A O Scott is the lead film reviewer for the New York Times. He posts regular video reviews of his “Critic’s Picks” on the NYT site, which are also available on iTunes.
Below are the 165+ that are currently available. Watch 3 – 4 of them that are about films you know to see how this kind of thing works.
Assignment? Make one. It can either have a thesis (cf., Mr. Fischer’s video on Casablanca) or it can just advocate for your film — what about the film gives you pleasure. You can bounce off reviews/comments either explicitly or implicitly if you want. You can be your own talking head/voiceover or “hire” somebody who looks better/talks better than you think you do.
1
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Rules of the Game’
A. O. Scott looks back at Jean Renoir’s 1939 satire of French society.
1/2/12
2
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Thin Red Line’
A. O. Scott looks at the relationship between humans and the natural world in Terrence Malick’s war drama.
12/24/11
3
Critics’ Picks: ‘Pulp Fiction’
A. O. Scott looks at structure and craft in Quentin Tarantino’s seminal film.
12/11/11
4
Critics’ Picks: The Manchurian CandidateA. O. Scott discusses paranoia in John Frankenheimer’s political thriller.
12/4/11
5
Critics’ Picks: ‘Hannah and Her Sisters’
A. O. Scott looks back at Woody Allen’s film about family, renewal, and the resilience of the human heart.
11/20/11
6
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Public Enemy’
A. O. Scott looks back at the 1931 gangster classic starring James Cagney.
11/13/11
7
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Wild Bunch’
A. O. Scott looks at Sam Peckinpah’s epic western.
11/6/11
8
Critics’ Picks: ‘Detour’A. O. Scott reviews the low-budget 1945 film noir “Detour,” directed by Edgar G. Ulmer.
10/30/11
9
Critics’ Picks: ’25th Hour’
A. O. Scott looks back at Spike Lee’s drama about a man preparing to go to prison.
10/23/11
10
Critics’ Picks: ‘Au Hasard Balthazar’
A. O. Scott looks back at Robert Bresson’s portrait of suffering and grace.
10/16/11
11
Critics’ Picks: Man With a Movie Camera
A. O. Scott looks back at Dziga Vertov’s 1929 film.
10/2/11
12
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Gambler’
A. O. Scott discusses risk in the 1974 film starring James Caan, Paul Sorvino and Lauren Hutton.
9/25/11
13
Critics’ Picks: ‘A Face in the Crowd’
A. O. Scott examines the creation of a media sensation in Elia Kazan’s film.
9/18/11
14
Critics’ Picks: ‘Goodfellas’
A. O. Scott looks back at Martin Scorsese’s ultra-violent mob film from 1990.
9/11/11
15
Critics’ Picks: ‘Black Girl’
A. O. Scott looks at Ousmane Sembene’s film about a Senegalese maid working in a French home.
9/4/11
16
Critics’ Picks: ‘In a Lonely Place’
A. O. Scott looks back at Nicholas Ray’s 1950 film.
8/28/11
17
Critics’ Picks: ‘Dirty Harry’
A. O. Scott looks at the themes of justice and vengeance in the 1971 film starring Clint Eastwood.
8/14/11
18
Critics’ Picks: ‘MASH’
A. O. Scott looks back at Robert Altman’s irreverent film about an army hospital near the front lines in the Korean War.
8/7/11
19
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
A. O. Scott looks back at the 1956 paranoid fantasy.
7/31/11
20
Critics’ Picks: ‘Back to the Future’
A. O. Scott explores the existential predicaments that arise in Robert Zemeckis’s 1985 time-travel adventure.
7/24/11
21
Critics’ Picks: ‘This is Spinal Tap’
A. O. Scott looks back at Rob Reiner’s 1984 mockumentary.
7/18/11
22
Critics’ Picks: Diabolique
A. O. Scott looks back at the 1955 French thriller where appearances can be deceiving.
7/10/11
23
Critics’ Picks: ‘Lost in America’
A. O. Scott looks back at Albert Brooks’s 1985 film about dropping out and hitting the road.
7/2/11
24
Critics’ Picks: ‘Sweet Smell of Success’
A. O. Scott looks at Alexander Mackendrick’s 1957 film starring Burt Lancaster as a powerful gossip columnist and Tony Curtis as an ambitious press agent.
