Michael Sragow (born June 26, 1952) is an American film critic and columnist who has written for ''

The Orange County Register ''The Orange County Register'' is a paid daily List of newspapers in California, newspaper published in California. The ''Register'', published in Orange County, California, is owned by the private equity firm Alden Global Capital via its Digit ...

'', ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local, regional, national, and international news. Founded in 1837, the newspaper was owned by Tribune Publi ...

'', ''

Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film ...

'', the ''

San Francisco Examiner The ''San Francisco Examiner'' is a newspaper distributed in and around San Francisco, California, and has been published since 1863. Once self-dubbed the "Monarch of the Dailies" by then-owner William Randolph Hearst and the flagship of the He ...

'', ''The New Times'', ''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...

'' (where he worked with

Pauline Kael Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...

), ''

The Atlantic ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher based in Washington, D.C. It features articles on politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 185 ...

'' and '' Salon.com''. Sragow also edited

James Agee James Rufus Agee ( ; November 27, 1909 – May 16, 1955) was an American novelist, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, writing for ''Time'', he was one of the most influential film critics in the United States. His autob ...

's film essays (for the book ''Agee on Film''), and has written or contributed to several other cinema-related books.

Career

Sragow attended

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 ...

and

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

, where he majored in history and literature. Sragow began his career at the magazine ''

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

'', and went on to become the film critic for ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''. From 1985 to 1992, he was the lead film critic for the ''

''. Commencing in 1999, he was a film critic for '' Salon.com'', and commencing in 2001, he was a film critic for ''

''. In March 2013 he became the first film critic in a decade for ''

'' in California. In 2008, Sragow published a biography of director

Victor Fleming Victor Lonzo Fleming (February 23, 1889 – January 6, 1949) was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were the historical drama ''Gone with the Wind (film), Gone with the Wind'', for which he won an A ...

. In his review, John Gallagher writes that Sragow's biography "restores the director to his rightful place in film history and popular culture. It's a fantastic read, assiduously researched, using primary archival resources and a full complement of remembrances from Fleming's family and colleagues." Jeanine Basinger wrote, "Steven Spielberg said about Fleming, 'We honor his movies and don't know him, because he did his job so well.' Thanks to Michael Sragow, we now know Victor Fleming." Sragow's book won the 2008

Marfield Prize The Arts Club of Washington is a List of gentlemen's clubs in the United States, private club to promote the Arts in Washington, D.C. Founded by Bertha Noyes in May 1916, its first president was Henry Kirke Bush-Brown; Mathilde Mueden Leisenri ...

, which is a national award for arts writing. In January 2010, Sragow taught a course on "Classic American Films" at

Centre College Centre College, formally Centre College of Kentucky, is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky, United States. Chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819, the col ...

for the school's three-week "Centre Term." Sragow has constantly supported British filmmaker

David Yates David Yates (born 8 October 1963) is an English filmmaker, who has directed feature films, short films, and television productions. He is best known for directing the final four films in the Harry Potter (film series), ''Harry Potter'' series ...

through his online blog "Sragow Gets Reel", naming him "a big-screen master of tension, atmosphere and emotional suggestion".

Books

* * * *

References

External links

*
Michael Sragow
at ''

Air Mail Airmail (or air mail) is a mail transport service branded and sold on the basis of at least one leg of its journey being by air. Airmail items typically arrive more quickly than surface mail, and usually cost more to send. Airmail may be the ...

''
Michael Sragow
at ''

Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's hosts are Terry Gross and Tonya Mosl ...

''
Michael Sragow
at ''

Westword ''Westword'' is a free digital and print media publication based in Denver, Colorado. ''Westword'' publishes daily online coverage of local news, restaurants, music and arts, as well as longform narrative journalism. A weekly print issue circ ...

''
Michael Sragow
at '' Salon.com''
Michael Sragow
at ''

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' is an online music publication and formerly alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper ha ...

''
Michael Sragow
at '' Muck Rack''
Michael Sragow
at ''

''
Michael Sragow
at ''

Cleveland Scene The ''Cleveland Scene'' is an alternative weekly newspaper based in Cleveland, Ohio. The newspaper includes highlights of Cleveland-area arts, music, dining, and films, as well as classified advertising. The first edition of the newspaper was pu ...

''
Michael Sragow
at ''

The Harvard Crimson ''The Harvard Crimson'' is the student newspaper at Harvard University, an Ivy League university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. The newspaper was founded in 1873, and is run entirely by Harvard College undergraduate students. His ...

''
Michael Sragow
at

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home video, home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films". A "sister company" of art film, arth ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sragow, Michael 1952 births Living people American film critics The Baltimore Sun people Harvard University alumni National Society of Film Critics Members New York University alumni The New Yorker people People from New Jersey San Francisco Examiner people