Raymond Durgnat

Raymond Durgnat (September 1, 1932 - May 19, 2002) was a distinctive and highly influential British film critic, who was born in London of Swiss parents. During his life he wrote for virtually every major English language film publication apart from Sight and Sound, which he often accused of elitism, puritanism and upper-middle-class snobbery, notably in his 1963 essay "Standing Up For Jesus" (which appeared in the short-lived magazine Motion, with which he was strongly involved) and in his 1965 piece "Auteurs and Dream Factories". He did, however, write for its sister publication, the Monthly Film Bulletin in the years leading up to its demise in 1991.

Related Topics:
September 1 - 1932 - May 19 - 2002 - British - Film - Critic - London - Swiss - English language - Sight and Sound - Monthly Film Bulletin - 1991

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Durgnat's socio-political approach - strongly supportive of the working classes and, almost as a direct result of this, American popular culture, and dismissive of Left-wing intellectuals who he accused of actually being petit-bourgeois conservatives in disguise, and dismissive of overt politicisation of film criticism, refusing to bring his own Left-wing views overtly into his writings on film - can best be described as "radical populist".

Related Topics:
American - Popular culture - Left-wing - Intellectuals - Bourgeois

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Durgnat's books include Films and Feelings (1967), A Mirror for England: British Movies from Austerity to Affluence (1970) and The Strange Case of Alfred Hitchcock (1974). He also wrote books on Luis Bunuel, Jean Renoir and King Vidor. A book on Hitchcock's 1960 classic Psycho was published posthumously. He wrote for Films and Filming, Movie, Time Out and Film Comment among many other publications, and often lectured on cinema at various academic institutions, notably as visiting professor at the University of East London towards the end of his life. Shortly before his death he was developing the website which now exists at http://www.durgnat.com .

Related Topics:
1967 - 1970 - Alfred Hitchcock - 1974 - Luis Bunuel - Jean Renoir - King Vidor - 1960 - Psycho - Time Out - University of East London

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