6/26/11
25
Critics’ Picks: ‘Rome, Open City’
A. O. Scott looks back at Roberto Rossellini’s film about the struggle against oppression.
6/19/11
26
Critics’ Picks: ‘Un Chien Andalou’
A. O. Scott looks back at Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali’s short film.
6/12/11
27
Critics’ Picks: ‘Lawrence of Arabia’
A. O. Scott looks back at David Lean’s epic of revolution in the Middle East.
6/5/11
28
Critics’ Picks: ‘Withnail and I’
A. O. Scott examines the aesthetics of failure in Bruce Robinson’s film about two young actors in 1969 London.
5/22/11
29
Critics’ Picks: ‘Umbrellas of Cherbourg’
A. O. Scott looks back at Jacques Demy’s 1964 musical with Catherine Deneuve.
5/15/11
30
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
A. O. Scott discusses how truth and justice are sacrificed as order is brought to a lawless land in John Ford’s 1962 film.
5/8/11
31
Critics’ Picks: 12:08 East of Bucharest
A. O. Scott discusses Corneliu Porumboiu’s film about revolution and memory.
5/1/11
32
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Last Picture Show’
A. O. Scott looks back at Peter Bogdanovich’s film about the end of an era in a small Texas town.
4/24/11
33
Critics’ Picks: ‘South Park’
A. O. Scott discusses the satire of the 1999 animated film “South Park: Bigger, Longer, Uncut.”
4/18/11
34
Critics’ Picks: ‘Passion of Joan of Arc’
A. O. Scott examines the currents of emotion in Carl Theodor Dreyer’s 1928 film.
4/10/11
35
Critics’ Picks: ‘The French Connection’
A. O. Scott looks back at William Friedkin’s 1971 drama starring Gene Hackman.
4/3/11
36
Critics’ Picks: ‘Akira’
A. O. Scott discusses the anime classic and the obsession with disaster in Japanese pop culture.
3/27/11
37
Critics’ Picks: ‘Night of the Hunter’
A. O. Scott looks back at Charles Laughton’s film about a murderous Southern minister played by Robert Mitchum.
3/20/11
38
Citizen Kane
A. O. Scott examines the themes of power and isolation in Orson Welles’s 1941 film about a newspaper baron.
3/13/11
39
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Warriors’
A. O. Scott looks back at Walter Hill’s 1979 film about a New York City gang fighting their way home.
3/6/11
40
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Red Shoes’
A. O. Scott looks back at Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s film about artistic obsession.
2/27/11
41
Critics’ Picks: ‘Donnie Brasco’
A. O. Scott discusses themes of loyalty and betrayal in Mike Newell’s 1997 film.
2/20/11
42
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
A. O. Scott looks back at Michel Gondry and Charlie Kaufman’s film about loss, memory and love.
2/14/11
43
Critics’ Picks: ‘Tootsie’
A. O. Scott looks back at Sydney Pollack’s 1982 comedy about show business and sexual identity.
2/8/11
44
Critics’ Picks: ‘Solaris’
A. O. Scott looks back at Andrei Tarkovsky’s film about space and consciousness, memory and loss.
1/31/11
45
Critics’ Picks: ‘Billy Liar’
A. O. Scott looks back at John Schlesinger’s film about an inveterate daydreamer.
1/24/11
46
Critics’ Picks: ‘Rosemary’s Baby’
A. O. Scott looks back at a movie probing themes of paranoia, persecution and motherhood.
1/17/11
47
Critics’ Picks: ‘East of Eden’
