Essential Cinema: On the Necessity of Film Canons

by Jonathan Rosenbaum

In his astute and deeply informed film reviews and essays, Jonathan Rosenbaum regularly provides new and brilliant insights into the cinema as art, entertainment, and commerce. Guided by a personal canon of great films, Rosenbaum sees, in the ongoing hostility toward the idea of a canon shared by many within the field of film studies, a missed opportunity both to shape the discussion about cinema and to help inform and guide casual and serious filmgoers alike. In Essential Cinema , Rosenbaum forcefully argues that canons of great films are more necessary than ever, given that film culture today is dominated by advertising executives, sixty-second film reviewers, and other players in the Hollywood publicity machine who champion mediocre films at the expense of genuinely imaginative and challenging works. He proposes specific definitions of excellence in film art through the creation a personal canon of both well-known and obscure movies from around the world and suggests ways in which other canons might be similarly constructed. Essential Cinema offers in-depth assessments of an astonishing range of established classics such as Rear Window , M , and Greed ; ambitious but flawed works like The Thin Red Line and Breaking the Waves ; eccentric masterpieces from around the world, including Irma Vep and Archangel ; and recent films that have bitterly divided critics and viewers, among them Eyes Wide Shut and A.I. He also explores the careers of such diverse filmmakers as Robert Altman, Raúl Ruiz, Frank Tashlin, Elaine May, Sam Fuller, Terrence Davies, Edward Yang, Hou Hsiao-hsien, and Orson Welles. In conclusion, Rosenbaum offers his own film canon of 1,000 key works from the beginning of cinema to the present day. A cogent and provocative argument about the art of film, Essential Cinema is also a fiercely independent reference book of must-see movies for film lovers everywhere.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Media Tie In, Essays, Criticism, Cultural, Pop Culture

472 pages, Hardcover

First published March 30, 2004

Reviews

[Edwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

This title by Johnathan Rosenbaum ostensibly covers the importance of film canons by using a collection of his essays from the Chicago Reader compiled in a manner to support this argument. If one were to judge the quality of this book on these standards, I would say this book fails. However, this book is teeming with insight and knowledge of cinema in a way that only Rosenbaum can provide.
The reading is sectioned off in five parts, classics, special problems, other canons, disputable contenders and filmmakers. For the committed reader, or one who has completely bought into the premise, it's very possible to weave together the argument from these sections, however vague it maybe, however what really stands out is his eagerness to draw attention to Films and Filmmakers that may not have gotten the attention that they have deserved. Such filmmakers would be Charles Brunett, Joris Ivens, Hou Hsia-hsien, Abbas Kiarostami, Edward Yang and many others. It's clear that he mentions these films by these filmmakers in order to illustrate the importance of film canonization. These are films that generally have a hard time making their way to states for one reason or another. (a problem he attributes mainly to studio interference, and media bias) Canonization protects these films from complete obscurity by grouping them with other films that may be more accessible to the average film lover.
He also covers more well known artists as Orson Welles, Fritz Lang, Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Robert Bresson and many others, but it's done in a way that also ties in with the general theme of the book. He generally speaks on how they struggled to maintain the artistic integrity of their works, often in vain and what's produced to the audiences is a lot of times just a variation of what was originally intended. One can piece together from this that he may be suggesting under film canons that these blunders may also may be brought to light.
The reading starts off innocently enough, but it suffers, at least in my opinion of being overly informative. I would compare it to having a friend whose "too" knowledgeable on a given subject, and in his eagerness to explain it to anyone who will listen, he bombards you with the information that you're a kind enough friend to listen to. The positive behind that though, is its almost impossible to walk away without gaining some perspective yourself, even if some of it was lost.

[Mark Schoen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rosenbaum's love for world cinema is infectious.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

This whole book is a collection of articles organised in such a way where it goes through a tonne of film canons, self-evident from the fact that it includes citations over where various paragraphs were lifted from. But also like I think there is something here that's so good and therefore compulsively readable in terms of its eruditeness and the prose work, and just the way it weaves between background information about movies, encyclopedic knowledge and original insight. Very long read as well but Rosenbaum's pith and insight really goes a long way in justifying that, and again, the prose work in this. How it connects together ideas and the specific word choice used really does add something to it, and I guess I reflect a lot on my own critical writing reading this.

