Stanley Kauffmann: Difference between revisions

Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann
Born	April 24, 1916; New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	October 9, 2013 (aged 97); New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Critic, editor, writer, educator
Spouse	Laura Cohen (m. 1943; died 2012)

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Stanley Kauffmann (April 24, 1916 – October 9, 2013) was an American writer, editor, and critic of film and theater.^[1]

Career

Kauffmann started with The New Republic in 1958 and contributed film criticism to that magazine for the next 55 years, publishing his last review in 2013.^[2]^[3] He had one brief break in his New Republic tenure,^[4] when he served as the drama critic for The New York Times for eight months in 1966.^[5]

He worked as an acquisitions editor at Ballantine Books in 1953, where he acquired the novel Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury.^[6] Several years later, while working as an editor at Alfred A. Knopf in 1959 he discovered a manuscript by Walker Percy, The Moviegoer. Following a year of rewrites and revisions, the novel was published in 1961, and it won a National Book Award in 1962.^[7]

Stanley electrified educated people with the news that movies had become one of the high arts again, and that there were contemporary works—by Bergman, Truffaut, Antonioni, and many other directors—the equal of the masterpieces of the silent era.

David Denby, "Stanley Kauffmann Tribute: 'A Masterpiece Every Week!'", The New Republic, October 9, 2013

Kauffmann was a long-time advocate and enthusiast of foreign film, helping to introduce and popularize in America the works of directors such as Ingmar Bergman, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Yasujirō Ozu.^[8] He inspired and influenced younger film and cultural critics such as Roger Ebert^[3] and David Denby.^[8]

Kauffmann was also a professor of English, Drama, and Film at City University of New York (Hunter College, York College, and the Graduate Center) (1973–76) and taught at the Yale School of Drama.^[when?]^[9]

Kauffmann was featured in the 2009 documentary For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism where he was shown discussing the beginnings of film criticism in America, and noting the important contributions of poet Vachel Lindsay, who grasped that "the arrival of film was an important moment in the history of human consciousness".^[10]

Kauffmann is noted for his dissenting opinions on otherwise critically acclaimed films, giving negative reviews for Brazil, Star Wars, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Godfather, Pulp Fiction, Million Dollar Baby, Gone with the Wind, Becket and 2001: A Space Odyssey, films that were heavily praised by other notable critics.

Personal life

Kauffmann attended DeWitt Clinton High School in the Bronx and New York University, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1935, and he was an actor and stage manager with the Washington Square Players. Kauffmann married Laura Cohen in 1943, and they remained together until Cohen's death in 2012. They did not have children. Kauffmann died of pneumonia at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan on October 9, 2013, at age 97.^[11]

Books on criticism

Regarding Film: Criticism and Comment. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press (2001).
Distinguishing Features: Film Criticism and Comment. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press (1994).
Field of View: Film Criticism and Comment. New York: Performing Arts Journal Publications (1986).
Theater Criticisms. New York: Performing Arts Journal Publications (1986).
Albums of Early Life. New Haven: Ticknor & Fields (1980).
Before My Eyes: Film Criticism and Comment. New York: Harper & Row (1980).
Persons of the Drama: Theater Criticism and Comment. New York: Harper & Row (1976).
Living Images: Film Comment and Criticism. New York: Harper & Row (1975).
American Film Criticism: From the Beginnings to "Citizen Kane"; Reviews of Significant Films at the Time They First Appeared [Editor, with Bruce Henstell]. New York: Liveright (1972).
Figures of Light: Film Criticism and Comment. New York: Harper & Row (1971).
A World on Film: Criticism and Comment. New York: Harper & Row (1966).

