Famous Movie Critics
Who are the most influential film critics of the past?
I would say the best film critic in the last fifty years was probably Pauline Kael, who wrote for the New Yorker, who was just brash and unapologetic, and injected. She made it personal. Her responses to movies were very visceral, yet so intelligent, informed and funny. So her reviews are fantastic. Some other reviewers that stand out are some of the Village Voice film critics like Andrew Sarris, a wonderful film critic. Jay Hoberman, who still writes film reviews, who really champions obscure, under-the-radar movies all the time. If there's a six-hour Turkish film out there that's worth seeing, Jay Hoberman will tell you about it, and he won't be afraid to cut against the grain. Who else? Siskel and Ebert, in their heyday, were very influential film critics. They made a half hour television show about reviewing movies and popular entertainiment, something that people tuned in for, they also championed underdog movies as much as they possibly could, and movies to get on DVD that were worth seeing if you missed it in the theater, in addition to the big blockbusters. There have been film reviewers in the past that are famous literary figures in their own right, like James Agee and Graham Greene, who wrote novels, plays, and moving, brilliant essays on how film touched their lives. Even if "film reviewer" is the first title you think of with these people, it's part of their writing legacy.
How did Pauline Kael influence film and film criticism?
Pauline Kael really elevated film criticism and was arguably the most famous and controversial film critic of the last fifty years, I would say. She really made a lasting impression in her reign as film critic for The New Yorker from the 60s. She was reviewing movies all the way into the mid-90s up until a few years before she passed away. I think she was the most feared critic and the most discussed. She had a brash, frank, colloquial style; very personal. The names of the books that are compendiums of her film criticism are wonderful; there's "I Lost It At The Movies", and "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang". She really has like this obsession with film and she's not afraid to tell it like it is. She became so feared and so controversial that George Lucas, who of course directed the Star Wars Trilogy which she slammed, tongue-in-cheekly named one of the villains in his movie 'Willow' General Kael. Of course, Pauline Kael was quick to point out that 'Willow' was not a box-office success, so it was sort of like a "touche". Pauline Kael was the first person to really get and understand the counterculture and movies of the 70s; 'Bonnie and Clyde', 'The Godfather: Part II' in particular, and 'Last Tango in Paris'. She did a review of Robert Altman's 'Nashville' months before the movie came out and while ultimately it didn't do very well at the box office, she was somebody who recognised Altman as somebody who has a really different way of telling stories with overlapping dialogue and this sort of mosaic of characters and plots that don't necessarily pay off in the way that you expect them to. She championed the vanguard of 70s moviemaking. I think a lot of directors would say, "I don't read reviews", but everybody read Pauline Kael. Actors read Pauline Kael, directors read Pauline Kael and she inspired a legacy. There's a group of film critics currently today who, you know, cite Pauline Kael as their main inspiration. They're known as the "Paulettes", which is particularly funny because they're mostly men. It's Armand White of the New York Press, it's David Edelstein of New York magazine. There's quite a few of them; they're all guys who just loved Pauline Kael, but they're not afraid to put a movie in the context of the times, to talk about, the undercurrent of sexuality in a movie, or to point out the homoeroticism in Top Gun, which she did. They're that kind of critic; they're really poking at the culture and trying to get a rise out of people who read their reviews. Even if you hate what they're saying, you're fascinated to get to the end of the review.
Who are the most influential film critics today?
Some of the most influential and important film critics today are: well, you've got to start with Roger Ebert. I think his name has a certain marquee value of its own. He writes books about movies, we've seen him on TV forever, he's somebody who I think people listen to. A lot of the TV film critics, whether you agree with them or not, are recognizable and people probably look for their name. People like Gene Shalit from the Today show, who's kind of a wacky personality - people know who he is, he's a known entity. A lot of the print journalists for the some of the foremost publications in the country, Manohla Dargis for the New York Times, Elvis Mitchell, Joe Morgenstern from the Wall Street Journal. ANother film critic who is also a film historian is Leonard Maltin, he puts out the Leonard Maltin Movie and Video Guide Books, which are arguably the best reference books about film and where to find certain movies, in these quick, smart capsule reviews. He's really a film historian, he really has a good sense of context. He's somebody who has the power to get people to check out a movie based on his recommendation.
Who are the most feared film critics?
I think any good film critic is a feared film critic. A film critic is somebody who is not afraid to speak their mind, who is not afraid to go against the grain and say, "This movie sucks. This movie is frightening. This movie has proto-fascist implications. This movie really freaks me out, I don't know why people are into it. It gives a really sad indication of where culture is going." They're not afraid to say that. That's a good film critic, and that's a feared film critic. Certainly that happens with critics in the Village Voice and the New York Times. It happens with the reviewers in the Los Angeles Times and the New Yorker. These are publications where people are going to speak their mind and tell you if a movie is worth seeing or not.
What are some notorious film critic rivalries?
Well, there are certainly a lot of times when film makers have been really pissed off by what film critics have said. There are some directors that have fallen in and out of favor over the years with critics because they're larger than life personalities, and they take risks and the risks don't always pay off. Certainly this has happened to Woody Allen, with some of his comedies in the 90s, but then he returned to form with Matchpoint. It happened with Brian DePalma on movies like his big bomb adaptation of Bonfire of the Vanities. It happened with Oliver Stone with the very controversial Natural Born Killers, and his homo-erotic Macedonian seven hour movie Alexander. There have also been some examples literally where critics really take it hard. M. Night Shyamalan whose first film The Sixth Sense was a hit with critics and audiences, ever since then has been labeled a one trick pony who makes movies that really don't please critics at all. It bothered him so much that in the movie Lady in the Water, he kills off a film critic on screen. And my favorite example of a director taking film reviews personally is the German director Uwe Boll, who a lot of people haven't heard of. He's basically done video game adaptation movies like Alone in the Dark and BloodRayne, and these movies are terrible and they tank at the box office. He took the reviews so personally that he has challenged film critics to boxing matches. Any detractors of his work who wants to fight it out in the ring, he thinks he should have a shot at them.
Have blogs and online film reviews changed film criticism?
Blogs and online film reviews have definitely changed the medium of film criticism, because now it's really in the hands of the people. People can read all types of reviews anytime they want to, they can really get an advance buzz on a movie really early on, and find out where movies are playing, find out if it has bad or good buzz, because there are all sorts of people out there seeing these movies. Some of them are bloggers who are actually now invited to the screenings, and some of them are secret spies who go to a screening and then post, "This movie isn't all it's cracked up to be, stay away from this one", or "This movie's fantastic, it's really a surprise." So people really get a sense now early on what's good and what's not, and also these reviews are being written in a way that's very accessible to everybody. People can go online and get really honest, unadulterated opinions. Now they may not always be the most intellectually written things, but people are certainly responding.
Who are the most influential online film critics or sites?
