Film Comment

Film Comment
source
Title	Film Comment
Category	Film criticism
Frequency	Bimonthly
Publisher	Film at Lincoln Center
Firstdate	1962
Country	United States
Language	English
Based	New York City

Film Comment

Film Comment is a bimonthly magazine of film criticism, commentary, and cultural analysis originally founded in 1962. Published by Film at Lincoln Center and associated with institutions such as Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts and major festivals including the New York Film Festival, it has long served as a forum where critics, scholars, and filmmakers such as Andrew Sarris, Pauline Kael, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Richard Peña, and David Bordwell intersect. The magazine bridges the worlds of mainstream cinema exemplified by figures like Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg with international auteurs such as Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Yasujiro Ozu, and Jean-Luc Godard.

History

Founded during an era marked by the influence of the New American Cinema Group and the emergence of auteurist debates popularized at venues like the Museum of Modern Art and the Cannes Film Festival, the publication grew out of New York’s mid‑20th century cinephile networks. Early coverage connected with movements such as the French New Wave, Italian Neorealism, and the British New Wave, placing the magazine amid discussions involving critics and programmers including Andrew Sarris, Pauline Kael, Richard Schickel, and curators linked to Anthology Film Archives. Through the 1970s and 1980s Film Comment tracked developments in independent cinema associated with filmmakers like John Cassavetes, Jim Jarmusch, Spike Lee, and institutions like the Independent Feature Project. The 1990s and 2000s saw expanded engagement with festivals from Telluride Film Festival to the Toronto International Film Festival, the rise of global auteurs such as Wong Kar-wai, Pedro Almodóvar, Pedro Costa, and scholarly interlocutors from universities including Columbia University and New York University.

Editorial Structure and Contributors

The magazine’s editorial leadership has historically included prominent programmers and critics who also held roles at organizations such as Film at Lincoln Center and the New York Film Festival. Notable editors and contributors have included Richard Peña, P. Adams Sitney, J. Hoberman, Gina Telaroli, Amy Taubin, Dennis Lim, Michael Koresky, and Kent Jones. Recurring contributor pools encompass film historians and theorists like David Bordwell, Kristin Thompson, Thomas Elsaesser, Noël Burch, and Laura Mulvey, alongside filmmakers turned essayists such as Werner Herzog, Pedro Almodóvar, Abbas Kiarostami, Claire Denis, and Spike Lee. The magazine commissions long-form criticism, archival research, oral histories, and interviews with figures including Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro, Cate Blanchett, Quentin Tarantino, Hayao Miyazaki, and festival directors such as Thierry Frémaux and Kirsten Schaffer. Editorial collaborations often link to academic departments and centers like the Centre Pompidou, the British Film Institute, and the Getty Research Institute.

Content and Features

Regular sections feature in-depth reviews, retrospectives, thematic dossiers, and roundtables focused on cinematic movements and practitioners. Coverage spans Hollywood blockbusters tied to studios such as Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and independent distributors like A24 and IFC Films, while international reportage surveys national cinemas of Japan, France, Italy, Iran, Brazil, South Korea, and India. Special features have analyzed canonical works like Citizen Kane, The Godfather, 8½, Tokyo Story, and Breathless, as well as genre studies of horror exemplified by The Exorcist and science fiction landmarks such as 2001: A Space Odyssey. The magazine also publishes interviews, festival dispatches, and portfolio essays on cinematographers, composers, and editors connected to figures like Roger Deakins, Ennio Morricone, and Thelma Schoonmaker.

Influence and Reception

Film Comment has played a shaping role in transatlantic film discourse, influencing programming at institutions such as the British Film Institute, MoMA, and numerous university film programs. Its critics have contributed to debates around auteurism, preservation debates involving archives like the Library of Congress and UCLA Film & Television Archive, and the canonization of filmmakers from Charlie Chaplin to Andrei Tarkovsky. Reception among peers in outlets such as Sight & Sound, Cahiers du Cinéma, and Positif has alternately aligned and contested its stances, while filmmakers and scholars cite its essays in monographs, retrospectives, and DVD/Blu-ray supplements produced by distributors including Criterion Collection and Kino Lorber.

Awards and Special Projects

The magazine sponsors and curates special series, retrospectives, and awards associated with Film at Lincoln Center and festivals including the New York Film Festival and the New Directors/New Films series. It has collaborated on curated programs honoring filmmakers such as Akira Kurosawa, Ingmar Bergman, Satyajit Ray, and Miloš Forman, and has produced themed issues devoted to topics like restoration—linking to institutions such as the National Film Preservation Board—and auteur studies. Periodic critics’ polls and end‑of‑year lists have highlighted achievements by actors, directors, and technical artists recognized later by bodies like the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Film Independent Spirit Awards.

Digital Presence and Archives

The magazine maintains an online edition featuring archives of back issues, digital essays, and multimedia content including video interviews and festival coverage tied to platforms like YouTube and collaborations with digital distributors and preservation projects at institutions such as the Library of Congress and the Museum of Modern Art. Its digital archives are used by scholars at universities including New York University, Columbia University, and University of California, Los Angeles for research, while social engagement connects with communities via platforms such as Twitter and Instagram. The archive ensures access to historic interviews and criticism on filmmakers ranging from Akira Kurosawa and Federico Fellini to contemporary auteurs like Bong Joon-ho and Chloé Zhao.

Category:Film magazines