For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
With Director and Film Critic Gerald Peary
2009 | Not Rated | Documentary, Documentary | d. Gerald Peary
Roger Ebert, Leonard Maltin, Patricia Clarkson
For a hundred years, virtually the history of American movies, film critics have championed this medium they so unabashedly love. They advise audiences in deciding what movies to see, and why. Better, their reviews illuminate the film-going experience, suggesting paths for readers to enter cinema more deeply, thoughtfully, appreciatively.

I have been a film critic for thirty years, writing for magazines and newspapers, and, the last twelve years, for The Boston Phoenix. This is a pro-critic film. At a time when American critics are being laid off and fired, and when their influence has diminished, For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism is an unapologetic defense of a profession under siege.

I know intimately many of my colleagues, and had unprecedented access interviewing them for the camera. I talked to several dozen critics, including writers for newspapers (The New York Times, The LA Times, The Chicago Tribune, etc,), magazines (Entertainment Weekly, The New Republic, etc.), blogs and websites (aintitcoolnews.com, spout.com.)

Along with Producer Amy Geller, (PBS’s Murder at Harvard and The War that Made America), we set off to capture the voice of these critics on film. My first desire is for an audience to become intimate with the reviewers behind the bylines, so it can be understood how critics think about and see movies. How did they come to their jobs, and to their abiding love for cinema? Those interviewed vividly describe scenes from movies which, seen as children, made an indelible impression, and which transformed their way of viewing.

Also, today’s critics comment on American critics of the past – Robert E. Sherwood, Otis Ferguson, James Agee, etc. – whose work inspired them. I offer a history of American film criticism, from the time of The Birth of a Nation to Bosley Crowther’s 27-year reign at The New York Times, from Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel on TV to amateur reviews on the Internet. I touch upon the infamous Pauline Kael-Andrew Sarris debates, and show the antagonist relationship between youthful web reviewers and veteran print critics.

There have been American critics who, simply, are great literary stylists. Among these:
Andrew Sarris, Pauline Kael, James Agee, and Manny Farber. A further object of my documentary is to spread appreciation for such first-rate prose and original thinking. I hope that this film motivates audiences to consider reviews by the best American critics, whether in print or the Web, as a key component in watching movies in a deeper, more thoughtful, way.