Emanuel Levy

Emanuel Levy[1] is an American film critic, author, and professor who has taught at Columbia University, New School for Social Research, Wellesley College, Arizona State University and UCLA Film School. Levy currently teaches in the department of cinema studies at New York University.

Not to be confused with Emmanuel Levy.

Career

Levy has taught at Columbia University, New School for Social Research, Wellesley College, Arizona State University and UCLA Film School. Levy currently teaches in the department of cinema studies at New York University.

He is the only critic in the U.S. who's a voting member of eight groups: Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA), Los Angeles Film Critics (LAFCA), Broadcast Film Critics (BFCA), National Society of Film Critics (NSFC), New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO), Gay and Lesbian Critics Association, Online Film Critics Society and the International Federation of Film Critics (Fipresci), Cinema for Peace.

His first book, The Habima—Israel's National Theater, 1917–1977, launched his writing career. His critical chronicle of the Oscar Awards, And the Winner Is was published in 1986. He has published updated editions of the book, including, Oscar Fever in 2000 and, All About Oscar in 2003.

Levy's biography of George Cukor, Master of Elegance (William Morrow, 1994), established that he was the best actor director in Hollywood, and that, contrary to popular notion, he was not fired from "Gone With the Wind" due to threatening demands from Clark Gable (who had no power), but rather due to conflicts with producer David O. Selznick, who interfered too much and did not like the footage that Cukor had shot.

Of his nine books, his magnum opus is considered to be Cinema Of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film, published in hardcover in 1999, and paperback in 2001. Praised for its scope and contextual analysis, the book is used as text in many film schools, and is the most widely read film book in NYU Press history.

Levy wrote the first comprehensive biography of Vincente Minnelli, Vincente Minnelli: Hollywood's Dark Dreamer in 2009, in which he explored the impact of the director's background and sexuality on the themes and styles of his movies, especially melodramas.

Levy has written for various newspapers and magazines, including American Film, The Los Angeles Times and The Financial Times. While in Arizona, he ran the ASU Film Society, and then the Scottsdale Independent Film Festival. Formerly a senior critic at Variety, and chief film critic of the UK publication Screen International, Levy established in 2003 a website of film reviews and essays, www.EmanuelLevy.com Cinema 24/7. As of 2020, the site contained over 24,000 film reviews, profiles, interviews and commentaries, written by Levy and a staff of writers.

Levy has served on the juries of 57 international film festivals, including Cannes, Venice, Locarno, Turino, Taormina, San Francisco, Hawii, Hamptons, Seattle, and Sundance.

Bibliography
  • The Habima, Israel's National Theater: A Study of Cultural Nationalism (1979). Winner of the 1980 National Jewish Book Award.
  • And the Winner Is: The History and Politics of the Oscar Awards (1987)
  • John Wayne: Prophet of the American Way of Life (1988)
  • Small-Town America in Film: The Decline and Fall of Community (1991)
  • George Cukor: Master of Elegance (1994)
  • Cinema of Outsiders: The Rise of American Independent Film (1999)
  • Citizen Sarris, American Film Critic: Essays in Honor of Andrew Sarris (2001)
  • Oscar Fever: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards (2001)
  • All About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards (2003)
  • Vincente Minnelli: Hollywood's Dark Dreamer (2009)
  • Gay Directors/Gay Films: Pedro Almodóvar, Terence Davies, Todd Haynes, Gus Van Sant, John Waters (Columbia University Press, hardcover 2015; paperback 2016).

References
  1. "Emanuel Levy". rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 2014-10-13.
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