The Booksellers

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The Booksellers

Released Mar 6, 2020

1h 39m

Documentary

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Popcornmeter

90%

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62 Reviews

77%

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50+ Ratings

A behind-the-scenes look at the New York rare book world and the fascinating people who inhabit it.

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Critics Consensus

Inviting viewers into a fascinating world of bibliophiles, The Booksellers is a documentary that's easy to curl up and get lost in.

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Danny Leigh

Financial Times

Affable eccentricity is everywhere.

Rated: 4/5

Jul 3, 2020

Full Review

Jake Wilson

The Age (Australia)

In style it's conventional, but it bounces along, with the brisk editing and David Ullmann's jazzy score setting a fusty yet lively tone not far removed from the films of Woody Allen.

Rated: 3/5

Jul 1, 2020

Full Review

Pamela Hutchinson

Empire Magazine

Unputdownable documentary that evokes the thrill of reading preloved pages and reveals that a passion for collecting is not just a hoarding instinct, but a way to preserve and share culture.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 30, 2020

Full Review

Jason Adams

The Film Experience

Captivating new nerd-out of a documentary

Jul 2, 2021

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Javier Cortijo

Cinemanía (Spain)

A joyous, instructive and hopeful experience. [Full review in Spanish]

Rated: 3.5/5

Feb 24, 2021

Full Review

Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

A Valentine to books and the people who understand that the printed word is just the beginning of our relationship to a book.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 30, 2021

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Linda

Very interesting take on book stores and sellers Am a reader and am guilty of going digital but do buy books every now and then But the rare books and collections is not something I had any idea that was very interesting Fascinating people great interviews and amazing women in the buisness

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/10/20

Full Review

JOAN M L

Book lovers will find this doc informative and very interesting but it's too long. Cutting 1/2 hour out would help it becoming less repetitive.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/09/20

Full Review

Jarrett

Thoroughly interesting and inspiring.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

03/22/20

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Scott D

Definitely worth watching. Learned a lot about an industry that has helped shape generations of avid readers

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/29/25

Full Review

tom w

I love books & I read a lot, so I found this documentary fascinating.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I found some of the characters featured to be fascinating and I also found that the movie had some great nuggets about why books are so important. However, I also thought the movie jumped around a lot and tried to contain too many people and too many small vignettes from all the people they talked too. It was like the people making the film did not want to play favorites or hurt anyone's feelings. Because of this, I felt like the movie never got as deep or made a strong as an impression as it could have. I think it might have been smarter to focus on four or five of the booksellers and follow their stories more closely. How they started, what they actually do in the course of the day, how it impacts their life and then the future of their craft. They touched on at the end how some of the booksellers did not see a future in their profession beyond themselves. There was a younger woman on the end who worked in the field and said she had many ideas and was very optimistic. I wanted to hear her thoughts but then it just jumped to the next person. The movie gave extra time to selling a famous book of Leonardo Da Vinci's notes to Bill Gates at an auction to a man showing a bunch of drawings of fish in a book. All in all, I still enjoyed the documentary but it left me feeling like there was more of a story still left about people who find and sell rare and old books.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/16/23

Full Review

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D.W. Young

Director

Parker Posey

Self

Fran Lebowitz

Self

Gay Talese

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Self

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The Booksellers: Trailer 1

1:59

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Synopsis

A behind-the-scenes look at the New York rare book world and the fascinating people who inhabit it.

Director: D.W. Young
Producer: Dan Wechsler, Judith Mizrachy, D.W. Young
Distributor: Greenwich Entertainment
Production Co: Blackletter Films
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 6, 2020, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jun 5, 2020
Box Office (Gross USA): $25.2K
Runtime: 1h 39m

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