When Movies Mattered

If you have ever wanted to dig around in the archives for that perfect Sunday afternoon DVD and first turned to a witty weekly column in the "New York Times," then you are already familiar with one of our nationOCOs premier film critics. If you love moviesOCoand the writers who engage themOCoand just happen to have followed two of the highest circulating daily papers in the country, then you probably recognize the name of the intellectually dazzling writer who has been penning pieces on American and foreign films for over thirty years. And if you called the City of the Big Shoulders home in the 1970s or 1980s and relied on those trenchant, incisive reviews from the "Chicago Reader" and the "Chicago Tribune "to guide your moviegoing delight, then you know Dave Kehr.a"When Movies Mattered "presents a wide-ranging and illuminating selection of KehrOCOs criticism from the "Reader"OComost of which is reprinted here for the first timeOCoincluding insightful discussions of film history and his controversial Top Ten lists. Long heralded by his peers for both his deep knowledge and incisive style, Kehr developed his approach to writing about film from the auteur criticism popular in the OCO70s. Though KehrOCOs criticism has never lost its intellectual edge, itOCOs still easily accessible to anyone who truly cares about movies. Never watered down and always razor sharp, it goes beyond wry observations to an acute examination of the particular stylistic qualities that define the work of individual directors and determine the meaning of individual films.From current releases to important revivals, from classical Hollywood to foreign fare, Kehr has kept us spellbound with his insightful critical commentaries. "When Movies Mattered" will secure his place among our very best writers about all things cinematic.a