A. O. Scott looks back at Elia Kazan’s 1955 film adaptation of John Steinbeck’s novel.
1/10/11
48
The Squid and the Whale
A. O. Scott looks at Noah Baumbach’s family drama set in Brooklyn in the 1980s.
1/3/11
49
Critics’ Picks: ‘Waking Life’
A. O. Scott reviews Richard Linklater’s unclassifiable 2001 cartoon philosophy seminar.
12/27/10
50
The Shop Around the Corner
A. O. Scott looks back at the holiday classic starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan.
12/20/10
51
Critics’ Picks: ‘Top Hat’
A. O. Scott looks back at the classic Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers musical.
12/6/10
52
Critics’ Picks: ‘Point Blank’
A. O. Scott looks back at John Boorman’s revenge film about the fate of the individual in the corporate world.
11/29/10
53
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Ice Storm’
A. O. Scott revisits Ang Lee’s period film about the collapse of moral authority in a wealthy New York City suburb.
11/22/10
54
Critics’ Picks: ‘The General’
A. O. Scott looks back at Buster Keaton’s 1927 silent comedy “The General.”
11/15/10
55
Critics’ Picks: ‘American Psycho’
A. O. Scott looks at Mary Harron’s film adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel about a Wall Street serial killer.
11/8/10
56
Chinese Animation
The Chinese government and investors are pouring money for the first time into the animation and film industry, causing a radical transformation in China’s entertainment landscape.
11/7/10
57
Critics’ Picks: ‘Please Vote for Me’
A. O. Scott reviews the 2007 documentary about the election of a third-grade class monitor at a school in Wuhan, China.
11/1/10
58
Critics’ Picks: ‘A Perfect World’
A. O. Scott looks back at Clint Eastwood’s 1993 film in which he co-stars with Kevin Costner.
10/25/10
59
Critics’ Picks: ‘L’Avventura’
A. O. Scott looks at Michelangelo Antonioni’s 1960 film about beauty, longing and emptiness.
10/18/10
60
Critics’ Picks: ‘Walkabout’
A. O. Scott looks back at Nicolas Roeg’s film about the persistent dream of innocence.
10/11/10
61
Critics’ Picks: Howards End
A. O. Scott reviews James Ivory and Ismail Merchant’s adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel starring Emma Thompson and Anthony Hopkins.
10/4/10
62
Critics’ Picks: ‘A Shot in the Dark’
A. O. Scott looks back at Blake Edwards’s 1964 comedy, with Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau.
9/27/10
63
Critics’ Picks: ‘Tokyo Story’
A. O. Scott looks back at Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story, a film about growing up and growing old.
9/20/10
64
‘Donnie Darko’
A. O. Scott reviews Richard Kelly’s cult film from 2001, starring Jake Gyllenhaal as the title character.
9/13/10
65
Critics’ Picks: ‘Melvin and Howard’
A. O. Scott looks back at “Melvin and Howard,” the strange and possibly true story of Howard Hughes and his will.
9/6/10
66
Critics’ Picks: ‘Charade’
A. O. Scott looks back at the 1963 caper film starring Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn and Walter Matthau.
8/30/10
67
Critics’ Picks: ‘Broadway Danny Rose’
A. O. Scott looks at Woody Allen’s nostalgic meditation on small-time show business in New York City.
8/15/10
68
‘Fast, Cheap and Out of Control’
A. O. Scott looks back at Errol Morris’s innovative 1997 documentary.
8/9/10
69
Critics’ Picks: ‘Foreign Correspondent’
A. O. Scott discusses Alfred Hitchcock’s “Foreign Correspondent,” an unusual celebration of America’s lack of seriousness.
8/2/10
70
Critics’ Picks: ‘Lolita’
A. O. Scott looks back at Stanley Kubrick’s 1962 film adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov’s startling 1955 novel.
