David Robinson (film critic and author)
Encyclopedia
David Robinson is a British
film
critic and author
. He started writing for Sight and Sound and the Monthly Film Bulletin
in the 1950s, becoming Assistant Editor of Sight and Sound and Editor of the Monthly Film Bulletin in 1957-1958. He was film critic of The Financial Times from 1958 to 1973, before taking up the same post at The Times
in 1973. He remained the paper's main film reviewer until around 1990 and a regular contributor until around 1996.
His books include Hollywood in the Twenties (1968) and World Cinema (1973), but he is probably best known as the official biographer of Charlie Chaplin
. Chaplin: His Life and Art
, first published in 1985, and revised for subsequent editions in 1992 and 2001, is regarded as the definitive book on the subject, and Robinson has become a sort of unofficial spokesman for Chaplin in the media
in recent years. He has also written a book on Buster Keaton
. He wrote a long book called "The History of World Cinema" (1973), expanded and revised as "World Cinema: A Short History" ("World Cinema 1895-1980" on the cover) (1981).
In 1973, he was the head of the jury at the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival
. He is the Director of the Giornate del cinema muto silent film festival, which takes place in Pordenone
, northern Italy every October.
Robinson is also a supporter of the UK based silent film society Bristol Silents
and the Slapstick Silent Comedy Festival, also based in Bristol
every January.
Robinson played a significant part in the creation of the award winning Museum of the Moving Image on London's South Bank
which opened in 1988 and closed in 1999.
For the centenary of cinema in 1995, Robinson wrote The Chronicle of Cinema 1895-1995, a 127-page introduction to film history. This was serialised in the form of five supplementary magazines accompanying Sight and Sound from September 1994 to January 1995.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
critic and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
. He started writing for Sight and Sound and the Monthly Film Bulletin
Monthly Film Bulletin
The Monthly Film Bulletin was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a narrow arthouse release. The MFB was edited in the mid-1950s by David Robinson, in the late...
in the 1950s, becoming Assistant Editor of Sight and Sound and Editor of the Monthly Film Bulletin in 1957-1958. He was film critic of The Financial Times from 1958 to 1973, before taking up the same post at The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
in 1973. He remained the paper's main film reviewer until around 1990 and a regular contributor until around 1996.
His books include Hollywood in the Twenties (1968) and World Cinema (1973), but he is probably best known as the official biographer of Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
. Chaplin: His Life and Art
Chaplin: His Life and Art
Chaplin: His Life and Art is a 1985 book by film critic David Robinson which examines the life and works of film legend Charlie Chaplin. Along with My Autobiography, it was used as source material for the 1992 film Chaplin....
, first published in 1985, and revised for subsequent editions in 1992 and 2001, is regarded as the definitive book on the subject, and Robinson has become a sort of unofficial spokesman for Chaplin in the media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
in recent years. He has also written a book on Buster Keaton
Buster Keaton
Joseph Frank "Buster" Keaton was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer. He was best known for his silent films, in which his trademark was physical comedy with a consistently stoic, deadpan expression, earning him the nickname "The Great Stone Face".Keaton was recognized as the...
. He wrote a long book called "The History of World Cinema" (1973), expanded and revised as "World Cinema: A Short History" ("World Cinema 1895-1980" on the cover) (1981).
In 1973, he was the head of the jury at the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival
23rd Berlin International Film Festival
The 23rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 22 to July 3, 1973.-Jury:* David Robinson * Freddy Buache* Hiram Garcia Borja* Eberhard Hauff* Harish Khanna* Paul Moor* Walter Müller-Bringmann* René Thévenet...
. He is the Director of the Giornate del cinema muto silent film festival, which takes place in Pordenone
Pordenone
Pordenone is a comune of Pordenone province of northeast Italy in the Friuli-Venezia Giulia region.The name comes from the Latin "Portus Naonis" meaning the port on the river Noncello - History :...
, northern Italy every October.
Robinson is also a supporter of the UK based silent film society Bristol Silents
Bristol Silents
Bristol Silents was established by Chris Daniels and Norman Taylor in 2000 to promote and celebrate silent cinema in the Bristol area and in the United Kingdom. The first ever event the organisation put on was a selection of Louise Brooks films in October 2000 at the Arnolfini, Bristol.The group...
and the Slapstick Silent Comedy Festival, also based in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
every January.
Robinson played a significant part in the creation of the award winning Museum of the Moving Image on London's South Bank
South Bank
South Bank is an area of London, England located immediately adjacent to the south side of the River Thames. It forms a long and narrow section of riverside development that is within the London Borough of Lambeth to the border with the London Borough of Southwark and was formerly simply known as...
which opened in 1988 and closed in 1999.
For the centenary of cinema in 1995, Robinson wrote The Chronicle of Cinema 1895-1995, a 127-page introduction to film history. This was serialised in the form of five supplementary magazines accompanying Sight and Sound from September 1994 to January 1995.