She was a giant.
Pauline Kael, Provocative and Widely Imitated Film Critic, Dies at 82
Pauline Kael, who expressed her passion for movies in jaunty, jazzy prose as the longtime film critic for The New Yorker, died yesterday at her home in Great Barrington, Mass. She was 82.
Ms. Kael was probably the most influential film critic of her time. She reviewed movies for The New Yorker from 1968 to 1979, and again, after working briefly in the film industry, from 1980 until 1991. Earlier, she was a film critic for Life magazine in 1965, for McCall's in 1965 and 1966 and for The New Republic in 1966 and 1967.
Enchanting her fans and infuriating her foes, rarely dull and often sharp and funny, with an intellectualism that reflected her background as a student of philosophy, Ms. Kael was never anything but outspoken.