7 - For The Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism

    A documentary tracing the development and trends in film criticism in America.
    Not a terribly exciting documentary.  There's remarkably little conflict.  There are a few interesting ideas that are tossed out, but most of the movie is pretty dull.
    The one thing that came out that I found interesting is how much the auteur theory of film criticism was a dividing point.  The auteur theory viewed the director as the person who shaped the film, more than the script, genre, or actors.  Pauline Kael strongly disagreed with this idea.  It seems obvious that neither camp is correct.  Some directors place more of their stamp on their projects than others.  Some directors try to create a more comprehensive body of work.  Some directors don't.  Some of them just do what they can with what they get.  Maybe the disagreement is when to apply that interpretation, and when not to.
    Not much else to say about it.
    It's kind of a shame.  There's a tense relationship between most directors, actors, and film critics.  That conflict is glossed over and forgotten.