Influential American film critic, author, Pauline Kael nemesis and editor of the original English language edition of Cahiers du Cinéma, Andrew Sarris died today at age 83. He is survived by his wife, with whom he is pictured above, noted film theorist Molly Haskell.
A number of his books and articles are favorites of mine that I have gone back to repeatedly over the years. If it were possible to wear the grooves out of a book as one can a record, I would have done so with the Preston Sturges chapter in his 1998 book “You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet”: The American Talking Film, History and Memory, 1927-1949. He’ll be missed.
Check out the New York Times obit here, his Top Ten film lists for every year from 1958 to 2006 here, or a podcast of a charming discussion between Sarris and his wife here.
chained and perfumed 