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Emanuel Levy () is a veteran, well-known American
film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: Academic criticism by film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish their findin ...
and professor emeritus of sociology and film of
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
. For the past 50 years, he has taught a wide variety of courses in sociology, film studies, and popular culture at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
,
New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...
,
Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...
,
UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Its academic roots were established in 1881 as a normal school then known as the southern branch of the C ...
, and
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
.


Early life and education

Levy grew up in Tel Aviv, after his family emigrated to Israel from Europe. He attended Ironi He High School, one of Israel's best schools, where he got a well-rounded liberal education. After military service as a combat officer in the IDF, he attended
Tel Aviv University Tel Aviv University (TAU) is a Public university, public research university in Tel Aviv, Israel. With over 30,000 students, it is the largest university in the country. Located in northwest Tel Aviv, the university is the center of teaching and ...
, where he obtained a B.A. degree in Sociology, Anthropology and Political Science (magna cum laude). He pursued a M.Phil and Ph.D. (in distinction) in Sociology of Art (focusing on film and theater) from
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
in 1975 and 1978, respectively.


Career

Levy has taught at
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
,
New School for Social Research The New School for Social Research (NSSR), previously known as The University in Exile and The New School University, is a graduate-level educational division of The New School in New York City, United States. NSSR enrolls more than 1,000 stud ...
,
Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...
,
Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...
and UCLA Film School. Levy currently teaches in the department of cinema studies at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
. Levy is the only critic in the U.S. who's a voting member of eight groups:
Hollywood Foreign Press Association The Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA) was a nonprofit organization of journalists and photographers who reported on the American entertainment industry for predominantly foreign media markets. It is best known for founding and conduc ...
(HFPA, Golden Globes), Los Angeles Film Critics (LAFCA), Critics Choice Awards (CCA), National Society of Film Critics (NSFC), New York Film Critics Online, Gay and Lesbian Critics Association,
Online Film Critics Society The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) is an international professional association of online film journalists, historians and scholars who publish their work on the World Wide Web. The organization was founded in January 1997 by Harvey S. Karten ...
and the International Federation of Film Critics
FIPRESCI The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI, short for ''Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique'') is an association of national organizations of professional film critics and film journalists from around the wor ...
. He was the president of LAFCA from 1996 to 1999, during which he initiated, with the support of his v.p. Manohla Dargis (now chief film critic of ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'') the move of the annual awards event from a modest luncheon to a more lavish evening kudo. His first book, ''The Habima—Israel's National Theater, 1917–1977'', launched his writing career and was the winner of the 1980
National Jewish Book Award The Jewish Book Council (Hebrew: ), founded in 1943, is an American organization encouraging and contributing to Jewish literature. The goal of the council, as stated on its website, is "to promote the reading, writing and publishing of qual ...
. His critical chronicle of the Oscar Awards, ''And the Winner Is: History and Politics of the Academy Awards'' was published in 1986. He has published updated editions of that book, including ''Oscar Fever'' in 2000 and ''All About Oscar'' in 2003. Of his nine books, his
magnum opus A masterpiece, , or ; ; ) is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, skill, profundity, or workmanship. Historically, ...
is considered to be '' Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film'' (1999), a 600-page text that was semi-finalist for the National Book Awards, and still is the most widely read film and culture book in the history of NYU Press. The book examines the various social, political, economic and artistic forces that have shaped the emergence of low-budget American
indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainlands found i ...
as a distinct institutional cinema, operating parallel to and against mainstream Hollywood cinema. In his 1994 comprehensive biography of George Cukor, ''Master of Elegance: The Director and His Stars'' (William Morrow), he disputed the commonly held belief (or myth) that Cukor was fired from the 1939 classic ''Gone With the Wind'', because Clark Gable did not think he was "macho" enough to direct. Instead, Levy offers as reasons the conflict between him and producer David O. Selznick over the screenplay (which was not ready when shooting began) and pacing and tempo, which Selznick thought were not right.. Cukor had worked on pre-production of that film, including the casting of all the roles for two years, 1937-1939. Levy wrote the first comprehensive biography of
Vincente Minnelli Vincente Minnelli (; born Lester Anthony Minnelli; February 28, 1903 – July 25, 1986) was an American Theatre director, stage director and film director. From a career spanning over half a century, he is best known for his sophisticated innovat ...
, ''Vincente Minnelli: Hollywood's Dark Dreamer'' in 2009. In this book, he argued that Minnelli's sexual identity is a crucial variable in understanding the kinds of narratives and visual styles of his films, particularly his melodramas, such as '' The Bad and the Beautiful'', and the more personal and intimate '' Tea and Sympathy.'' In 2000, he co-organized with the Film Department of the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...
a tribute weekend to the influential critic
Andrew Sarris Andrew Sarris (October 31, 1928 – June 20, 2012) was an American film critic. He was a leading proponent of the auteur theory of film criticism. Early life Sarris was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Greek immigrant parents, Themis (née Kat ...
, coinciding with the publication of ''Citizen Sarris: American Film Critic, Essays in Honor of Andrew Sarris''. On that occasion, Sarris chose to screen '' The Shop Around the Corner'' and '' Shoot the Piano Player'', films that were followed by panels headed by noted critics
Richard Schickel Richard Warren Schickel (February 10, 1933 – February 18, 2017) was an American film historian, journalist, author, documentarian, and film and literary critic. He was a film critic for ''Time'' from 1965–2010, and also wrote for '' ...
and Oscar-winning director
Curtis Hanson Curtis Lee Hanson (March 24, 1945 – September 20, 2016) was an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. Born in Reno, Nevada, Hanson grew up in Los Angeles. After dropping out of high school, Hanson worked as photographer and edito ...
. Levy has appeared in numerous films, documentaries, TV channels, including shows on the BRAVO network and the Independent Film Channel, as well as radio programs on NPR.. He continues to appear in documentaries for independent filmmakers and television, as well as on selected DVD releases. Levy has written for various newspapers and magazines, including '' American Film'', '' The Advocate'', ''
Out Out or OUT may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films *Out (1957 film), ''Out'' (1957 film), a documentary short about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 *Out (1982 film), ''Out'' (1982 film), an American film directed by Eli Hollander *O ...
'', ''
The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is an English language, English-language Israeli broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, Israel, founded in 1932 during the Mandate for Palestine, British Mandate of Mandatory Palestine, Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''Th ...
'', ''
The New York Times Magazine ''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazi ...
'' and ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
''. Over the past 15 years, he has been a regular contributor to the film section of ''
Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and also published digitally that focuses on business and economic Current affairs (news format), current affairs. Based in London, the paper is owned by a Jap ...
''. While in Arizona, he ran the ASU Film Society, and then the Scottsdale Independent Film Festival. He was a senior critic at '' Variety'' for over a decade, and the chief film critic of the UK publication ''
Screen International ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...
'' for three years. Levy established a website of film reviews and essays in 2003,
Cinema 24/7
, which has global appeal. , the site contained over 33,000 film reviews, profiles, interviews and Oscar commentaries, written by Levy and a staff of writers.


Bibliography

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References


External links


Emanuel Levy's Cinema 24/7

List of reviews by Levy

Reviews by Levy on Critics Choice
{{DEFAULTSORT:Levy, Emanuel 1949 births Living people American film critics National Society of Film Critics Members Online Film Critics Society Jewish American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television faculty Variety (magazine) people 21st-century American Jews Film theorists American gay writers Writers from Tel Aviv LGBTQ media critics