David Thomson (film critic)
Encyclopedia
David Thomson is a film critic and historian based in the United States
and the author of more than 20 books, including The New Biographical Dictionary of Film
.
, and he is a regular contributor to The New York Times
, Film Comment
, Movieline, The New Republic
and Salon
. He has served on the selection committee for the New York Film Festival
and scripted an award-winning documentary, The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
.
Thomson has written several biographies (see below), novels (Suspects, Silver Light) and unproduced screenplays, including Fierce Heat, which was to be produced by Martin Scorsese
and directed by Stephen Frears
.
He has confessed that he prefers books to film writing.
Thomson lives in San Francisco, California
with his wife and their two sons.
poll, Thomson revealed his ten favorite films of all time:
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the author of more than 20 books, including The New Biographical Dictionary of Film
The New Biographical Dictionary of Film
The New Biographical Dictionary of Film is a reference book written by film critic David Thomson and originally published by Martin Secker & Warburg Ltd in 1975 under the title "Biographical Dictionary of Cinema." Organized by personality, it's an exhaustive inventory of those involved in...
.
Career
Thomson taught film studies at Dartmouth CollegeDartmouth College
Dartmouth College is a private, Ivy League university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. The institution comprises a liberal arts college, Dartmouth Medical School, Thayer School of Engineering, and the Tuck School of Business, as well as 19 graduate programs in the arts and sciences...
, and he is a regular contributor to The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, Film Comment
Film Comment
Film Comment is an arts and culture magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, of which it is the official publication. Film Comment features critical reviews and in-depth analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world...
, Movieline, The New Republic
The New Republic
The magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
and Salon
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
. He has served on the selection committee for the New York Film Festival
New York Film Festival
The New York Film Festival has been a major film festival since it began in 1963 in New York. The films are selected by the Film Society of Lincoln Center...
and scripted an award-winning documentary, The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind
The Making of a Legend: Gone with the Wind is a 1988 documentary outlining the successes and challenges of the casting, filming, and legacy of the 1939 film Gone with the Wind, from concept to finished product. The documentary focuses on David O. Selznick from the time of the book's publication to...
.
Thomson has written several biographies (see below), novels (Suspects, Silver Light) and unproduced screenplays, including Fierce Heat, which was to be produced by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
and directed by Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears
Stephen Arthur Frears is an English film director.-Early life:Frears was born in Leicester, England to Ruth M., a social worker, and Dr Russell E. Frears, a general practitioner and accountant. He did not find out that his mother was Jewish until he was in his late 20s...
.
He has confessed that he prefers books to film writing.
Thomson lives in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
with his wife and their two sons.
Personal top ten films
In the 2002 Sight & SoundSight & Sound
Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute .Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today...
poll, Thomson revealed his ten favorite films of all time:
- Blue Velvet (1986)
- Celine and Julie Go BoatingCeline and Julie Go BoatingCéline and Julie Go Boating is a 1974 French film directed by Jacques Rivette.Shot casually in a documentary style, we see a red-haired woman—we will learn that it is Julie --sitting on a bench in a pleasant but rather non-descript Parisian park. She is reading a book, we can see, on magic...
(1974) - Citizen KaneCitizen KaneCitizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
(1941) - The ConformistThe Conformist (film)The Conformist is a 1970 political drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. The screenplay was written by Bertolucci based on the 1951 novel The Conformist by Alberto Moravia. The film features Jean-Louis Trintignant and Stefania Sandrelli, among others...
(1970) - His Girl FridayHis Girl FridayHis Girl Friday is a 1940 American screwball comedy film directed by Howard Hawks, an adaptation by Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur of the play The Front Page by Hecht and MacArthur...
(1940) - A Man EscapedA Man EscapedA Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth is a 1956 French film directed by Robert Bresson. It is based on the memoirs of André Devigny, a prisoner of war held at Fort Montluc during World War II. The protagonist of the film is called Fontaine...
(1956) - Pierrot Le FouPierrot le fouPierrot le fou is a 1965 French film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, starring Anna Karina and Jean-Paul Belmondo. The film is based on Obsession, a novel by Lionel White. It was Jean-Luc Godard's tenth feature film, released between Alphaville and Masculin, féminin...
(1965) - The Rules of the GameThe Rules of the GameThe Rules of the Game is a 1939 French film directed by Jean Renoir about upper-class French society just before the start of World War II...
(1939) - That Obscure Object of DesireThat Obscure Object of DesireThat Obscure Object of Desire is a 1977 film directed by Luis Buñuel. Set in Spain and France against the backdrop of a terrorist insurgency, the film tells the story of an aging Frenchman who falls in love with a young woman who repeatedly frustrates his romantic and sexual desires.-Synopsis:A...
(1977) - Ugetsu MonogatariUgetsuUgetsu is a 1953 Japanese film directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Set in 16th century Japan, it stars Masayuki Mori and Machiko Kyō, and is inspired by short stories by Ueda Akinari and Guy de Maupassant...
(1953)