Pauline Kaelwas an incredibly influential film critic, celebrated for her incisive and often provocative reviews. Her lyrical prose and passion for cinema won her many admirers, and her work left a lasting imprint on the next generation of reviewers. She was as whip-smart as she was opinionated, not afraid to champion reviled movies or eviscerate critical darlings. Indeed, Kael’s literary voice was distinctively candid and uncompromising.
As a result,Kael penned some controversial reviews over the years, fromher embrace of the incendiaryLast Tango in Paristo her rejection ofVertigo. Her ability to articulate strong, often polarizing opinions earned her both ardent admirers and fierce detractors. It also means that most of her reviews are still good fun to read today. Here are ten classic movies that were the targets of Kael’s critical ire. Most people now see them as masterpieces but Kael was never a fan.
10'2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
Amongthe most acclaimed sci-fi movies of all time,2001: A Space Odysseyis Stanley Kubrick’s seminal tale of two astronauts who find themselves battling a sentient computer that has begun to malfunction. The film’s special effects were groundbreaking for its day, preempting Star Wars by almost a full decade. The narrative is just as ambitious, with scenes set both in the prehistoric and far future, and themes examining relevant issues like scientific hubris and the dangers of AI.
Kael, however, wasn’t having any of it.She was not much of a Kubrick fan in general, and her review of the sci-fi epic was pretty harsh.“It’s a bad, bad sign when a movie director begins to think of himself as a myth-maker, and this limp myth of a grand plan that justifies slaughter and ends with resurrection has been around before,“he wrote. “Kubrick’s story line — accounting for evolution by an extraterrestrial intelligence — is probably the most gloriously redundant plot of all time.”
2001: A Space Odyssey
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
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9’A Clockwork Orange' (1971)
Kael also lambasted Kubrick’sprovocative but respected dystopian crime film, adapted from theAnthony Burgessnovel. Famously brutal and intense,A Clockwork Orangefollows Alex DeLarge (Malcolm McDowell), a delinquent who revels in violence, theft, and classical music, particularlyBeethoven. However, an experimental procedure during a stint in prison undermines his capacity for violence, placing him in all kinds of trouble. It’s hard to watch time but some of the scenes are undeniably iconic.
Kael dismissed the film as fundamentally hollow, describing it as pornography. She was likewise critical of its violent content. “The numerous rapes and beatings have no ferocity and no sensuality; they’re frigidly, pedantically calculated, and because there is no motivating emotion, the viewer may experience them as an indignity and wish to leave,“she said. To be fair, she was not the only critic who disliked it.A Clockwork Orangewas met with mixed reviews on release and was only widely recognized as a classic years later.
A Clockwork Orange
In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn’t go as planned.
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8’Wild Strawberries' (1957)
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Wild Strawberriesis a poignant exploration of memory from the mind ofIngmar Bergman,the godfather of Swedish cinema. It centers on Professor Isak Borg (Victor Sjöström), an elderly physician traveling to receive an honorary degree. During the journey, he encounters a series of characters who trigger memories of his past. These flashbacks and dreams force Borg to reflect on his life, his cold demeanor, and the choices that led to his current isolation.
Like2001, this film frequently appears on critics' lists of the best movies ever made. While it’s a stretch to say that Kaelhatedit,she had far more negative things to say about it than most reviewers.“It’s a very uneven film […] with peculiarly unconvincing flashbacks and overexplicit dialogue,“she wrote. She also described parts of the film as “irritations”, and lamented its “disappointingly vacuous parts.” Overall, Kael calledWild Strawberries"a very lumpy odyssey.”
7’Badlands' (1973)
Directed by Terrence Malick
BadlandsisTerrence Malick’s poetic take on aBonnie & Clydestory, following Kit (Martin Sheen), a rebellious young man, and Holly (Sissy Spacek), a naïve teenage girl. Kit convinces Holly to run away with him after killing her disapproving father. As they traverse the countryside, their spree leaves a trail of murder and destruction.It’s simply a great American film, simultaneously brutal and beautiful, and chock-full of food for thought.It has aged well and is worth checking out for those who may not have seen it yet.
Kael cannot be counted among its admirers, however. “Badlandshas no more depth thanThe Sugarland Express, and I found its cold detachment offensive,“she wrote. “The film is a succession of art touches. Malick is a gifted student, andBadlandsis an art thing, all right, but I didn’t admire it, I didn’t enjoy it, and I don’t like it,“she also said. Ouch.
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6’Red Desert' (1964)
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
Red Desertis a visually striking drama from Italian auteurMichelangelo Antonioni, most well-known forL’AvventuraandLa Notte. This one centers on Giuliana (Monica Vitti), a woman struggling with psychological distress amid the bleak industrial landscape of Northern Italy. Her husband, Ugo (Carlo Chionetti), is a factory manager, and their life is dominated by the oppressive presence of machinery and pollution. Antonioni uses the desolate setting and vibrant color palette to reflect Giuliana’s inner turmoil.
It’s not the most accessible of the director’s works but it’s certainly well-constructed.The film’s use of color is especially masterful.Antonioni was a widely acclaimed and influential filmmaker, but Kael was not really a fan of anything he did, and panned all of his films after 1960’sL’Avventura. Indeed, she once went so far as to express her “embarrassment for Antonioni”. As forRed Desert,she called it"boredom in Ravenna, and it seeps into the viewer’s bones.”