References

^ Zeitchik, Steven (October 9, 2013). "Stanley Kauffmann dies: Film critic helped define a generation". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
^ Kauffmann The New Republic
^ ^a ^b Esther Zuckerman (October 9, 2013). "Critics and Colleagues Remember Stanley Kauffmann". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
^ Jeremy McCarter (September 2, 2010). "Oldest Living Cultural Critic Tells All". Newsweek. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
^ Bert Cardullo (Fall 2002). "Interview with Stanley Kauffmann". The Missouri Review. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
^ Film Critic Stanley Kauffmann Dead at 97, ABC News, October 9, 2013.
^ Moore, H., Walker Percy's The Moviegoer: A Publishing History, The Library Chronicle of the University of Texas. volume 22, Numbers 1-4, 1991-92, pages 123-43
^ ^a ^b James Wolcott; David Denby; David Thompson (October 9, 2013). "A Tribute: Stanley Kauffmann, 1916-2013". The New Republic.
^ "Stanley Kauffmann". nndb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2013.
^ For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism, TCM Movie Database
^ Grimes, William (October 9, 2013). "Stanley Kauffmann, Erudite Film Critic, Dies at 97". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2013.

External links

[1] Zeitchik, Steven (October 9, 2013). "Stanley Kauffmann dies: Film critic helped define a generation". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved October 9, 2013.

[2] Kauffmann The New Republic

[zuckerman-3] Esther Zuckerman (October 9, 2013). "Critics and Colleagues Remember Stanley Kauffmann". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.

[4] Jeremy McCarter (September 2, 2010). "Oldest Living Cultural Critic Tells All". Newsweek. Retrieved October 12, 2013.

[5] Bert Cardullo (Fall 2002). "Interview with Stanley Kauffmann". The Missouri Review. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved October 12, 2013.

[6] Film Critic Stanley Kauffmann Dead at 97, ABC News, October 9, 2013.

[7] Moore, H., Walker Percy's The Moviegoer: A Publishing History, The Library Chronicle of the University of Texas. volume 22, Numbers 1-4, 1991-92, pages 123-43

[WDT-8] James Wolcott; David Denby; David Thompson (October 9, 2013). "A Tribute: Stanley Kauffmann, 1916-2013". The New Republic.

[9] "Stanley Kauffmann". nndb.com. Retrieved October 9, 2013.

[10] For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism, TCM Movie Database

[11] Grimes, William (October 9, 2013). "Stanley Kauffmann, Erudite Film Critic, Dies at 97". The New York Times. Retrieved October 9, 2013.

