Customer Reviews

When the Lights Go Down

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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.

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...