5’Vertigo' (1958)
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Now widely considered one of its creator’s best works, this psychological thriller follows Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart), a retired detective suffering from acrophobia, who is hired by an old friend to follow his wife, Madeleine (Kim Novak). Scottie becomes increasingly obsessed with Madeleine, who appears to be haunted by the spirit of her ancestor. When Madeleine seemingly dies by suicide, Scottie is devastated, but the plot quickly thickens with twists, turns, and rising danger.
Alfred Hitchcock was another beloved director that Kael never really liked.She considered most of his movies to be amateurish. She didn’t even appreciateBernard Herrmann’s tense, deft scores.Kael was particularly critical ofVertigo. Perhaps this was because she never watched movies more than once. If she had given Vertigoa second look, she might have seen the intricacies in the plot. Kael might not have embracedVertigo, but scores of young directors did. Filmmakers as varied asBrian De Palma,Lucio Fulci, andDavid Lynchhave all paid homage to it.
A former San Francisco police detective juggles wrestling with his personal demons and becoming obsessed with the hauntingly beautiful woman he has been hired to trail, who may be deeply disturbed.
4’The Sound of Music' (1965)
Directed by Robert Wise
Set in Austria on the eve of World War II,The Sound of Musictells the story of Maria (Julie Andrews), a spirited young woman studying to become a nun. Sent to the home of widowed naval captain Georg von Trapp (Christopher Plummer) to be the governess for his seven children, Maria brings music and joy back into the family’s lives. Her unorthodox methods and warm heart win over the initially strict Captain and his children.
The Sound of Musicis one of the most iconic movie musicals ever, so it’s easy to forget that it actually opened to lukewarm reviews (even though it dominated that year’s Oscars).Several critics dismissed it as saccharine and overly family-friendly, including Kael. However, her pen was a little sharper than most.She calledthe film “the single most repressive influence on artistic freedom in movies,” and “the sugar-coated lie that people seem to want to eat.”
The Sound of Music
A young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
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3’The Shining' (1980)
WithThe Shining, Kubrick once again found himself in Kael’s crosshairs. She had a lot of critical things to say about his horror magnum opus, widely regarded as a high watermark for the genre.Jack Nicholsonleads the cast here as Jack Torrance, an aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic, who takes a job as the winter caretaker of the isolated Overlook Hotel. As the hotel becomes snowbound, Jack’s sanity unravels under the influence of the malevolent spirits that reside there.
Kael didn’t hate everything aboutThe Shining, but she was withering about the parts she disliked. “What’s increasingly missing from Kubrick’s work is the spontaneity, the instinct, the lightness that would make us respond intuitively,“she wrote. “We’re starved for pleasure at this movie; when we finally get a couple of exterior nighttime shots with theatrical lighting, we’re pathetically grateful.” She wasn’t alone. LikeThe Sound of Music,The Shiningreceived mixed reviews when it first came out.
The Shining
A family heads to an isolated hotel for the winter where a sinister presence influences the father into violence, while his psychic son sees horrific forebodings from both past and future.
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2’Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb' (1964)
Kubrick’s nuclear black comedy is easily one of the most celebrated cinematic satires in history. It’s a comedic tour de force depicting a Cold War crisis in which the US accidentally orders a nuclear strike on the Soviet Union. As the President and his advisors, including the eccentric Dr. Strangelove (Peter Sellers), scramble to avert catastrophe, the film exposes the absurdities of its era as well as the fragility of human rationality. It’s a smart movie, but also a hilarious one, packed with fantastic scenes and killer lines.
And yet, Kael threw a lot of shade at it.“Dr. Strangelove was clearly intended as a cautionary movie; it meant to jolt us awake to the dangers of the bomb by showing us the insanity of the course we were pursuing,“she wrote. “But artists' warnings about war and the dangers of total annihilation never tell us how we are supposed to regain control, and Dr. Strangelove, chortling over madness, did not indicate any possibilities for sanity.”
Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb
Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 black-and-white satire Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb parodies the growing tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Starring Peter Sellers, the plot revolves around a US Air Force general who orders a nuclear attack on the Soviet Union against the wishes of the government.
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1’La Dolce Vita' (1960)
Directed by Federico Fellini
Federico Fellini’sLa Dolce Vitais easily one ofthe most highly-regarded Italian movies ever(perhaps surpassed only by Fellini’s other works8½andLa Strada). It’s a comedy-drama about Marcello Rubini (Marcello Mastroianni), a jaded journalist who drifts through a series of decadent and surreal episodes in search of meaning. From wild parties to fleeting romantic encounters, Marcello’s journey is one of existential ennui and moral decay.
Through these vignettes, Fellini critiques the excesses of Rome’s elite during the late 1950s. He does it while remaining committed to beautiful cinematography, conjuring up an almost magical vision of the Eternal City. But Kael was not pleased. She dismissedLa Dolce Vitaas simply a movie about “people who are bored, successful and rich”, describing the characters as “silly mannikins”. “La Dolce Vita wants to be a great film,“she said. “It cries out its intentions – and it’s frequently clever and it’s sometimes effective […] And that is all it is.”
La Dolce Vita
A series of stories following a week in the life of a philandering tabloid journalist living in Rome.