7/26/10
71
Critics’ Picks: ‘Contempt’
A. O. Scott looks back at Jean-Luc Godard’s avant-garde film.
7/19/10
72
Critics’ Picks: ‘Rio Bravo’
A. O. Scott basks in the pleasures of taking it easy with Howard Hawks’s 1959 Western.
7/12/10
73
Critics’ Picks: ‘Dead Man’
A. O. Scott looks back at “Dead Man,” Jim Jarmusch’s hallucinatory western.
7/5/10
74
Critics’ Picks: ‘Blue Velvet’A. O. Scott reviews David Lynch’s unconventional mystery film from 1986.
6/27/10
75
Critics’ Picks: ‘Dazed and Confused’
A. O. Scott looks back at Richard Linklater’s film about the last day of school in 1976.
6/21/10
76
Critics’ Picks: ‘Touch of Evil’
A. O. Scott looks back at Orson Welles’s thriller set on the border between Mexico and the United States.
6/14/10
77
Critics’ Picks: ‘Carrie’A. O. Scott reviews Brian De Palma’s 1976 film based on Stephen King’s 1974 novel.
6/7/10
78
Critics’ Picks: ‘Monsoon Wedding’
As wedding season begins, A. O. Scott reviews Mira Nair’s 2001 film.
5/31/10
79
Critics’ Picks: ‘Hope and Glory’
A. O. Scott on John Boorman’s film about a family in London at the start of World War II.
5/25/10
80
‘In the Name of the Father’
A. O. Scott looks at Jim Sheridan’s 1993 drama about terrorism and injustice.
5/17/10
81
Critics’ Picks: ‘Grand Illusion’
A. O. Scott looks back at Jean Renoir’s World War I film about European unity and the dream of a world beyond simple categories.
5/10/10
82
The Grand Illusion
A. O. Scott reviews Jean Renoir’s World War I film about European unity and the dream of a world beyond simple categories.
5/10/10
83
Critics’ Picks: ‘High and Low’
A. O. Scott looks back at Akira Kurosawa’s film about a kidnapping in postwar Japan.
5/3/10
84
Critics’ Pick: ‘High and Low’
A. O. Scott looks back at Akira Kurosawa’s film about a kidnapping in post-war Japan.
5/3/10
85
Critics’ Picks: ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’
A. O. Scott takes a look back at the 1992 film adapted from David Mamet’s play about the real estate world’s culture of unfettered selling.
4/26/10
86
Critics’ Picks: ‘Brazil’
A. O. Scott looks back at Terry Gilliam’s sprawling dystopian science fiction film about repression.
4/15/10
87
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Breakfast Club’
A. O. Scott revisits John Hughes’s ode to adolescence.
4/12/10
88
‘The Breakfast Club’
A. O. Scott revisits John Hughes’ ode to adolescence.
4/12/10
89
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Seventh Seal’
A. O. Scott looks back at Ingmar Bergman’s meditation on death and life.
4/5/10
90
Critics’ Picks: ‘Singin’ in the Rain’
A. O. Scott looks back at the 1952 musical.
3/29/10
91
Singin’ in the Rain
A. O. Scott reviews the vivacious American classic.
3/29/10
92
Critics’ Picks: ‘Bringing Up Baby’
A. O. Scott looks back at Howard Hawks’s 1938 screwball comedy “Bringing Up Baby.”
3/22/10
93
Critics’ Pick: ‘Friends of Eddie Coyle’
A. O. Scott looks at Peter Yates’s film starring Robert Mitchum as a small-time gun dealer.
3/15/10
94
Critics’ Picks: ‘Aliens’
A. O. Scott looks back at James Cameron’s 1986 film about a group of Marines landing on a planet infested with hostile alien creatures.
