Manohla Dargis
American film critic
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Manohla June Dargis (/məˈnoʊlə ˈdɑːrɡɪs/ mə-NOH-lə DAR-ghiss)[1] is an American film critic. She is the chief film critic for The New York Times.[2] She is a five-time finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.
Manohla Dargis | |
|---|---|
| Born | Manohla June Dargis |
| Education | State University of New York, Purchase (BA) New York University (MA) |
| Occupation | Film critic |
| Spouse |
Lou Amdur (m. 1994) |
Career
Before being a film critic for The New York Times, Dargis was a chief film critic for the Los Angeles Times, the film editor at the LA Weekly, and a film critic at The Village Voice, where she had two columns on avant-garde cinema ("CounterCurrents" and "Shock Corridor"). Her work has been included in a number of books, including Women and Film: A Sight and Sound Reader and American Movie Critics: An Anthology from the Silents Until Now, published by the Library of America. She wrote a monograph on Curtis Hanson's film L.A. Confidential for the British Film Institute and served as the president and vice-president of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.[citation needed]
In 2012, Dargis received the Nelson A. Rockefeller Award from Purchase College; the award is, according to the college, "presented to individuals who have distinguished themselves through their contributions to the arts."[3] She was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism in 2013,[4] 2015,[5] 2016,[6] 2018,[7] and 2019.[8]
Preferences
Favorites
Dargis participated in the 2012 Sight & Sound critics' poll,[9] where she listed her 10 favorite films:
- Au hasard Balthazar (France, 1966)
- Barry Lyndon (USA, 1975)
- Flowers of Shanghai (Taiwan, 1998)
- The Flowers of St. Francis (Italy, 1950)
- The Godfather Part II (USA, 1974)
- Little Stabs at Happiness (USA, 1959-1963)
- Masculin Féminin (France, 1966)
- There Will Be Blood (USA, 2007)
- Touch of Evil (USA, 1958)
- The Wizard of Oz (USA, 1939)
For the 2022 edition of the Sight & Sound poll[10] Dargis' ballot included:
- Au hasard Balthazar (France, 1966)
- The Gleaners and I (France, 2000)
- Flowers of Shanghai (Taiwan, 1998)
- Tokyo Story (Japan, 1953)
- The Godfather Part II (USA, 1974)
- Little Stabs at Happiness (USA, 1959-1963)
- Killer of Sheep (USA, 1977)
- There Will Be Blood (USA, 2007)
- All My Life (USA, 1966)
- Black Girl (Senegal, 1965)
Best of the Year
- 2004 – Million Dollar Baby[11]
- 2005 – A History of Violence[12]
- 2006 – Army of Shadows[13]
- 2007 – There Will Be Blood
- 2008 – Happy-Go-Lucky
- 2015 – (tie) The Assassin; Mad Max: Fury Road[14]
- 2016 – No Home Movie [15]
- 2017 – Dunkirk[16]
- 2018 – Roma[17]
- 2019 – Pain and Glory[18]
- 2020 – Martin Eden[19]
- 2021 – Drive My Car[20]
- 2022 – EO[21]
- 2023 – Killers of the Flower Moon[22]
- 2024 – All We Imagine as Light[23]
- 2025 – Sinners[24]
Personal life
Dargis grew up in Manhattan's East Village, demonstrating an early love of film through regular attendance at St. Mark's Cinema and Theatre 80.[2] She graduated from Hunter College High School and received her BA in literature from State University of New York at Purchase in January 1985.[25][26] She received a master of arts in cinema studies in 1988 from the New York University Graduate School of Arts and Science. In 2007 she returned to graduate school to obtain a Ph.D. in cinema studies. Dargis married wine expert Lou Amdur in 1994. They live in Los Angeles.[27]