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grins like a miniature devil from the margins of a gilded manuscript—the imp who knows to much. Buñuel beats them hollow: that square sawed-off head, the ripe, amusable mouth, the martial breadth of brow and chin. And, most of all, there are the eyes. Hooded above and pinched below, they shimmer with
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imagines the characters from the former movie discussing the latter: "The company was far from disinclined to hear more; and Mr. Elton, whose refinement of expression was complemented by a most unsullied cordiality, spoke to them of bowling with ten pins; of the misfortune that was visited upon Mr.
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begins with the movie's slogan: "The power is real. The story is forever. The time is now." and continues in a parody of its clipped style: "The time is then. The place is Egypt. The boy is born. The prognostication is dodgy. The answer is bulrushes. The boy is launched. The boy is found. The
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Lane recounts episodes from his life as a filmgoer; he writes that film "has revivified the
Proustian principle that memory is not ours to command", adding: "It is generally agreed, for example, that the last Golden Age of cinema occurred in the mid-seventies—the epoch of
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Harrelson in the losing of his arm; and of the ardent and uncouth intentions on the part of Mr. William Murray to impede the happiness that was both prized and merited by the heroes of the piece." Referring to the poor use of archaisms in
556:, writes that "the ideal literary diet consists of trash and classics: all that has survived, and all that has no reason to survive—books you can read without thinking, and books you have to read if you want to think at all."
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the virtues, or vices in disguise, of the Buñuelian gaze: dignity, lubricity, and doubt. You can easily picture yourself being hypnotized by this man; sit through a sample of his movies, and you will think you have been."
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often in Jodie Foster films – I started taking notes. These went "v. gloomy", "odd noir look for sci-fi", "creepy shadows in outdoor scene", and so on. Only after three-quarters of an hour did I remember to remove my dark
428:. Look. The thing is this. The cutting-edge computer-generated imagery is white-hot new. The movie is old-fashioned. The story is forever. The movie is for the holidays. The choice is yours." His review of
370:, Lane mentions five maxims that "should be obeyed by anyone who, having tried and failed to gain respectable employment, has decided to throw in the sponge and become a movie critic instead":
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raises the spectre of an industry where the parasitic arts of buildup and spinoff will outgrow and choke the product itself." Lane concludes: "What is this? Crap. Say it loud: Crap."
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adoption process is unimpeded by interference from government agencies. The dad is
Pharaoh. The brother is Rameses. The stage is set." He goes on: "The picture is O. K. The picture is
532:, Lane writes that "The great filmmakers, however rare their own appearances in front of the camera, almost always come to resemble their collected works. No one could sit through a
660:, wrote that "If the film is good art, or a delight, Lane will communicate precisely, concisely and illuminatingly the relevant merits; if the film sucks, he has some fun."
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flick about messages from another galaxy. I made it for the opening credits, and, panting heavily – which, with all due respect, is not something that I find myself doing
678:, his style is infernally contagious." However, she expressed reservations about his use of puns. In 2008, Lane was named one of the top 30 critics in the world by
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525:, with his nicked nostril, can never match. I missed the Golden Age; catching up later was an education, but nothing I can do can bring it back."
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Lane has also been nominated for
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danced; his sentences and paragraphs are a sublime, rhythmic concoction of glide and snap, lightness and sting. Like his beloved
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688:. As of 2010, the movie review aggregation website Metacritic weighted Lane's movie reviews higher than any other critic's.
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4) Whenever possible, pass sentence on a movie the day after it comes out. Otherwise, wait fifty years.
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for its centenary. He contributes to the magazine's "Critic at Large" section; in 1999, he wrote about
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season, for example, and imagine that its creator was a carefree and sexually contented beanpole.
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2) Whenever possible, see a film in the company of ordinary human beings.
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The explanation for the fifth maxim is a good example of Lane's style:
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reviews, essays, and profiles was published in 2002 under the title
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Our Guide to the Best
Critics: Film – Candour and Donnish Intellect
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Our Guide to the Best
Critics: An Introduction – Reviewers Revered
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mentions that "the worst marketing ploy I have seen so far is the
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transsexuals {or, see everything regardless of budget and hype}.
