5001 Nights at the Movies
by Pauline Kael
Our Price: $192.12
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $8.57 (click here)
Category: Book
See more book details and other editions
Book Summary Information
Author: Pauline KaelEdition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 1991-05-01
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 960
Publisher: Henry Holt & Company
Book Reviews of 5001 Nights at the Movies
Book Review: Kael Encapsulated
Summary: 4 Stars
Pauline Kael did not specialize in capsule reviews, and in her NEW YORKER columns, any film that did not merit much more than one or two paragraphs was literally and figuratively being given 'short shrift.' The reviews in 5001 NIGHTS AND THE MOVIES were either written (kinda) anonymously for the "About the Town" section or have been largely been edited down from her lengthier reviews to make them more "browser friendly." There are upsides and downsides to this approach. Readers still get a flavor for Kael's sharp, quirky writing style, but also get to the heart of her criticism more readily than they would have in the longer format. Yes, you can see almost immediately whether she LOVED IT or HATED IT, but some of the fun in reading Kael's longer reviews lay in following the twists and turns in her arguments. The more you got used to her highly personalized and somewhat rambling writing style, the more you appreciated her insights, which could be wildly enthusiastic, bitingly negative OR (more often than people gave her credit for) understandably mixed.
Her writing often seemed like an attempt to reason through why a particular film mattered (implicitly, why it mattered to HER, but also why it might matter to other more or less like-minded souls). But even when she was dismissive of a film, she would often write at considerable length as to why it failed, why it still might be a popular success and why it may or may not matter as a cultural artifact, even if it was an artistic disaster.
As some other reviewers have stated: she got you thinking. And even if you vehemently disagreed with her, either in general, or on this or that particular film, that's always a good thing. I remember, in my early 20s, getting excited over the auteur theory debate that was raging(?) a few years prior between Kael and Andrew Sarris. After a bit of reflection, I decided they were both right, in their ways. I'm nothing if not a critical mamby pamby, I guess. But seriously, there was something to be said for the film-as-product-of-an-auteur school and for the film-as-collaboration school. Both critics enhanced my understanding of film, and if that's mamby pamby, so be it.
I'm glad to have this handy compendium of Kael's abbreviated writings. As noted, the capsule format makes for great browsing, and for many reviews, a reference for a more extended treatment (when available) is cited, so that researchers and new found fans can, if they choose, dig up a more exhaustive critique. Be advised, however, that many of the anthologies of her full length reviews are currently out of print. They still may be available through out-of-print services and in public libraries.
If you like what you find in this volume, don't stop there.
Movies Books
Book Subjects
- Arts & Photography
- Biographies & Memoirs
- Business & Investing
- Children's Books
- Comics & Graphic Novels
- Computers & Internet
- Cooking, Food & Wine
- Entertainment
- Gay & Lesbian
- Health, Mind & Body
- History
- Home & Garden
- Horror
- Law
- Literature & Fiction
- Mystery & Thrillers
- Nonfiction
- Outdoors & Nature
- Parenting & Families
- Professional & Technical
- Reference
- Religion & Spirituality
- Romance
- Science
- Science Fiction & Fantasy
- Sports
- Teens
- Travel
Most talked about in Movies Books
David Lean: A Biographyby Kevin Brownlow
St Martins Pr; Published: 1997-09; Paperback; Book
Best price: $55.00
The New Biographical Dictionary of Film: Fifth Edition, Completely Updated and Expandedby David Thomson
Knopf; Published: 2010-10-26; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $12.90
Price in other shops:
Placing Shadows, Third Edition: Lighting Techniques for Video Productionby Chuck Gloman, Tom LeTourneau
Focal Press; Published: 2005-02-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $37.04
Price in other shops:
Placing Shadows, Second Edition: Lighting Techniques for Video Productionby Chuck Gloman, Tom LeTourneau
Focal Press; Published: 2000-04-12; Paperback; Book
Best price: $11.89
Price in other shops:
Stars in My Eyesby Don Bachardy
University of Wisconsin Press; Published: 2011-02-06; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.44
Price in other shops:
Behind the Curtain: Making Music in Mumbai's Film Studiosby Gregory D. Booth
Oxford University Press, USA; Published: 2008-10-13; Paperback; Book
Best price: $17.71
Price in other shops:
Time Out Film Guide, 6th EditionTime Out; Published: 1998-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.00
Price in other shops:
Natashaby Suzanne Finstad
Random House; Published: 2002-07-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $12.34
The Writer Got Screwed (but didn't have to): Guide to the Legal and Business Practices of Writing for the Entertainment Industryby Brooke A. Wharton
Harper Perennial; Published: 1997-03-14; Paperback; Book
Best price: $4.15
Price in other shops:
JOHN WAYNE: AMERICANby Randy Roberts, James S. Olson
Free Press; Published: 1995-09-11; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $64.94
Similar books summaries and other product reviews
For Keeps: 30 Years at the Moviesby Pauline Kael
Plume; Published: 1996-09-01; Mass Market Paperback; Book
Best price: $88.10
The American Cinema: Directors And Directions 1929-1968by Andrew Sarris
Da Capo Press; Published: 1996-08-22; Paperback; Book
Best price: $10.17
Price in other shops:
The Great Moviesby Roger Ebert
Three Rivers Press; Published: 2003-11-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $6.38
Price in other shops:
The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made, Updated & Revised (Film Critics of the New York Times)by The New York Times
St. Martin's Griffin; Published: 2004-02-21; Paperback; Book
Best price: $14.00
Price in other shops:
Deeper into Moviesby Pauline Kael
Marion Boyars; Published: 1998-11; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.75
When the Lights Go Downby Pauline Kael
Henry Holt & Co (P); Published: 1980-04; Paperback; Book
Best price: $117.36
Pauline Kael: A Life in the Darkby Brian Kellow
Viking Adult; Published: 2011-10-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $13.99
Price in other shops:
For Keeps: 30 Years at the Moviesby Pauline Kael
Dutton Adult; Published: 1994-10-01; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $152.75
I Lost it at the Moviesby Pauline Kael
Marion Boyars Publishers Ltd; Published: 1994-01-01; Paperback; Book
Best price: $13.50
Price in other shops:
The Age of Movies: Selected Writings of Pauline Kaelby Pauline Kael
Library of America; Published: 2011-10-27; Hardcover; Book
Best price: $22.32
Price in other shops: