by Sam Juliano
I first came upon the film criticism of Stanley Kauffmann as an impressionable first year student at Bergen Community College in the spring of 1973. At the time I spent hours at the institution’s library, where I first began to pore through periodical racks that housed back issues of The New Republic, an oasis of scholarship that focused on politics and the arts. At a time when my Introduction to the Cinema course offered up such in class diamonds like Resnais’s Nuit et Bruilliard, Bunuel’s Simon of the Desert and Albert Lamorisee’s The Red Balloon, I began to discover (with the fruitful complicity of the main text, Lee R. Bobker’s Elements of Film, an essential work for the budding and seasoned cinephile) the works of Bergman, Fellini, Antonioni, Bresson, Losey and other art house luminaries for the very first time. This period of exploration and revelation invariably led to the research of the writers of the time who provided the intellectual analysis of the works that as young men and women we desired to unravel what we then saw as some of the myriad themes and philosophical thrust of cinema’s inner recesses. Along with a lifelong friend, Tony Lucibello -a same age fellow movie buff who remains to this day a very close social comrade and one who attended school with me from kindergarten, we talked about Kauffmann’s criticism and began to compare notes and make copies from the back issues of The New Republic of “The Kauf’s” film criticism. Years later I presented my case to Dennis Polifroni, Jason Giampietro, Peter Danish and others, and the opinion of the “Kauf” was always brought to the table. To say that we weren’t influenced by this brilliant man of letters -a man who published novels and nearly a dozen works of collected criticism, and began his career as an actor, and taught film for many years at Columbia University- would be a fabrication, though both of us could readily recall numerous instances where we parted company with his summary judgment. In those early days Kauffmann rivaled Simon and Kael as the most difficult to please, and we were repeatedly frustrated by his dicing of films we liked quite a bit. While Kauffmann will always be remembered for his ultra-rare dismissal of The Godfather and it’s celebrated sequel, he raised more than a few eyebrows with his almost savage takedowns of Ken Russell’s The Devils, Robert Altman’s McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Bernardo Bertolucci’s The Conformist among others. He also had little use for Woody Allen’s 70’s and 80’s films and trashed John Boorman’s Deliverance, asserting “The beauty of nature shots are trite, the drama is clumsy and the editing clanks.” Perhaps most shockingly he referred to the Coen brothers as “those arty nuisances.”
But when Kauffmann loved something, his eloquence was unbridled and his passion infectious. In discussing the second part of Swedish director Jan Troell’s immigrant opus The New Land, Kauffmann as always gives rapt attention to the acting (more than any other of the great film critics he stressed the value of performances, especially since he wrote theater reviews for many years, and once served as head theater critic for The New York Times), was an actor himself in his early days, and after saying that he will have to “restrain myself from gushing” over Max Von Sydow’s turn, he then surrenders to the work of Liv Ullmann: “I shall gush.” He continues: “She is irresistible. In the long spectrum of aging and experience through which this two-part film takes her, she is utterly and always a giver of life, her wonderful talent making her beauty more beautiful. In a fairly trite moment, like the one in which the hard-working suddenly tries on a fancy hat, she tears out of film triteness into experience because it really is happening to that woman. She does the same with her death scene, where she holds an apple from a now-mature tree-less variety and contrast than von Sydow’s, but Kristina never becomes mawkish or consciously noble because Ullmann is aware of fallibility. After her death, worn and weak, we see a shot of her as her husband remembers their meeting–a girl walking toward us down a Swedish road, smiling, a bit nervous about her braids. The radiant simplicity, the simple radiance–well, I promised to gush, and I’m only sorry that space limits prevent me from going on.”
Kauffmann’s defense of West Side Story as the greatest film musical of all-time is a model of insight and comparative discussion of a film adapted from the stage. In his glowing review of the Cuban film Memories of Underdevelopment , Kauffmann opines: “But the picture rests on the vision and exploration of Sergio’s character and the casting of Sergio Corrieri in the role. Corrieri’s face and manner fix the delicacy, the intelligence, the faded strength, the stubborn curiosity that are needed. The put the matter in shorthand, what the film gives us is an Antonioni character in the middle of a political revolution, a man who comes out of 100 years of cultivation-as-refuge, now facing profound changes that may alter the reason for the refuge and the refuge itself. He is an anachronism who lives in quasi-fear that he may turn out not to be an anachronism, who has only a shaky faith in the revolution that may make him obsolescent.”
