Search the Fresh Air Archive

Close Search

New Yorker Film Critic Says, "Good Movies Never Make You Feel Virtuous"

Every three years or so, a collection of Pauline Kael's movie reviews are collected into a book. Her forthcoming anthology is called Hooked. Kael believes film once served as a kind of common culture, and bemoans the fragmentation of movie audiences. She joins Fresh Air to talk about the state of the film industry and the changing tastes and expectations of audiences.

27:41
Queue

Guest

Host

Related Topic

Other segments from the episode on October 7, 1988

Fresh Air with Terry Gross, October 7, 1988: Interview with Pauline Kael; Commentary on language and character development in films; Interview with Tobe Hooper; Review of Graham Greene's novel "The…
Queue
06:36

Linguistic Transformation in the Movies

Language commentator Geoff Nunberg reflects on how changing modes of speech in motion pictures signify a character's personal transformation. The 1938 version of Pygmalion is a great example -- but the trope can be found in several other films.

Commentary
Queue
09:43

Remembering the "Texas Chainsaw Massacre"

Director Tobe Hooper sought to earn a PG rating for his groundbreaking horror film. The film got an R, but the attempt resulted in a movie that relied more on Hitchcock-like suggestion than explicit gore to inspire fear and disgust. Texas Chainsaw Massacre was recently included in the Museum of Modern Art's permanent collection.

Interview
Queue
03:30

Graham Greene's "The Captain and the Enemy"

Book critic John Leonard says that Greene has trained readers to fill the gaps in his novels and flesh out his sometimes underdeveloped characters. Leonard is a longtime admirer of the author, but says his newest book is more of a notebook than a polished novel.

Review

Transcript

Transcript currently not available.

Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.

You May Also like

Queue
16:59

Actor Willem Dafoe on Branching Out Beyond the Bad Guy

Dafoe was once pigeonholed as a villain, but he's since earned a wide variety of film roles. He's starred in "Platoon," "The Last Temptation of Christ," "Mississippi Burning," and "Wild at Heart." He's currently starring in the new Paul Schrader film, "Light Sleeper," along with Susan Sarandon.

Interview
Queue
22:42

Actress Barbara Hershey.

Actress Barbara Hershey. Hershey's had a long career in Hollywood, from films such as "Boxcar Bertha" in the 60s to "Hannah and Her Sisters," and "The Last Temptation of Christ." Next week, she stars in a made for T-V movie called "A Killing in a Small Town." It's based on the true-list story of a Texas woman who brutally murders her friend.

Interview
Queue
16:59

Production Designer John Beard

Beard lives in London, and still hasn't seen The Last Temptation of Christ, which he worked on with director Martin Scorsese. He join Fresh Air to talk about his decision to shoot the film in Morocco, and the history and traditions informing his design choices. His previous films include Brazil and Life of Brian.

Interview

Did you know you can create a shareable playlist?

Learn How
Advertisement

Recently on Fresh Air Available to Play on NPR

52:30

Daughter of Warhol star looks back on a bohemian childhood in the Chelsea Hotel

Alexandra Auder's mother, Viva, was one of Andy Warhol's muses. Growing up in Warhol's orbit meant Auder's childhood was an unusual one. For several years, Viva, Auder and Auder's younger half-sister, Gaby Hoffmann, lived in the Chelsea Hotel in Manhattan. It was was famous for having been home to Leonard Cohen, Dylan Thomas, Virgil Thomson, and Bob Dylan, among others.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

43:04

This fake 'Jury Duty' really put James Marsden's improv chops on trial

In the series Jury Duty, a solar contractor named Ronald Gladden has agreed to participate in what he believes is a documentary about the experience of being a juror--but what Ronald doesn't know is that the whole thing is fake.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

08:26

This Romanian film about immigration and vanishing jobs hits close to home

R.M.N. is based on an actual 2020 event in Ditrău, Romania, where 1,800 villagers voted to expel three Sri Lankans who worked at their local bakery.

Queue

Related segments from the Fresh Air Archive:

See All Recent Segments

There are more than 22,000 Fresh Air segments.

Let us help you find exactly what you want to hear.
Just play me something
Your Queue

Would you like to make a playlist based on your queue?

Generate & Share View/Edit Your Queue