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is the mad professor, beloved of his students and nobody else;
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from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially
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In a piece reviewing recent bestsellers, Lane, paraphrasing
318:"The Endurance": Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition
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Lane varies his style based on his subject. His review of
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Lane, Antohny (28 December 1998). "The Prince of Egypt".
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2000 award for
Reviews & Criticism, for the articles
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5) Try to avoid the Lane technique of summer moviegoing.
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Lane, Anthony (30 October 1995). "The
Scarlet Letter".
781:"'Nobody's Perfect': Anthony Lane's New Yorker Sampler"
451:, he writes "Thou hast to be kidding." His review of
682:, the web version of the lifestyle publication from
978:Lane, Anthony (24 May 1999). "The Phantom Menace".
944:Lane, Anthony (6 August 1996). "Emma and Kingpin".
610:1996 award for Special Interest, for the article
343:— a reference to the final line of the 1959 film
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1229:, 10 March 2008, More Intelligent Life, part of
528:Lane's style is often allusive; in a profile of
887:"The Shock and Aftershocks of "The Waste Land""
568:for Reviews & Criticism, for three of his
544:is the sly jock with money and girls to burn;
521:is burned into my mind with a fierceness that
368:Nobody's Perfect: Writings from The New Yorker
517:is dreck; but the sight of a weary, begrimed
300:books. Lane has also reviewed books, such as
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23:. For the theoretical nuclear physicist, see
1318:Interview of Anthony Lane by Robert Birnbaum
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398:On a broiling day, I ran to a screening of
380:3) Try to keep up with documentaries about
328:, a collection of lunar photographs at the
229:, graduating with a degree in English from
67:about living persons that is unsourced or
599:(10 April 2000), on photographs from the
138:Learn how and when to remove this message
1363:21st-century British non-fiction writers
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670:, wrote that "Lane writes prose the way
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590:(13 March 2000), on the photographs of
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614:(18 December), a humorous piece about
19:For the Australian tennis player, see
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374:1) Never read the publicity material.
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233:where he also did graduate work on
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1199:Miller, Laura (1 September 2002).
1115:Lane, Anthony (10 December 1995).
1052:Lane, Anthony (14 February 2000).
1010:Lane, Anthony (18 December 2000).
847:Lane, Anthony (27 December 2009).
704:, a British writer and columnist.
564:Anthony Lane was awarded the 2001
322:American Museum of Natural History
202:is a British journalist who was a
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303:The Stories of Vladimir Nabokov
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1201:"See the Movie, Read the Book"
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510:is a great picture and that
212:magazine from 1993 to 2024.
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459:Star Wars Learning Fun Book
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259:In 1993, Lane was asked by
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1180:"The joy of the movies"
579:(14 February 2000), on
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1403:The Independent people
1236:6 January 2009 at the
1225:6 January 2009 at the
995:Lane, Anthony (2002).
59:Please help by adding
1398:People from Cambridge
1117:"Look Back in Hunger"
1075:"The Eye of the Land"
680:More Intelligent Life
644:(4 October 1999), on
635:(16 August 1999), on
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484:McCabe and Ms. Miller
21:Anthony Lane (tennis)
1383:English film critics
908:"Breaking the Waves"
626:(9 August 1999), on
288:Patrick Leigh Fermor
65:Contentious material
1279:The Daily Telegraph
1138:"In Love With Fear"
1054:"The Maria Problem"
849:"Hollywood Royalty"
809:"In Love With Fear"
612:Look Back in Hunger
588:The Eye of the Land
420:The Prince of Egypt
25:Anthony Milner Lane
1378:English columnists
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582:The Sound of Music
463:The Phantom Menace
454:The Phantom Menace
448:The Scarlet Letter
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284:Ian Fleming
280:Grace Kelly
204:film critic
1337:Categories
719:References
628:André Gide
572:articles:
570:New Yorker
496:Earthquake
268:Tina Brown
235:T.S. Eliot
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534:Hitchcock
508:Chinatown
478:Chinatown
326:Full Moon
162:Education
128:June 2019
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