Kauffmann’s passionate review of Karoly Maak’s Love, which starred his personal friend Lili Darvas is one of the form’s most emotional wrenching writings, and his massive essay on Bergman’s Persona is surely one of the most brilliant and intricate examinations of a film ever written.
In Professor Edward Murray’s superlative “turning-the-tables-on-the-pundits” volume Nine American Film Critics, the author cites Kauffmann’s theatrical roots and ability to disect a performance better than anybody and states frankly that his aversion to critical battles sets him as one of the very best critics the country has produced. Susan Sontag has called him “a national treasure” while Eric Bentley referred to him as a cultural icon. Roger Ebert declared that Kauffmann was “the most vital film critic in America.” His passing signals the end of the period when the word of a critic meant something to a movie-goer. After decades of reading and discussing his work dating back to the college years, I lament the end of an era, and the inevitable ending of a glorious period of film writing.
R.I.P. Stanley. You were a true superstar.
All Western countdown readers are strongly urged to visit Dee Dee’s ning site for her fabulous daily updates that feature lobby cards and posters of the films that have placed in the Top 50. It’s quite a treat in every sense:
The magnificent Metropolitan opera production of Tchaikovsky’s greatest opera Eugene Onegin, was offered up to opera fans as the first HD simulcast of the 2013-14 season, with the encore presentation shown in area theaters starting at 6:30 P.M. on Wednesday evening, and running until around 1040 P.M. There were two lengthy intermissions that allowed the regular host Deborah Voigt to interview Russian conductor Valery Gergiev and stars Anna Netrebko (as the lovestruck Tatiana), Mariusz Kwiecian as the imperious Onegin, and Piotr Beczala as Onegin’s friend turned rival. Tatiana’s letter scene, Lenski’s big aria and the final duet remain among opera’s most magical moment, and the score is among the most beautiful ever written. Fabulous launching of this year’s schedule, and the encore performance I attended in Edgewater was nearly sold-out.
The second excellent hostage drama of the year opened this past week, and it was both riveting and dominated by tension. CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, starring Tom Hanks, and directed by Paul Greengrass, follows the Danish A Highjacking (helmed by Tobias Lindholm) and is likewise concern with the actions of Somali pirates in waters off the African coast. While A Highjacking is more concerned with the state of limbo, CAPTAIN PHILLIP examines the state of peril in the situation. The film exhibits style and ideas in abundance, and there’s a potent undercurrent of moral urgency. The film takes it’s time to unfold and builds to some unbearable tension after the kidnapping. The first 40 minutes are expertly orchestrated too. Hanks excels in yet another deviation from the norm as far as his career goes. A major surprise. And great news too that the Ridgefield Park multiplex has re-opened with new owners a spiffy new renovation that includes every one of the 12 theaters with electrical recliners.
I caught a second viewing of GRAVITY with the entire family and cousin Bobby McCartney (this time in 3D with the family) and again was enthralled. I did, however lower the five-star grade down to 4.5.
Captain Phillips **** 1/2 (Saturday evening) Ridgefield Park Starplex
Gravity in 3D **** 1/2 (Thursday) Ridgefield Park Starplex -revised-
“…when Kauffmann loved something, his eloquence was unbridled and his passion infectious.”
“I lament the end of an era, and the inevitable ending of a glorious period of film writing.”
Sam, I enjoyed reading your heartwarming tribute to Stanley Kauffmann.
I’m glad to read your high regard for CAPTAIN PHILIPPS. We haven’t seen it yet, but we hope to in the near future.
Make it a shiny penny kind of week!
Thanks so much for that Laurie! Kauffmann was that rarest of critics who almost always had you second-guessing your own opinion. At the very least he opened up windows in the analysis of film and theater, and his concise writing was a model of its kind. I’d love to know what you and Len make of CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, though I’m close to certain you’ll both be impressed. A shiny penny indeed my friend. Right back at ya!