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@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|American author, editor, and critic of film and theater}}
+{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
 {{Infobox person
 | image =  <!-- Only freely-licensed images may be used to depict living people. See [[WP:NONFREE]].  -->
@@ Line 5: / Line 7: @@
 | caption     =
 | birth_date  = {{birth date|1916|4|24}}
-| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
+| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.
 | death_date  = {{Death date and age|2013|10|9|1916|4|24|mf=yes}}
-| death_place = New York City, U.S.
+| death_place = New York City, New York, U.S.
-| death_cause = Pneumonia
 | occupation  = Critic, editor, writer, educator
 | spouse      = {{marriage|Laura Cohen|1943|2012|end=died}}
 }}
-'''Stanley Kauffmann''' (April 24, 1916 – October 9, 2013) was an [[United States|American]] [[author]], [[editor]], and [[critic]] of [[film]] and [[theater]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Zeitchik |first=Steven |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-stanley-kauffmann-film-critic-dies-20131009,0,5284490.story|title=Stanley Kauffmann dies: Film critic helped define a generation|publisher=latimes.com|accessdate=2013-10-09}}</ref>
+'''Stanley Kauffmann''' (April 24, 1916 – October 9, 2013) was an American writer, editor, and critic of film and theater.<ref>{{cite web|last=Zeitchik |first=Steven |url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/moviesnow/la-et-mn-stanley-kauffmann-film-critic-dies-20131009,0,5284490.story|title=Stanley Kauffmann dies: Film critic helped define a generation|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times|date=October 9, 2013 |access-date=October 9, 2013}}</ref>
 ==Career==
-Kauffmann started with ''[[The New Republic]]'' in 1958 and contributed film criticism to that magazine for the next fifty-five years, publishing his last review in 2013.<ref>[http://www.newrepublic.com/authors/stanley-kauffmann Kauffmann]'' The New Republic''</ref><ref name=zuckerman>{{cite web |url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/10/critics-and-colleagues-remember-stanley-kauffmann/70348/ |title=Critics and Colleagues Remember Stanley Kauffmann |author=Esther Zuckerman |date=October 9, 2013 |work=The Atlantic |accessdate=October 12, 2013}}</ref> He had one brief break in his ''New Republic'' tenure,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mag.newsweek.com/2010/09/02/stanley-kauffmann-a-cultural-critic-for-the-ages.html |title=Oldest Living Cultural Critic Tells All |author=Jeremy McCarter |date=September 2, 2010 |work=Newsweek |accessdate=October 12, 2013}}</ref> when he served as the drama critic for the ''[[New York Times]]'' for eight months in 1966.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.missourireview.com/archives/bbarticle/interview-with-stanley-kauffmann/ |title=Interview with Stanley Kauffmann |author=Bert Cardullo |date=Fall 2002 |work=The Missouri Review |accessdate=October 12, 2013}}</ref>
+Kauffmann started with ''[[The New Republic]]'' in 1958 and contributed film criticism to that magazine for the next 55 years, publishing his last review in 2013.<ref>[https://newrepublic.com/authors/stanley-kauffmann Kauffmann]'' The New Republic''</ref><ref name=zuckerman>{{cite web |url=http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/10/critics-and-colleagues-remember-stanley-kauffmann/70348/ |title=Critics and Colleagues Remember Stanley Kauffmann |author=Esther Zuckerman |date=October 9, 2013 |website=The Atlantic |access-date=October 12, 2013 |archive-date=October 14, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131014030124/http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/10/critics-and-colleagues-remember-stanley-kauffmann/70348/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> He had one brief break in his ''New Republic'' tenure,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://mag.newsweek.com/2010/09/02/stanley-kauffmann-a-cultural-critic-for-the-ages.html |title=Oldest Living Cultural Critic Tells All |author=Jeremy McCarter |date=September 2, 2010 |website=Newsweek |access-date=October 12, 2013}}</ref> when he served as the drama critic for ''[[The New York Times]]'' for eight months in 1966.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.missourireview.com/archives/bbarticle/interview-with-stanley-kauffmann/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130629213852/http://www.missourireview.com/archives/bbarticle/interview-with-stanley-kauffmann/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 29, 2013 |title=Interview with Stanley Kauffmann |author=Bert Cardullo |date=Fall 2002 |website=The Missouri Review |access-date=October 12, 2013}}</ref>
