Robin Wood (critic)
Robin Wood | |
---|---|
Born | 23 February 1931 |
Died | 18 December 2009 (aged 78) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
Occupation(s) | Professor, author, film critic |
Partner | Richard Lippe |
Robert Paul "Robin" Wood (23 February 1931 – 18 December 2009) was an English film critic and educator who lived in Canada for much of his life. He wrote books on the works of
Biography
Early life
Wood was born in Richmond, Surrey, England. According to Contemporary Authors he attended Jesus College, Cambridge, where he was influenced by F. R. Leavis and A. P. Rossiter, and graduated in 1953 with a BA in English and a diploma in education.[2] From 1954 to 1958, Wood taught in schools in both England and Sweden. After a year in Lille, France, teaching English, Wood returned to schools in England, and again in Sweden, where he met Aline Macdonald,[3] whom he married on 17 May 1960. (They had three children: Carin, Fiona, and Simon.)
Early career
Wood began to contribute to the film journal Movie in 1962, primarily on the strength of an essay he wrote for
From 1973 to 1977, Wood was a lecturer on film studies at the University of Warwick, Coventry, one of the first three such courses in Britain, which he founded with financial support from the British Film Institute.[4] Here he met the future film scholar Andrew Britton, whose influence on Wood, by Wood's own account, was as great as Wood's on his student.[5] Britton is said to have led him away from liberal attitudes and towards a further-Left position[6] but this is a fallacy. The development of Wood's critical thinking is indicated in 'An Interview with Robin Wood' by Elizabeth Aherene and Jenny Norman, dated 9 May 1974 and published in the first issue of the film journal Framework by June 1975.[7] Further insight can be obtained through lectures given by Wood during February–March 1975, prior to the arrival of Britton.
Recognition
It was Wood's initial rejection by the British journal
He became professor of film studies at York University, Toronto in 1977, where he taught until his retirement in the early 1990s. In 1985, he helped form a collective with several other students and colleagues to found and publish CineAction (originally styled CineACTION!).
Wood's books include
Wood died of
Scholarship and analysis
Changes in Wood's critical thinking divide his career into two parts. Wood's early books are still prized by film students for their close readings in the
After his coming out as a
Legacy
Some of Wood's students have also become notable film scholars, including Andrew Britton and Tony Williams. His former student Bruce LaBruce is now an underground film director. Former student Daniel Nearing is director of the experimental Chicago Heights and Hogtown. Shortly before his passing, Wood made a list of his favorite films. The titles were unranked, except his number one. They were "Either I Can't Sleep or I Don't Want to Sleep Alone, Sansho the Bailiff, Tokyo Story, either Ruggles of Red Gap or Make Way for Tomorrow, Code Inconnu, The Reckless Moment or Letter From an Unknown Woman, Angel Face, The Seven Samurai and either Le Crime de Monsieur Lange or La regle de jeu." Number one was Howard Hawks's Rio Bravo.[15][16]
Bibliography
Columbia University Press has reprinted and updated Wood's book on Hitchcock, and Wayne State University Press began a series of reprints of his early books, with new introductions. The first in the series was Howard Hawks in 2006, followed by Personal Views and Ingmar Bergman.
- Hitchcock's Films, 1965
- Howard Hawks, 1968
- "Arthur Penn", 1968
- Ingmar Bergman, 1969
- Claude Chabrol, Wood and Michael Walker, 1970
- The Apu Trilogy, Praeger, New York, 1971.
- Antonioni, Revised Edition, Wood and Ian Cameron, 1971
- Personal Views: Explorations in Film, 1976
- Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan, 1986
- Hitchcock's Films Revisited, 1989
- Sexual Politics and Narrative Film: Hollywood and Beyond, 1998
- The Wings of the Dove, 1999
- Rio Bravo, 2003
- Hollywood from Vietnam to Reagan…and Beyond, 2003
- Where the Nightmare Ends, PS Publishing, 2023
References
- ^ Grimes, William (22 December 2009). "Robin Wood, Film Critic Who Wrote on Hitchcock, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 January 2010.
- ^ 'Tripos Results at Cambridge', The Times Educational Supplement, 26 June 1953, p. 587.
- ^ Charles Barr Obituary, The Guardian, 4 January 2010.
- ^ a b Williams, Tony. "Robin Wood – A Personal View". The November 3rd Club. Wetdryvac.net. Archived from the original on 12 August 2016. Retrieved 17 May 2012.
- ISBN 0-231-05777-6.
- ^ a b "Obituary". The Times. 5 January 2010.
Robin Wood, film critic and academic, was born on February 23, 1931. He died of leukaemia on December 18, 2009, aged 78.
- ^ Elizabeth Aherene & Jenny Norman (1974–75). An Interview with Robin Wood. Framework, Warwick University Arts Federation, issue number one.
- ^ Robin Wood Columbia University Press blog, Retrieved 2012-17-05.
- ^ Lecture by Robin Wood on 21 November 1975, Critical approaches to Hollywood, Introduction to Film Studies course (1975–76), University of Warwick.
- ^ Joe McElhaney, Hitchcock's Films Revisited by Robin Wood, Revised Edition senses of cinema – book review, Retrieved 2012-18-05.
- ^ Armen Svadjian, An Interview with Robin Wood (2006): A Life in Film Criticism: Robin Wood at 75, published in Your Flesh Magazine, 2006 Friends of Robin Wood, Retrieved 2012-18-05.
- ^ Witnessed by film studies student, Clive Gardener.
- ^ Friends of Robin Wood. "Trammel up the Consequence Published". Estate of Robin Wood. Retrieved 27 October 2012.
- ^ "The best film books, by 51 critics | Polls & surveys | Sight & Sound". British Film Institute. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- ^ Rosenbaum, Jonathan (24 December 2009). "Robin Wood's Final Top Ten". jonathanrosenbaum.net.
- The Toronto Star.
External links
- Robin Wood at IMDb