Movies, far more than the traditional arts, are tied to big money. Without a few independent critics, there's nothing between the public and the advertisers.
Pauline KaelMoviemaking is so male-dominated now that they think theyโre being pro-feminine when they have women punching each other out.
Pauline KaelIf there's anything to learn from the history of movies, it's that corruption leads to further corruption, not to innocence.
Pauline KaelCitizen Kane is perhaps the one American talking picture that seems as fresh now as the day it opened. It may seem even fresher.
Pauline KaelIn San Francisco, vulgarity, "bad taste," ostentation are regarded as a kind of alien blight, an invasion or encroachment from outside. In Los Angeles, there is so much money and power connected with ostentation that is no longer ludicrous: it commands a kind of respect. For if the mighty behave like this, then quiet good taste means that you can't afford the conspicuous expenditures, and you become a little ashamed of your modesty and propriety.
Pauline Kael