-He worked as an acquisitions editor at [[Ballantine Books]] in 1953, where he acquired the novel ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'', by [[Ray Bradbury]].<ref>[http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/film-critic-stanley-kauffmann-dead-97-20518260?page=2 Film Critic Stanley Kauffmann Dead at 97], ABC News, October 9, 2013.</ref> Several years later, while working as an editor at [[Alfred A. Knopf]] in 1959 he discovered a manuscript by [[Walker Percy]], ''[[The Moviegoer]]''. Following a year of rewrites and revisions, the novel was published in 1961, and went on to win a [[National Book Award]] in 1962.<ref>Moore, H., Walker Percy's ''The Moviegoer: A Publishing History'', The Library Chronicle of the University of Texas. vol 22, Nos. 1-4, 1991-92, pp. 123-43 <!-- ISBN needed --></ref>
+He worked as an acquisitions editor at [[Ballantine Books]] in 1953, where he acquired the novel ''[[Fahrenheit 451]]'' by [[Ray Bradbury]].<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/film-critic-stanley-kauffmann-dead-97-20518260?page=2 Film Critic Stanley Kauffmann Dead at 97], ABC News, October 9, 2013.</ref> Several years later, while working as an editor at [[Alfred A. Knopf]] in 1959 he discovered a manuscript by [[Walker Percy]], ''[[The Moviegoer]]''. Following a year of rewrites and revisions, the novel was published in 1961, and it won a [[National Book Award]] in 1962.<ref>Moore, H., Walker Percy's ''The Moviegoer: A Publishing History'', The Library Chronicle of the University of Texas. volume 22, Numbers 1-4, 1991-92, pages 123-43 <!-- ISBN needed --></ref>
-{{Quote box|quote=Stanley electrified educated people with the news that movies had become one of the high arts again, and that there were contemporary works—by Bergman, Truffaut, Antonioni, and many other directors—the equal of the masterpieces of the silent era.|width  = 33% |source=David Denby, "Stanley Kauffmann Tribute: 'A Masterpiece Every Week!'", ''The New Republic'', October 9, 2013}}Kauffmann was a long-time advocate and enthusiast of foreign film, helping to introduce and popularize in America the works of directors such as [[Ingmar Bergman]], [[François Truffaut]], [[Claude Chabrol]], and [[Yasujiro Ozu]].<ref name=WDT>{{cite web |url= |title=A Tribute: Stanley Kauffmann, 1916-2013 |author1=James Wolcott |author2=David Denby |author3=David Thompson |date=October 9, 2013 |work=The New Republic}}</ref> He inspired and influenced younger film and cultural critics such as [[Roger Ebert]]<ref name=zuckerman/> and [[David Denby (film critic)|David Denby]].<ref name=WDT/>
+{{Quote box|quote=Stanley electrified educated people with the news that movies had become one of the high arts again, and that there were contemporary works—by Bergman, Truffaut, Antonioni, and many other directors—the equal of the masterpieces of the silent era.|width  = 33% |source=David Denby, "Stanley Kauffmann Tribute: 'A Masterpiece Every Week!'", ''The New Republic'', October 9, 2013}}Kauffmann was a long-time advocate and enthusiast of foreign film, helping to introduce and popularize in America the works of directors such as [[Ingmar Bergman]], [[François Truffaut]], [[Claude Chabrol]], and [[Yasujirō Ozu]].<ref name=WDT>{{cite magazine |title=A Tribute: Stanley Kauffmann, 1916-2013 |author1=James Wolcott |author2=David Denby |author3=David Thompson |date=October 9, 2013 |magazine=The New Republic}}</ref> He inspired and influenced younger film and cultural critics such as [[Roger Ebert]]<ref name=zuckerman/> and [[David Denby (film critic)|David Denby]].<ref name=WDT/>
-Kauffmann was also a professor of English, Drama, and Film at [[City University of New York]] (1973–76) and taught at the [[Yale School of Drama]].{{when|date=October 2013}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Stanley Kauffmann|url=http://www.nndb.com/people/142/000179602|publisher=nndb.com|accessdate=October 9, 2013}}</ref>
+Kauffmann was also a professor of English, Drama, and Film at City University of New York (Hunter College, York College, and the Graduate Center) (1973–76) and taught at the Yale School of Drama.{{when|date=October 2013}}<ref>{{cite web|title=Stanley Kauffmann|url=http://www.nndb.com/people/142/000179602|publisher=nndb.com|access-date=October 9, 2013}}</ref>
 Kauffmann was featured in the 2009 documentary ''[[For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism]]'' where he was shown discussing the beginnings of film criticism in America, and noting the important contributions of poet [[Vachel Lindsay]], who grasped that "the arrival of film was an important moment in the history of human consciousness".<ref>[http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title.jsp?stid=775058 ''For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism''], TCM Movie Database</ref>
-Kauffmann is noted for his opinions on otherwise critically acclaimed movies, having given negative reviews for ''[[Star Wars: A New Hope]]'',''[[The Godfather]]'', ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'', ''[[Million Dollar Baby]]'' and ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'', films that were heavily praised by other notable critics.
