it was made, and so forth.

For instance, "Eegah!" was a cult-hit in California -- and the cast would barnstorm with it to packed houses (Richard Kiel even wearing his caveman toga!)

Very funny and insightful. (...)

The Golden Turkey Awards is a well-written, funny review of some of the most inane and stupid movies that Hollywood has ever produced. Michael Medved was onto something here, but in later years he sold out by becoming somewhat of a whiny right wing critic of Hollywood. It's hard for me to decide between him and John Stossel (of ABC's 20/20) which one is in more dire need of a sharp blow upside the head with a 2 x 4.

Unlike so many of the sequels which receive awards in this work, this sequel to the "50 Worst Films of all Time" exceeds the original. The Medveds have the huge advantage of having tapped into the huge underground "bad film" cult and discovered a motherlode of new bad films, of which Ed Wood's "Plan Nine from Outer Space" is the standout. (In turn this inspired the Tim Burton film.) Others include Night of the Lepus (a rabbit monster movie), Airport 79: The Concorde (winner of the worst romantic dialogue), and "Him" (the least erotic adult film ever made). When I was young I read this book from cover to cover and am still wondering whether the final claim, that one of the films exposed therein was a hoax, was itself true, and if so, which one. Surely not "They Saved HItler's Brain?" (Actually, that WAS real....)

It seemed clear that, in putting together a sequel to their successful and delightful Fifty Worst Films of all Times, the brothers Medved cut many a corner to meet a deadline. This volume falls far short of their previous work, though it is fairly entertaining in parts.

Some of the films included would be known only to the most avid film buffs - for example, silents, and two films in which Goebbels and Mussolini were involved with production. Where much of the success in the original 'worst films' was in that people either had seen the film or at least knew the genre well, there were few in this book that even 'rang a bell.'

A few entries give the impression that the Medveds originally had intended to include their brilliant "dialogue" and "rave reviews" sections. Instead, all seemed very hurried, and one had often to leave to one's imagination what actually happened on screen to any great extent. Many of the entries had to do with disastrous events surrounding a film's production.

It did stir a few memories: some of Elizabeth Taylor's turkeys, Liberace's "Sincerely Yours," the horrid lyrics to a song featured in a Kate Smith film, the dreadful presentation of "The Greatest Story ever Told." Yet most were completely strange to me, and I am not a youngster.

It's worth reading on a rainy day, but don't pay too much for the second hand copy.