… a wonderful retrospective…. which demonstrates why David Edelstein is one of my favorite critics writing today (I put him on my list here).
For me, it’s never just about agreeing with a critic’s opinion – it’s about how the critic writes, how they choose to express what is good or what is bad in a film. Simple plot synopsis holds no interest for me. But an illuminating look at what works, what doesn’t, and WHY – That’s the hook for me. I disagree with Edelstein quite a bit – but I read every word he writes. He gives each of these New York-based films one paragraph only – and just boils each one down to its essence. It would be a good exercise for me, to try to “sum up” movies in one paragraph.
Example from Edelstein’s piece – the paragraph about The French Connection:
Pauline Kael wrote that on-location shooting had ushered in a new age of ânightmare realism,â with New York as âHorror City.â Here was Exhibit A: trash, horns, gore, Gene Hackmanâs Popeye Doyle slapping suspects around, and a chase scene yet to be equaled for suspense and public endangerment.
Read Edelstein’s whole piece here.
Picture by yours truly
I enjoyed reading the article – thanks!
Don’t know why, but you talking about a favorite critic made me think about Harlan Ellison’s film criticism. Have you ever read Harlan Ellison’s Watching? It was a compilation of 25 years of his essays on film and film reviews and the reason I was originally drawn to him as an author. His film criticism is like Gonzo journalism. A completely different approach from the classic – in his emotional approach, use of slang, tangents about other related films, refusal to pander and complete lack of interest in whether anyone agrees with him. Even when I strongly disagree with his assessment, I loved reading his film reviews.
I just really like it when a critic, instead of simply assessing a film for the general public in the most bland and cursory way, has a strong and culturally informed opinion.
Yeah, that chase scene in To Live and Die in LA is kick ass. One of the best if not the best I’ve seen. Awesome stuff. Friedkin in general is unparalleled in action scenes. I’m thinking of the bridge scene in The Sorcerer, too – never fails to just blow me away.
Marisa – I don’t know Harlan Ellison’s critiques although I’m familiar with his other stuff – I’ll have to check it out.
And yes – the whole “culturally informed” thing you said is right on. Nothing like a critic who can make connections for me, or remind me what the movie reminds me of – or the influences on the director, whatever it may be … If I know that stuff already, it’s great – but when a critic can teach me something I don;t know, or illuminate a film in a different way – there’s nothing better!
Pauline Kael does that for me all the time. Cary Grant is my favorite actor but after reading her piece on him “The Man From Dream City” I had to completely re-evaluate him, and place him in another context … Not that I didn’t already know how extraordinary he was – but she articulated it in such a way that it took my breath away.