3/8/10
95
Critics’ Picks: ‘Sunset Boulevard’
A. O. Scott looks back at Billy Wilder’s classic meditation on celebrity and Hollywood.
3/1/10
96
Critics’ Picks: ‘Chinatown’
A. O. Scott looks back at Roman Polanski’s meditation on evil.
2/22/10
97
Critics’ Picks: ‘Jules and Jim’
A. O. Scott looks at François Truffaut’s meditation on love, friendship, and sexualtiy.
2/15/10
98
Critics’ Pick: ‘My Son the Fanatic’
A. O. Scott looks back at this 1997 film about a young British man’s journey from assimilation to radical Islam.
2/8/10
99
Critics’ Picks: ‘Groundhog Day’
A. O. Scott revisits Harold Ramis’s existential comedy starring Bill Murray.
2/1/10
100
Critics’ Picks: ‘Network’
A. O. Scott looks at Sidney Lumet’s 1976 satire.
1/25/10
101
Watching “Serpico” With Serpico
Four decades after getting shot in a drug bust and testifying against police corruption, retired Detective Frank Serpico is living in upstate New York and still trying to heal.
1/22/10
102
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Player’
A. O. Scott assesses Robert Altman’s 1992 take on Hollywood film culture, “The Player.”
1/18/10
103
‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’
A. O. Scott takes a look at a very unusual relationship at the heart of Mike Nichols’s 1966 film, adapted from Edward Albee’s Broadway play.
1/11/10
104
Critics’ Picks: ‘M’
A. O. Scott reviews Fritz Lang’s “M,” about a serial killer and the city he terrorizes.
1/4/10
105
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Apostle’
A. O. Scott looks at “The Apostle,” Robert Duvall’s story of a preacher’s sins and redemption.
12/28/09
106
Critics’ Picks: ‘Miracle’
A. O. Scott reviews “The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek,” Preston Sturges’ irreverent World War II-era comedy.
12/21/09
107
Critics’ Picks: ‘Wings of Desire’
A. O. Scott reviews the Wim Wenders film “Wings of Desire,” a meditation on the nature of time and intimacy.
12/14/09
108
Critics’ Picks: ‘Duck Soup’
A. O. Scott reviews the 1933 Marx brothers comedy “Duck Soup.”
12/7/09
109
Critics’ Picks: ‘La Jetee’
A. O. Scott looks at Chris Marker’s 28-minute rumination on time, love and the apocalypse.
11/30/09
110
Critics’ Picks: ‘Aguirre: Wrath of God’
A. O. Scott reviews Werner Herzog’s 1972 film about the brutality and indifference of nature.
11/23/09
111
Critics’ Picks: ‘Blazing Saddles’
A. O. Scott reviews Mel Brooks’ 1974 film, which satirizes race relations both in Hollywood westerns and in American culture.
11/16/09
112
Screen Test: Megan Fox
Lynn Hirschberg talks to Megan Fox about swimming, the X-Men and her cats.
11/11/09
113
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Red Balloon’
A. O. Scott reviews the classic 1956 short film directed by Albert Lamorisse.
11/9/09
114
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Verdict’
A. O. Scott reviews Sidney Lumet’s film about an alcoholic trial lawyer on a medical malpractice case.
11/2/09
115
Critics’ Picks: ‘Dead of Night’
A. O. Scott reviews “Dead of Night,” an obscure compendium horror film from Britain’s post-war Ealing Studios.
10/26/09
116
Critics’ Picks: ‘La Dolce Vita’
A. O. Scott reviews one of his favorite movies of all time, Federico Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita.”
10/18/09
117
Critics’ Picks: ‘Vertigo’
A. O. Scott revisits Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 vertigo-inducing masterpiece.
10/12/09
118
Critics’ Picks: ‘Three Kings’
A. O. Scott discusses David O. Russell’s war movie “Three Kings” and the fundamental question it poses about the nature of America’s role in the world.
