Book Review: The Complete History of American Film Criticism by Jerry Roberts

In the introduction to The Complete History of American Film Criticism, author Jerry Roberts states the book's intention is to offer "a narrative history to explain who was who in [American] film criticism … for the committed movie-goer or passionate movie buff." He does an extremely thorough job, offering an encyclopedia's worth of information in a very engaging manner.

American Film Criticism begins shortly after the twentieth century does, with Frank E. Woods, credited by historians as the first American film critic, writing about silent movies in The New York Dramatic Mirror. Unfortunately, Woods taints his work, as cited from Time critic Richard Schickel's biography of D.W. Griffith, when an incentive for trumpeting Griffith's work is revealed. Turns out Woods would later gain employment selling the director stories. He may well have liked Griffith's movies, but it's unlikely he could have sold scripts to someone who made "bad" movies.

Roberts reveals the many men and women who made a name for themselves as reviewers and critics through brief biographies and samplings of their work. Many gain varying degrees of notoriety due to a combination of their talents as writers and their love of films. Critics' tenures aren't predictable. Some stay in the job until retirement, some get fired, and others move on. Frank Stanley was the latter. He left no doubt that he had a great understanding of films since he went on to become a screenwriter, including five westerns directed by John Ford, most notably The Searchers.

The chapters in American Film Criticism are broken down into eras and changes in Hollywood naturally had a ripple effect in the review business. Publishers like Hearst got involved when they didn't care for a film's political agenda and had reviews tailored to their own opinion. Studios applied pressure through advertising and access if they received too many negative reviews from a critic. Coverage of films began to change to safe, promotional pieces about stars over reviews that dissuaded an audience.

As film rose in importance in the culture, so did everything associated with it no matter the medium, and reviewers became celebrities. Pauline Kael of The New Yorker became more famous than some actors and directors writing passionate reviews and scathing attacks on other critics. Siskel and Ebert, critics of rival Chicago newspapers, became a nationwide phenomenon and forever linked due to their wildly successful television programs. Harry Knowles of the website Ain't It Cool News was the breakthrough reviewer on the Internet, which is now the home of many of his peers due to the changing media landscape that sees newspapers and magazines possibly heading towards extinction.

Article Author: El Bicho

El Bicho writes for a number of movie web sites, including Cinema Sentries, which he runs for the geniuses of Forwerd Media. He also occasionally cleans up around here. Follow at twitter.com/ElBicho_CS

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