I was hoping to hear a positive report on Captain Phillips, though it seems nearly everyone is on board for the hostage drama. Interesting comparison with the Scandinavian film released and reported on earlier in the year. I know they have some contrasts, but I’m intrigued to know which one you prefer.
Also a bit surprised you went down a half star on Gravity, even with the 3D screening.
And your expanded tribute to Stanley Kauffmann is magnificent. Your respect and love for the man comes across powerfully.
Frank—-
I strongly recommend CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, though it is more difficult to declare a winner between it and A HIGHJACKING. I may see the Scandinavian film again on DVD and then conclude which film did what it set out to do more successfully. As far as GRAVITY, I remain extremely impressed, especially with the 3D viewing. But I may have gone too far with the five-star rating. Still not sure. Thanks so much for those nice words about my Stanley Kauffmann tribute. Have a great week my friend.
Sam, A wonderful, heartfelt tribute to one of the greatest film critics of all time. We were fortunate to have so many terrific, intelligent and serious film critics back in the day.
I caught three films this week starting with GRAVITY (*****), a film that will certainly be in the running come award season—in the technical category. I also re-watched at home Woody Allen’s MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY (****), one of my favorite Woody’s, a nice combination of Allen and THE THIN MAN. Yesterday, I watched Hitchcock’s silent film, THE LODGER (***) for the first time. Some nice Hitchcock touches were already evident but I found the acting especially by Ivor Novello overly dramatic even for a silent film.
As always have a great week!!!
John–thanks so very much for that, and great to hear you and I are of the same opinion here. I could well imagine you were an avid reader of his criticism back in the day and forward all the way to the present. And I couldn’t agree with you more that he was absolutely one of the greatest films critics ever, and as his incredible longevity attests to, his 50 years plus run at THE NEW REPUBLIC will never be matched by anyone, anywhere. But yes we had our share of great scribes back when film criticism was worth far more than it is now. Not at all surprised you though GRAVITY was excellent, and agree it’s an awards-season magnet. Agreed that THE LODGER is lesser Hitch, and concur MANHATTAN MURDER MYSTERY is always fun. Have a great week my friend!
Sam, this is a very touching, loving and personal tribute to Stanley Kauffmann. Thanks for sharing this.
I can’t claim to be too familiar with his writing other than the reviews I have found online in the last few years. But your tribute means I will have to search out his older reviews/writing.
I plan to CAPTAIN PHILLIPS soon but I have been a bit hesistant since it looks to be quite different than A HIJACKING which I liked.
meant to say I plan to see CAPTAIN PHILLIPS soon.
I thank you so much for that Sachin! He was one of the greatest of critics, but we me there was the added matter of nostalgia and those memories of my college days. I guess we all should be grateful the man lived to the astonishing age of 97, and worked up to only two months before his passing. I would think he’ll hold all kinds of records. His reviews are on the highest level of scholarship one can ever hope to get from a film review. Back in the day it was him, Kael, Sarris, Simon and MacDonald. There si no doubt that CAPTAIN PHILLIPS and A HIGHJACKING are quite different, but both are still riveting and tense. I look forward to your reaction my friend. BTW, the holiday stateside (Columbus Day) is no doubt the reason for the lower comment and page view totals for today. I project things will pick up tomorrow. Have a great week my friend.
Sam,
A great writeup on Stanley Kaufmann. Tracing your own journey throughout years, it is a fascinating homage to this great critic. I myself read his “A World on Film” many years ago, as I was picking up every book on the “film study” shelf in the University library.
I am looking forward to seeing GRAVITY, which is slated to open in December here. I recommend this article (http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/aerospace/space-flight/hollywood-space-disaster-gravity-uses-kessler-syndrome-for-scares) at IEEE site, which describes the real world problem of space debris called the Kessler syndrome.
I have been watching a series of incredible films lately, incredible meaning “incredibly inept” to “incredibly horrifying” to “incredibly moving”. It started with two German propaganda films I watched a few weeks ago. Someday I want to write on the theme of these films, but I don’t know how.
I also saw CAMPAIGN (2007), a cinema-veriete style documentary on election in Japan. It is a kind of depressing to see our own political process as this naked. We all know our political elections at any level are bankrupt, but we try to avoid that discussion. The film follows a candidate in Kawasaki city election, showing us this bankruptcy in detail. Without music and without additional narration, it reveals our “democracy” – selling your own name at any cost, buying it in bundles – is nothing but empty words. It might be very bewildering and somewhat boring to non-Japanese audience, since a lot of nuances will be lost in translation. But still, it is recommended.
