Pauline Kael (75 page)
Authors: Brian Kellow
291
“You make me so mad!”:
Author interview with Polly Frost, March 20, 2009.
“You make me so mad!”:
Author interview with Polly Frost, March 20, 2009.
291
“Most of her criticism was not that hard”:
Author interview with Michael Sragow, September 12, 2008.
“Most of her criticism was not that hard”:
Author interview with Michael Sragow, September 12, 2008.
292
“Pauline had enormous insight into people”:
Author interview with David Edelstein, July 31, 2009.
“Pauline had enormous insight into people”:
Author interview with David Edelstein, July 31, 2009.
292
“She was watching them, like a movie”:
Author interview with Linda Allen, November 14, 2009.
“She was watching them, like a movie”:
Author interview with Linda Allen, November 14, 2009.
292
“Well”:
Author interview with Carrie Rickey, May 9, 2009.
“Well”:
Author interview with Carrie Rickey, May 9, 2009.
293
“The conversation was over”:
Ibid.
“The conversation was over”:
Ibid.
293
“I thought . . . I was fine when I was an acolyte”:
Ibid.
“I thought . . . I was fine when I was an acolyte”:
Ibid.
293
“It’s a movie you want to deface”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 22, 1980).
“It’s a movie you want to deface”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 22, 1980).
293 “
Little Sheba might not Come Back but don’t worry”:
John Guare,
The War Against the Kitchen Sink
(Smith & Kraus: Lyme, New Hampshire, 1996), x, xi.
Little Sheba might not Come Back but don’t worry”:
John Guare,
The War Against the Kitchen Sink
(Smith & Kraus: Lyme, New Hampshire, 1996), x, xi.
294
“You’re not stuck with the usual dramatic apparatus”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 23, 1980).
“You’re not stuck with the usual dramatic apparatus”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 23, 1980).
294
“Though I have a better time”:
Ibid.
“Though I have a better time”:
Ibid.
294
“using their power in the same direction that the businessmen of the movies are”:
Debate between Jean-Luc Godard and Pauline Kael, reprinted in
Camera Obscura
, 1982.
“using their power in the same direction that the businessmen of the movies are”:
Debate between Jean-Luc Godard and Pauline Kael, reprinted in
Camera Obscura
, 1982.
294
“It has a lot of magnificent things”:
Ibid.
“It has a lot of magnificent things”:
Ibid.
294
“It was a chilling ride back to the city”:
Author interview with Sydney Goldstein, February 20, 2009.
“It was a chilling ride back to the city”:
Author interview with Sydney Goldstein, February 20, 2009.
295
“could become commonplace”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(June 25, 1981).
“could become commonplace”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(June 25, 1981).
295
“time to breathe”:
Ibid.
“time to breathe”:
Ibid.
295
“weren’t hooked on the crap of his childhood”:
Ibid.
“weren’t hooked on the crap of his childhood”:
Ibid.
295
“the first movie in which De Palma”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(July 27, 1981).
“the first movie in which De Palma”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(July 27, 1981).
295
“hallucinatory”:
Ibid.
“hallucinatory”:
Ibid.
295
“I think De Palma has sprung to the place ”:
Ibid.
“I think De Palma has sprung to the place ”:
Ibid.
296
“We never really get into the movie because, as Sarah”:
Ibid.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE“We never really get into the movie because, as Sarah”:
Ibid.
297
“almost as if she were a big, goosey female impersonator”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(October 26, 1981).
“almost as if she were a big, goosey female impersonator”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(October 26, 1981).
297
“She begins to kiss his abdomen passionately, gratefully”:
Ibid.
“She begins to kiss his abdomen passionately, gratefully”:
Ibid.
297
“It’s gruesomely silly.”
Ibid.
“It’s gruesomely silly.”
Ibid.
298
“The reason the
Voice
hated her”:
Author interview with David Edelstein, July 31, 2009.
“The reason the
Voice
hated her”:
Author interview with David Edelstein, July 31, 2009.
