Showmanship

The recently published fourth edition of David Thomson's seminal The New Biographical Dictionary of Film reminds us that he is an uncommon critic. In last November's Atlantic Monthly, Benjamin Schwarz described Thomson as "probably the greatest living film critic and historian," who "writes the most fun and enthralling prose about the movies since Pauline Kael," whose judgments "can be exasperatingly wrong." That seems about right. Most cineastes can fill a commonplace book with Thomson lines they wish they'd written, and can't soon forget the many for which they hate him.

He regularly contributes to a variety of periodicals in England and the United States -- the New York Times, Salon, The Independent, The New Republic, and Movieline, among others. He is the author of 16 other books, many about movie people, and about movies and people; he's also interested in the American penchant for exploring frontiers of landscape and self, a myth in which he also participates.

Thomson lives with his second wife, the photographer Lucy Gray, and their two young sons, Nicholas and Zachary. We spoke recently in their book-lined San Francisco home, which is just around the corner from a small cinema.

PopMatters: Can you tell me about your early life, your formative experiences of being a reader and a viewer?

David Thomson: I was raised in South London. I'm sure I went to movies before I could read. My parents discovered that I loved movies. If you wanted to deal with me, you could take me to a movie. The Olivier Henry V was important to me. A lot of kids were taken to see it after the war. It was regarded as a standard of national pride. But generally, I saw children's films. I>Lassie, and that sort. Much more child-appropriate films. I think for years, I had read pretty standard children's books. My parents pumped a few classics into me, like Treasure Island. Robert Scott's journal of his travels had particular fascination, because his house was nearby. The first author beyond a strictly children's author I discovered was Conan Doyle. I'd say I was at first not very discriminating. I just read for the pleasure of it. My family helped me read newspapers too, from a young age, and I'm glad of that! . I believe it's very important. I read a lot. I was an only child so I had a lot of time to myself. My early friends were more interested in sports -- reading wasn't a shared experience. But in high school, I found reading and move-going companions. I knew that the world of film and the world of books were important to me. I belong to both of them, and I feel torn because of that.

PM: You've said that your interest in films as a youngster may have led you astray from a higher calling. Can you elaborate?

DT: I had been to a school [the Dulwich College preparatory academy] that regularly sent people to Oxford and Cambridge. I did indeed win a place at Oxford to read history. But I had become increasingly disenchanted with academic life. Well, I heard about a nearby film school [the London School of Film Technique], and that appealed to me. I was warned that this particular college was not accredited; my schoolteachers were against this. But I finally opted to go to film school, and consequently was never awarded the university degree.

PM: So has your professional life turned out to be much different from the one you might have expected?

DT: Thank God. Always. I think all I've learned is that you don't know what you're going to do, and thank God that's true. I tried to get into the film business in Britain at a very bad time. Instead, I got a job as a proofreader for Penguin, then a staff job there, and spent seven years in publishing. I learned so much about books and writing. Years later, an American college opened up in England, and that led to me coming to America. When I left England, I felt, "Well, you're off in the world now." Tiny changes can have enormous importance. There are people who settle in life very early. I'm very happy living here in the way we're living, but I think I could be as happy living elsewhere.

PM: Who are your models, your mentors?

DT: As a teenager, I loved reading American literature. I realize now that it was also out of a wish to know more about America. I would read Hemingway, Faulkner, Fitzgerald, with great eagerness. Later it was Gore Vidal, Mailer, Joan Didion. My favorite writer of all time is probably Nabokov. A very dangerous writer to adore -- you go through a phase when your head is so full of his style that there's no room for your own. With the filmmakers, it's Renoir, Hawks, Godard. I find their worldviews very interesting.