From a legendary film critic and movie fan extraordinaire the highlights reel of a life spent at the movies Richard Schickel has seen by his own estimate more than twenty thousand films He has been a reviewer since long for Time magazine has written almost forty books on the subject and has produced and directed thirty documentaries He has counted as personal friends many of the leading filmmakers of the twentieth century Call it ldquoobsessionrdquo ldquolunacyrdquo or a ldquogrand passionrdquo Schickel grants all three but therersquos simply no one who knows film better Now Schickel gives us the ultimate summing up a history of film as hersquos seenmdashand livedmdashit a tour of his favorites a master class in what makes a film soar or flop Schickelrsquos no-holds-barred often raucously irreverent opinions can range from panning classics to spotlighting forgotten treasures to defending the art of ldquopopularrdquo genres such as horror westerns screwball comedy and noir Beyond his picks and pans Schickel offers a wealth of behind-the-scenes anecdotes a love note from Marlene Dietrich Frank Caprarsquos unlikely path to success Annie Hallrsquos original title career studies of our greatest performers and auteurs and candidly intimate glimpses of his own life in pictures an evening with Greta Garbo John Fordrsquos advice on directing a ldquodust-uprdquo in defense of Monty Python Above all Schickel gives us a collection of the true gems the immortal moments that have stuck with him over a lifetime of movie watchingmdashthe transcendent scenes characters lines shots scores even lighting cues that offer each in their way pure ldquomovie magicrdquo Buster Keaton His Girl Friday Ingrid Bergman Taxi Driver Star Wars Stanley Kubrick Pulp FictionmdashSchickel reveals all the films and the forces behind them that have kept him coming back for more An essential addition to any cinephilersquos library Keepers is the curation of a brilliant connoisseur and critic but more than that itrsquos a love letter to film from one of its most dedicated devotees.
