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The Complete History of American Film Criticism
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Book Presentation:
The Complete History of American Film Criticism is a chronicle of the lives and work of the most influential film critics of the past 100 years. From the first movie review in the New York Times in 1896 through the Silent Era, the pre- and postwar years, the Film Generation of the 1960s, the Golden Age of the 1970s, and into the 21st century, critics have educated generations of discriminating moviegoers on the differences between good films and bad. They call attention to great directors, cinematographers, production designers, screenwriters, and actors, and shed light on their artistic visions and storytelling sensibilities.
People interested in what the great film critics had to say have usually been shortchanged as to their backgrounds, and just why they are qualified to sit in judgment. Using mini-biographies, placed within a chronological framework, The Complete History of American Film Criticism is the biography of a profession whose cultural impact has left an indelible mark on the 20th century’s most significant art form.
About the Author:
Jerry Roberts is an acquisitions editor for Arcadia Publishing. He was a film critic and columnist for Copley Los Angeles Newspapers, Copley News Service, and the former Cinemania Web site, and has contributed to Daily Variety, DGA Magazine, and The Hollywood Reporter. He is a past coordinator of film programs for the UCLA Film & Television Archive, and is the author of the Encyclopedia of Television Film Directors, The Great American Playwrights on the Screen, Mitchum: In His Own Words, and Movie Talk from the Front Lines. He lives in Carson, California.
Press Reviews:
Acquisitions editor for Arcadia Publishing and former movie critic Roberts presents the first comprehensive history of American film criticism, an admirably far-reaching work-from Frank E. Woods's work in the 1908 New York Dramatic Mirror to today's prominent online critics-that unfortunately reads more like recitation than scholarship. Roberts's attempt at "narrative history" moves chronologically, but in disorienting spurts that attempt to align the history of individual film critics, many of whom had careers more broad or influential than the format to accommodate. Pauline Kael, for example, appears again and again in chapters about the 1960s, 1970s, and the Television Age, but never in a way that coherently explains her-despite Roberts's penchant for needless biographical details (anyone who wants to know what killed every film critic since the '10s will find out here). While sentences from individual critiques are included, longer passages are few and far between, making it difficult to understand the impact or viewpoint of a given critic; the selections themselves also seem arbitrary (for instance, Roberts includes virtually nothing about The Godfather). For ardent film fans, this book may prove worthwhile for its thorough collection of facts, but a great history of American film criticism has yet to be written."-Publishers Weekly
"Roberts's attempt to tackle 100 years of history is remarkable."-Library Journal
"Jerry Roberts has achieved a remarkable feat of research and, in the areas where I have any knowledge, is fair and accurate. Nothing on this scale has ever been accomplished before." Roger Ebert
"Jerry Roberts' amazingly comprehensive and well-organized The Complete History of American Film Criticism arrives at a time when the profession has become seriously endangered by the continuing decline of print journalism. Roberts, a former film critic, has not only been thorough but also has made astute appraisals of the major critics" Kevin Thomas
"If journalismincluding film criticismis evanescent, Jerry Roberts has struck a blow for all of us who have spent our lives writing and talking about movies. I'm sure this impressive, thoughtful book will be a valuable tool for anyone interested in the subject." Leonard Maltin
"A thorough and informative history of 100 years of film criticism in America that does not stint on satisfying gossip and score-settling." Shelf Awareness
See the publisher website: Santa Monica Press
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