Richard Nelson Corliss (March 6, 1944 – April 23, 2015) was an American film critic and magazine editor for ''

Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...

''. He focused on movies, with occasional articles on other subjects. He was the former editor-in-chief of ''

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 ...

'' and authored several books including ''Talking Pictures'', which, along with other publications, drew early attention to the screenwriter, as opposed to the director.

Personal life and background

Corliss was born in 1944 in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, Pennsylvania,Profile
filmreference.com; accessed September 6, 2014. the son of Elizabeth Brown (née McCluskey) and Paul William Corliss. He attended St. Joseph's College, Philadelphia (now

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...

), obtaining a bachelor's degree, before progressing to

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 ...

to earn a master's degree in

film studies Film studies is an academic discipline that deals with various film theory, theoretical, history of film, historical, and film criticism, critical approaches to film, cinema as an art form and a medium. It is sometimes subsumed within media stud ...

. Corliss resided in New York City with his wife, Mary, whom he married on Sunday, August 31, 1969. Mary was formerly a curator in the Film Stills Archive of the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

. In a 1990 article, Corliss mentions his mother clipping movie ads with quotes of his and posting them to her refrigerator door. On April 23, 2015, Corliss died under hospice care in New York City after suffering a stroke.

Career

Corliss wrote for many magazines—''

National Review ''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief is Rich L ...

'' from 1966 to 1970, '' New Times'', ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'' is a Canadian magazine founded in 1905 which reports on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, trends and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian ...

'' and '' SoHo Weekly News'' in 1980. At ''Film Comment'', Corliss helped draw attention to the screenwriter in the creation of movies. Corliss challenged

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 ...

's idea of the Director as author or auteur of this work. Corliss was one of Sarris' students 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 ...

(NYU); the two remained friends until Sarris' death. Corliss brought

Jonathan Rosenbaum Jonathan Rosenbaum (born February 27, 1943) is an American film critic and author. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for '' The Chicago Reader'' from 1987 to 2008. He has published and edited numerous books about cinema and has contributed to ...

to ''Film Comment'' as a Paris correspondent. Despite working for ''National Review'', a conservative magazine, Corliss was a self-described "liberal". In 1980, Corliss joined ''

''. Although he started as an associate editor, he was promoted to senior writer by 1985. Corliss wrote for time.com as well as the print magazine including a retired column about nostalgic pop culture called ''That Old Feeling''. He wrote occasional articles for ''Time''. He was an occasional guest on Charlie Rose's talk show commenting on new releases, mostly during the 1990s with Janet Maslin and David Denby. His last appearance on the show was in December 2005 to talk about the year in film. Corliss also appeared on A&E Biography to talk about the life and work of

Jackie Chan Fang Shilong (born Chan Kong-sang; 7 April 1954), known professionally as Jackie Chan,; is a Hong Kong actor and filmmaker, known for his slapstick, acrobatic fighting style, comic timing, and innovative stunts, which he typically perf ...

, and appeared in Richard Schickel's documentary about

Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

. Corliss attended the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world. Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...

along with

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

and

Todd McCarthy Todd McCarthy (born February 16, 1950) is an American film critic and author. He wrote for '' Variety'' for 31 years as its chief film critic until 2010. In October of that year, he joined ''The Hollywood Reporter'', where he subsequently served ...

for the longest period of any US journalist. He also attended festivals in Toronto and Venice. Corliss used to work on the board of the

New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center. Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, NYFF i ...

, but resigned in 1987 after longtime head Richard Roud was fired due to his challenging of editorial direction of the festival. ''Lolita'', Corliss's third book, was a study of

Vladimir Nabokov Vladimir Vladimirovich Nabokov ( ; 2 July 1977), also known by the pen name Vladimir Sirin (), was a Russian and American novelist, poet, translator, and entomologist. Born in Imperial Russia in 1899, Nabokov wrote his first nine novels in Rus ...

book A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, ...

and

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American filmmaker and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Stanley Kubrick filmography, his films were nearly all adaptations of novels or sho ...

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 ...

. Later Corliss has written an introductory essay for '' Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: A Portrait of the

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. His films are known for their emotional charge and exploration of repressed, hidden emotions. During his career, he has received international critical and popular acclaim and List o ...

