American Movie Critics: An Anthology from the Silents Until Now: A Library of America Special Publication

Description

An anthology of unparalleled scope, American Movie Critics charts the rise of movies as art, industry, and mass entertainment. Here are the great movie critics who forged a forceful new vernacular idiom for talking about the new art,-Otis Ferguson, James Agee, Richard Schickel, Pauline Kael, Andrew Sarris, and Molly Haskell, among them. Here too are notable American writers, including Carl Sandburg, H. L. Mencken, Susan Sontag, and John Ashbery, weighing in on a range of cinematic experiences. The volume's narrative continues to the present with a sampling of the best of today's reviewers, including J. Hoberman, Roger Ebert, A. O. Scott, and Manohla Dargis. This paperback edition includes additional material reflecting the impact of the Internet and DVDs on film criticism.

Phillip Lopate, editor, is an essayist, novelist, and poet, whose books includeBachelorhood; Against Joie de Vivre; Portrait of My Body;andWaterfront- A Journey Around Manhattan. He has editedThe Art of the Personal Essayand, for The Library of America,Writing New York- A Literary Anthology. His selected film criticism appeared inTotally Tenderly Tragically, and he currently serves on the selection committee of the New York Film Festival.

?With his deep knowledge of the medium, Phillip Lopate provides a tour of a century of film and the splendid writing it has inspired. Lopate, a gifted essayist, is an ideal guide to these riches.? ?ROGER EBERT ?This provocative collection provides not only dozens of colorful close-ups of iconic movies but also a vivid panorama of modern times.? ?A. SCOTT BERG ?A distinguished compendium, which . . . has earned its place in the library of any devoted cinephile, and on the shelves of readers interested in the development of the critical essay in America.? ?"San Francisco Chronicle" ?It's a great book for carefree browsing. Set it on the nightstand or the coffee table and flip through it until something catches your eye?and it will, guaranteed.? ?"Richmond Times-Dispatch" ?This great, illuminating companion, . . . which features writings by great daily critics and writerly giants like Edmund Wilson, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin, is b With his deep knowledge of the medium, Phillip Lopate provides a tour of a century of film and the splendid writing it has inspired. Lopate, a gifted essayist, is an ideal guide to these riches. ROGER EBERT This provocative collection provides not only dozens of colorful close-ups of iconic movies but also a vivid panorama of modern times. A. SCOTT BERG A distinguished compendium, which . . . has earned its place in the library of any devoted cinephile, and on the shelves of readers interested in the development of the critical essay in America. "San Francisco Chronicle" It s a great book for carefree browsing. Set it on the nightstand or the coffee table and flip through it until something catches your eye and it will, guaranteed. "Richmond Times-Dispatch" This great, illuminating companion, . . . which features writings by great daily critics and writerly giants like Edmund Wilson, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin, is both a canon and a pricele aWith his deep knowledge of the medium, Phillip Lopate provides a tour of a century of film and the splendid writing it has inspired. Lopate, a gifted essayist, is an ideal guide to these riches.a aROGER EBERT aThis provocative collection provides not only dozens of colorful close-ups of iconic movies but also a vivid panorama of modern times.a aA. SCOTT BERG aA distinguished compendium, which . . . has earned its place in the library of any devoted cinephile, and on the shelves of readers interested in the development of the critical essay in America.a a"San Francisco Chronicle" aItas a great book for carefree browsing. Set it on the nightstand or the coffee table and flip through it until something catches your eyeaand it will, guaranteed.a a"Richmond Times-Dispatch" aThis great, illuminating companion, . . . which features writings by great daily critics and writerly giants like Edmund Wilson, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin, is both a canon and a priceless greatest-hits sampler.a a"Boston Globe" aThe value of American Movie Critics lies in its sweep, its attempt to grab the whole history of a vibrant and underappreciated genre, a mode of conversation, often of provocation. . . . I loved this book even when I disagreed with it.a a"Los Angeles Times" "With his deep knowledge of the medium, Phillip Lopate provides a tour of a century of film and the splendid writing it has inspired. Lopate, a gifted essayist, is an ideal guide to these riches." -ROGER EBERT "This provocative collection provides not only dozens of colorful close-ups of iconic movies but also a vivid panorama of modern times." -A. SCOTT BERG "A distinguished compendium, which . . . has earned its place in the library of any devoted cinephile, and on the shelves of readers interested in the development of the critical essay in America." -"San Francisco Chronicle" "It's a great book for carefree browsing. Set it on the nightstand or the coffee table and flip through it until something catches your eye-and it will, guaranteed." -"Richmond Times-Dispatch" "This great, illuminating companion, . . . which features writings by great daily critics and writerly giants like Edmund Wilson, Ralph Ellison, and James Baldwin, is both a canon and a priceless greatest-hits sampler." -"Boston Globe" "The value of American Movie Critics lies in its sweep, its attempt to grab the whole history of a vibrant and underappreciated genre, a mode of conversation, often of provocation. . . . I loved this book even when I disagreed with it." -"Los Angeles Times"