Jane Mayer
American writer and investigative journalist
Pauline Kael was an influential American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker from 1968 to 1991. Known for her witty, opinionated, and sharply focused reviews, she had a significant impact on the art of film in the United States. Her unique and personal approach to critiquing movies left a lasting impression on the industry.
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About the Pauline Kael
Pauline Kaelwas an American film critic who wrote for The New Yorker from 1968 to 1991. Known for her “witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused” reviews, Kael often defied the consensus of her contemporaries.
One of the most influential American film critics of her era, she left a lasting impression on the art form. Roger Ebert argued in an obituary that Kael “had a more positive influence on the climate for film in America than any other single person over the last three decades”. Kael, he said, “had no theory, no rules, no guidelines, no objective standards. You couldn’t apply her ‘approach’ to a film. With her it was all personal.” In a blurb for The Age of Movies, a collection of her writings for the Library of America, Ebert wrote that “Like George Bernard Shaw, she wrote reviews that will be read for their style, humor and energy long after some of their subjects have been forgotten.” Owen Gleiberman said she “was more than a great critic. She reinvented the form, and pioneered an entire aesthetic of writing.”
14 Quotes by Pauline Kael
- 1.
I see little of more importance to the future of our country and of civilization than full recognition of the place of the artist. If art is to nourish the roots of our culture, society must set the artist free to follow his vision wherever it takes him.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 2.
The first prerogative of an artist in any medium is to make a fool of himself.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 3.
It seems likely that many of the young who don’t wait for others to call them artists, but simply announce that they are, don’t have the patience to make art.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 4.
Kevin Costner has feathers in his hair and feathers in his head. The Indians should have called him ‘Plays with Camera.’
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 5.
Citizen Kane is perhaps the one American talking picture that seems as fresh now as the day it opened. It may seem even fresher.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 6.
This movie is a toupee made up to look like honest baldness.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 7.
A mistake in judgment isn’t fatal, but too much anxiety about judgment is.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 8.
In the arts, the critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 9.
Trash has given us an appetite for art.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 10.
One of the surest signs of the Philistine is his reverence for the superior tastes of those who put him down.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 11.
The critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 12.
Where there is a will, there is a way. If there is a chance in a million that you can do something, anything, to keep what you want from ending, do it. Pry the door open or, if need be, wedge your foot in that door and keep it open.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 13.
A book might be written on the injustice of the just.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)
- 14.
Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them.
Pauline KaelAmerican film critic (1919-2001)