Philip French

Philip Neville French OBE (born August 28, 1933 in Liverpool , † October 27, 2015 in London ) was a British film critic and radio producer .

life and career

For decades, Philip French was one of the best-known and most renowned film critics in Great Britain. The son of an insurance salesman had been interested in films since he was a child. He studied at Exeter College in Oxford and worked as a journalist from the late 1950s, initially at the Bristol Evening Post . He then worked as a theater and film critic for The Times and the New Statesman . He has also written articles for the film magazine Sight and Sound . Most important, however, was French's work at the Observer , for which he worked for a total of over 50 years. French had another long collaboration with BBC Radio , where he produced and hosted various programs on film. His program Critics' Forum ran from 1974 on BBC Radio 3 before he retired from the BBC in 1990. For the Observer, however, French continued to write as a critic until his 80th birthday.

In addition to his work as a film critic, French also published several books on film studies, for example on the western genre and on the old Hollywood film moguls. As his colleague film critic Michael Billington recalled, French had an extraordinary memory and knowledge of film history. French believed that there was still room for film critics in the 21st century. Regarding his profession, said: “No critic should ever say that he is bored. Understanding a movie is not enough; you have to try to say something interesting and valuable from it. ”He was especially proud of helping unknown filmmakers to achieve success with positive reviews (including Martin Scorsese in the early 1970s). Philip French was a member of the jury at the 1986 Cannes International Film Festival .

French was married to his wife Kersti Molin for more than 57 years and had three sons with her, including the novelist Sean French . In 2011 he was awarded the Order of the British Empire for his contributions to film criticism . He died of a heart attack in October 2015 at the age of 82.

Web links

• Philip French in the Internet Movie Database (English)
• Interview with Phillip French about the film and his career with the Guardian

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Michael Billington on Philip French: A kind man with an encyclopedic memory. In: The Guardian . Retrieved December 14, 2015.
2. ↑ That's a wrap: Philip French, Observer film critic, steps down after 50 years. In: The Guardian . Retrieved December 14, 2015.
3. ↑ Obituary. In: The Guardian . Retrieved December 14, 2015.