298
“Pauline was so advanced on gay things in her sensibility”:
Author interview with James Wolcott, August 3, 2010.
“Pauline was so advanced on gay things in her sensibility”:
Author interview with James Wolcott, August 3, 2010.
298
“fag phantom of the opera”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 30, 1968).
“fag phantom of the opera”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 30, 1968).
298
“a soft creature, flamingly nelly”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 9, 1981).
“a soft creature, flamingly nelly”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 9, 1981).
299
“If I make these jokes”:
Author interview with Daryl Chin, November 16, 2010.
“If I make these jokes”:
Author interview with Daryl Chin, November 16, 2010.
299
“Forman appears to see Evelyn as some sort of open-mouthed retard”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 23, 1981).
“Forman appears to see Evelyn as some sort of open-mouthed retard”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 23, 1981).
300
“the most emotional movie musical”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 21, 1981).
“the most emotional movie musical”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 21, 1981).
300
“Despite its use of Brechtian devices”:
Ibid.
“Despite its use of Brechtian devices”:
Ibid.
300 “
There’s something new going on—something thrilling”:
Ibid.
There’s something new going on—something thrilling”:
Ibid.
300
“an enormous amount of dedication and intelligence”:
Ibid.
“an enormous amount of dedication and intelligence”:
Ibid.
300
“all much peppier and more vital than the actors”:
Ibid.
“all much peppier and more vital than the actors”:
Ibid.
300
“a tiresome, pettishly hostile woman”:
Ibid.
“a tiresome, pettishly hostile woman”:
Ibid.
301
“It takes Keaton a long time to get any kind of bearings”:
Ibid.
“It takes Keaton a long time to get any kind of bearings”:
Ibid.
301
“pussywhipped”:
Author interview with Ray Sawhill, March 20, 2009.
“pussywhipped”:
Author interview with Ray Sawhill, March 20, 2009.
301
“henpecked”:
Ibid.
“henpecked”:
Ibid.
301
“There was no way that she was going to be able to see
Reds
with an open mind”:
Author interview with James Toback, May 2009.
“There was no way that she was going to be able to see
Reds
with an open mind”:
Author interview with James Toback, May 2009.
301
“Oh, God, they were so damned nervous”:
Author interview with Roy Blount, Jr., September 15, 2008.
“Oh, God, they were so damned nervous”:
Author interview with Roy Blount, Jr., September 15, 2008.
302
“I’m a little afraid to say how good”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 18, 1982).
“I’m a little afraid to say how good”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 18, 1982).
302
“just about marriage”:
Ibid.
“just about marriage”:
Ibid.
302
“the kind of performances that in the theater become legendary”:
Ibid.
“the kind of performances that in the theater become legendary”:
Ibid.
302
“who understands the pleasures to be had”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(April 19, 1982).
“who understands the pleasures to be had”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(April 19, 1982).
302
“a dream of a movie—a bliss-out”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(June 14, 1982).
“a dream of a movie—a bliss-out”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(June 14, 1982).
302
“He’s like a boy soprano lilting with joy all through
E.T.
”:
Ibid.
“He’s like a boy soprano lilting with joy all through
E.T.
”:
Ibid.
303
“fake-poetic, fake magical way”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 15, 1982).
“fake-poetic, fake magical way”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 15, 1982).
303
“If the roles made better sense”:
Ibid.
“If the roles made better sense”:
Ibid.
303
“a genuine oddity”:
Ibid.
“a genuine oddity”:
Ibid.
303
“Altman keeps looking at the world”:
Ibid.
“Altman keeps looking at the world”:
Ibid.
304
“resemble a living person”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 13, 1982).
“resemble a living person”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 13, 1982).
304
“encrusted with the weighty culture of big themes: evil, tortured souls, guilt”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 27, 1982).
“encrusted with the weighty culture of big themes: evil, tortured souls, guilt”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 27, 1982).
304
“Streep is very beautiful at times”:
Ibid.
“Streep is very beautiful at times”:
Ibid.
