Description
Book SynopsisThis collection of essays pays tribute to Andrew Sarris, the most influential film critic in American film history. A noted film personality, Sarris occupies a unique position, walking the line between popular journalism and more academic scholarship. He began his career in the 1950s with a passion for film and an eloquent style of prose that led him to become a prominent voice in the film world. As a writer and editor for the Village Voice at its prime, Sarris reached and educated a whole generation of readers, and became respected by academics and critics all over the world. The thirty-eight essays assembled here and arranged according to major themes demonstrate the amazing impact Sarris has had on every aspect of the film world: fellow critics, filmmakers, readers, and American popular culture. Contributors include noted critics Leonard Maltin and Molly Haskell, film scholars David Bordwell and James Naremore, and directors Martin Scorsese, Robert Benton, and John Sayles.
Trade ReviewThis is a rare and important book and a must read for anyone interested in the craft—the art—of serious film criticism. * Rapport *
This well-organized Festschrift was edited by a well-connected scholar-journalist who persuaded 38 filmmakers (such as Martin Scorsese, Curtis Hanson, and Budd Boetticher, who called Sarris "the critic who reinvented my career"), journalists (including Sarris's wife Molly Haskell, Roger Ebert, Richard Schickel, Todd McCarthy, and others), and academics to contribute to this well-produced volume uttered by Scarecrow Press, which has long had a well-developed title-list in cinema studies. It certainly could be useful to anyone considering a course in film criticism and theory, but it will also appeal to the general reader who simply likes movies. * Literature/ Film Quarterly *
Emmanuel Levy has done a good job assembling a diverse range of contributors...Even those unfamiliar with the vast majority of his writing can enter into the 'novelistic' spirit of this project... * Cineaste *
The well-remembered excitement generated by Sarris' passioate polemics and fiercely debated categories...jumps off these pages to give the reader a welcome rush back to a time when movies mattered more. * Sight and Sound *
.... Citizen Sarris is not only lightly likable but downright indispensable as a guidebook to American film criticism....commemorate(s) a man who made the auteur as powerful a motion-picture attraction as the star, and whose critical impact extends from the groves of academe to the pages of USA Today. * The Chronicle of Higher Education *
