Film critic Richard Schickel (1933-2017) in conversation with Richard Wolinsky, recorded in 2003.
Richard Schickel, who died on February 18, 2017 at the age of 84, spent forty-five years as film critic for Time Magazine. During his lifetime he wrote 36 books, most of them about film, and produced and directed thirty-four documentaries, all about film.
This interview was recorded while he was publicizing his book, ““Good Morning Mr. Zip Zip Zip: Movies, Memory and World War II.” In the book he discusses his early love of movies, and more importantly, the movies as propaganda element during World War II. The interview occurred during the height of the invasion of Iraq, and of course that element came into play.
Fourteen years after this interview, a musical version of “Monsoon Wedding” directed by Mira Nair played to large crowds at Berkeley Rep. Of the two films to look out for, both Veronica Guerin and Mystic River were listed in his top ten of that year While Veronica Guerin never made a mark, Mystic River was nominated for six Oscars including best picture, and won two,, best actor for Sean Penn and best supporting actor for Tim Robbins. He continued to write. His final book, published in 2015, was Keepers: The Greatest Films, and Personal Favorites of a Moviegoing Lifetime. He retired from Time Magazine in 2010. His final book, Keepers: The Greatest Films, and personal favorites of a movie-going career, was published in 2015.
Excerpts from this interview aired on KPFA’s Arts-Waves program.