Ready for Their Close-Up

Dave Kehr

The DVD columnist for The New York Times considers why modern comedy has for the most part abandoned the long shot.

Critic's Corner

An open letter from prominent critics to Guild members about the craft of directing from their point of view.

Andrew Sarris
Spring 2012
Andrew Sarris 1928-2012

Film critic Andrew Sarris expanded the appreciation of movies by advocating the “auteur theory,” which holds that a director’s voice is central to great filmmaking. Reposted here is an article he wrote for DGA Quarterly in 2006.

Fall 2010
Claudia Puig

Why the recent decline in film critics isn’t necessarily a good thing for directors.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Summer 2010
Nigel Andrews

The film critic for The Financial Times applauds minimalism.

Summer 2009
Dave Kehr

The DVD columnist for The New York Times considers why modern comedy has for the most part abandoned the long shot.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Spring 2010
Terrence Rafferty

More and more new devices are speeding the movement of content from your computer to your TV set. Has the wave of the future finally arrived?

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Winter 2010
Scott Foundas

The former critic for LA Weekly pays tribute to the French New Wave and wonders what happened to that spirit in American filmmaking.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Fall 2009
Jeannette Catsoulis

A reviewer for The New York Times wonders what's missing from today's romantic comedies from a woman's perspective.

Spring 2009
Brian Lowry

The TV critic for Variety reflects on why TV series directors don't get the credit they deserve-and why they should.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Winter 2009
Stephanie Zacharek

The critic for Salon.com wonders why there's so much camera shaking going on.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Fall 2008
John Anderson

A veteran critic considers how screen comedy has changed since the days of Preston Sturges-and not for the better.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Summer 2008
Owen Gleiberman

The reviewer for Entertainment Weekly muses about the relationship between directors and critics.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Spring 2008
Ty Burr

For a film to be critically successful, the ending doesn't have to necessarily be realistic and downbeat. It just has to be right for the material.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Winter 2007/2008
Leonard Maltin

The popular critic and author wonders if movies are getting too long.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Summer 2007
Peter Rainer

The critic for the Christian Science Monitor wonders why directors don't take their time to tell a story anymore.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Spring 2007
Lisa Schwarzbaum

The critic for Entertainment Weekly offers some helpful hints on how the species thinks.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Winter 2006
Stanley Kauffmann

The longtime critic for the New Republic traces how the history of film criticism parallels the history of the Guild.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Fall 2006
Carrie Rickey

A critic wonders if movies change - or we do.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Summer 2006
David Ansen

Here are a few things directors should not do anymore.

DGA Quarterly Magazine Critics Corner
Fall 2005
Kenneth Turan

The Los Angeles Times film critic suggests why directors shouldn't read their own reviews.