304
“I’m incapable of not thinking about what Pauline wrote”:
The Guardian
, Apirl 18, 1997.
“I’m incapable of not thinking about what Pauline wrote”:
The Guardian
, Apirl 18, 1997.
305
“anti-acting”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 7, 1983).
“anti-acting”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 7, 1983).
305
“Performers such as John Barrymore and Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier”:
Ibid.
“Performers such as John Barrymore and Orson Welles and Laurence Olivier”:
Ibid.
306
“Oh, shit”:
Author interview with Warner Friedman, August 12, 2009.
“Oh, shit”:
Author interview with Warner Friedman, August 12, 2009.
306
“Movies are not art”:
Ibid.
“Movies are not art”:
Ibid.
306
“a distant closeness”:
Ibid.
“a distant closeness”:
Ibid.
306
“Pauline sort of showed a little affection”:
Ibid.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR“Pauline sort of showed a little affection”:
Ibid.
307
“an incomparable dip-in book”:
The Boston Globe
, October 29, 1982.
“an incomparable dip-in book”:
The Boston Globe
, October 29, 1982.
307
“a browser’s delight”:
The Chicago Tribune
, December 5, 1982.
“a browser’s delight”:
The Chicago Tribune
, December 5, 1982.
307
“one of the most profound emotional experience in the history of film”:
Pauline Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(Boston: Little Brown, 1968), 259.
“one of the most profound emotional experience in the history of film”:
Pauline Kael,
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
(Boston: Little Brown, 1968), 259.
307
“dying with the priest”:
Pauline Kael,
5001 Nights at the Movies
(New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1982
),
189.
“dying with the priest”:
Pauline Kael,
5001 Nights at the Movies
(New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1982
),
189.
307
“I don’t want you to take this personally”:
Author interview with Daniel Menaker, April 1, 2009.
“I don’t want you to take this personally”:
Author interview with Daniel Menaker, April 1, 2009.
308
“Whenever she came across something that she felt didn’t sound like her”:
Ibid.
“Whenever she came across something that she felt didn’t sound like her”:
Ibid.
308
“lulling, narcotizing musical”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(June 27, 1983).
“lulling, narcotizing musical”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(June 27, 1983).
308
“The film has a real shine”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(August 8, 1983).
“The film has a real shine”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(August 8, 1983).
309
“a pleasurable hum”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 17, 1983).
“a pleasurable hum”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 17, 1983).
309
“like Tom Wolfe”:
Ibid.
“like Tom Wolfe”:
Ibid.
309
“far more of an anti-establishmentarian than Tom Wolfe”:
Ibid.
“far more of an anti-establishmentarian than Tom Wolfe”:
Ibid.
309
“reactionary cornerstone”:
Ibid.
“reactionary cornerstone”:
Ibid.
309
“Someone told me she saw it with a group of her followers”:
Author interview with Philip Kaufman, May 7, 2009.
“Someone told me she saw it with a group of her followers”:
Author interview with Philip Kaufman, May 7, 2009.
309
“rhapsodic”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 28, 1983).
“rhapsodic”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 28, 1983).
309
“Her singing voice takes you farther”:
Ibid.
“Her singing voice takes you farther”:
Ibid.
309
“And now that she has made her formal debut as a director”:
Ibid.
“And now that she has made her formal debut as a director”:
Ibid.
310
“the actors with both eyes on the audience”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 12, 1983).
“the actors with both eyes on the audience”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 12, 1983).
310
“incredibly vivid”:
Ibid.
“incredibly vivid”:
Ibid.
310
“If
Terms
had stayed a comedy . . . it might have been innocuous”:
Ibid.
“If
Terms
had stayed a comedy . . . it might have been innocuous”:
Ibid.
310
“There wasn’t a lot of room for bombast”:
Author interview with David Edelstein, July 31, 2009.
“There wasn’t a lot of room for bombast”:
Author interview with David Edelstein, July 31, 2009.
310
“Shaffer has Salieri declaring war on heaven for gypping him”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 29, 1984).
