Ten films highlighted in a 2024 article about Pauline Kael’s praise range from a Hollywood screwball comedy to European art cinema. The list is a later writer’s selection—not a definitive ranking published by Kael herself.
What this list represents
Luc Haasbroek’s article, published July 27, 2024, gathers ten films that Kael praised highly. Its numbered sequence is the article’s presentation, not a ranking authored by Kael. The titles and descriptions below reflect that secondary article; they are not substitutes for the films or Kael’s original reviews. Read the selection and its attributions.
The range is part of the appeal: crime drama, screwball comedy, American ensemble films, French cinema, and formally disruptive European work all appear. These are useful starting points for exploring the variety of films Kael championed, rather than a single genre or style.
The 10 films in the article
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Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese)
A crime drama centered on Charlie and Johnny Boy in New York’s Little Italy. Haasbroek’s article presents it as an example of filmmaking with a strongly personal voice and an emotionally charged style.
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His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks)
This screwball comedy moves at the speed of its newspaper-room banter, following editor Walter Burns and reporter Hildy Johnson. The article singles out Kael’s praise of Rosalind Russell’s performance.
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Last Tango in Paris (Bernardo Bertolucci)
The article describes Kael’s response as enthusiastic, while also acknowledging that the film’s sexual content and production context have drawn criticism. That controversy matters when considering the praise: it should not be mistaken for an uncomplicated account of the film or its reception.
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The Long Goodbye (Robert Altman)
Altman gives Philip Marlowe an offbeat 1970s reworking. The article points to Kael’s appreciation of the film’s shifts in tone and striking imagery.
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Melvin and Howard (Jonathan Demme)
This comedy-drama draws on Melvin Dummar’s claim that he encountered Howard Hughes. Haasbroek describes Kael’s admiration for its sympathetic, comic imagination.
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Nashville (Robert Altman)
An ensemble portrait that brings together American life, country music, celebrity, and politics. The article emphasizes Kael’s account of the experience of watching the film.
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The Story of Adele H. (François Truffaut)
Isabelle Adjani plays Adele Hugo, whose pursuit of British officer Albert Pinson becomes a study of passion and obsession. The article highlights Adjani’s performance.
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The Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir)
Set at a country estate, Renoir’s film entwines romantic intrigues with a sharp view of class relations. The article attributes to Kael praise for its satirical comedy and influence.
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Weekend (Jean-Luc Godard)
A surreal, disruptive critique of consumer society. Haasbroek’s article presents Kael as making a particularly emphatic comparison between it and other European art films.
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The Fury (Brian De Palma)
This supernatural thriller follows a kidnapped son with telekinetic abilities. The article attributes to Kael praise for the film’s visual force and John Williams’s score.
How to choose where to start
The selections suit different moods and interests. For a classic Hollywood comedy, try His Girl Friday; for a crime story shaped by a director’s personal style, start with Mean Streets. Viewers drawn to ensemble portraits of American culture can consider Nashville, while those seeking formally experimental European cinema might begin with Weekend or The Rules of the Game. These are viewing suggestions based on the films’ descriptions, not a ranking by Kael.
Where to read Kael’s criticism
For readers who want to go beyond a later compilation, The Age of Movies: Selected Writings of Pauline Kael is a published collection of her criticism. See the collection. The exact wording and context of quotations attributed to Kael in Haasbroek’s article should be checked against her original reviews or collected writing; those original review contexts are not established here.
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