Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 26, 1995 TAG: 9503290101
SECTION: BOOK PAGE: F-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: REVIEWED BY NEIL HARVEY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"For Keeps," Pauline Kael's "best of" compilation of movie reviews written during her tenure as critic for the New Yorker, is one monster of a book. Weighing in at just under 1,300 pages, "For Keeps" is still, literally, packed with ideas and insights.
The collection includes essays on 300 films (from 1964's "Hud" to 1990's "The Sheltering Sky"), plus Kael's extended, definitive commentary on "Citizen Kane," as well as her infamous 1980 op-ed titled (subtly enough) "Why Are Movies So Bad?"
Subtlety is a quality for which Kael seems to have little use. When it comes to discussing movies, Kael doesn't sugarcoat the bad news, she revels in dispensing it.
"It took a long time for that direct, spoken tone to catch on with New Yorker readers," she admits in the introduction. "The hate mail piled up. Then, curiously, some of the readers seemed to begin to enjoy hating me."
That's understandable. After reading enough of Pauline Kael's film criticism, a composite picture of her begins to emerge: one part bullheaded, crusty elementary school teacher; one part hip old lady; another part hatchet man; and a fourth and most important part: jaded, "seen-it-all" moviegoer who still, nonetheless is capable of astonishing enthusiasm.
It's difficult to predict what Kael will like and what she won't like; her tastes and the focus of her attentions follow unusual directions. However, even though she will sometimes pan and praise a movie in the same sentence, there is no mistaking the cases where she has extreme feelings.
Her negative reviews of popular or respected films ("Shoah," "A Clockwork Orange," "Rain Man," "Midnight Express") are occasionally quite cruel. Kael doesn't take prisoners; though she was good friends with Woody Allen, after she went to, by her own admission, vicious lengths to criticize his "Stardust Memories," their friendship ended.
When she loves a movie, however ("M*A*S*H," "Nashville," "Blue Velvet," "Mean Streets"), the extent of her praise can be a little overwhelming.
Diverse opinions aside, her eye for burgeoning talent is often prophetically accurate. In her 1973 review of "Mean Streets" she noted of the then little known Robert DeNiro, "this kid doesn't just act - he takes off into vapors." A year later, regarding Steven Spielberg's first feature film, "The Sugarland Express," she wrote, "I can't tell if he has any mind, or even a strong personality, but ... he could be that rarity among directors - a born entertainer - perhaps a new generation's Howard Hawks."
Aside from a few notable absences (where, for example, are reviews of "The Wild Bunch," "Chinatown," "Dr. Strangelove," "Apocalypse Now," "Star Wars," "Annie Hall," and other classics?) "For Keeps" is an excellent compendium of one of the great eclectic critics. The book really isn't a good consulting device if you're on your way to the video store; in fact, one almost has to have seen the movie she's writing about in order to get the full effect of her comments, but Kael's opinions and observations are so blunt and perceptive they can make you want to see a bad movie again.
Neil Harvey lives in Blacksburg.
by CNB