Manohla June Dargis ( ) is an 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 ...

. She is the chief film critic for ''

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 ...

''. She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.

Career

Before being a film critic for ''

'', Dargis was a chief film critic for 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 ...

'', the film editor at the ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'', and a film critic at ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture publication based in Greenwich Village, New York City, known for being the country's first Alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, ...

'', where she had two columns on avant-garde cinema ("CounterCurrents" and "Shock Corridor"). Her work has been included in a number of books, including ''Women and Film: A Sight and Sound Reader'' and ''American Movie Critics: An Anthology from the Silents Until Now,'' published by the

Library of America The Library of America (LOA) is a nonprofit publisher of classic American literature. Founded in 1979 with seed money from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Ford Foundation, the LOA has published more than 300 volumes by authors ...

. She wrote a monograph on

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 ...

's film '' L.A. Confidential'' for the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

and served as the president and vice-president of the

Los Angeles Film Critics Association The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975. Background Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles–based print and electronic media. In December of each year, the organi ...

. In 2012, Dargis received the Nelson A. Rockefeller Award from Purchase College; the award is, according to the college, "presented to individuals who have distinguished themselves through their contributions to the arts." She was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2013, 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019.

Preferences

Favorites

Dargis participated in the 2012 ''Sight & Sound'' critics' poll, where she listed her 10 favorite films: *'' Au hasard Balthazar'' (France, 1966) *''

Barry Lyndon ''Barry Lyndon'' is a 1975 epic historical drama film written, directed, and produced by Stanley Kubrick, based on the 1844 novel '' The Luck of Barry Lyndon'' by William Makepeace Thackeray. Narrated by Michael Hordern, and starring Ryan O'N ...

'' (USA, 1975) *''

Flowers of Shanghai Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants (Flowering plant, angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls in ...

'' (Taiwan, 1998) *'' The Flowers of St. Francis'' (Italy, 1950) *''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic film, epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola, loosely based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather (novel), The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Cop ...

'' (USA, 1974) *''Little Stabs at Happiness'' (USA, 1959-1963) *'' Masculin Féminin'' (France, 1966) *''

There Will Be Blood ''There Will Be Blood'' is a 2007 American epic film, epic historical drama, period drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, loosely based on the 1927 novel ''Oil!'' by Upton Sinclair. It stars Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kev ...

'' (USA, 2007) *''

Touch of Evil ''Touch of Evil'' is a 1958 American film noir written and directed by Orson Welles, who also stars. The screenplay was loosely based on Whit Masterson's novel '' Badge of Evil'' (1956). The cast included Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Jose ...

'' (USA, 1958) *'' The Wizard of Oz'' (USA, 1939) For the 2022 edition of the Sight & Sound poll Dargis' ballot included: *'' Au hasard Balthazar'' (France, 1966) *'' The Gleaners and I'' (France, 2000) *''

'' (Taiwan, 1998) *''

Tokyo Story is a 1953 Japanese drama film directed by Yasujirō Ozu and starring Chishū Ryū and Chieko Higashiyama, about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. Upon release, it did not immediately gain international reco ...

'' (Japan, 1953) *''

'' (USA, 1974) *''Little Stabs at Happiness'' (USA, 1959-1963) *'' Killer of Sheep'' (USA, 1977) *''

'' (USA, 2007) *'' All My Life'' (USA, 1966) *'' Black Girl'' (Senegal, 1965)

Best of the Year

* 2004 - ''

Million Dollar Baby ''Million Dollar Baby'' is a 2004 American sports drama film directed, co-produced, scored by and starring Clint Eastwood from a screenplay by Paul Haggis. It is based on stories from the 2000 collection ''Rope Burns: Stories from the Corner' ...

'' * 2005 - ''

A History of Violence ''A History of Violence'' is a 2005 action thriller film directed by David Cronenberg and written by Josh Olson. It is an adaptation of the 1997 DC Comics, DC A History of Violence (comics), graphic novel by John Wagner and Vince Locke. The fi ...

'' * 2006 - '' Army of Shadows'' * 2007 - ''

'' * 2008 - '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' * 2015 - (tie) '' The Assassin''; '' Mad Max: Fury Road'' * 2016 - '' No Home Movie'' * 2017 - ''

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

'' * 2018 - '' Roma'' * 2019 - '' Pain and Glory'' * 2020 - '' Martin Eden'' * 2021 - '' Drive My Car'' * 2022 - '' EO'' * 2023 - '' Killers of the Flower Moon'' * 2024 - '' All We Imagine as Light''

Personal life

Dargis grew up in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

's East Village, demonstrating an early love of film through regular attendance at St. Mark's Cinema and Theatre 80. She graduated from

Hunter College High School Hunter College High School is a public academic magnet secondary school located in the Carnegie Hill section of the Upper East Side of Manhattan. It is administered and funded by Hunter College of the City University of New York (CUNY) and no t ...

and received her BA in literature from

State University of New York at Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase, commonly referred to as Purchase College or SUNY Purchase, is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. Established in 1967 by Governor Nelson Rockefeller, SUNY Purchase is one of 13 compr ...

in January 1985. She received a master of arts in cinema studies in 1988 from the New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science. Dargis married wine expert Lou Amdur in 1994. They live in Los Angeles.

References

External links

List of Dargis film reviews at ''The New York Times''
*https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/movies/reviews/author/rev_auth_dargis/index.html

*
Interview with Dargis
by Steve Erickson, ''Senses of Cinema'', November 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dargis, Manohla Living people American film critics 20th-century American women journalists The New York Times journalists Hunter College High School alumni Los Angeles Times people New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science alumni People from the East Village, Manhattan Place of birth missing (living people) State University of New York at Purchase alumni The Village Voice people American women film critics Journalists from Los Angeles Writers from Manhattan Year of birth missing (living people) 20th-century American journalists 21st-century American women journalists 21st-century American journalists Journalists from New York City