10/5/09
119
Critics’ Picks: ‘The King of Comedy’
A. O. Scott Reviews Martin Scorsese’s 1983 film about the cult of celebrity.
9/27/09
120
Critics’ Picks: ‘Jerry Maguire’
A. O. Scott reviews “Jerry Maguire,” Cameron Crowe’s 1996 film about a shallow sports agent’s psychological breakdown.
9/21/09
121
Critics’ Picks: ‘Safe’
A. O. Scott reviews Todd Haynes’ 1995 film about a California woman’s descent into either illness or madness.
9/14/09
122
Critics’ Picks: ‘All About My Mother’
A. O. Scott reviews Pedro Almodovar’s 1999 Academy Award-winning film.
9/7/09
123
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Big Lebowski’
A. O. Scott discusses the Coen brothers’ 1998 film and the disconnect between important matters and the tedium of everyday life.
8/31/09
124
Critics’ Picks: ‘Gattaca’
A. O. Scott looks at Gattaca and examines the fate of the individual in a highly regulated social order.
8/24/09
125
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Conversation’
A. O. Scott discusses Francis Ford Coppola’s 1974 masterpiece and the end of privacy.
8/17/09
126
Critics’ Picks: ‘Streetcar Named Desire’
A. O. Scott looks back at the 1951 classic “A Streetcar Named Desire” and the moment when movie acting changed.
8/10/09
127
Critics’ Picks: ‘Lover Come Back’
A. O. Scott reviews the Doris Day/Rock Hudson romantic comedy with an eye for the film’s subtext.
8/3/09
128
Critics’ Picks: To Live
A. O. Scott Reviews Zhang Yimou’s masterpiece, 60 years after the communist takeover.
7/27/09
129
Critics’ Picks: ‘Mad Max’
A. O. Scott reviews George Miller’s high-octane road movie starring a very young Mel Gibson.
7/20/09
130
Critics’ Picks: ‘2001’
For the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, A. O. Scott looks back at Stanley Kubrick’s sublime film “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
7/13/09
131
Critics’ Picks: ‘Fort Apache’
A. O. Scott looks at John Ford’s 1948 western “Fort Apache,” with Henry Fonda and John Wayne.
7/5/09
132
Critics’ Picks: ‘Jaws’
A. O. Scott reviews Steven Spielberg’s ‘Jaws,’ one of the first summer blockbusters.
6/29/09
133
Critics’ Picks: ‘Princess Mononoke’
A. O. Scott looks at Hayao Miyazaki’s animated film, “Princess Mononoke,” which deals with anxieties around global warming and environmental catastrophes.
6/22/09
134
Critics’ Picks: ‘Dog Day Afternoon’
A. O. Scott reviews Sidney Lumet’s 1975 drama “Dog Day Afternoon.”
6/15/09
135
Critics’ Picks: ‘Rushmore’
As the school year winds down, A. O. Scott looks at Wes Anderson’s 1998 film about a student getting more in touch with his art and his passions.
6/1/09
136
Critics’ Picks: ‘Taste of Cherry’
A. O. Scott reviews Abbas Kiarostami’s 1997 film, which follows an affluent middle-aged man with suicidal tendencies.
5/24/09
137
Critics’ Picks: ‘Slap Shot’
A. O. Scott reviews George Roy Hill’s irreverent 1977 film starring Paul Newman as the hardscrabble coach of a minor league hockey team.
5/18/09
138
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Graduate’
For the season of caps and gowns, A. O. Scott reviews Mike Nichols’s 1967 Oscar-winning film about coming of age in an uncertain world.
5/11/09
139
Critics’ Picks: ‘Ace in the Hole’
A. O. Scott discusses Billy Wilder’s 1951 classic and the unfortunate habit that some journalists have of stage-managing their stories.
5/4/09
140
Critics’ Picks: ‘Discreet Charm…’
A. O. Scott reviews Luis Bunuel’s surrealist masterpiece “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie.”
4/27/09
141
Critics’ Picks: ‘Style Wars’
A. O. Scott reviews the 1982 documentary about rap, break-dancing and graffiti that found beauty in New York City’s bad old days.
4/20/09
142
Critics’ Picks: ‘Wag the Dog’
A. O. Scott reviews Barry Levinson’s 1997 film about a Washington fixer and a Hollywood producer who band together to create a politically expedient but entirely fictional war.
