For over four decades, Stanley Kauffmann's skilled, cultivated, and impassioned film reviews in the New Republic have guided filmgoers and charted the development of the cinema arts. Over the course of his distinguished career, he has been an independent voice in film criticism, challenging preconceptions, skewering pretensions, and championing a wide diversity of films, from Hollywood blockbusters to overlooked gems.

In his latest collection of film writings, Kauffmann discusses the most influential, exciting, and innovative films released since 1993, as well as less successful — sometimes disastrous — efforts. From major films by established Hollywood directors (Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan and Oliver Stone's Nixon) to works from the iconoclastic world of independent American film (Neil LaBute's In the Company of Men and David O. Russell's Spanking the Monkey) to the best of world cinema (Abbas Kiarostami's A Taste of Cherry and Erick Zonca's The Dreamlife of Angels), Kauffmann offers his lively and considered views of over sixty films. In other essays, he compares cinematic adaptations of Mozart's operas, explores changing public attitudes toward film as an art form, assesses the possibilities of accurately dramatizing the Holocaust, and recalls the careers of such important figures in film history as David Lean, Billy Wilder, and Akira Kurosawa. A model of provocative writing about the liveliest art, Regarding Film will delight ardent movie lovers everywhere.

In this collection of film writings, Kauffmann (reviewer, The New Republic) discusses influential, exciting, and innovative films released between 1993 and 2000, as well as less successful efforts. Films by established Hollywood directors, independent American films, and foreign movies are all considered—approximately 60 in all. In other essays, Kauffmann compares cinematic adaptations of Mozart's operas, explores changing public attitudes toward film as an art form, assesses the possibilities of accurately dramatizing the Holocaust, and recalls the careers of major figures in the industry.
Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)