When the Lights Go Down [Paperback]

Pauline Kael (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0030568420 | ISBN-13: 978-0030568428 | Publication Date: April 1980 | Edition: First Edition

The most recent collection of film writings from celebrated critic Pauline Kael showcases her mastery, wit, erudition and incomparable style.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Winner of the American National Book Award for her film criticism in 1974, Pauline Kael was, until her retirement in 1974, a reviewer and critic of films and filming for over thirty years. Other titles by Pauline Kael available from Marion Boyars are: I Lost It At the Movies, Going Steady, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, Reeling, When The Lights Go Down, Taking It All In, State of the Art, Hooked, Movie Love, Raising Kane and Other Essays and 5001 Nights at the Movies. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 592 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co (P); First Edition edition (April 1980)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0030568420
• ISBN-13: 978-0030568428
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #405,194 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars and all our hopes are concentrated on the screen, October 19, 2000

By 

Peter Shelley "petershelley" (Sydney, New South Wales Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: When the Lights Go Down (Paperback)

This is Pauline Kael's 6th collection of film reviews taken from The New Yorker magazine covering her output for the period July 1975 to March 1979. This is one of her largest volumes so it's a tad disappointing that she provides no foreward. She begins with a long and fascinating essay on Cary Grant, entitled "The Man from Dream City"; and also presents her notes on the nihilistic poetry of Sam Peckinpah; evolving heroes, morals and audiences; and an essay Fear of Movies. Of the reviews, she praises The Story of Adele H, Bergman's The Magic Flute, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Man Who Would Be King, Next Stop Greenwich Village, Taxi Driver, Jaws, Carrie, 1900, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, That Obscure Object of Desire, and The Duellists. She pans Barry Lyndon, Network, the Streisand A Star is Born, Providence, The Serpent's Egg, Coming Home, A Wedding, A Little Night Music, The Wiz, and Midnight Express. As always, her humour is abundant. On Conversation Piece: the audience might split its sides if Burt Lancaster were to be shown coming out. In Mahogany, Diana Ross doesn't act the starring role, she shoots up on it. In Fun with Dick and Jane, Jane Fonda plays one scene on the commode, probably the only way the director could keep the audience watching. Thieves is like a turkey that falls over without being shot. And on Equus - the only honest sound she heard during the two hours and eighteen minutes was the snoring of the man behind her. And, Richard Burton must be telepathic - doing his elocutionary straight-to-camera speeches, his voice seems to rise in volume during every walkout.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The 1970's with Ms. Kael as Your Tour Guide, June 26, 2009

By 

Theseus "theseus" (US of A) - See all my reviews

This review is from: When the Lights Go Down (Hardcover)

This review relates to the Holt 1980 hardcover edition...

This is a large collection of Kael's critical work -- the hardback comes in at 592 pp and a bit under 3 pounds!

Things kick off with a 30 p essay on Cary Grant, "The Man from Dream City."

The films considered here are a wide-ranging and wonderful bunch: Star Wars/Jaws/Close Encounters/Animal House, Halloween, Adele H, Kaspar Hauser, The Magic Flute, Taxi Driver/Dog Day Afternoon/The Deer Hunter, Car Wash, Movie Movie, Welcome to LA, A Star is Born, Liztzomania, Royal Flash, Small Change, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Slap Shot, The Goodbye Girl, Get Out Your Hankerchiefs, Midnight Express...