4/13/09
143
Critics’ Picks: ‘Ran’
A. O. Scott investigates themes of dissolution in Akira Kurosawa’s 1985 masterpiece.
4/6/09
144
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Maltese Falcon’
A. O. Scott looks at John Huston’s 1941 film “The Maltese Falcon” in light of recent financial scandals.
3/30/09
145
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Bicycle Thief’
A. O. Scott reviews Vittorio De Sica’s masterpiece of Neorealism, “The Bicycle Thief.”
3/23/09
146
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Commitments’
In honor of St. Patrick’s day, A.O. Scott reviews Alan Parker’s 1991 film about a working-class Dublin soul band.
3/16/09
147
Critics’ Picks: ‘City Lights’
In the midst of economic gloom, A. O. Scott seeks a few laughs with Charlie Chaplin’s 1931 masterpiece.
3/9/09
148
Critics’ Picks: Hoosiers
A. O. Scott reviews the beloved film about Indiana basketball.
3/2/09
149
Critics’ Picks: Ben Hur
A. O. Scott reviews William Wyler’s epic, 50 years after it won the Academy Award for best picture.
2/23/09
150
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Deer Hunter’
A. O. Scott reviews “The Deer Hunter,” Oscar-winner for best picture in 1979.
2/16/09
151
Critics’ Picks: ‘Annie Hall’
A. O. Scott reviews Woody Allen’s 1977 Oscar-winning ode to love.
2/9/09
152
Critic’s Picks: ‘All the King’s Men’
A. O. Scott reviews Robert Rossen’s 1949 oscar-winner for best pictrure.
2/2/09
153
Critic’s Picks: ‘Midnight Cowboy’
A. O. Scott reviews John Schlesinger’s 1969 Oscar-winner for best picture.
1/26/09
154
Critics’ Picks: ‘Malcolm X’
A. O. Scott reviews Spike Lee’s biopic about Malcolm X, whose repeated acts of self-transformation inspired the young Barack Obama.
1/19/09
155
Critics’ Picks: ‘Two-Lane Blacktop’
With the auto industry in difficult financial times, A. O. Scott looks back at the early days of America’s fascination with cars.
1/12/09
156
Critics’ Picks: ‘All About Eve’
With the awards season in full swing, A. O. Scott looks back at the 1950 classic which won the Oscar for best picture.
1/5/09
157
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Apartment’
A. O. Scott reviews Billy Wilder’s brilliant alternative to classic holiday films.
12/29/08
158
Critics’ Picks: ‘Holiday Inn’
A. O. Scott reviews Irving Berlin’s holiday classic starring Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire.
12/22/08
159
Critics’ Picks: ‘A Christmas Carol’
A. O. Scott looks back at what he considers to be the best of the film adaptations of “A Christmas Carol.”
12/15/08
160
Critics’ Picks: ‘It’s a Wonderful Life’
A. O. Scott reveals the dark undercurrents of the holiday classic.
12/8/08
161
Critics’ Picks: ‘Life of Brian’
A. O. Scott takes a look at Monty Python’s high and low-brow film about Judea in the time of Christ.
12/1/08
162
Critics’ Picks: ‘Babette’s Feast’
A. O. Scott looks at what this unusual Danish film has to say about our own Thanksgiving feast.
11/24/08
163
Critics’ Picks: ‘The Grapes of Wrath’
A. O. Scott reviews John Ford’s 1940 film based on John Steinbeck’s novel about the Great Depression.
11/17/08
164
Critics’ Picks: ‘Patton’
For Veteran’s Day, A. O. Scott looks back at “Patton,” the portrait of a maverick general starring George C. Scott.
11/10/08
165
Critics’ Picks: ‘Sullivan’s Travels’
A. O. Scott looks at the 1941 film “Sullivan’s Travels” and its commentary on Hollywood’s role during the Great Depression.
10/19/08
Understanding Film 