by John Simon ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 22, 1981
If Simon is alternately penetrating and perverse as a theater critic, he is generally solid but unexciting on film—as made clear in this collection of 250 short reviews, all from the Seventies, all dealing with US movies. (Plus a handful of pieces on critical theory and other critics.) True, the familiar blind-spots and personality problems do surface here: the shrill assaults on un-beautiful women (including "homely" Diane Keaton as well as Streisand and Minelli); the elitist boorishness (the Rolling Stones' music is "worthless"); the odd prejudices which cause Simon to find Annie Hall "unfunny comedy, poor moviemaking, and embarrassing self-revelation"; the urge toward gratuitous personal attack. But, for the most part, these reviews reflect a steady, stern, if condescending esthetic: "the film critic must be equipped with a sliding scale, and be able to assess both art and mere entertainment on their relative merits." Thus, Simon is ready to enjoy well-made, unpretentious fare (the James Bond movies, Rocky, The French Connection). And he's highly responsive to small-scale artistic successes—like Badlands or Michael Ritchie's best satires. More typically, however—often in reaction against those critics who intellectualize "low cravings"—Simon devotes himself to skewering the dishonesty, murkiness, and emptiness he finds in middle-brow movies with pretensions. Occasionally this provides welcome balance—as in a shrewd, though unpleasant, look at the manipulations at work in the acclaimed documentary Harlan County U.S.A. In more cases (The Deer Hunter, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, etc.) Simon illuminates the flaws less well than several other critics. And some movies are lambasted, straw-man-style, for pretensions they don't really have. Still, Simon displays creditable flexibility in mixed coverage of erratic directors like Robert Altman; and, even with his self-limiting horror of the middlebrow (serious critiques of Hitchcock, Hawkes, Ford, et al. are scorned), he makes the most of his hard-nosed intelligence and un-academic good taste. So, all in all, these are sturdily argued, generally sensible pieces of short film criticism—but without the originality or eloquence needed to make this massive compilation (so much of which deals with bad and/or minor movies) a significant addition to the film-criticism shelf.
Pub Date: Jan. 22, 1981
ISBN: 0517546973
Page Count: 466
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: Nov. 2, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1981
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by E.T.A. Hoffmann ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 28, 1996
This is not the Nutcracker sweet, as passed on by Tchaikovsky and Marius Petipa. No, this is the original Hoffmann tale of 1816, in which the froth of Christmas revelry occasionally parts to let the dark underside of childhood fantasies and fears peek through. The boundaries between dream and reality fade, just as Godfather Drosselmeier, the Nutcracker's creator, is seen as alternately sinister and jolly. And Italian artist Roberto Innocenti gives an errily realistic air to Marie's dreams, in richly detailed illustrations touched by a mysterious light. A beautiful version of this classic tale, which will captivate adults and children alike. (Nutcracker; $35.00; Oct. 28, 1996; 136 pp.; 0-15-100227-4)
Pub Date: Oct. 28, 1996
ISBN: 0-15-100227-4
Page Count: 136
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 1996
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by Ludwig Bemelmans ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 23, 1955
An extravaganza in Bemelmans' inimitable vein, but written almost dead pan, with sly, amusing, sometimes biting undertones, breaking through. For Bemelmans was "the man who came to cocktails". And his hostess was Lady Mendl (Elsie de Wolfe), arbiter of American decorating taste over a generation. Lady Mendl was an incredible person,- self-made in proper American tradition on the one hand, for she had been haunted by the poverty of her childhood, and the years of struggle up from its ugliness,- until she became synonymous with the exotic, exquisite, worshipper at beauty's whrine. Bemelmans draws a portrait in extremes, through apt descriptions, through hilarious anecdote, through surprisingly sympathetic and understanding bits of appreciation. The scene shifts from Hollywood to the home she loved the best in Versailles. One meets in passing a vast roster of famous figures of the international and artistic set. And always one feels Bemelmans, slightly offstage, observing, recording, commenting, illustrated.
Pub Date: Feb. 23, 1955
ISBN: 0670717797
Page Count: -
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1955
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