''The Dissolve'' was a film review, news, and commentary website which was operated by

Pitchfork A pitchfork or hay fork is an agricultural tool used to pitch loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. It has a long handle and usually two to five thin tines designed to efficiently move such materials. The term is also applie ...

and based in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. The site was focused on reviews, commentary, interviews, and news about contemporary and classic films.{{cite web, url=http://pitchfork.com/news/50949-introducing-the-dissolve-a-new-film-site/, work=

, access-date=April 14, 2014, date=May 30, 2013, title=Introducing The Dissolve, A New Film Site Its editor was Scott Tobias, the former editor in chief of '' The A.V. Club''. Editorial director Keith Phipps announced ''The Dissolve'''s closure on July 8, 2015.{{cite web , url=http://thedissolve.com/news/6187-the-end/ , publisher=The Dissolve , title=The End , access-date=21 June 2017 , date=8 July 2015 , last=Phipps , first=Keith , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708130121/http://thedissolve.com/news/6187-the-end/ , archive-date=8 July 2015

History

After Phipps parted from ''The A.V. Club'', he felt he wanted to focus his career on writing about film opposed to the wide-ranging topics that ''The A.V. Club'' discusses.{{cite magazine, url=https://entertainment.time.com/2013/06/03/qa-keith-phipps-talks-about-pitchforks-new-movie-site-the-dissolve/, magazine=

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 ...

, access-date=April 14, 2014, title=Q&A: Keith Phipps Talks About Pitchfork's New Movie Site, The Dissolve, author=Subramanian, Courtney, date=June 3, 2013 The site launched on July 10, 2013.{{cite web, url=http://pitchfork.com/news/51424-pitchforks-film-site-the-dissolve-to-launch-this-wednesday/, work=Pitchfork, access-date=April 14, 2014, date=July 8, 2013, title=The Dissolve, Pitchfork's New Film Site, Set to Launch This Wednesday In the first two weeks of publication, ''The Dissolve'' was set to present the following regular articles: ''The Conversation,'' which is a weekly discussion between ''The Dissolve''{{'s writers about current films and a ''Movie of the Week'' feature, where the staff focuses on a film of their choosing for several days. On July 8, 2015, ''The Dissolve'' announced its closure with editorial director Keith Phipps stating, "Sadly, because of the various challenges inherent in launching a freestanding website in a crowded publishing environment, financial and otherwise, today is the last day we will be doing that."{{cite web , url=http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20150708/NEWS07/150709865/pitchfork-media-shutters-movie-website-the-dissolve , title=Pitchfork Media shutters movie website The Dissolve , publisher=Crain's Chicago Business , date=8 July 2015 , access-date=8 July 2015 , first=Ally , last=Marotti {{cite web , url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pitchfork-movie-site-dissolve-shuts-807303 , title=Pitchfork Movie Site 'The Dissolve' Shuts Down , publisher=The Hollywood Reporter , date=8 July 2015 , access-date=8 July 2015 , first=Chris , last=O'Shea , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708180843/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/pitchfork-movie-site-dissolve-shuts-807303 , archive-date=8 July 2015 {{cite web , url=http://www.rogerebert.com/chazs-blog/the-dissolve-2013-2015 , title=The Dissolve: 2013-2015 , publisher=Chaz's Blog - Roger Ebert , date=8 July 2015 , access-date=8 July 2015 , first=Matt , last=Zoller Seitz , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150708182106/http://www.rogerebert.com/chazs-blog/the-dissolve-2013-2015 , archive-date=8 July 2015 {{cite news , url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2015/07/08/intermission-a-eulogy-for-the-dissolve/ , title=Intermission: A eulogy for the Dissolve , newspaper=

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

, date=8 July 2015 , access-date=8 July 2015 , first=Alyssa , last=Rosenberg Scott Tobias—in an interview with '' Indiewire''—stated, "This was simply a case of everyone trying their best to make something great and the economics not being kind to those efforts."{{cite web , url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/editors-keith-phipps-and-scott-tobias-on-the-end-of-the-dissolve-20150709 , title=Editors Keith Phipps and Scott Tobias on the End of The Dissolve and the Future of Film Criticism , website=Criticwire (Indiewire) , date=9 July 2015 , access-date=9 July 2015 , first=Sam , last=Adams {{cite web , url=http://scotttobias.tumblr.com/post/123549397881/acknowledgments , title=Acknowledgments , website=Sweet Emulsion , date=8 July 2015 , access-date=13 July 2015 , first=Scott , last=Tobias {{cite web , url=http://noelmu.tumblr.com/post/123891879019/week-in-review-7-6-15-7-12-15 , title=Week in Review 7/6/15-7/12-15 , website=Hey Hey in the Hayloft , date=12 July 2015 , access-date=13 July 2015 , first=Noel , last=Murray Former ''The Dissolve'' writers Scott Tobias, Keith Phipps, Genevieve Koski, and Tasha Robinson later went on to develop the Next Picture Show podcast.

