Movie Love: Film Writings, 1988-1991

The Film Writings #10

by Pauline Kael

The film critic for the New Yorker reviews thirty months of films, including "Dangerous Liaisons," "Rain Man," "Batman," "Goodfellas," and "Caualties of War"

Genres: Film, Criticism, Nonfiction

368 pages, Paperback

First published September 16, 1991

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

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome.

[Jim Nirmaier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ms. Kael was the Grand Dame of American journalistic film criticism during her long and influential tenure in the role as the film critic for The New Yorker magazine from 1968 until 1991. She was a major player and taste-maker during the golden era of 1970’s ballsy American movies.

I consider myself lucky to have basically “cut my developing adult cinema teeth” during this exciting period of daring filmmaking after spending the 60’s mostly immersed in Walt Disney and family-oriented fare.

I began the 70’s with a bang when my mother allowed a family friend to take me to see Patton which included George C. Scott’s memorable and Oscar-winning titular performance. Just the opening famous profanity-laced opening monologue was Wowsville!!! for me and I absolutely loved the movie! It was 1970 and I was all of 11 years old. We were off and running!

To be at those teenage years during that “push the boundaries” Golden Film Age, I count my lucky Cinema Stars. But it was also somewhat of a Golden Age of writing ABOUT cinema; and the two main leaders, both from New York, were Ms. Kael and Andrew Sarris with the Village Voice. Sarris was a strong proponent of the auteur filmmaking theory. Ms. Kael, according to Roger Ebert’s obituary – “she had no theory, no rules, no guidelines, no objective standards. You couldn’t apply her ‘approach’ to a film. With her it was all personal.”

The rivalry between the two leading critics was quite competitive and a tad testy. Ms. Kael’s fan/followers were known as “Paulettes,” where as the fans of Sarris were called “Sarristes.”

Her highly influential review of the controversially violent 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde began her long career at the New Yorker and she often times lacerated huge commercial hits such as the saccharine mega-moneymaker and universally loved The Sound of Music. She also panned such huge commercially popular hits such as Dr. Zhivago, Lawrence of Arabia, and even Midnight Cowboy.

Back to my teenage film period. I used to, with a degree of some regularity, go down to the Paducah Public Library and read the issues of The New Yorker just to immerse myself in her lengthy multi-page deep dives into 70’s film. Of course, without realizing it, as I was a typical small town American high school kid obsessed with basketball and girls, Ms Kael did influence my cinematic tastes moving forward in a myriad of ways. Of which, I am very thankful.

I also thought it was very cool that she named many of her books with sexually suggestive and double-entendre titles: I Lost It at the Movies, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Going Steady, When the Lights Go Down, Taking It All In, Hooked, and this volume, Movie Love.

Movie Love was her last published work of individual movie reviews during the latter stage of her career and is as fun a read as all her books.

Listed are all the films reviewed in the book and those that I have seen (almost exclusively in theaters) have a check mark for those keeping score at home:

Bird√
Gorillas in the Mist√
Patty Hearst
Another Woman
Punchline
Madame Sousatzka
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Things Change
A Cry in the Dark√
The Good Mother
Scrooged√
High Spirits
The Dressmaker
Tequila Sunrise√
Mississippi Burning√
Dangerous Liaisons√
Working Girl√
The Accidental Tourist√
Beaches
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Rain Man√
True Believer√
High Hopes
Three Fugitives
Out Cold
Parents
Cousins
New York Stories
The Adventures of Baron Munchausen√
The Dream Team
Crusoe√
Heathers√
Let’s Get Lost
Field of Dreams√
Scandal√
Say Anything
The Rainbow
Miss Firecracker
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade√
Vampire’s Kiss√
Dead Poets Society√
Batman√
Ghostbusters II√
Casualties of War√
My Left Foot√
Penn & Teller Get Killed
A Dry White Season√
The Fabulous Baker Boys√
Breaking In
Johnny Handsome
Drugstore Cowboy√
Crimes and Misdemeanors√
Dad
Fat Man and Little Boy
The Bear
Henry V
Valmont√
Blaze
Back to the Future Part II
The Little Mermaid√
Enemies, A Love Story√
Driving Miss Daisy√
Music Box√
Roger & Me
Always
Born on the Fourth of July√
Glory√
Internal Affairs√
GoodFellas√
The Tall Guy
Postcards from the Edge√
Pacific Heights√
Avalon√
The Grifters√
Reversal of Fortune√
Vincent & Theo
Dances with Wolves√
Edward Scissorhands√
The Sheltering Sky
Everybody Wins
The Godfather Part III√
The Bonfire of the Vanities√
Awakenings√
Sleeping with the Enemy√
L.A. Story√

I strongly urge all move goers to get as many volumes of the mighty Ms. Kael’s cinema criticism and commentary as possible.

Coming from a still devoted “Paulette.”

[Marisa Carpico · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really at least a 4.25.

Have read scattered Kael reviews before, but a real treat to indulge in her writing like this. Covers only a few years, but what a crop of film, The Little Mermaid, Goodfellas, Batman, some real heavy-hitters that it was cool to get her perspective on. That said, many of the reviews for films I hadn't seen were equally engaging. The thrill of criticism, but especially Kael's writing is seeing these films from her perspective. I don't always agree with her final conclusion, but understanding how her mind works is always interesting and her critiques are always understandable even when our ultimate judgements differ. First collection of Kael's reviews I've read, but very likely won't be the last.

[Ensiform · Rating 3 out of 5]

A collection of movie reviews, obviously. I disagree with Kael a lot, her erudition notwithstanding. She’d make a good book reviewer (her analysis of Oliver Sacks is excellent) but I get the feeling that she thinks very poorly of movies. She doesn’t think film can be Art, so movies have to be “fun” or “sly” or “comic” --- and if they’re not, they’re bad, since they can’t possibly be emotionally moving. Heathers is “not fun” and “lacks a punch line.” The one exception was Casualties Of War, which Kael allows to be Important. Why did I read this? Because it was there.

[Paul Dinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

Her review of Costner's Dances with Wolves is just one thing that makes this great reading. Still ready to take on any sacred cow and buck the establishment, Kael understood movies better than anyone and what attracts us. She is even wise enough to point out that Hollywood today really hasn't built an industry as it has inherited one. That Hollywood doesn't try to build an audience for it's films but puts crap out hoping someone anyone will go blindly. She was a great voice.

[Daddy Bookworm · Rating 3 out of 5]

Should Pauline Kael, the great film critic, be talking about TURNER & HOOCH? I think not.

By this time, films in general had deteriorated (just think of the difference between GODFATHER II (covered in one of her earlier books) and GODFATHER III (covered in this book).

I do think Ms Kael was losing her mind (she actually found good things to say about TURNER & HOOCH and also was way too kind to GODFATHER III).

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kael has a great natural prose and a great eye for films. I was dismayed that she panned some of my faves (Crimes and Misdemeanors), but she also makes you want to see films you may have written off (Casualties sof War, The Tall Guy).

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pauline Kael's reviews had a wonderful mixture of amazing insight and joyful fandom -- as you can tell from her book titles like "I Lost It at the Movies" or "Movie Love".

[Joy]

How did I not know about her before.
What a great writer -- especially because she has such great things to say about Michael Keaton, one of my all time faves.

[Ed · Rating 3 out of 5]

I skimmed through these reviews from a dark period (ie many stupid films) of american cinema ;0