Film''. Corliss also admired the

Pixar Pixar (), doing business as Pixar Animation Studios, is an American animation studio based in Emeryville, California, known for its critically and commercially successful computer-animated feature films. Pixar is a subsidiary of Walt Disney ...

movies, including listing ''Finding Nemo'' as one of his and fellow ''Time'' critic

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 '' ...

's 100 all-time greatest movies. With recent Pixar releases ''

Cars A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

'' and '' Ratatouille'' Corliss had access into the studio's inner workings. Pixar director

Brad Bird Philip Bradley Bird (born September 24, 1957) is an American filmmaker, animator, and voice actor. He has had a career spanning over four decades in both animation and Live action, live-action. Bird was born in Montana and grew up in Oregon. He ...

has said of critics in general that he has "got nothing against critics." He also that he had "done very well with them, over the years." In addition to writing for ''Time'', Corliss had a lengthy association with ''

'' magazine, serving as its editor from 1970 to 1990. Corliss covered movies for the magazine and for time.com simultaneously. Corliss along with

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November17, 1942) is an American filmmaker. One of the major figures of the New Hollywood era, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Martin Scorsese, many accolades, including an Academ ...

first came up with the idea for the issue on "guilty pleasures". Corliss along with

made a 100 Greatest movies list. Corliss alone created lists of the 25 greatest villains, the 25 best horror films, and the 25 most important films on race. In addition Corliss was on the 2001 jury for AFI's 100 Greatest movies list. In a 1993 ''

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps as ''TIME'') is an American news magazine based in New York City. It was published weekly for nearly a century. Starting in March 2020, it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York Cit ...

movie review 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 ...

of '' The Crying Game'', Corliss subtly gave away the spoiler of the film, by spelling it out with the first letters of each paragraph of his review. In the 2012 '' Sight & Sound'' poll, Corliss cast votes for '' Chungking Express'', ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's List of directorial debuts, first feature film. ...

'', '' Historie(s) du Cinema'', '' The Lady Eve'', '' Mouchette'', '' Pyaasa'', '' The Searchers'', '' The Seventh Seal'' and ''

WALL-E ''WALL-E'' (stylized with an interpunct as ''WALL·E'') is a 2008 American animated Romance film, romantic science fiction film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The film was directed by Andrew Stanton, produced b ...

''.

Conflict and criticism

Corliss was critical of the escalating expenditure on action films, writing in his review of '' Terminator 2: Judgment Day'' (1991) that "the cost of the product is not passed on to the consumer. Moviegoers pay as much for a ticket to a no-budget documentary like '' Paris Is Burning'' (1990) as they do for admission to any superspectacle." Corliss had movies on his top ten lists that fellow ''Time'' critic

rated the worst of the year. These included 2001's '' Moulin Rouge!'', 2003's '' Cold Mountain'' and 2004's ''

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' is a 2004 American surrealist science fiction romantic drama film directed by Michel Gondry and written by Charlie Kaufman from a story by Gondry, Kaufman, and Pierre Bismuth. Starring Jim Carrey a ...

''. In August 2004,

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

, criticizing what he saw as a growing trend of leniency towards films by critics, included Corliss among a number of "formerly reliable critics who seem to have gone remarkably soft – not to say softhearted and sometimes softheaded – in their old age." Corliss appears in the 2009 documentary film '' For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism'', confessing that he was the film critic who, in the 1970s, coined the term "Paulettes" for the ardent followers of

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 ...

, a label which has stuck. Corliss criticized

Siskel and Ebert Gene Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) and Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013), collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were an American film critic duo known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siske ...

in his ''Film Comment'' article, "All Thumbs?: Or, Is There a Future For Film Criticism?", and Ebert responded with "All Stars: Or Is There a Cure For Criticism?" Corliss praised Ebert in a June 23, 2007 article "Thumbs up for Roger Ebert." Corliss's dialogue with Ebert in ''Film Comment'' was reprinted in Ebert's ''Awake in the Dark'': ''The Best of Roger Ebert''. Corliss appeared in the Ebert documentary '' Life Itself'', where he praised Ebert's "polymathic genius."

Number Ones from Corliss' Top-Tens

Best English language film in parentheses: *1969: ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film directed by John Schlesinger, adapted by Waldo Salt from the 1965 novel by James Leo Herlihy. The film stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with supporting roles played by Sylvia Miles, J ...