Just posted another one at my site. Another series of rare photos.
MI
MI—-
Thanks for the great words, and I’m thrilled to know you were a big fan of Kauffmann’s writing. “A World on Film,” his first collection of reviews, was always his most popular, as it focused on that incomparable time in the 50’s and early 60’s when international cinema took the US by storm. Kauffmann’s scholarship and word economy was unique as was his remarkably hip taste and his easy ability to compare and contrast with the theater, which was one of his three loves with film and literature. The Kessler syndrome piece is fascinating for sure, and should be read by all who see or have seen the film. I completely understand where you are coming from when you pose “incredibly” as the lead-in for your recent viewing experiences. Let’s hope that the last sub-category has more inclusions that the first. CAMPAIGN sounds really fascinating to me, since I spent a good number of years back in my 20’s and 30’s campaigning, collecting absentee ballots and running for an elected position in my hometown, where I served two terms on the Board of Education. I’d love to take a look at the way elections are run in Japan. True, some nuances might indeed be lost in translation, but the whole matter of “empty words” is universal. Great to hear you have posted more rare photos!!! I will be over to check them out!!! Have a great week my friend.
Sam, the piece I remember most from Kauffmann is his long critique of Unforgiven. I didn’t agree with his view of the film, but I remember him being quite incisive on the reasons why people seemed (to him) to be overrating the film. Kauffmann’s passing is a big loss and finalizes David Thomson’s inheritance of his place in print, if not his position as dean of critics.
I didn’t do too much movie-related this week beyond writing my Warlock piece, but I did finally see World War Z, and hated it. I was actually down in the city briefly yesterday for the vintage paperback & pulp fiction convention in midtown; I was indulging another interest of mine that may result in a new blog soon. But I also had time to pick up some DVDs that you’ll see reviewed soon enough. Hope to get to Captain Phillips this weekend and Twelve Years a Slave the next. The local arthouse will have a descendant of the protagonist (Northup hailed from nearby Saratoga) on hand for the local premiere. October feels more like December this year, with many of the heaviest contenders already out there.
Samuel—-
I actually well remember that review, and at the time I was agreeing with him in large measure. But I have since come to see UNFORGIVEN far more favorably in recent years. Kauffmann was notoriously difficult to please back in his prime years, though he did soften up from the 90’s forward. Yes, it is a huge loss, and we’ll never see the likes of him again for a number of reasons. I know Thomson is at THE NEW REPUBLIC and will fill in the opening. He’s been there for over a year, seemingly to move in if the sad event should come to pass, what with Kauffmann’s advanced age. In any event, Kauffmann’s volumes of criticism will always be referenced by the serious cinephile, and I suspect his last rounds will be gathered together and published as well. But I would indeed assume that Thomson would take over as Dean of Critics. Your WARLOCK review is extraordinary and will be posting in the morning. I still have stayed away from WORLD WAR Z, and your review will inspire me to stay the course. Ha! Wow, you were in the city yesterday? I wish I would have known that! I was also there later that night, and I passed the area of the COMIC CON, though only a few of those leaving was still on the streets. We didn’t act fast enough to get tickets for it this year, but Lucille, Sammy and Danny did attend last year. Interesting that you might move to adding a blog on this interest! Nice. Yes the heavyweights are almost all spoken for (I will be seeing TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE over the coming weekend) with just a few essential still to appears (the Cannes winner BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOR and Alexander Payne’s NEBRASKA). Have a great week my friend.
Hello Sam and everyone!
What a great piece you wrote there Sam, I congratulate you, very emotional and informative. Kudos.
Well, Valdivia happened! The International Film Festival held in Valdivia is one of the most important film events of the year, where I manage to see the future of cinema in a few days. This version was kinda sad because I only managed to stay for 3 days because of work, but I managed to see quite a bit, let’s see the movies I saw last week, I’m going to avoid the films covered at my blog for the month of Horror Madness.
I must also apologize for not posting last week, I was unable to see any movie after the days I went to Valdivia, but I’ll rebound this thursday for sure.
