Author Spotlight

Pauline Kael

4 Results
Smiles of a Summer Night
Late in 1955, Ingmar Bergman made a nearly perfect work—the exquisite carnal comedy Smiles of a Summer Night. It was the distillation of elements he had worked with for several years, in the 1952 Secrets of Women (originally called Waiting Women), …

By Pauline Kael

Blow Out: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Gadgeteer

In 1981, the legendary critic went all out for Blow Out, which she thought was De Palma's most mature work to date.

By Pauline Kael

Lacombe, Lucien

From Pauline Kael's 1974 New Yorker review. Reprinted with permission from the New Yorker.

Introducing himself to a delicate, fine-boned parisienne, the farm-boy hero of Louis Malle’s new movie does not give his name as Lucien Lacombe; he gives th

By Pauline Kael

Last Tango in Paris

The following review, one of the most renowned in the history of film criticism, appeared in The New Yorker magazine on October 28, 1972. It is reprinted with the permission of the author, Pauline Kael.

Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris wa

By Pauline Kael