FILM: THE CRITICS' CHOICE
by Kenji
Film: The Critics’ Choice is a book from 2001, edited by Geoff Andrew, with a selection of 150 films, 10 (well 11, with a pair) distinguished critics each picking 15 films to cover a different era or aspect of cinema
David Bordwell: The Silent Era (#1-15)
David Thomson: America: The Studio Years (16-30)
Philip French: America: Years of Change (31-45)
Amy Taubin and Kent Jones: America: The Modern Era (46-60)
Gilbert Adair: Europe: The Golden Age (61-75)
Jonathan Rosenbaum: Europe: New Waves (76-90)
Jonathan Romney: Europe: A New Fin de Siecle (91-105)
Peter Wollen: British Cinema (106-120)
Tony Rayns: International Cinema (121-135)
Paul Wells: the Art of the Impossible (136-149)
A few observations:
- Latin America is neglected in the book (and the book’s use of the term America is problematic)
- Where is India?
- World Cinema generally could have done with more extensive coverage, an extra chapter could have done wonders, and so Africa would have been better served too
- In our Auteurs Film World Cup, the semi-finalists were China, India, Japan and Africa- hardly strongly represented here.
- Female directors are poorly represented. Only 1 of the critics is female
- I would have liked more from Japan
- The book has a British editor, who is an excellent writer and programmer, and the critics are from UK and US, hence the full chapter of 15 films on UK
- Good to find a couple of early Chinese classics, and 2 by Oliveira (3 from Portugal)
- There are some refreshing unexpected selections, and the missing major masterpieces and usual suspects don’t need promotion