Anyway, the movies:
– Cichonga (2013, Esteban Rojas, Pablo Parés, Hernán Sáez) *** I’m writing a review of this argentinian film right now for Twitchfilm.
– The Dirties (2013, Matthew Johnson) ****1/2 A comedy about school shootings. If you find that offensive, go away. It’s one of the most hilarious and at the same time it tackles such a serious topic in such a lightweight manner that it makes it among the best films of the decade, one of those that will be remembered because of their boldness as well as the careful planning in the chaotic manner that it’s shot. Has anyone thought about a list of the most important and influential films of this new decade, I think this one instantly makes the list at a very high spot, it’s incredible the way that it plays around with those themes, as well as being an incredible company piece with films as disimilar as “Catfish” (2010) and “The Cabin in the Woods” (2012). Impressive and one of the best films of the year, for sure.
– Fiest Falsa (Fake Party) (2013, Daniel Peralta) *** Chilean film, kinda meh, will write about it for my blog.
– El Hijo pródigo (Prodigal son) (2013, Carlos Araya Díaz) *** Chilean film, a nice idea, but way too boring to sustain it for an hour and a half. Will write a review.
– It Felt Like Love (2013, Elza Hittman) ***1/2 A tale about sexual desire and growth through the eyes of a virgin that has never had the chance to do it herself. A compelling and at times gut-wrencing tale, directed by a first time female director that at times manages to create the illusion of reality in too perfect way, but at the same time it presents some characters that could only be that way in the mind of the director, or in the mind of the person that has lived through it. As one teacher told me once, the fact that something extraordinary happened to you, doesn’t mean that everyone will believe it when you put it in a film, it should be natural and not like it came out of nowhere, and that’s how certain character’s actions feel here. The cinematography is bland and could’ve been much more interesting, the milky look is a cancer in independent cinema.
– Jack Reacher (2012, Christopher McQuarrie) ***1/2 You know when people see movies when they go on a plane? Well, I watched a film when going on a 12-hour trip bus. This one was exciting at parts, but clearly uneven, and for the most part a vehicle for Tom Cruise’s awesomenator’s persona. But then it has a weird scene, like the one in the bathroom with the meth cooker (completely pointless and almost three stoogey), and also the total waste that Werner Herzog is left in, using him for almost nothing at all. His interet in his film is minimal and it shows, and I find it amazing. Still, there are some good stunts and the drama and mystery is enough to keep you entertained for the length of the film, but the horrific morals that appear at the ending are just enough to bring it down from all the excitement and involvement in which I was taken.
– Stray Dogs (2013, Tsai Ming-Liang) **** Let me stare at you. Silently. For 15 minutes. If it wasn’t for the final sequence, this movie would’ve been the best thing that I saw in the festival, but for some reason Tsai wanted me to feel uncomfortable by having the same exact shot for over 10 minutes. I want to know whose idea was this. Now, besides that, the movie has its own pace, it’s slow and all, but it’s highly rewarding, there are scenes that are critical of our society in a really interesting way and some of the most impressive elements are in the way that its shot and how it frames the slow movements and changes in scenery. The plot is almost non existant, its more like a series of vignettes sorrounding a similar theme of serviceable society, capitalism and how the social classes struggle nowadays. Hated the ending!
– Lukas the Strange (2013, John Torres) *** Most of this rating is for effort, because this was among the most uncomfortable watches of the festival so far. It’s shot in 16mm and it’s maybe its only saving grace, the fact that the material is essential for the style of the movie to be put forward, as well as how the narrative works. It could’ve been a really interesting film but it turns out to be a poem that never truly comes out of its poetic state to ground itself into anything really important about any theme at all. It exists in its own world, and that is completely admirable. but beyond that there’s truly nothing here to see. If you find yourself enthralled by this, well I guess you’re fine with yourself and your own world, I prefer to have something a bit more terrenal, if you wish to put it in that way.
– Naomi Campbel (2013, Nicolás Videla, Camila José Donoso) **** Chilean film, made by people that came out from my university, a stupendous effort, way better than it should’ve been. I’ll write a review for Twitch.