'' *1980: ''Mon Oncle d'Amerique'' (''

The Elephant Man Joseph Carey Merrick (5 August 1862 – 11 April 1890) was an English man known for his severe physical deformities. He was first exhibited at a freak show under the stage name "The Elephant Man", and then went to live at the London Hospital, ...

'') *1981: '' The Mystery of Oberwald'' ('' Thief'') *1982: '' E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' *1983: '' Berlin Alexanderplatz'' ('' The Big Chill'') *1986: '' The Fly'' *1988: '' The Singing Detective'' *1989: '' Distant Voices, Still Lives'' *1990: '' L'Atalante'' (re-release) ('' Internal Affairs'') *1991: '' My Father's Glory'' and '' My Mother's Castle'' (''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening and developed by Groening, James L. Brooks and Sam Simon for the Fox Broadcasting Company. It is a Satire (film and television), satirical depiction of American life ...

'': " Lisa's Substitute") *1992: ''

'': " Black Widower" *1993: '' The Age of Innocence'' *1994: ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

'' *1995: ''

Persuasion Persuasion or persuasion arts is an umbrella term for influence. Persuasion can influence a person's beliefs, attitudes, intentions, motivations, or behaviours. Persuasion is studied in many disciplines. Rhetoric studies modes of persuasi ...

'' *1997: '' Ponette'' ('' Chasing Amy'') *2001: ''

Kandahar Kandahar is a city in Afghanistan, located in the south of the country on Arghandab River, at an elevation of . It is Afghanistan's second largest city, after Kabul, with a population of about 614,118 in 2015. It is the capital of Kandahar Pro ...

'' ('' Moulin Rouge!'') *2002: '' Talk to Her'' ('' Gangs of New York'') *2003: '' Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' *2004: ''

Hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

'' and '' House of Flying Daggers'' (''

Sideways ''Sideways'' is a 2004 American comedy-drama directed by Alexander Payne and written by Jim Taylor and Payne. A film adaptation of Rex Pickett's 2004 novel, ''Sideways'' follows two men in their forties, Miles Raymond ( Paul Giamatti), a de ...

'') *2005: '' The White Diamond'' ('' The Squid and the Whale'') *2006: '' Pan's Labyrinth'' ('' Borat'') *2007: ''

No Country for Old Men ''No Country for Old Men'' is a 2007 American neo-Western crime thriller film written, directed, produced and edited by Joel and Ethan Coen, based on Cormac McCarthy's 2005 novel. Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin ...

'' *2008: ''

'' *2009: ''

The Princess and the Frog ''The Princess and the Frog'' is a 2009 American Animation, animated musical film, musical Romance film, romantic fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Inspired in part by the 2002 ...

'' *2010: ''

Toy Story 3 ''Toy Story 3'' is a 2010 American animated comedy-drama film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. The third installment in the Toy Story (franchise), ''Toy Story'' series, it was directed by Lee Unkrich, the editor ...

'' *2011: '' The Artist'' ('' Hugo'' in second place) *2012: '' Amour'' (''

Beasts of the Southern Wild ''Beasts of the Southern Wild'' is a 2012 American fantasy-drama film directed, co-written, and co-scored by Benh Zeitlin. It was adapted by Zeitlin and Lucy Alibar from Alibar's one-act play ''Juicy and Delicious''. The film stars Quvenzhan� ...

'') *2013: ''

Gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...

'' *2014: '' The Grand Budapest Hotel''

Bibliography

Books

* *''Greta Garbo'' (1974) *''Lolita'' (1995) *''Mom in the Movies: The Iconic Screen Mothers You Love (and a Few You Love to Hate)'' (2014)

Articles

References

External links

*
In Memoriam
– ''Time'' Magazine

– from ''Allmovie''

– a yearly breakdown of Corliss's favorite movies.
Top 100 Movies Ever
– Corliss and fellow ''Time'' critic

's list of the greatest movies ever made
Richard Corliss, 1944-2015: Everywhere At Once
by Matt Zoller Seitz, Editor-in-Chief, RogerEbert.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Corliss, Richard 1944 births 2015 deaths American film critics National Society of Film Critics Members American magazine editors Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Saint Joseph's University alumni Writers from Philadelphia Time (magazine) people American male journalists 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers SoHo Weekly News people