Otis Ferguson
Dwight Macdonald
James Agee
Manny Farber
Due to his painter background, he emphasized the importance of framing, staging, cinematic space, the geometry of pictorial composition; if those components are weak, "there is nothing in the people, costuming or acting that will intrigue your eye enough to keep it focused on the story."
He was early supporter of underground film which broke out in late 1950s America, and then represented all experimental films worldwide.
Andre Bazin
He co-founded the revered magazine "Cahiers du Cinema".
Some of the best essays were compiled in a two part book called "What is Cinema"
He initiated two big theories of film: auteur theory and realism.
He described the auteur theory as " a way of reading and appraising films through the imprint of an auteur, usually meaned to be the director". He differentiated movies through the world view and style of particular directors and with "Cahiers" he created the ideal environment for the growth of the theory.
Predilection of long-shot, deep focus and shot-in-depth to reveal " objective reality"; Dislike montage and manipulation of the image.
He defended "appreciated criticism"
Pauline Kael
Quentin Tarantino cites her as a major influence. " I never went to film school, but she was the professor in the film school of my mind."
Woody Allen famously said that Kael " has everything that a great critic needs except judgement"
According to David Bordwell "Kael wrote for those who dug movies, while Sarris wrote for those who loved cinema."
Opponent of auteur theory, while Sarris defended it.
She refused to view a film twice, just like the most of audience.
Truffaut
Director, screenwriter, producer, actor, film critic, as well as one of the founders of the French New Wave.
Truffaut learned his craft literally "by seeing, touching and breathing cinema, as if inflicting himself through contact with its creators."
The close relationship with important directors was crucial for Truffaut to develop probably the most part of his criticism, the one that assures his place in the Pantheon of film critics, if such thing existed: the Aureur Theory.
Barry Norman
England BBC
Eclecticism
Roger Ebert
He won the Pulitzer Prize in 1975, during his tenure with the Chicago Sun-Times.
Obama said "the movie won't be the same without Roger."
His movie putdowns have become classics
( on Godzilla) going to see Godzilla at the palais of the Cannes Festival is like attending a satanic ritual in St.Peter's Basilica.
Andrew Sarris
He published an essay called "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962" where he tried to explain the "Auteur Theory" and adapt it to American audience.
He didn't accept the concept of film history as an agglomerate of technical progression.
His auteurism defended that evolution for evolution sake was less valuable than the use of resources to create works who showed a distinct conception of human life:
"Griffith, Murnau, and Eisenstein had different visions of the world, and their technical 'contribution' can never be divorced from their personalities."