– Ruin (2013, Michael Cody, Amiel Courtin-Wilson) ***1/2 An ethereal fairy tale about people in Cambodia that find each other and fall in love. It has an impressive visual style and a nice set of ideas to go with, a great amount of good acting as well as stylistic violence as well as sexual raw power. We expect for the moment in which the two protagonist will find each other and fall, and that happens fairly quickly in the narrative, but there are other moments that are just hardly endurable due to a lousy editing and pacing, specially for a movie that tries to be as ethereal as it is. It feels long, when it shouldn’t, and it’s a shame that this happens. I wished that the film was just a bit tighter and more quick with the emotions, so this could’ve been a masterpiece, but right now it has many many faults to even begin to be enjoyable, but I can see the greatness here, hence the rating.
– Searching for Sugar Man (2012, Malik Bendjelloul) ****1/2 Right now I’m listening to “Cold Fact” and that is just because this documentary exists. It’s maybe among the most “cinematic” of the classic talking head documentaries, because of its use of certain footage, as well as camera movements that are unheard of in this kind of films. The biggest achievements of this documentary are two and could be named easily: 1. the discovery of the great music of Sixto Rodriguez as one of the most impressive hidden secrets of the american music, better than Dylan they say? I agree. 2. the way that the film plays with the information that the people in the audience don’t have and how it plays with the expectations as well as the myth and the presence of the Sugar Man himself in the film. Maybe one of the best documentaries of recent memory about music, mainly because the music has so little to have with it, but at the same time, it’s so so good.
– Spirited Away (2001, Hayao Miyazaki) ***** Kinda watched this absently with my girlfriend. It’s such a beautiful picture, filled with messages, one can’t help but feel emotional when seeing it every time, it’s just magical, like a magician putting new tricks on screen every two seconds. With time you start to have favorite background character, favorite scenes, maybe among the best scenes on film are on this movie alone. Perfect, my favorite Miyazaki, nuff said.
– The Three Stooges (2012, Bobby Farrely, Peter Farrely) *** Imitation is the biggest form of flattery, or so they say. Maybe the best thing about this movie is how it embraces the language and gimmicks of the older three stooges shorts, but they also don’t bring anything new to the pot of creativity, just performing with great similarity everything that we know and love about these three fools. Maybe the most interesting original element of the film is how Larry David plays a nun. That’s all. The plot about saving the orphanage in which they lived is part of an old NES game that had the same exact plot. It’s a kids film, I guess, and I wish that this is the entry way for them into the original black and white great three stooges shorts. The additions of things like reality shows, and specially Jersey Shore is just a sorry moment about how hard it is to make a film that requires a simpler level of comedy.
– Vecinos del volcan (Vulcano Neighbours) (2013, Iván Tziboulka) ***1/2 Nice documentary about people living in Chaiten, a city right under a volcano. Will write a review.
– Vers Madrid (The Burning Bright)! (2012, Sylvain George) ***1/2 This movie is very very very long. I can understand why though. It’s an urgent film, one that requires to be seen instantly, it needs to get its message across as quick as it can, and so, that means having less time to edit and then to give the proper weight to every part, scene, character and sequence, and see how really important they truly are in the end. Nevertheless, the importance of the occupy movement in Spain is primordial, as it sets the perfect example of how the crisis in Europe is real and something that should be looked at in a much more serious way. Spain is turning in one of the most horrendous places to live in, with a 25% unemployment and it’s because of how the government has taken no important steps or measures to do something about this. The most impressive footage here is the one where we can see the ferocity of the police and how it attacks the people. Incredible.
– Volantín cortao (Kite Away) (2013, Diego Ayala, Aníbal Jofré) ***1/2 A nice chilean film that turns from perfection tu pure fascism. A shame. A review will be written eventually.
That’s all, have a great week Sam!
Jaimie—-
Thanks so much for the beautiful words on the Kauffmann tribute! Much appreciated.
