7 Film Critics Whose Reviews Shaped How Movies Were Discussed

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Most of us pick a movie after hearing someone’s opinion first. Often it’s a friend, a headline, or a star rating, and behind many of those quick judgments sits a critic who taught audiences what to look for.

Criticism has changed a great deal in 2026, with social feeds and aggregated scores now crowding the field. Yet the habits of thought that shape those conversations were set by a small group of writers and broadcasters. Here are seven whose work still echoes.

Roger Ebert, the Critic Who Made Film Talk Accessible

Roger Ebert, the Critic Who Made Film Talk Accessible (Image Credits: Flickr)
Roger Ebert, the Critic Who Made Film Talk Accessible (Image Credits: Flickr)

Roger Ebert began reviewing for the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967. In 1975 he became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. His reviews were plain spoken and warm, and they treated a popular audience as intelligent.

He also kept his writing public in a way few critics had. His website and later online presence let readers follow his thinking until his death in 2013. Many working critics still cite his clarity as a standard, and his archive remains widely read.

Pauline Kael and the Power of a Personal Voice

Pauline Kael and the Power of a Personal Voice (Image Credits: Wikimedia)
Pauline Kael and the Power of a Personal Voice (Image Credits: Wikimedia)

Pauline Kael wrote for The New Yorker from 1968 until 1991. She favored energy, vulgar vitality, and emotional response over polite reverence. Her prose read like an argument with the reader, which made her both beloved and fiercely disputed.

Her 1971 essay Raising Kane…

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Author : Matthias Binder

Publish date : 2026-10-20 12:49:00

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