A World on Film

by Stanley Kauffmann

Film, Pop Culture, Miscellanea, Drama

Genres: Film

Paperback

First published January 1, 1967

Reviews

[JerryDeanHalleck · Rating 2 out of 5]

Best Quote: .A rule of thumb can be induced...the farther down the scale from greatness towards competence that our original novel lies, the more likely it is to be successfully adapted for the screen; for it is less likely to be dependent on its original form for its effect.

Worst Review? Pyscho. "The whole thing is, in fact, much too long, and the plot is full of holes" (!)

Kauffmann's been pretty well forgotten, but in the 60s and 70s he was considered an important American Film critic up there with MacDonald, Ebert, Kael, and Simon. He occupied a uneasy middle ground between lovers of "trash" like Kael and elitists like Simon. More intelligent and erudite than Ebert/Kael, he still retained a love for "oscar bait" Movies and middlebrow dramas. And while the prose is intelligent, clear and concise, Kauffmann lacks the ability to turn a phrase and there's not much wit or humor.

This is Stanley Kauffmann's first and best book of film reivews, it covers the time period 1958-1965. I say the best, because the films (especially the foreign films) were much better than those that follow. This is when Bergman, Fellinin, Ozu, Kurosawa, and all the other great foreign films began hitting American theaters.

You also had heavy-weight British and American dramas (Eugene O'Neil, Miller, Tennessee williams, etc) , and men like Orson Welles, John Ford, Lawerance Olivier, still directing.

Here Kauffmann's is more consistent than latter books, with fewer swings from high praise to massive condemnation. The only exception is Brando. In "One eyed Jacks" Kauffmann declares Brando's Western is well-done and daring and his directing talent massive. But then is scathing in his reviews of "Mutiney on the Bounty" and the "Fugitive Kind".