Well sounds like another unforgettable appearance at the Valdivia Film Festival. And three days is still a solid span of commitment. You managed a good number of Chilean film and have given strong reviews to a few of them. THE DIRTIES has really caught my attention from your capsule description, and though the subject matter is deeply disturbing at face value, you make it clear that comedy is a potent part of this mix. I hope it opens here over the coming months. IT FELT LIKE LOVE is another that has me intrigued. Too bad that the ending of Tsai Ming-Liang’s STRAY DOGS spoiled what you otherwise have signaled is an exceptional work. That is a bizarre choice though by the director in the manner he opted to conclude the film. I completely agree with you on your words of praise for SEARCH FOR SUGARMAN and your sizing up of it’s primary worth and artistry. Similarly I would also rate SPIRITED AWAY as a masterpiece and it’s director’s greatest film. I liked THE THREE STOOGES more, but I grew up with the original series and can at least understand where you are coming from. I know some others who weren’t every kind to it. From what you say here, NAOMI CAMPBEL is the big winner amongst the Chilean films. Great that you had a good time, and had your other half for SPIRITED AWAY.
Have a great week my friend, and thanks as always for the incomparable report!
Hi Sam,
Sorry to hear of the passing of a favorite writer of yours. I am not very familiar with the writings of Kauffmann so will have to educate myself in the future on his stuff. I still haven’t been out to see Gravity yet but we’re hoping to get a babysitter for this weekend. My travel schedule is going to pick up at the end of the month, so it’ll get more difficult to find time after that for the rest of the year. I watched a couple of fine Borzage films over the weekend, Man’s Castle and Moonrise which were both very solid. Moonrise was an effective film noir, and Man’s Castle a nice depression era romance. I’ve also watched Kurosawa’s slightly lesser work Scandal, the fine religious drama Lourdes, Sofia Coppola’s latest disappointment, The Bling Ring, and Leni Riefenstahl’s rather mesmerizing Das Blaue Licht. This week as a family we’re also watching Cukor’s Little Women, starring my daughter Holly’s favorite actress, Kate Hepburn. That film is a true joy. Yes in fact that’s her favorite actress, and John Wayne is her favorite actor. Laura, the younger one, usually just copies what her sister says, so I believe actually these are both of their favorites at the moment.
Our weather has finally turned rather fall-ish around here with the leaves finally getting toward full color, even though this year seems to not be as colorful around here as others years for some reason. Hope that you and the family are quite well!
Jon—-
Kauffmann was one of the great intellectuals who parlayed his vast understanding of theater and literature to his film reviews over many decades. The fact that he wrote for THE NEW REPUBLIC for an incredible 55 years must be an all-time record. I do hope you come upon his work at some point. Wow, Kate Hepburn and John Wayne are their favorites right now? Your kids are advanced well beyond their age! And Cukor’s LITTLE WOMEN is a fabulous family choice. Hope your upcoming travel will at least allow for some weekends at home. The two Borzage’s are quite good indeed, and I agree SCANDAL is lesser Kurosawa. I still have stayed away from THE BLING RING. I look forward to your response to GRAVITY. This coming weekend 12 YEARS A SLAVE opens, and the reviews have been stupendous. It’s that time of year, but we’ll see. Have a great week my friend! Your dedication to the western countdown and to all countdowns here has been incomparable.
Hey thanks Sam! Glad to support. It’s always fun and I learn a lot from conversing with everyone here. Hope that your response to 12 Years is good. I have had mixed feelings about McQueen’s work thus far, so hoping this film changes that for me. We have lined up the babysitter for Friday, so Gravity here we come! You have a great week too!
Sam –
You’ve written an absolutely wonderful piece commemorating the passing of Stanley Kauffmann, heartfelt and full of personal anecdote, just lovely.
I saw Gravity and really liked it a lot. I don’t believe it is a masterpiece but it is a very good movie. After having seen it once, I’m going with a 4-star rating. I really enjoyed the review by Matt Zoller Seitz over at RogerEbert.com. I loved that he evoked The Passion of Joan of Arc and Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon in describing the method and effects of Gravity.
Some other recent first time viewings:
This is Not a Film (***1/2)
Shame (***1/2)
Killer Joe (***1/2)
The Strange Case of Angelica (****)
…and two films that I do consider masterpieces:
Margaret (*****)
The Turin Horse (*****)
Duane—–
Thanks so much for those extraordinarily kind words and reaction here! I dreaded this day for quite some time, but knew as he advanced to a remarkable age that it was nearing.
