John Russell Taylor (born 19 June 1935) is an English

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as Art criticism, art, Literary criticism, literature, Music journalism, music, Film criticism, cinema, Theater criticism, theater, Fas ...

and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

. He is the author of critical studies of

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...

; of critical biographies of such figures in

film A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English film director. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featu ...

Alec Guinness Sir Alec Guinness (born Alec Guinness de Cuffe; 2 April 1914 – 5 August 2000) was an English actor. In the BFI, British Film Institute listing of 1999 of BFI Top 100 British films, the 100 most important British films of the 20th century ...

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...

, and

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...

; of ''Strangers in Paradise: The Hollywood Emigres 1933–1950'' (1983); and several books on

art Art is a diverse range of cultural activity centered around ''works'' utilizing creative or imaginative talents, which are expected to evoke a worthwhile experience, generally through an expression of emotional power, conceptual ideas, tec ...

Personal

Taylor was born in

Dover Dover ( ) is a town and major ferry port in Kent, southeast England. It faces France across the Strait of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel at from Cap Gris Nez in France. It lies southeast of Canterbury and east of Maidstone. ...

, England, the son of Arthur Russell and Kathleen Mary (Picker) Taylor, and now lives in London and West Wales. He attended Dover Grammar School, took a double first in English at

Jesus College, Cambridge Jesus College is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Jesus College was established in 1496 on the site of the twelfth-century Benedictine nunnery of St Radegund's Priory, Cambridge, St ...

, and studied Art Nouveau book illustration at the

Courtauld Institute of Art The Courtauld Institute of Art (), commonly referred to as The Courtauld, is a self-governing college of the University of London specialising in the study of the history of art and conservation. The art collection is known particularly for ...

. In 2006, he entered a civil partnership with his longtime companion, the artist and photographer Ying Yeung Li.

Career

In the 1960s, Taylor wrote on cinema for ''

Sight and Sound ''Sight and Sound'' (formerly written ''Sight & Sound'') is a monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Since 1952, it has conducted the well-known decennial ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time. ...

'' and the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'', on the

in '' Plays and Players'', on

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

for '' The Listener'' and the ''

Times Educational Supplement ''TES'', formerly known as the ''Times Educational Supplement'', is a British weekly trade magazine aimed at education professionals. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in ''The Times'' newspaper. Such was its popularity th ...

'', and on the

arts The arts or creative arts are a vast range of human practices involving creativity, creative expression, storytelling, and cultural participation. The arts encompass diverse and plural modes of thought, deeds, and existence in an extensive ...

for ''

The Times Literary Supplement ''The Times Literary Supplement'' (''TLS'') is a weekly literary review published in London by News UK, a subsidiary of News Corp. History The ''TLS'' first appeared in 1902 as a supplement to ''The Times'' but became a separate publication ...

''. From the late 1950s, he began writing anonymously on television and theatre for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'', and by 1962 he had become the paper's film critic, initially anonymous but later named after the paper abandoned its anonymity rule in January 1967 when

William Rees-Mogg William Rees-Mogg, Baron Rees-Mogg (14 July 192829 December 2012) was a British newspaper journalist who was Editor of ''The Times'' from 1967 to 1981. In the late 1970s, he served as High Sheriff of Somerset, and in the 1980s was Chairman of ...

became editor. During this era, Taylor wrote books including ''Anger and After: A Guide to the New British Drama'' (1962), titled ''The Angry Theatre'' in the USA; revised and expanded and published in paperback (1969); ''Anatomy of a Television Play'' (1962), concerning the '' Armchair Theatre'' productions '' Afternoon of a Nymph'' and ''The Rose Affair''; ''Cinema Eye, Cinema Ear: Some Key Film-Makers of the Sixties'' (1964); and ''The Art Nouveau Book in Britain'' (1966). Subsequently, he wrote ''The Penguin Dictionary of the Theatre'' (1966), ''The Rise and Fall of the Well-Made Play'' (1967), ''The Art Dealers'' (1969) and ''The Hollywood Musical'' (1971), as well as

British Council The British Council is a British organisation specialising in international cultural and educational opportunities. It works in over 100 countries: promoting a wider knowledge of the United Kingdom and the English language (and the Welsh lang ...

monographs on

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A List of Nobel laureates in Literature, Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramat ...

