Pauline Kael

Date of Birth: June 19, 1919

Zodiac Sign: Gemini

Date of Death: September 3, 2001

Biography

Pauline Kael was an influential American film critic born on June 19, 1919, in Petaluma, California. She grew up on a chicken farm and later attended the University of California, Berkeley. Though she initially struggled to establish a career, she eventually became one of the most important and controversial film critics of the 20th century. Kael began her career writing for various small publications and radio programs. Her big break came in the 1960s when she started writing for “The New Yorker,” where she remained until her retirement in 1991. Her reviews were known for their wit, passion, and often polarizing opinions. Kael’s influence extended beyond her reviews as she championed directors like Martin Scorsese and Robert Altman, helping to shape the landscape of modern cinema.

5 Interesting Facts about Pauline Kael

1. Pauline Kael never learned to drive a car.

2. She won the National Book Award for her collection “Deeper into Movies” in 1974.

3. Kael was famously against the auteur theory, which emphasizes the director as the primary author of a film.

4. She had a profound influence on young critics and filmmakers, including Quentin Tarantino.

5. Kael was fired from “McCall’s” magazine after her scathing review of “The Sound of Music.”

5 Most Interesting Quotes from Pauline Kael

1. “The first prerogative of an artist in any medium is to make a fool of himself.”

2. “Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash, we have very little reason to be interested in them.”

3. “In the arts, the critic is the only independent source of information. The rest is advertising.”

4. “I see little hope for democracy if the American people leave their political choices to the mercies of television commercials.”

5. “The problem in cinema is that you either have the commercial American cinema, which is made for the vast public, or you have the auteur cinema, where the film is really made more for the director.”