Kael, Pauline (kāl), 1919–2001, American film critic, b. Petaluma, Calif. Possessed of an extensive knowledge of the technical aspects of moviemaking and a feisty, pop-inflected style, Kael was noted for her provocative, passionate, and tough-minded film criticism. An extremely influential figure, she first attracted attention for her attack on the auteur auteur (ōtör`), in film criticism, a director who so dominates the film-making process that it is appropriate to call the director
..... Click the link for more information. theory, and later went on to champion the work of such filmmakers as Francis Coppola Coppola, Francis Ford (kō`pə'lə), 1939–, American film director, b. Detroit.
..... Click the link for more information. , Robert Altman Altman, Robert, 1925–2006, American film director, b. Kansas City, Mo. One of the most original talents in late-20th-century American filmmaking, he created complex, often loosely plotted movies marked by brilliant and often huge ensemble casting, sharply
..... Click the link for more information. , Martin Scorsese Scorsese, Martin (skôrsā`zē, –sĕz`ē), 1942–, American film director; b. Queens, N.Y.
..... Click the link for more information. , and Steven Spielberg Spielberg, Steven, 1947–, American film director, b. Cincinnati, Ohio. Spielberg began his career as a television director, admired for his understanding portrayal of human character.
..... Click the link for more information. . After having written for Partisan Review, The New Republic, McCall's, and other journals in the 1950's and 60s, she became (1968) movie critic for The New Yorker magazine. She finally retired in 1991, citing the discouraging quality of current moviemaking. Kael's books, mostly collections of reviews and essays, include I Lost It at the Movies (1965), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (1968), The Citizen Kane Book (1971), Deeper into Movies (1973), 5001 Nights at the Movies (1982), Taking It All In (1984), Movie Love (1991), and For Keeps: 30 Years at the Movies (1994).

Bibliography

See W. Brantley, ed., Conversations with Pauline Kael (1996); W. J. Slattery, The Kael Index: A Guide to a Movie Critic's Work, 1954–1991 (1993); F. Davis, Afterglow: A Last Conversation with Pauline Kael (2002).

Kael, Pauline

(born June 19, 1919, Petaluma, Calif., U.S.—died Sept. 3, 2001, Great Barrington, Mass.) U.S. film critic. She managed an art-film theatre (1955–60) in Berkeley, Calif., while writing film reviews for magazines and broadcasting her reviews on network radio. After a collection of her reviews and essays, I Lost It at the Movies (1965), gained her national attention, she moved to New York and became film critic for The New Yorker (1968–91). Her witty, biting, highly opinionated, and sharply focused reviews (of which five more collections were eventually published) made her arguably the most influential American film critic of her time.

Kael, Pauline (1919– ) film critic, writer; born in Petaluma, Calif. She studied philosophy at the University of California: Berkeley (1936–40) before working at a variety of jobs, including writing movie reviews. She moved to New York City (1965) and worked for Life magazine. Beginning in 1968, she reviewed movies for the New Yorker; she left briefly to work for Paramount Pictures in California but returned to review for the New Yorker until her retirement in 1991. Known as a knowledgeable, intelligent, and enthusiastic reviewer of films, she consistently treated movies as a respected art form even when her idiosyncratic or waspish views aroused controversy. Her reviews were unusual in gaining a second life in a series of collections such as When the Lights Go Down (1980).