, Peter Shaffer and David Storey. He also edited the film criticism of

Graham Greene Henry Graham Greene (2 October 1904 – 3 April 1991) was an English writer and journalist regarded by many as one of the leading novelists of the 20th century. Combining literary acclaim with widespread popularity, Greene acquired a re ...

in ''The Pleasure Dome'' (1972, called ''Graham Greene on Film'' in the USA). In 1969, Taylor was a member of the jury at the

19th Berlin International Film Festival The 19th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 25 June to 6 July 1969. The Golden Bear was awarded to '' Early Works'' directed by Želimir Žilnik. Jury The following jury members were announced for the festival: * Johannes ...

,. and was later frequently on the juries at other festivals, including Delhi, Venice, Kraków, Cork, Istanbul, Troja, Parnu, Rio de Janeiro, Montreal and, several times, the

Chicago International Film Festival The Chicago International Film Festival is an annual film festival held every fall. Founded in 1964 by Michael Kutza, it is the longest-running competitive film festival in North America. Its logo is a stark, black and white close up of the comp ...

. In the early 1970s, Taylor wrote the book ''The Second Wave: British Drama of the Sixties'', a sequel to ''Anger and After'', and several television plays, including a version of ''Dracula'' with Denholm Elliott in the title role, which was praised by

Kingsley Amis Sir Kingsley William Amis (16 April 1922 – 22 October 1995) was an English novelist, poet, critic and teacher. He wrote more than 20 novels, six volumes of poetry, a memoir, short stories, radio and television scripts, and works of social crit ...

as the best version ever. In 1972, he moved to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, to teach film at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

, in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, serving as a Professor of Cinema from 1972 to 1978, while continuing to contribute to the London '' Times'', as its American Cultural Correspondent, ''Sight and Sound'', ''

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 ...

'', and the ''

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 ...

''. During this period, he wrote ''Directors and Directions: Cinema for the Seventies'' (1975). Having developed a friendship with

during the 1970s, he became Hitchcock's authorised biographer.John Russell Taylor. ''Hitch: The Life and Times of Alfred Hitchcock'', Pantheon Books, 1978, dust jacket, . In 1978, after publishing ''Hitch'', Taylor returned to the UK, becoming the art critic for ''The Times'', a post that he held until 2005. His other books since 1978 include ''Strangers in Paradise: The Hollywood Emigres 1933–1950'' (1983), and bio-critical studies of

(1983),

(1984),

(1986),

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

(1991), film historian John Kobal (2008) and the artists Edward Wolfe (1986), Peter Samuelson (1987), Robin Tanner (1989), Bernard Meninsky (1990), John Copley (1990), Muriel Pemberton (1993), Ricardo Cinalli (1993),

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

(1995), Bill Jacklin (1997), Cyril Mann (1997), Peter Coker (2002), Zsuzsi Roboz (2005), Peter Prendergast (2006), Panayiotis Kalorkoti (2007), Carl Laubin (2007), Philip Sutton (2008), Kurt Jackson (2010), Philip Hicks (2013) and Paul Day (2016). More general books on art include ''Impressionist Dreams'' (1990) and ''Exactitude: Hyperrealist Art Today'' (2009). Since 2005, he has contributed frequently to ''The Times'' on art and film subjects and to ''

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

'' on art, and reviewed drama regularly for ''Plays International''. He was also editor of the magazine '' Films and Filming'' from 1983 until its closure in 1990. In 2013, an e-book edition of ''Hitch'' with a long introductory chapter giving the history of his relationship with Hitchcock was published, and five of his early books, ''Anger and After'', ''The Rise and Fall of the Well-Made Play'', ''The Second Wave'', ''Cinema Eye, Cinema Ear'' and ''Directors and Directions'', were reprinted as part of the

Routledge Routledge ( ) is a British multinational corporation, multinational publisher. It was founded in 1836 by George Routledge, and specialises in providing academic books, academic journals, journals and online resources in the fields of the humanit ...

classic critical text series.

References

* (Revised and expanded edition of ''Anger and After: A Guide to the New British Drama''.)

External links

* . Retrieved 7 May 2008. ("Filmography".)
"John Russell Taylor Biography (1935– )"
at ''filmreference.com''. Retrieved 7 May 2008. {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, John Russell 1935 births Living people Alumni of Jesus College, Cambridge Alumni of the Courtauld Institute of Art British film historians British theatre critics English art critics English film critics English literary critics English male journalists English male non-fiction writers Film theorists People from Dover, Kent The Times people