I think I agree with you there that GRAVITY falls just short of masterpiece status, and that’s why I bumped it down a half star after the follow-up viewing. The four-star rating you have assigned to it is most fair methinks. I will make a point of checking out Seitz’s review based on your recommendation. Wow, that’s amazing that he evoked those two cinematic treasures by Dreyer and Deren, though there is some sense in that.
Thrilled that you have broken out the five-star rating for THE TURIN HORSE, which is indeed a masterpiece in my opinion as well, and one of the greatest works of the new millennium. MARGARET is a great one too, so I can’t contest you there. I did rate THIS IS NOT A FILM and SHAME a bit higher, but I think you are dead-on with KILLER JOE and ANGELICA. But heck, you are dead on with everything my friend. Thanks again and have a great week.
And so the golden era of American film criticism comes to a close with the passing of Kael, Sarris and now Kauffmann, the sanest, most Olympian of them all. After watching ‘Pickpocket’ on TCM last night, I reread Kauffmann’s dismissal of Bresson’s great film and wondered if he ever reconsidered his curt put-down. The review is in ‘A World on Film,’ one of the best collections of film criticism ever written. Read as Kauffmann struggles between admiration and exasperation as he writes on the early 60’s films of Ingmar Bergman (‘Winter Light,’ also on TCM last night, is brutal to sit through and Kauffmann made me understand why. The film is excessively verbal and unfilmic, more theatrical than cinematic).
Yes Mark you put it succinctly when you vouch for the great one’s sanity in a time when there was little peace in the critical fraternity. But yes, as I stated here I always preferred him to everyone else, though like you I liked Kael and Sarris quite a bit and lost count on the times I referenced them. I actually had a NEW REPUBLIC subscription for over 15 years just to get Kauffmann’s latest reviews sent to my house. It was the most concise film writer of them all, and his vast experience seeing stage works kind of left him sitting alone. Yet as you note he was also exasperating. No I do not believe he backed off on PICKPOCKET, but we both know he was dead wrong on that one. A WORLD ON FILM is actually my own favorite film collection of them all as well, and I go back to it regularly. I hear what you are saying about WINTER LIGHT, but I have nonetheless come to the conclusion that it is every bit the masterpiece that John Simon says it is in his own great volume, “Ingmar Bergman Directs.”
Speaking of Simon, he is still alive at 88, so the critical Golden Age is not quite over. He is a brilliant writer, but one of the nastiest men on Earth. Ha!
Just ordered a copy of Simon’s book on Bergman, which I haven’t read. Brilliant, yes, but nasty is a euphemism. He’s the Count Dracula of film criticism! Hurrah to Sylvia Miles for dumping a plate of pasta over his head back in the 70’s.
Mark, Bravo on that order! It is Simon’s greatest volume in every sense, and it’s subject, well I need no embellishment there. I love that “Count Dracula” label for him – how appropriate! And yes that Sylvia Miles incident is one of the most famous surrounding him. Surprised Babs never rewarded him for all his attacks on her physique and nose! Ha! please keep me abreast on the book!
Hello, I had saw “Vers Madrid” of Sylvain George in Valdivia. I’m not agree at all about the question of editing. The film is really amazing, and the editing very interresting. Yes it’s an urgent film, but a real film in the same time with a new form. I don’t really understand why the work of the filmmaker is considered as “insuffisant”. All the best Jaime
Thanks very much for stopping by Jaimie (Lopez)!!!
Sam, I was sad to hear the news of Kauffmann’s passing. I know he is a giant that I must make sure I spend some time with at some point.
This week, I took in Hong Sang-soo’s NOBODY’S DAUGTER HAEWON, Sirk’s MAGNIFICENT OBSESSION, and Vidor’s THE CROWD. I was happy to see them all but was particularly moved by my first time viewing of the Sirk. He really was a planet all his own, and no one could pull such depth and feeling from that unexpected medley of cinematic elements.
Here’s to another awesome week, Sam. Thanks so much for all that you do!
Aye, Jeffrey, he was one of the all-time greatest film critics, and his long run is legendary. His volumes will always be referenced for as long as I can perceive. Agreed on the Sirk, and would add THE CROWD to the masterpiece grouping. You beautifully describe Sirk’s orchestration if I may say so. Thanks as always my very good friend! Have a great week!