Rating: 
Summary: A Short, Fascinating Glimpse at the Queen of Film Critics
Review: In September, 2001, film critic Pauline Kael passed away. She had written and spoken with sometimes brutal honesty on actors, directors, and all types of movies. Kael didn't really care who she offended or upset. It's not like she tried to offend or upset, she just called them as she saw them. She unflinchingly says of Stanley Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut,' "It was ludicrous from the word go." She calls Spielberg "uninteresting" and melodramatic. But she also handed out glorious praise when it was due, especially when other critics were ignoring good films and performances. She states that "Paul Mazursky hasn't been given his due," and that actresses such as Debra Winger have been wrongfully overlooked. Kael mentions several wonderful films that have all but fallen into obscurity, all because most critics are afraid to take a stand and swim upstream against the tide of their colleagues. If the book concerned film criticism only, it would be worth purchasing. But interviewer Francis Davis also asks Kael to address writing, her days at The New Yorker, television, and the reason why so many awful films are made these days. 'Afterglow' is a fascinating look into the thoughts of Pauline Kael, but it's far, far too short at 126 pages.
Rating: 
Summary: She was one of the finest American writers...
Review: This little book is well worth the read. Pauline Kael is not someone you feel lightly about - you either love her or hate her (there's a website called die-critics-die that gets my blood boiling...). I adore Kael; she is quite simply my favourite writer, and the wonder of her interviews (there's another book containing a whole pile) is that she wrote how she spoke, so a conversation with her is like discovering a new review. Sure enough you get to find out which recent movies she likes ("Three Kings"), but the book is intellectual and moving as well. Few writers ever fused analytic thought with passion the way Kael managed - reading her made you more fully human, made you expand. This book, slight as it is, gives fresh insight into her writing methods, her tastes, and her wit. It's not as flowing as it might be; Davis's questions seem sometimes to be deliberately elaborate for the unknowing reader (like the explanation about Richard Stark). This is a problem because the fun of Kael is a sharp and fast mind, so a conversation should be a break-neck brain tease among other things. Still, Davis's introduction is wonderful, and he's a fine writer (one I'll look up now I know about him). If you're a Kael fan, read this soon. If you don't know who she is, she's the most important commentator on the popular arts there's been. And she's great, great fun.
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