“Shaffer has Salieri declaring war on heaven for gypping him”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 29, 1984).
311
“by showing you Mozart as a rubber-faced grinning buffoon”:
Ibid.
“by showing you Mozart as a rubber-faced grinning buffoon”:
Ibid.
311
“a wizard at eager, manic, full-of-life roles”:
Ibid.
“a wizard at eager, manic, full-of-life roles”:
Ibid.
311
“I was sitting next to her”:
Author interview with Judy Karasik, April 8, 2009.
“I was sitting next to her”:
Author interview with Judy Karasik, April 8, 2009.
311
“fiercely impressionistic and aggressively untheoretical”:
The New York Times Book Review
, April 15, 1984.
“fiercely impressionistic and aggressively untheoretical”:
The New York Times Book Review
, April 15, 1984.
311
“powerful perceptions and terrific writing”:
Ibid.
“powerful perceptions and terrific writing”:
Ibid.
311
“No auteurist critic”:
Ibid.
“No auteurist critic”:
Ibid.
312
“[Pauline’s] archenemy, Richard Schickel, was there”:
Author interview with David Ansen, December 23, 2008.
“[Pauline’s] archenemy, Richard Schickel, was there”:
Author interview with David Ansen, December 23, 2008.
313
“suggestive and dazzingly empathic”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 14, 1985).
“suggestive and dazzingly empathic”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(January 14, 1985).
313
“a kind of benign precision”:
Ibid.
“a kind of benign precision”:
Ibid.
313
“intelligent and enjoyable”:
Ibid.
“intelligent and enjoyable”:
Ibid.
313
“informed by a spirit of magisterial self-hatred”:
Ibid.
“informed by a spirit of magisterial self-hatred”:
Ibid.
313
“What’s remarkable about the film is how two such different temperaments”:
Ibid.
“What’s remarkable about the film is how two such different temperaments”:
Ibid.
313
“If John Huston’s name were not on
Prizzi’s Honor
”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
, (July 1, 1985).
“If John Huston’s name were not on
Prizzi’s Honor
”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
, (July 1, 1985).
314
“do anything for the role he’s playing”:
Ibid.
“do anything for the role he’s playing”:
Ibid.
314
“a Borgia princess”:
Ibid.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE“a Borgia princess”:
Ibid.
315
“This tall, gaunt-faced Strange”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(August 12, 1985).
“This tall, gaunt-faced Strange”:
Pauline Kael, “The Current Cinema,”
The New Yorker
(August 12, 1985).
315
“a career out of his terror of expressiveness”:
Ibid.
“a career out of his terror of expressiveness”:
Ibid.
315
“A lot of people thought she was really turned on by Clint Eastwood”:
Author interview with Ray Sawhill, April 11, 2009.
“A lot of people thought she was really turned on by Clint Eastwood”:
Author interview with Ray Sawhill, April 11, 2009.
316
“His work here is livelier and more companionable than it has been in recent years”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(September 23, 1985).
“His work here is livelier and more companionable than it has been in recent years”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(September 23, 1985).
316
“using his skills”:
Ibid.
“using his skills”:
Ibid.
316
“I liked the movie’s unimportance”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 4, 1985).
“I liked the movie’s unimportance”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(November 4, 1985).
316
“Meryl Streep has used too many foreign accents on us”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 30, 1985).
“Meryl Streep has used too many foreign accents on us”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 30, 1985).
316
“Spielberg’s
The Color Purple
is probably the least authentic in feeling”:
Ibid.
“Spielberg’s
The Color Purple
is probably the least authentic in feeling”:
Ibid.
317
“I can’t eat that!”:
Author interview with Charles Simmons, June 29, 2009.
“I can’t eat that!”:
Author interview with Charles Simmons, June 29, 2009.
317
“Oh, for Chrissake”:
Ibid.
“Oh, for Chrissake”:
Ibid.
317
“I hated it”:
Author interview with Jane Kramer, February 24, 2009.
