理查德·西克尔

Richard Warren Schickel (February 10, 1933 – February 18, 2017) was an American film historian, journalist, author, documentarian, and film and literary critic. He was a film critic for Time from 1965–2010, and also wrote for Life and the Los Angeles Times Book Review. His last writings about film were for Truthdig.

He was interviewed in For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (2009). In this documentary, he discusses early film critics Frank E. Woods, Robert E. Sherwood, and Otis Ferguson, and tells of how, in the 1960s, he, Pauline Kael and Andrew Sarris, rejected moralizing opposition of the older Bosley Crowther of The New York Times who had railed against violent movies such as Bonnie and Clyde (1967). In addition to film, Schickel also critiqued and documented cartoons, particularly Peanuts.

Personal life

Schickel was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the son of Helen (née Hendricks) and Edward John Schickel. He received his B.A. in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1955.

Schickel had two daughters. Following a series of strokes, he died in Los Angeles on February 18, 2017, eight days after his 84th birthday.

Honors

Schickel received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1964. He also lectured at Yale University and University of Southern California's School of Film and Television.

Books

The World of Carnegie Hall (1960)

The Stars (1962)

The Gentle Knight (1964)

Movies: The history of an Art and an Institution (1964)

The World of Goya, 1746–1828 (1968)

The Disney Version: The Life, Times, Art and Commerce of Walt Disney (1968); revised editions: 1984, 1997

The Museum (1970)

Second Sight: Notes on Some Movies 1965–1970 (1972)

His Picture in the Papers: A Speculation on Celebrity in America Based on the Life of Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. (1974)

Harold Lloyd: The Shape of Laughter (1974)

The World of Tennis (1975)

The Men Who Made The Movies (1975)

Douglas Fairbanks: The First Celebrity (1976)

Another I, Another You: A Novel (1978)

Singled Out: A Civilized Guide to Sex and Sensibility for the Suddenly Single Man—or Woman (1981)

Cary Grant: A Celebration (1983)

D.W. Griffith: An American Life (1984); British Film Institute Book Prize, 1985

Intimate Strangers: The Culture of Celebrity (1985) (aka Common Fame: The Culture of Celebrity); revised 2000

Lena by Lena Horne and Richard Schickel

James Cagney: A Celebration (1986)

Gary Cooper (1986) ISBN 0-316-77307-7

Striking Poses: Photographs from the Kobal Collection (1987)

Carnegie Hall: The First One Hundred Years by Richard Schickel and Michael Walsh (1987)

Schickel on Film: Encounters—Critical and Personal—With Movie Immortals (1989)

Brando: A Life in Our Times (1991)

Double Indemnity (BFI Film Classics) (1992)

Clint Eastwood: A Biography (1996)

Hollywood at Home: A Family Album 1950–1965 (1998)

Matinee Idylls: Reflections on the Movies (1999)

Good Morning, Mr. Zip Zip Zip: Movies, Memory and World War II (2003)

Woody Allen: A Life in Film (2004)

Elia Kazan: A Biography (2005)

Bogie: A Celebration of the Life and Films of Humphrey Bogart (2006) ISBN 0-312-36629-9

The Essential Chaplin: Perspectives on the Life and Art of the Great Comedian (2006) (editor)

Clint [Eastwood] A Retrospective (2010)

Conversations with Scorsese (2011)

Steven Spielberg: A Retrospective (2012)

Keepers: The Greatest Films - and Personal Favorites - of a Moviegoing Lifetime (2015)

Documentaries

The Men Who Made the Movies (1973), eight-part series, PBS, Emmy nominated

Into the Morning: Willa Cather's America (1975)

Life Goes to the Movies (writer, 1976), NBC, Emmy nominated

The Making of Star Wars (writer, 1977), ABC

Funny Business (1978), CBS

The Horror Show (1979), CBS

SP FX: The Empire Strikes Back (writer, 1980), CBS

James Cagney: That Yankee Doodle Dandy (1981), PBS

From Star Wars to Jedi: The Making of a Saga (writer, 1983), PBS

Minnelli on Minnelli: Liza Remembers Vincente (1987), PBS, Emmy nominated

Happy Anniversary 007: 25 Years of James Bond (writer, 1987), ABC

Cary Grant: A Celebration of a Leading Man (writer, 1988), ABC

Gary Cooper: American Life, American Legend (1989), TNT

Myrna Loy: So Nice to Come Home to (1991), TNT

Barbara Stanwyck: Fire and Desire (1991), TNT

Eastwood & Co : Making Unforgiven (1992), ABC

Hollywood on Hollywood (1993), AMC

Elia Kazan: A Director's Journey (1995), AMC, Emmy nominated

Eastwood on Eastwood (1997)

The Harryhausen Chronicles (1998), PBS

AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars: America's Greatest Screen Legends (writer, 1999), CBS

AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (writer, 2000), CBS

Shooting War: World War II Combat Cameramen (2000), ABC, Emmy nominated

Woody Allen: A Life in Film (2002), TCM

The Men Who Made the Movies: Samuel Fuller (2002), TCM

Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)

Scorsese on Scorsese (2004), TCM

Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us (2005), TCM

Spielberg on Spielberg (2007), TCM

Cannes: All Access (2007)

Ron Howard: 50 Years in Film (2008), TCM

You Must Remember This: The Warner Bros. Story (2008), three-part series, PBS

The Eastwood Factor (2010)

Eastwood Directs: The Untold Story (2013)

DVD commentaries

The Big Red One

The Big Trail

City for Conquest

Dirty Harry

La Dolce Vita

Double Indemnity

East of Eden

El Dorado, with actor Edward Asner and author Todd McCarthy

Gentleman's Agreement, with actresses Celeste Holm and June Havoc

Gilda

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Hangover Square

The Hustler, with actor Paul Newman, film historian Jeff Young and other participants

Leave Her to Heaven, with actor Darryl Hickman

The Mark of Zorro

On the Waterfront, with Elia Kazan biographer Jeff Young

The Outlaw Josey Wales

Once Upon a Time in America

Pin Up Girl

The Purple Heart

Rebecca

Rio Bravo, with filmmaker John Carpenter

Ryan's Daughter, with director David Lean's wife Lady Sandra Lean, actress Sarah Miles and other participants

Side Street

Somebody Up There Likes Me, with director Robert Wise, actors Paul Newman and Robert Loggia, and filmmaker Martin Scorsese