"I Lost It at the Movies", Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael (1919-2001) was an American film critic for The New Yorker . A personality of great influence in American cinema, she became known for her persuasive writing style and keen opinions, often in countercurrent with those of her contemporaries [such as her negative reviews of La Notte (1961) and West Side Story (1961)], using a personal style unable to fit into any dogma. She was one of the most striking opponents of the auteur theory as defended by Andrew Sarris, having written the article Circles and Squares that exposes, in a severe way, the frailties and the risks of this concept. This opposition also led to the creation of Raising Kane , a book where Kael defended Herman J. Mankiewicz as the sole author of the screenplay of Citizen Kane (1941). She was also a strong impulse for New Hollywood, through her long essay defending Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Over the years she created compilations of her film reviews and essays, where one can notice a constant sociolog...