Deeper Into Movies: Film Writings, 1969-1972

The Film Writings #4

by Pauline Kael

458 pp., with 159 of Kael's "careful, devastating, enjoyable, witty, illuminating" New Yorker reviews, 1969-1972. Covers soiled & creased, worn corners. Stains, repp, else clean pp.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Criticism, Media Tie In

Paperback

First published January 1, 1973

About the author

Pauline Kael was an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 to 1991. She was known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated, and sharply focused" movie reviews. She approached movies emotionally, with a strongly colloquial writing style. She is often regarded as the most influential American film critic of her day and made a lasting impression on other major critics including Armond White and Roger Ebert, who has said that Kael "had a more positive influence on the climate for film in America than any other single person over the last three decades."

Reviews

[Christos Tsiolkas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Found this as a teenager on the shelf at the local library, sat down cross-legged and did not get up for an hour. It was the first book to make me realise that you could actively engage critically with the films you watched, both those you loved and those you hated. I have not stopped reading and re-reading Kael since then and I still find myself laughing out loud, being infuriated by some of her judgements and loving the clarity and precision of her language and thoughts. This is probably the best collection she wrote, at the point where American cinema mattered most to her. Her job on "Dirty Harry" is spot-on, her love for "Murmur of the Heart" infectious, and the review of "Cabaret" pinpoints exactly how important that film is in revitalising the moribund, bloated form of the movie musical.

In 1991 I was in New York City and made a pilgrimage to the New Yorker, taking a punt that maybe I could speak to her and gush stupidly. The man at reception looked at me wide-eyed and said, "Sir, the lady, she works from home."

A lady and a broad and one of the world's great writers on film.

[Paul Dinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whenever I moved, I drew comfort from the fact that I could find a new book of hers wherever I went. Though she grew older, her prose never wavered. She was a gifted commentator on the film world. She loved and adored its artists, ridculed it's sham artists, and loathed and despised its businessmen. And scared cows? Eastwood, Wayne...they could run but they couldn't hide. She sees the fascist in Dirty Harry and the chicken hawk in the Cowboys (not to mention the cant of 'liberla filmakers' who traffic in symbols of violence and hate). No one was safe from her barbs, she would even go after artists she would praise if she felt they were selling out. Yet, there was more to her, she knew about everything. The most minor cast member and story she was up on. she was incredibly well read and up to date. Once you start her books, you can't put them down until you are done.

[Rene Bard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pauline Kael had strong opinions. And she was fully immersed in the type of Left-wing idealism that glorified the Soviets (aka Russia) and all things Marxist as the antidote to the decadence of capitalism. She used the term "fascist" incorrectly, the way most Left-wing ideologues use the term: to denote those who don't believe in the perfectibility of humanity and who prefer political law-and-order in a society that aligns itself with a high standard of personal responsibility.

She'd be just fine with a U.S. President "forgiving" all college student debt without regard to contract law and personal responsibility.

She had strong opinions, and she was very good at expressing them. Her reviews are exceptional because they are evocative at the same time that they are completely random. I think I would have enjoyed discussing films with her after a trip to the movies together.

Pauline! Pauline! Pauline! Paaaau-line! (sing to the tune of Dolly Parton's "Jolene")

[RA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pauline Kael's collection of movie reviews and comments around 1970 (+/-2 or 3 years). Entertaining to read now, remembering many of the movies, and of course my reactions to them, but sometimes she went a bit overboard in her analysis, digging too deep.

However, her repeated diatribes about the "new Hollywood" at the time seem "spot on," and this collection is a real time capsule looking at that chaotic historical era.

This book actually spurs one's interest in different movies, to either watch for the first time or to watch again.

[Scott Tienken · Rating 3 out of 5]

guess what? she ain't all that.

[Zac Powell · Rating 4 out of 5]

https://boxd.it/yphGq

[Joshlynn]

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