When Sarris would speak and take questions, somebody (often me) would inevitably ask him if he had changed his mind, in any headline-making ways, about the director rankings in "The American Cinema."
Sarris would ramble on in response, filibustering, never providing any good information. In print, though, he said more.
In 1978, Sarris wrote this: "The three leading contenders at the moment (for inclusion in the Pantheon) are Frank Capra, Preston Sturges, and Billy Wilder. Movie by movie, they have given me about as much pleasure and emotional edification and, yes, unadulterated laughter as anyone. . . Right behind Capra, Sturges, and Wilder are Leo McCarey, King Vidor, and Raoul Walsh."
Ten years later, in 1988, Sarris wrote this: "I will include my personal Pantheon to include Leo McCarey, Preston Sturges, and Billy Wilder." (Note: No Capra.)
In the last years of Wilder's life, Sarris routinely referred to him as "the greatest living director."
Others will tell you that Sarris has elevated John Huston, Fred Zinnemann, and others to the Pantheon. No, he hasn't. In his 1987 obit for John Huston, Sarris wrote that "I can now make a much stronger case for Huston than I could back in the salad days of THE AMERICAN CINEMA. It took me a long time to figure out how he had elevated a shrug into a style."
That's nice, but Sarris never said that Huston belonged in the Pantheon, nor that he should be removed from "Less Than Meets the Eye." He didn't do it with Zinnemann either, or with Wyler or anybody else.
When Sarris would speak and take questions, somebody (often me) would inevitably ask him if he had changed his mind, in any headline-making ways, about the director rankings in "The American Cinema."
Sarris would ramble on in response, filibustering, never providing any good information. In print, though, he said more.
In 1978, Sarris wrote this: "The three leading contenders at the moment (for inclusion in the Pantheon) are Frank Capra, Preston Sturges, and Billy Wilder. Movie by movie, they have given me about as much pleasure and emotional edification and, yes, unadulterated laughter as anyone. . . Right behind Capra, Sturges, and Wilder are Leo McCarey, King Vidor, and Raoul Walsh."
Ten years later, in 1988, Sarris wrote this: "I will include my personal Pantheon to include Leo McCarey, Preston Sturges, and Billy Wilder." (Note: No Capra.)
In the last years of Wilder's life, Sarris routinely referred to him as "the greatest living director."
Others will tell you that Sarris has elevated John Huston, Fred Zinnemann, and others to the Pantheon. No, he hasn't. In his 1987 obit for John Huston, Sarris wrote that "I can now make a much stronger case for Huston than I could back in the salad days of THE AMERICAN CINEMA. It took me a long time to figure out how he had elevated a shrug into a style."
That's nice, but Sarris never said that Huston belonged in the Pantheon, nor that he should be removed from "Less Than Meets the Eye." He didn't do it with Zinnemann either, or with Wyler or anybody else.