I mean yeah, this book is as good a reason as any as to why I cite him as one of my favourite film critics if not my favourite film critic. He's kind of a guy where his work was so influential yet probably not as ubiquitous as someone in film criticism as someone like Roger Ebert, but that is probably what makes him really interesting. Also love how one of his favourite films of 1981 was the Jerry Lewis vehicle Hardly Working, although Rosenbaum's actual article for that film makes such a great case for it. We all should have a film like that - widely hated/disregarded yet we will defend to the death.

[Blakepatterson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pauline Kael and Jonathan Rosenbaum are the greatest of all film critics. I have learned as much from them about the art form as I have from the films and filmmakers I have studied. In other words, their work is always worth reading, even when you disagree with their perspectives.

[Julesreads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favorite collection of Rosenbaum’s, because it covers a lot more serious cinema that I haven’t had the chance to see or consider. But this is a personal qualm. He’s still da man (when it comes to writing carefully considered and cranky criticism). Gotta love this book, because it makes a case for film canons, which I agree are important, but also they’re just fun and personal and gives you something to do with all those movie memories. What are we worth at the end of our wretched lives if we have not created our own list of the essential films to see? Nothing, we’re worth nothing….
Also, bonus, this includes rosenbaum’s list of the 1,000 films he deems essential viewing, and then there is an addendum essay explaining some reasons as to why he picked the ones he did, and of course he can’t really explain them all because it’s mostly just a flickering feeling for lots of them, and then there is a little list of possible additions if he were to go back and change the list to suit what he’s seen since, and this is just fun…..lists are essential and entirely without rigorousness (just like the lists that are voted on by large numbers of critics….nothing is real! Everything is fake! Read this book if you want to!).

[Mr. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rosenbaum proves himself once again to be among the most knowledgeable and eloquent film critics in print today. Unlike some of his other volumes such as "Movie Wars," Rosenbaum doesn't discuss the grim realities of corporate Hollywood so much (although he does comment on filmmakers who have been treated unfairly by the system), as he evaluates directors and films which he believes are of historical and artistic importance, such as Orson Welles, Fritz Lang, Eric Von Stroheim, Yasujiro Ozu, and Sam Fuller. Rosenbaum writes with clarity and insight on a number of film-related topics, such as screenwriting and mise en scene. He's remarkably intelligent and has a keen eye for film aesthetics; he's passionate about the French director Jacques Tati which is slightly problematic because Rosenbaum worked as an assistant for Tati for a time which may slant his opinions of the auteur. Never the less, Essential Cinema is one of the best collections of film criticism I've read in a while, and his personal favorite 1,000 movies list is a valuable resource, though I disagree with a number of selections. The book is a worthwhile purchase for any cinephile.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I sometimes completely disagree with him, but not in the way that I often find myself disagreeing with film critics. His analyses are thorough and well-thought out, the writing is passionate and he doesn't take that glib and dismissive tone that's so often found in mainstream criticism. So, when disagreements do arise, it's more a difference of opinion rather than "this guy's an idiot." And his essays make for a good antidote to, say, David Denby or Mick LaSalle. Aside from the introduction and appendix, though, the title almost seems arbitrary with regard to the contents.

[Ben · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title and description are a bit misleading, as the book is mostly a collection of Rosenbaum's reviews and essays, with only an introduction and list of films at the end which relate directly to "film cannons." The essays are generally illuminating, and cover a wide range of films and filmmakers.

[Dan Geddes · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book for cinephiles who want to expand their perspective of international cinema. Great articles about American filmmakers such as the Coen brothers, Stanley Kubrick and Orson Welles, but also directors from all over the world. Rosenbaum even offers a personal "film canon" at the back of the book.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so appreciate Rosenbaum's perspective, particularly his championing of non-American cinema, his commitment to careful research, and his encyclopedic knowledge of the movies. This latter quality is something he brings to bear often on his reviews of various films, placing the film in question in relationship with other films that compare or contrast with it.

[Eddie Watkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

He's not too fond of Herzog, but he's still my favorite film critic.

[Nigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved this. I first encountered Rosenbaum when Movie Wars came out in 2000 and found him a little too cranky for my taste. Now I'm a super-fan. And possibly more cranky myself.