+Kauffmann is noted for his dissenting opinions on otherwise critically acclaimed films, giving negative reviews for ''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'', ''[[Star_Wars_(film)|Star Wars]]'', ''[[Raiders of the Lost Ark]]'', ''[[The Godfather]]'', ''[[Pulp Fiction]]'', ''[[Million Dollar Baby]],'' ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone with the Wind]]'', ''[[Becket_(1964_film)|Becket]]'' and ''[[2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'', films that were heavily praised by other notable critics.
 ==Personal life==
-Kauffmann attended [[DeWitt Clinton High School]] in the [[Bronx]] and [[New York University]] where he received a [[Bachelor of Fine Arts]] degree in 1935, and was an actor and stage manager with the [[Washington Square Players]]. Kauffmann married Laura Cohen in 1943, and they remained together until Cohen's death in 2012. They did not have children. Kauffmann died of [[pneumonia]] at [[St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital Center|St. Luke's Hospital]] in [[Manhattan]] on October 9, 2013, aged 97.<ref>{{cite web|title=Stanley Kauffmann, Erudite Film Critic, Dies at 97|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/movies/stanley-kauffmann-erudite-film-critic-dies-at-97.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes|publisher=NY Times|accessdate=October 9, 2013}}</ref>
+Kauffmann attended [[DeWitt Clinton High School]] in the Bronx and New York University, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1935, and he was an actor and stage manager with the [[Washington Square Players]]. Kauffmann married Laura Cohen in 1943, and they remained together until Cohen's death in 2012. They did not have children. Kauffmann died of pneumonia at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan on October 9, 2013, at age 97.<ref>{{Cite news|title=Stanley Kauffmann, Erudite Film Critic, Dies at 97|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/movies/stanley-kauffmann-erudite-film-critic-dies-at-97.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=tw-nytimes|access-date=October 9, 2013|newspaper=The New York Times|date=October 9, 2013|last1=Grimes|first1=William}}</ref>
 ==Books on criticism==
@@ Line 46: / Line 47: @@
 ==References==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
 ==External links==
+{{wikiquote}}
 *{{IMDb name|1141725}}
-*[http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/43/kauff.htm Interview at Bright Lights Film Journal] February, 2004
+*[https://archive.today/20060329120128/http://www.brightlightsfilm.com/43/kauff.htm Interview at Bright Lights Film Journal] February 2004
 *[http://www.popmatters.com/books/reviews/r/regarding-film.shtml Review of Regarding Film at Pop Matters]
-*[http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/4825 A Conversation with Stanley Kauffmann, ''Charlie Rose'' July 9, 1998]
+*[https://web.archive.org/web/20121012204635/http://www.charlierose.com/view/interview/4825 A Conversation with Stanley Kauffmann, ''Charlie Rose'' July 9, 1998]
-*[http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/movies/stanley-kauffmann-erudite-film-critic-dies-at-97.html?ref=arts NYTimes obit.]
+*[https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/10/movies/stanley-kauffmann-erudite-film-critic-dies-at-97.html?ref=arts NYTimes obit.]
 {{Authority control}}
@@ Line 59: / Line 61: @@
 {{DEFAULTSORT:Kauffmann, Stanley}}
 [[Category:1916 births]]
-[[Category:Writers from New York City]]
+[[Category:2013 deaths]]
-[[Category:New York University alumni]]
+[[Category:20th-century American male writers]]
+[[Category:20th-century American non-fiction writers]]
+[[Category:21st-century American male writers]]
+[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
 [[Category:American film critics]]
+[[Category:National Society of Film Critics Members]]
 [[Category:American film editors]]
 [[Category:American magazine writers]]
+[[Category:American male non-fiction writers]]
 [[Category:American theater critics]]
-[[Category:City University of New York alumni]]
+[[Category:York College, City University of New York faculty]]
-[[Category:City University of New York faculty]]
+[[Category:DeWitt Clinton High School alumni]]
-[[Category:Yale School of Drama]]
+[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia in New York City]]
-[[Category:The New Republic people]]
-[[Category:Guggenheim Fellows]]
-[[Category:National Book Award winners]]
-[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia]]
-[[Category:Infectious disease deaths in New York]]
-[[Category:2013 deaths]]
-[[Category:American male writers]]
 [[Category:Journalists from New York City]]
+[[Category:National Book Award winners]]
+[[Category:New York University alumni]]
+[[Category:The New Republic people]]
+[[Category:Writers from Manhattan]]
+[[Category:David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University faculty]]
+[[Category:Hunter College faculty]]
+[[Category:CUNY Graduate Center faculty]]

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