David Edelstein(born 1959) is a freelance American film critic who has been the principal film critic forSlateandNew Yorkmagazine, among others, and has appeared regularly onNPR'sFresh AirandCBS Sunday Morningprograms. Over a long career, Edelstein has published more than 2000 film reviews.[1][2]In 2021,Colin McEnroecalled Edelstein "America's greatest living film critic".[3]
Career
editEdelstein became a journalist after graduating fromHarvard Universityin 1981.[4]He is often associated with close friend, fellow film critic, and iconoclastPauline Kael.[5]He is also credited with coining the term "torture porn,"a genre to describe such movies asHostelandSaw.[6]
He has previously been a film critic forSlate(1996–2005),NPR'sFresh Air(2002-2018),New York(2006-2020),[7]theNew York Post,The Village Voice,andThe Boston Phoenix.His work has also appeared inThe New York Times'Arts & Leisure section,Rolling Stone,Vanity Fair,The New York Times Magazine,Variety,andEsquire,among others. He has been a member of theNew York Film Critics Circleand theNational Society of Film Critics.[8][9]Edelstein appeared six times as a guest on the television programCharlie Roseto talk about the movies and the Oscar telecast.[10]
Dismissal fromFresh Air
editOn November 26, 2018, Edelstein came under controversy when he made a joke about a sex scene in Bertolucci's 1972 filmLast Tango in Parison hisFacebookpage. The joke was part of his post noting the passing of the film's directorBernardo Bertolucci.Edelstein's post was widely criticized, and Edelstein promptly apologized and deleted the original post. He said he had been unaware of actressMaria Schneider's statement in 2007 that she wasn't told about the sex scene until right before filming and that it caused her trauma. The following day,Fresh Aircharacterized the post as "offensive and unacceptable", and announced that Edelstein had been dismissed as a contributor. The statement reads, "The post does not meet the standards that we expect from Fresh Air contributors...We have decided to end Fresh Air’s association with him, and have informed David accordingly.”[11][12]His firing was criticized by several media outlets, includingSalon,the editorial board of theNew York Post,andThe American Conservative.[13][14][15]
Bibliography
editHe is the co-author with independent film producerChristine Vachonof the bookShooting to Kill(1998).[16]He is also the author of two plays,Feed the Monkey(Loeb Experimental Theater, Harvard College, 1993) andBlaming Mom(Watermark Theater, New York City, 1994).[17]
References
edit- ^Aradillas, Aaron (2005)."Reel time with David Edelstein".RockCritics.
- ^"David Edelstein".Metacritic.RetrievedSeptember 21,2022.
- ^McEnroe, Colin; Edelstein, David (December 17, 2021)."An hour with film critic David Edelstein".Connecticut Public Radio.No transcript available.
- ^Walsh, Colleen (March 1, 2018)."Honored or not, these films won critic's heart".The Harvard Gazette.
- ^Kael, Pauline; Davis, Francis (2002).Afterglow: a last conversation with Pauline Kael.Cambridge, Massachusetts: Da Capo Press. p. 104.ISBN9780306811920.OCLC50557407.
- ^Hundt, Brad (October 26, 2007)."Shocking stuff".Observer-Reporter.Washington, Pennsylvania. Archived fromthe originalon October 28, 2007.RetrievedFebruary 2,2014.
- ^Friedman, Roger(April 24, 2020)."Media Melt Down Continues: New York Magazine Company" Furloughs "Chunk of Staff Including Film Critic David Edelstein".Showbiz411.
- ^"David Edelstein - New York Film Critics Circle - NYFCC".November 11, 2021. Archived fromthe originalon November 28, 2021.
- ^"Members".National Society of Film Critics. December 29, 2017. Archived fromthe originalon December 29, 2017.
- ^"David Edelstein Appearances".Charlie Rose Conversations.RetrievedSeptember 26,2022.
- ^Yang, Rachel (November 27, 2018)."NPR's 'Fresh Air' Fires Film Critic David Edelstein Over 'Last Tango in Paris' Rape Joke".Variety.Los Angeles, CA: Penske Media Corporation.RetrievedNovember 30,2018.
- ^Vagianos, Alanna (November 27, 2018)."People Are Dragging This Film Critic For Making A Rape Joke After Filmmaker's Death".Huffington Post.
- ^O'Hehir, Andrew (November 28, 2018)."David Edelstein, the" butter scene "in" Last Tango "and the darkness of the internet".Salon.RetrievedDecember 1,2018.
- ^Post Editorial Board (November 28, 2018)."It's time to stop firing people for bad jokes".The New York Post.New York.RetrievedNovember 30,2018.
- ^Dreher, Rod(November 30, 2018)."Defending David Edelstein".theamericanconservative.The American Ideas Institute.RetrievedNovember 30,2018.
- ^Vachon, Christine; Edelstein, David (1998).Shooting to Kill: how an independent producer blasts through the barriers to make movies that matter.Avon Books.ISBN9780380798544.OCLC39169872.See also"Shooting to Kill".goodreads.RetrievedDecember 29,2017.
- ^Brantley, Ben (October 22, 1994)."In Performance; Theater".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.RetrievedDecember 29,2017.
Further reading
edit- Morton, Paul (August 2007)."An Interview with David Edelstein".Bookslut.Archivedfrom the original on May 9, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 26,2022.
External links
edit- "David Edelstein".Rotten Tomatoes.Short biography and list of reviews.
- Edelstein's Top 10 films of2016,2015,2014,2013,2012,2011,2010,2009,2008,2007,2006,2005,2004,2003,2002,2001,2000,1999,and1998.
- David EdelsteinatIMDb
- Archive of pieces by David Edelstein at New York Magazine
- Edelstein, David;Gibney, Alex(February 19, 2008)."The Fog of Ambiguity".Bloggingheads.tv.Video discussion/interview