Staff

Aside from Phipps, ''The Dissolve''{{'s original staff comprised five of his former ''A.V. Club'' colleagues: Scott Tobias, Nathan Rabin, Genevieve Koski, Tasha Robinson, and Noel Murray.{{cite web, url=http://thedissolve.com/features/special-feature/12-a-letter-from-the-editor/ , title=A Letter from the Editor , publisher=The Dissolve , date=2013-07-10, access-date=2013-07-10, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211110122/https://thedissolve.com/features/special-feature/12-a-letter-from-the-editor/, archive-date=February 11, 2015 Staff members Noel Murray left ''The Dissolve'' to write freelance status in September 2014, and news editor Matt Singer left to contribute to ScreenCrush in November.{{cite web, url=http://blogs.indiewire.com/criticwire/nathan-rabin-leaves-the-dissolve-20150501, publisher= Indiewire, title=Nathan Rabin Leaves The Dissolve, access-date=May 19, 2015, date=May 1, 2015, last= Adams, first=Sam Critic Nathan Rabin left the site in May 2015. The staff also included news editor Rachel Handler, replacing Matt Singer, and contributors Mike D'Angelo and Sam Adams.{{cite web, url=http://thedissolve.com/authors/sama/, archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150413114939/http://thedissolve.com/authors/sama/, archive-date=April 13, 2015, title=Our Writers: Sam Adams, publisher=The Dissolve , date=2013-07-10, access-date=2014-05-09

Ratings

''The Dissolve''{{'s film rankings in comparison to other film reviews tended to be more harsh in their 1,555 reviews aggregated by

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, who stated that on average, the website grades films 8.9 points lower than other critics from a 0–100 scale. Their average score is 56. Out of all the reviews, 566 were considered positive, 770 were considered mixed, and 219 were considered negative.{{cite web, title=The Dissolve's Scores, url=http://www.metacritic.com/publication/the-dissolve, access-date=December 8, 2021, work=

''The Dissolve'' Film of the Year

{, class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" ! bgcolor="#efefef" , Year ! bgcolor="#efefef" , Film ! bgcolor="#efefef" , Director ! bgcolor="#efefef" width=125px, Nationality ! bgcolor="#efefef" class=unsortable , Top 5 Films ! bgcolor="#efefef" class=unsortable , {{Abbr, Ref., References , - , align="center",

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

, ''

Her Her is the objective and possessive form of the English-language feminine pronoun she. Her, HER or H.E.R. may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Music Performers * H.E.R. (born 1997), American singer * HIM (Finnish band), once kn ...

'' ,

Spike Jonze Adam Spiegel (born October 22, 1969), known professionally as Spike Jonze (), is an American Filmmaking, filmmaker, actor, musician, and photographer. His work includes films, commercials, music videos, skateboard videos and television. Jonze ...

, {{USA , {{smalldiv, * 2nd: '' 12 Years a Slave'' dir.

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of counterculture of the 1960s, 1960s counterculture, made him a top box office draw for his films of the late ...

* 3rd: '' Inside Llewyn Davis'' dir. Joel and Ethan Coen * 4th: '' Frances Ha'' dir.

Noah Baumbach Noah Baumbach (born September 3, 1969) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making light comedies set in New York City and his works are inspired by filmmakers such as Woody Allen and Whit Stillman. His frequent collaborators include Wes A ...

* 5th: '' Upstream Color'' dir. Shane Carruth , align="center", {{cite web , title=The best films of 2013 , url=https://thedissolve.com/features/2013-in-review/330-the-best-films-of-2013/ , publisher=The Dissolve , access-date=18 December 2014 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402150804/http://thedissolve.com/features/2013-in-review/330-the-best-films-of-2013/ , archive-date=2 April 2015 , - , align="center",

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, '' Boyhood'' ,

Richard Linklater Richard Linklater (; born July 30, 1960) is an American filmmaker. He is known for making films that deal thematically with suburban culture and the effects of the passage of time. In 2015, Linklater was included on the annual ''Time'' 100 li ...

, {{USA , {{smalldiv, * 2nd: '' The Grand Budapest Hotel'' dir.

Wes Anderson Wesley Wales Anderson (born May 1, 1969) is an American filmmaker. Wes Anderson filmography, His films are known for themes of grief, loss of innocence, and dysfunctional families. Due to his films' eccentricity, distinctive visual and narrative ...

* 3rd: '' Under the Skin'' dir. Jonathan Glazer * 4th: '' Whiplash'' dir.

Damien Chazelle Damien Sayre Chazelle (; born January 19, 1985) is an American filmmaker. He directed the psychological drama ''Whiplash (2014 film), Whiplash'' (2014), the musical romance ''La La Land'' (2016), the biographical drama ''First Man (film), First ...

* 5th: '' Only Lovers Left Alive'' dir.

Jim Jarmusch James Robert Jarmusch ( ; born January 22, 1953) is an American film director, screenwriter and musician. He has been a major proponent of independent film, independent cinema since the 1980s, directing films such as ''Stranger Than Paradise'' ...

, align="center", {{cite web , title=The best films of 2014 , url=http://thedissolve.com/features/2014-in-review/857-the-best-films-of-2014/ , publisher=The Dissolve , access-date=18 December 2014 , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150320190225/http://thedissolve.com/features/2014-in-review/857-the-best-films-of-2014/ , archive-date=20 March 2015

References

{{Reflist

External links

The Dissolve
(official website; still online, but no longer updated) {{DEFAULTSORT:Dissolve Film magazines published in the United States Online magazines published in the United States Defunct magazines published in the United States Defunct American websites American film review websites Magazines established in 2013 Magazines disestablished in 2015 Magazines published in Chicago Internet properties disestablished in 2015