This film just made its debut at SXSW and there’s no better time for this film to have come out. If you’re one of the millions who consume movie news online, make a point to see this film when it comes by you and understand why film criticism matters. You may learn, in the process, why art matters. Film criticism is really its own art, and it’s in danger of being wiped out.
Elvis Mitchell said in an interview once: “My hope is that the blogosphere will be a golden age of people saying what they want to say about movies, going out of their own pockets, and being able to get the excitement across that people used to read from Pauline Kael, and Vincent Canby, and Andrew Sarris in the golden age.”
Perhaps this film will give bloggers a better understanding of the last golden age, in order to properly bring it back.
This film really made us wonder what was left on the cutting room floor, because there’s some great stuff being said here from some really important critics! If you’re a serious (or developing) student of film, this documentary is required viewing.
Here’s the official synopsis:
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism is the first documentary to dramatize the rich saga of American movie reviewing. Directed by Boston Phoenix critic Gerald Peary, For the Love of Movies offers an insider’s view of the critics’ profession, with commentary from America’s best-regarded reviewers, Roger Ebert (The Chicago Sun-Times), A.O. Scott (The New York Times), Lisa Schwarzbaum (Entertainment Weekly), Kenneth Turan (The Los Angeles Times). We also hear from young, articulate, Internet voices, including Harry Knowles (ainitcoolnews.com) and Karina Longworth (spout.com). Their stories are entertaining, humorous, and personal. Those who hear them may gain new respect for the film critic profession, knowing the faces and voices, and also the history. From the raw beginnings of criticism before The Birth of a Nation to the incendiary Pauline Kael-Andrew Sarris debates of the 1960s and 70s to the battle today between youthful on-liners and the print establishment, this documentary tells all. With narration by Patricia Clarkson.
Director’s Note
I have been a film critic for thirty years, writing for magazines and newspapers, and, the last twelve years, for the Boston Phoenix. This is a “pro-critic” film. At a time when American critics are being laid off and fired, and when their influence has diminished, For the Love of Movies is an unapologetic defense of a profession under siege.
I know intimately many of my colleagues, and had unprecedented access interviewing them for the camera. I talk to several dozen critics, including writers for newspapers (The New York Times, The LA Times, The Chicago Tribune, etc,), magazines (Entertainment Weekly, The New Republic, etc.), blogs and websites (aintitcoolnews.com, spout.com.).
My first desire is for an audience to become intimate with the reviewers behind the bylines, so it can be understood how critics think about and see movies. How did they come to their jobs, and to their abiding love for cinema? Those interviewed vividly describe scenes from movies which, seen as children, made an indelible impression, and which transformed their way of viewing.
Also, today’s critics comment on American critics of the past – Robert E. Sherwood, Otis Ferguson, James Agee, etc. – whose work inspired them. I offer a history of American film criticism, from the time of The Birth of a Nation to Bosley Crowther’s 27-year reign at The New York Times, from Ebert-Siskel on TV to amateur reviews on the Internet. I touch upon the infamous Pauline Kael-Andrew Sarris debates, and show the antagonist relationship between youthful web reviewers and veteran print critics.
There have been American critics who, simply, are great literary stylists. Among these:
Andrew Sarris, Pauline Kael, James Agee, and Manny Farber. A further object of my documentary is to spread appreciation for such first-rate prose and original thinking. I hope that this film motivates audiences to consider reviews by the best American critics, whether in print or the web, as a key component in watching movies in a deeper, more thoughtful, way.
