The review of the Criterion DVD of Rushmore I posted yesterday mentioned a NY Times article written by Wes Anderson about him screening Rushmore for legendary film critic Pauline Kael. The original is behind the Times paywall, but a Clusterflock commenter posted a copy. After reading it, I don't get the hostility that other film critics directed at Anderson because of it.
Thoughtful review of the Criterion version of Rushmore. "Anderson also serves as a convenient target for people who don't like people who like movies by Wes Anderson. [...] When you get past the extraneous bullshit surrounding Anderson's films, the crux of disagreements about him reminds me of disagreements over David Foster Wallace (or Dave Eggers, or Thomas Pynchon, or even Vladimir Nabokov). It comes down to this: Are Anderson's stylistic tricks and distracting plot elements smoke and mirrors, or do they bring something unique to the stories he's telling? In the case of Rushmore, I think the answer has to be the latter." I get the feeling you could learn a lot about film by reading Matthew's reviews of the Criterion Collection.
