Stanley Kauffmann (April 24, 1916 – October 9, 2013) was an American writer, editor, and critic of film and theater.

Career

Kauffmann started with ''

The New Republic ''The New Republic'' (often abbreviated as ''TNR'') is an American magazine focused on domestic politics, news, culture, and the arts from a left-wing perspective. It publishes ten print magazines a year and a daily online platform. ''The New Y ...

'' in 1958 and contributed film criticism to that magazine for the next 55 years, publishing his last review in 2013. He had one brief break in his ''New Republic'' tenure, when he served as the drama 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 ...

'' for eight months in 1966. He worked as an acquisitions editor at

Ballantine Books Ballantine Books is a major American book publisher that is a subsidiary of German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. Ballantine was founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. Ballantine was acquired by Random House in ...

in 1953, where he acquired the novel ''

Fahrenheit 451 ''Fahrenheit 451'' is a 1953 Dystopian fiction, dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. It presents a future American society where books have been outlawed and "firemen" Book burning, burn any that are found. The novel follows in the ...

'' by

Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury ( ; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, Horror fiction, horr ...

. Several years later, while working as an editor at

Alfred A. Knopf Alfred A. Knopf, Inc. () is an American publishing house that was founded by Blanche Knopf and Alfred A. Knopf Sr. in 1915. Blanche and Alfred traveled abroad regularly and were known for publishing European, Asian, and Latin American writers ...

in 1959 he discovered a manuscript by

Walker Percy Walker Percy, Oblate of Saint Benedict, OblSB (May 28, 1916 – May 10, 1990) was an American writer whose interests included philosophy and semiotics. Percy is noted for his philosophical novels set in and around New Orleans; his first, ''Th ...

, ''

The Moviegoer ''The Moviegoer'' is the debut novel by Walker Percy, first published in the United States by Alfred A. Knopf in 1961. It won the U.S. National Book Award.National Book Award The National Book Awards (NBA) are a set of annual U.S. literary awards. At the final National Book Awards Ceremony every November, the National Book Foundation presents the National Book Awards and two lifetime achievement awards to authors. ...

in 1962. Kauffmann was a long-time advocate and enthusiast of foreign film, helping to introduce and popularize in America the works of directors such as

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film and theatre director and screenwriter. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential film directors of all time, his films have been described as "profoun ...

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French filmmaker, actor, and critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. He came under the tutelage of film critic Andre Bazin as a ...

Claude Chabrol Claude Henri Jean Chabrol (; 24 June 1930 – 12 September 2010) was a French film director and a member of the French New Wave (''nouvelle vague'') group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s. Like his colleagues an ...

, and

Yasujirō Ozu was a Japanese filmmaker. He began his career during the era of silent films, and his last films were made in colour in the early 1960s. Ozu first made a number of short comedies, before turning to more serious themes in the 1930s. The most pr ...

. He inspired and influenced younger film and cultural critics such as

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

David Denby David Denby (born 1943) is an American journalist. He served as a film critic for ''The New Yorker'' until December 2014. Early life and education Denby grew up in New York City. He received a B.A. from Columbia University in 1965 and a master ...

. Kauffmann was also a professor of English, Drama, and Film at City University of New York (Hunter College, York College, and the Graduate Center) (1973–76) and taught at the Yale School of Drama. Kauffmann was featured in the 2009 documentary '' For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism'' where he was shown discussing the beginnings of film criticism in America, and noting the important contributions of poet

Vachel Lindsay Nicholas Vachel Lindsay (; November 10, 1879 – December 5, 1931) was an American poet. He is considered a founder of modern ''singing poetry,'' as he referred to it, in which verses are meant to be sung or chanted. Early years Lindsay was born ...

, who grasped that "the arrival of film was an important moment in the history of human consciousness". Kauffmann is noted for his dissenting opinions on otherwise critically acclaimed films, giving negative reviews for ''

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

'', ''

Star Wars ''Star Wars'' is an American epic film, epic space opera media franchise created by George Lucas, which began with the Star Wars (film), eponymous 1977 film and Cultural impact of Star Wars, quickly became a worldwide popular culture, pop cu ...

'', ''

Raiders of the Lost Ark ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan, based on a story by George Lucas and Philip Kaufman. Set in 1936, the film stars Harrison Ford as Indiana ...

'', ''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American Epic film, epic crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling The Godfather (novel), 1969 novel. The film stars an ensemble cast inc ...

'', ''

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' ...

,'' ''

Gone with the Wind Gone with the Wind most often refers to: * Gone with the Wind (novel), ''Gone with the Wind'' (novel), a 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell * Gone with the Wind (film), ''Gone with the Wind'' (film), the 1939 adaptation of the novel Gone with the Wind ...

'', ''

Becket ''Becket or The Honour of God'' (), often shortened to ''Becket'', is a 1959 stage play written in French by Jean Anouilh. It is a depiction of the conflict between Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England leading to Becket's assassination in ...

'' and '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', films that were heavily praised by other notable critics.

Personal life

Kauffmann attended

DeWitt Clinton High School DeWitt Clinton High School is a public high school located since 1929 in the Bronx borough of New York City. Opened in 1897 in Lower Manhattan as an all-boys school, it maintained that status for 86 years before becoming co-ed in 1983. From i ...

in the Bronx and New York University, where he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1935, and he was an actor and stage manager with NYU's 1920s-30s revival of the

Washington Square Players The Washington Square Players (WSP) was a theatre troupe and production company that existed from 1915 to 1918 in Manhattan, New York City. It started as a semi-amateur Little Theatre then matured into a Repertory theatre with its own touring ...

. Kauffmann married Laura Cohen in 1943, and they remained together until Cohen's death in 2012. They did not have children. Kauffmann died of pneumonia at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan on October 9, 2013, at age 97.

Books on criticism

*''Regarding Film: Criticism and Comment''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press (2001). *''Distinguishing Features: Film Criticism and Comment''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press (1994). *''Field of View: Film Criticism and Comment''. New York: Performing Arts Journal Publications (1986). *''Theater Criticisms''. New York: Performing Arts Journal Publications (1986). *''Albums of Early Life''. New Haven: Ticknor & Fields (1980). *''Before My Eyes: Film Criticism and Comment''. New York: Harper & Row (1980). *''Persons of the Drama: Theater Criticism and Comment''. New York: Harper & Row (1976). *''Living Images: Film Comment and Criticism''. New York: Harper & Row (1975). *''American Film Criticism: From the Beginnings to "Citizen Kane"; Reviews of Significant Films at the Time They First Appeared'' ditor, with Bruce Henstell New York: Liveright (1972). *''Figures of Light: Film Criticism and Comment.'' New York: Harper & Row (1971). *''A World on Film: Criticism and Comment''. New York: Harper & Row (1966).

References

External links

*
Interview at Bright Lights Film Journal
February 2004
Review of Regarding Film at Pop MattersA Conversation with Stanley Kauffmann, ''Charlie Rose'' July 9, 1998
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kauffmann, Stanley 1916 births 2013 deaths 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American film critics National Society of Film Critics Members American film editors American magazine writers American male non-fiction writers American theater critics York College, City University of New York faculty DeWitt Clinton High School alumni Deaths from pneumonia in New York City Journalists from New York City National Book Award winners New York University alumni The New Republic people Writers from Manhattan David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University faculty Hunter College faculty CUNY Graduate Center faculty Members of the English Language Dubbers Association of Rome