“I hated it”:
Author interview with Jane Kramer, February 24, 2009.
318
“Probably everyone will agree that the subject of a movie should not place it beyond criticism”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 30, 1985).
“Probably everyone will agree that the subject of a movie should not place it beyond criticism”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 30, 1985).
318
“We watch him putting pressure on people”:
Ibid.
“We watch him putting pressure on people”:
Ibid.
318
“so many widely differing instances of collaboration and resistance”:
Ibid.
“so many widely differing instances of collaboration and resistance”:
Ibid.
318
“It’s not just the exact procedures”:
Ibid.
“It’s not just the exact procedures”:
Ibid.
318
“appears to be to show you”:
Ibid.
“appears to be to show you”:
Ibid.
318
“The film is diffuse”:
Ibid.
“The film is diffuse”:
Ibid.
318
“The
Shoah
reaction was especially peculiar”:
Author interview with Lillian Ross, August 1, 2009.
“The
Shoah
reaction was especially peculiar”:
Author interview with Lillian Ross, August 1, 2009.
319
“I’m upset about how unmoved you represent yourself”:
Letter from Dan Talbot to Pauline Kael, January 3, 1986.
“I’m upset about how unmoved you represent yourself”:
Letter from Dan Talbot to Pauline Kael, January 3, 1986.
320
“You’re often on target”:
Ibid.
“You’re often on target”:
Ibid.
320
“She had so little use for doctrine”:
Author interview with David Edelstein, July 31, 2009.
“She had so little use for doctrine”:
Author interview with David Edelstein, July 31, 2009.
320
“a Holocaust movie should not be sacrosanct”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 30, 1985).
“a Holocaust movie should not be sacrosanct”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(December 30, 1985).
321
“never before been this seductive on the screen”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 10, 1986).
“never before been this seductive on the screen”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 10, 1986).
321
“Allen’s idea of movie acting is the reading of lines”:
Notes from Pauline Kael’s screening of
Hannah and Her Sisters.
“Allen’s idea of movie acting is the reading of lines”:
Notes from Pauline Kael’s screening of
Hannah and Her Sisters.
321
“It doesn’t just repeat his work, it repeats itself ”:
Ibid.
“It doesn’t just repeat his work, it repeats itself ”:
Ibid.
321
“The movie is a little stale”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 24, 1986).
“The movie is a little stale”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(February 24, 1986).
322
“I don’t want to hurt him. . . . I just want to squirt him”:
Author interview with Allen Barra, July 16, 2009.
“I don’t want to hurt him. . . . I just want to squirt him”:
Author interview with Allen Barra, July 16, 2009.
322
“It seemed time for a change”:
Pauline Kael, introduction,
State of the Art
(New York: Dutton, 1985).
“It seemed time for a change”:
Pauline Kael, introduction,
State of the Art
(New York: Dutton, 1985).
322
“This bum ticker of mine”:
Author interview with Trent Duffy, February 17, 2009.
“This bum ticker of mine”:
Author interview with Trent Duffy, February 17, 2009.
323 “
Frears is responsive to grubby desperation”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 10, 1986).
Frears is responsive to grubby desperation”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(March 10, 1986).
323
“Frears’s editing rhythms that seem so right are actually very odd”:
Ibid.
“Frears’s editing rhythms that seem so right are actually very odd”:
Ibid.
323
“This Johnny wants to make something of himself ”:
Ibid.
“This Johnny wants to make something of himself ”:
Ibid.
323
“Selling is what they think moviemaking is about”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(June 16, 1986).
“Selling is what they think moviemaking is about”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(June 16, 1986).
324
“a phenomenal performance”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(September 22, 1986).
“a phenomenal performance”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(September 22, 1986).
324
“the work of a genius naïf”:
Ibid.
“the work of a genius naïf”:
Ibid.
324
“what for want of a better word is called a ‘film sense,’”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 6, 1986).
“what for want of a better word is called a ‘film sense,’”:
Kael,
The New Yorker
(October 6, 1986).
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