Regarding Film: Criticism and Comment (PAJ Books) - Softcover

Kauffmann, Mr. Stanley

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0801865840 ISBN 13: 9780801865848

Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001

Synopsis

For over four decades, Stanley Kauffmann's skilled, cultivated, and impassioned film reviews in the New Republic have guided filmgoers and charted the development of the cinema arts. Over the course of his distinguished career, he has been an independent voice in film criticism, challenging preconceptions, skewering pretensions, and championing a wide diversity of films, from Hollywood blockbusters to overlooked gems.

In his latest collection of film writings, Kauffmann discusses the most influential, exciting, and innovative films released since 1993, as well as less successful -- sometimes disastrous -- efforts. From major films by established Hollywood directors (Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and Oliver Stone's Nixon) to works from the iconoclastic world of independent American film (Neil LaBute's In the Company of Men and David O. Russell's Spanking the Monkey) to the best of world cinema (Abbas Kiarostami's A Taste of Cherry and Erick Zonca's The Dreamlife of Angels), Kauffmann offers his lively and considered views of over sixty films. In other essays, he compares cinematic adaptations of Mozart's operas, explores changing public attitudes toward film as an art form, assesses the possibilities of accurately dramatizing the Holocaust, and recalls the careers of such important figures in film history as David Lean, Billy Wilder, and Akira Kurosawa. A model of provocative writing about the liveliest art, Regarding Film will delight ardent movie lovers everywhere.

About this title

About the Author:

Stanley Kauffmann is internationally recognized as a film critic and writer. Awarded the Telluride Film Festival Award for Criticism in 1998, he has taught at Yale University's School of Drama, Adelphi University, and most recently, Hunter College of the City University of New York. His previous books include Field of View and Distinguishing Features, both available from Johns Hopkins.

Review:

"Kauffmann's is a civilized, easygoing style... He is a man at home in film history, conversant with culture and the arts, informative without being preachy, using his writing to think about his subject and pleased to take us into his confidence. He is most certainly a master of the felicitous phrase and memorable characterization... He is an equally good judge of acting... Knowledgeableness is quietly integrated, not flashily displayed... There is humane wisdom in these pieces." -- John Simon, Los Angeles Times Book Review

"Now that commerce and gossip have become the preeminent content of writing about movies, Kauffmann's quiet passion and steadfast dedication are more valuable than ever." -- Booklist

"Altogether more balanced and sanguine than the work of most younger journalists." -- Philip French, Times Literary Supplement

"For decades [Kauffmann] has brought sobriety and affectionate restraint to his reviews of films... Kauffmann has quietly gone about his work, refusing to find broad cultural significance where there is none yet willing to treat pop culture with the thoughtful dignity and calm it often deserves... Regarding Film is an excellent place to begin reading him." -- George Fetherling, Vancouver Sun

"Stanley Kauffmann's subtle and enthusiastic reviews could contribute to the return of cinephilia... Acute analyses which highlight some details that only a true movie lover can notice and appreciate." -- Nicolas Magenham, Cercles

About this edition

• Publisher: The Johns Hopkins University Press
• Publication date: 2001
• ISBN 10: 0801865840
• ISBN 13: 9780801865848
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 264