J. Hoberman
Encyclopedia
James Lewis Hoberman also known as J. Hoberman, is an American film critic. He is currently the senior film critic for The Village Voice
, a post he has held since 1988.
and his M.F.A. at Columbia University
. At Binghamton, prominent experimental filmmaker Ken Jacobs
both instructed and influenced him.
Hoberman worked for The Village Voice
as third-stringer under Andrew Sarris
. There, he specialized in examining experimental film
. Indeed, his first published film review appeared in 1977 for David Lynch
's seminal debut film Eraserhead
. Since 2009 Hoberman remains senior film editor at the Village Voice. In addition, he contributes regularly to Film Comment
, The New York Times
, and The Virginia Quarterly Review
.
Hoberman appears in the 2009 documentary film For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
, recalling his first movie memory, going with his mother to see Cecil B. DeMille
’s The Greatest Show On Earth
, and how he was mesmerized by a scene in that film depicting a train crash.
In addition to his academic and professional career, Hoberman is the author of several important books on cinema, including a collaboration with prominent film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum
, entitled Midnight Movies, published in 1983.
In the 2002 Sight & Sound
film poll, Hoberman indicated that Flaming Creatures
is his choice for best film ever made. Other films included in his top five, listed by ranking, are The Girl from Chicago
, Man with a Movie Camera
, Pather Panchali
, and La Règle du jeu.
In 2008, at the San Francisco International Film Festival
, Hoberman was honored with the prestigious Mel Novikoff Award: an annual award "bestowed on an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the filmgoing public’s knowledge and appreciation of world cinema."
Since 1990 Hoberman has taught cinema history at Cooper Union
. Additionally, he's lectured on film at Harvard University
and continues to lecture at New York University
.
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
, a post he has held since 1988.
Education
Hoberman completed his B.A. at Binghamton UniversityBinghamton University
Binghamton University, also formally called State University of New York at Binghamton, , is a public research university in the State of New York. The University is one of the four university centers in the State University of New York system...
and his M.F.A. at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
. At Binghamton, prominent experimental filmmaker Ken Jacobs
Ken Jacobs
Ken Jacobs is an American experimental filmmaker. He is the director of Tom, Tom, The Piper's Son , which was admitted to the National Film Registry in 2007, and Star Spangled to Death , a nearly seven hour film consisting largely of found footage.He coined the term paracinema in the early 1970s,...
both instructed and influenced him.
Career
After completing his MFAMaster of Fine Arts
A Master of Fine Arts is a graduate degree typically requiring 2–3 years of postgraduate study beyond the bachelor's degree , although the term of study will vary by country or by university. The MFA is usually awarded in visual arts, creative writing, filmmaking, dance, or theatre/performing arts...
Hoberman worked for The Village Voice
The Village Voice
The Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
as third-stringer under Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris is an American film critic and a leading proponent of the auteur theory of criticism.-Career:Sarris is generally credited with popularizing the auteur theory in the U.S...
. There, he specialized in examining experimental film
Experimental film
Experimental film or experimental cinema is a type of cinema. Experimental film is an artistic practice relieving both of visual arts and cinema. Its origins can be found in European avant-garde movements of the twenties. Experimental cinema has built its history through the texts of theoreticians...
. Indeed, his first published film review appeared in 1977 for David Lynch
David Lynch
David Keith Lynch is an American filmmaker, television director, visual artist, musician and occasional actor. Known for his surrealist films, he has developed his own unique cinematic style, which has been dubbed "Lynchian", and which is characterized by its dream imagery and meticulous sound...
's seminal debut film Eraserhead
Eraserhead
Eraserhead is a 1977 American surrealist film and the first feature film of David Lynch, who wrote, produced and directed. Lynch began working on the film at the AFI Conservatory, which gave him a $10,000 grant to make the film after he had begun working there following his 1971 move to Los Angeles...
. Since 2009 Hoberman remains senior film editor at the Village Voice. In addition, he contributes regularly to Film Comment
Film Comment
Film Comment is an arts and culture magazine published by the Film Society of Lincoln Center, of which it is the official publication. Film Comment features critical reviews and in-depth analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world...
, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, and The Virginia Quarterly Review
The Virginia Quarterly Review
The Virginia Quarterly Review is a literary magazine in the United States. It was founded in 1925 by James Southall Wilson, at the request of University of Virginia president E. A. Alderman...
.
Hoberman appears in the 2009 documentary film For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism is a 2009 documentary film dramatizing a hundred years of American film criticism through film clips, historic photographs, and on-camera interviews with many of today’s important reviewers, mostly print but also Internet...
, recalling his first movie memory, going with his mother to see Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
’s The Greatest Show On Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth
The Greatest Show on Earth is a 1952 drama film set in the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. The film was produced, directed, and narrated by Cecil B. DeMille, and won the Academy Award for Best Picture...
, and how he was mesmerized by a scene in that film depicting a train crash.
In addition to his academic and professional career, Hoberman is the author of several important books on cinema, including a collaboration with prominent film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum
Jonathan Rosenbaum is an American film critic. Rosenbaum was the head film critic for the Chicago Reader from 1987 until 2008, when he retired at the age of 65...
, entitled Midnight Movies, published in 1983.
In the 2002 Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound
Sight & Sound is a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute .Sight & Sound was first published in 1932 and in 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent BFI, which still publishes the magazine today...
film poll, Hoberman indicated that Flaming Creatures
Flaming Creatures
Flaming Creatures is an American experimental film by filmmaker Jack Smith. Due to its surreal, graphic depiction of sexuality, the film was seized by the police at its premiere, and was officially determined to be obscene by a New York Criminal Court. The 43-minute featurette attracted media and...
is his choice for best film ever made. Other films included in his top five, listed by ranking, are The Girl from Chicago
The Girl from Chicago
The Girl from Chicago is an American film produced and directed by Oscar Micheaux, with an all-African American cast to include lead actor Carl Mahon. The story concerns a Federal agent who falls in love while on assignment in Mississippi...
, Man with a Movie Camera
Man with a Movie Camera
Man with a Movie Camera , sometimes called The Man with the Movie Camera, The Man with a Camera, The Man With the Kinocamera, or Living Russia is an experimental 1929 silent documentary film, with no story and no actors, by Russian director Dziga Vertov, edited by his wife Elizaveta...
, Pather Panchali
Pather Panchali
Pather Panchali is a 1955 Bengali drama film written and directed by Satyajit Ray and produced by the Government of the Indian state of West Bengal. Based on Bibhutibhushan Bandopadhyay's 1929 Bengali novel of the same name, the film was the directorial debut of Ray...
, and La Règle du jeu.
In 2008, at the San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival
San Francisco International Film Festival is the oldest continuously running film festival in the Americas. Organized by the San Francisco Film Society, the International is held each spring for two weeks, presenting an average of 150 films from over 50 countries...
, Hoberman was honored with the prestigious Mel Novikoff Award: an annual award "bestowed on an individual or institution whose work has enhanced the filmgoing public’s knowledge and appreciation of world cinema."
Since 1990 Hoberman has taught cinema history at Cooper Union
Cooper Union
The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, commonly referred to simply as Cooper Union, is a privately funded college in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, United States, located at Cooper Square and Astor Place...
. Additionally, he's lectured on film at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
and continues to lecture at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
As author
- An Army of Phantoms: American Movies and the Making of the Cold War. The New Press, New York, 2011.
- The Magic Hour: Film at Fin de Siècle. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 2003.
- The Dream Life: Movies, Media, and the Mythology of the Sixties. The New Press, New York, 2003.
- On Jack Smith's Flaming Creatures:(and Other Secret-flix of Cinemaroc). Granary Books/Hips Road, 2001.
- The Red Atlantis: Communist Culture in the Absence of Communism. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1999.
- 42nd Street. BFI Publishing, London, 1993.
- Bridge of Light: Yiddish Film Between Two Worlds. New York: The Museum of Modern Art/Schocken Books, 1992.
- Vulgar Modernism: Writing on Film and Other Media. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, 1991.
- Dennis Hopper: From Method to Madness. Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, 1988.
- Home Made Movies: Twenty Years of American 8Mm & Super-8 Films. Anthology Film Archives, New York, 1981.
External links
- Senses of Cinema interview
- Gothamist interview
- J. Hoberman's Top Ten Lists, 1977-2005
- An interview with J. Hoberman on The Marketplace of Ideas