A World on Film: Criticism and Comment - Stanley Kauffmann

The best book of film criticism by one author that I've ever read. It's no secret I think Stanley Kauffmann is the best all around critic to distinguish film criticism, but this book has his best collection of works. A World on Film is about his first eight years with The New Republic. While he was reviewing during this time in the 1950s and 60s, he was going up against a lot of the best critics ever. Most of them were New York based so its easy to compare and contrast because they were all going to the same screenings. In my research I've found that Kauffmann always had the most to say about a film compared to anyone else. The 60s were highly political and ideological so a trademark of a critic was for his to represent one or the other in their reviews. Dwight Macdonald was most succeptible to this identity. Kauffmann was too, but his experience was in theater and literature. The good Kauffmann did with his education is allow it to guide the moral questions he asked about a film. He didn't expect translations of the arts he knew and looked to film to be its own art, but he did ask that film ask the large questions all other arts were forced to consider. It was the best approach because its taken for granted today that film is a combination of all the other arts. This is an excellent book. The only downfall is that Kauffmann took Godard head on without being more aware of his art.