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BcsPage.com Maintained by and for Bob Cooley (me!) |
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I've spent most of my life reading essays and criticism of the
arts, particularly film criticism. It began when I was about 10, when my passion
for film was ignited by the WGN Saturday night classic horror film
screenings, "Creature Features". I was at the library poring over
books about Karloff, Lugosi,
Whale, Browning, etc. My interest in Lon Chaney Jr. ("The Wolfman")
led to an interest in his father, Lon Sr., and an uncommon interest (for a
10-year-old, anyway) in silent films. PBS channel 11 would show them every
once in a while on Sunday nights, and I was there. I probably saw a movie a week in the
early 70s (one of the greatest periods
for American film), and my interest led me to Columbia College Chicago, where
I studied film direction and cinematography. It was while in college in the
late 70s/early 80s I came across the fiercely independent film critic of the
Chicago Reader, Dave Kehr. From Kehr I
learned that fun didn't have to mean low-brow, that intelligent didn't have
to mean boring, and that art-films weren't always great just because other
critics thought they were (or said they were to elevate their own self-images). Kehr's
thoughtful and independent voice helped me to trust my own instincts. His
epic essays on mainstream films ranging from "Bambi" to "Dawn
of the Dead" were constant reminders that great work didn't necessarily
come pre-labeled as "ART", and that "ART" is always in
the eye of the beholder. I'll never forget reading his negative review of
Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange".
First, I thought "Hey... isn't this a universally acclaimed
classic?" Then, in a moment of illumination; "Jeez, he's right...
this thing has some problems". Hmmmm. He left the Reader to become the Chicago
Tribune's film critic. Then on to New York and the Daily News, then... true
independence. He is just too much of a maverick to write for the main-stream.
Although he writes for everyone. He just doesn't feel "everyone"
should be talked down to, or pandered to. I agree. Here are some links to some of the work
of "The World's Best Film Critic"... Dave Kehr! Kehr top ten lists: 1974-2005 davekehr.com An interview
with Dave Kehr |
