The New York Times just published a great profile on Andrew Sarris, the legendary 80-year-old film critic who was laid off by the New York Observer earlier this year. Sarris is known for importing the auteur theory of film criticism from France to the US. I've been reading his 1968 book The American Cinema off and on all summer, almost as bathroom reading (the longest chapter is about five pages). In it he asserts, among other questionable claims, that Kubrick was a charlatan and Wilder was a knee-jerk cynic.
If nothing else, Sarris provokes, and does it well. In old age, I've found him a little insuferable (here he is dismissing Children of Men like a curmudgeon on life support). Historically, Sarris is a fascinating figure. He's emblematic of a different era, when cinema was not yet considered an artform. It took Sarris and Pauline Kael's torrential bickering to elevate the medium in the eyes of many.
The Times article is a great read and a terrific gateway into '50s-'60s film criticism.
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