If you have ever wanted to dig around in the archives for that perfect Sunday afternoon DVD and first turned to a witty weekly column in the "New York Times," then you are already familiar with one of our nation's premier film critics. If you love movies--and the writers who engage them--and just happen to have followed two of the highest circulating daily papers in the country, then you probably recognize the name of the intellectually dazzling writer who has been penning pieces on American and foreign films for over thirty years. And if you called the City of the Big Shoulders home in the 1970s or 1980s and relied on those trenchant, incisive reviews from the "Chicago Reader" and the "Chicago Tribune "to guide your moviegoing delight, then you know Dave Kehr.
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When Movies Mattered "presents a wide-ranging and illuminating selection of Kehr's criticism from the "Reader"--most of which is reprinted here for the first time--including insightful discussions of film history and his controversial Top Ten lists. Long heralded by his peers for both his deep knowledge and incisive style, Kehr developed his approach to writing about film from the auteur criticism popular in the '70s. Though Kehr's criticism has never lost its intellectual edge, it's still easily accessible to anyone who truly cares about movies. Never watered down and always razor sharp, it goes beyond wry observations to an acute examination of the particular stylistic qualities that define the work of individual directors and determine the meaning of individual films.

From current releases to important revivals, from classical Hollywood to foreign fare, Kehr has kept us spellbound with his insightful critical commentaries. "When Movies Mattered" will secure his place among our very best writers about all things cinematic.

Dave Kehr's writing about film has garnered high praise from both readers and fellow critics. Among his admirers are some of his most influential contemporaries. Roger Ebert called Kehr "one of the most gifted film critics in America." James Naremore thought he was "one of the best writers on film the country as a whole has ever produced." But aside from remarkably detailed but brief capsule reviews and top-ten lists, you won't find much of Kehr's work on the Internet, and many of the longer and more nuanced essays for which he is best known have not yet been published in book form. With When Movies Mattered, readers welcomed the first collection of Kehr's criticism, written during his time at the Chicago Reader. Movies That Mattered is its sequel, with fifty more reviews and essays drawn from the archives of both the Chicago Reader and Chicago magazine from 1974 to 1986. As with When Movies Mattered, the majority of the reviews offer in-depth analyses of individual films that are among Kehr's favorites, from a thoughtful discussion of the sobering Holocaust documentary Shoah to an irresistible celebration of the raucous comedy Used Cars. But fans of Kehr's work will be just as taken by his dissections of critically acclaimed films he found disappointing, including The Shining, Apocalypse Now, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Whether you're a long-time reader or just discovering Dave Kehr, the insights in Movies That Mattered will enhance your appreciation of the movies you already love--and may even make you think twice about one or two you hated.

Dave Kehr's writing about film has garnered high praise from both readers and fellow critics. Among his admirers are some of his most influential contemporaries. Roger Ebert called Kehr "one of the most gifted film critics in America." James Naremore thought he was "one of the best writers on film the country as a whole has ever produced." But aside from remarkably detailed but brief capsule reviews and top-ten lists, you won't find much of Kehr's work on the Internet, and many of the longer and more nuanced essays for which he is best known have not yet been published in book form. With When Movies Mattered, readers welcomed the first collection of Kehr's criticism, written during his time at the Chicago Reader. Movies That Mattered is its sequel, with fifty more reviews and essays drawn from the archives of both the Chicago Reader and Chicago magazine from 1974 to 1986. As with When Movies Mattered, the majority of the reviews offer in-depth analyses of individual films that are among Kehr's favorites, from a thoughtful discussion of the sobering Holocaust documentary Shoah to an irresistible celebration of the raucous comedy Used Cars. But fans of Kehr's work will be just as taken by his dissections of critically acclaimed films he found disappointing, including The Shining, Apocalypse Now, and Raiders of the Lost Ark. Whether you're a long-time reader or just discovering Dave Kehr, the insights in Movies That Mattered will enhance your appreciation of the movies you already love--and may even make you think twice about one or two you hated.

Want to look further than the nearest mega-plex?
At last, a guide for you.
A.O. Scott Stephen Holden
Caryn James Dave Kehr
Peter M. Nichols
If just trudging to the latest Hollywood blockbuster doesn't appeal to you, "The Best DVDs You've Never Seen, Narrowly Missed or Almost Forgotten" is the perfect companion. Inside, the film critics of "The New York Times" have made their top choices for those movies that are unjustly obscure, overlooked or just plain forgotten.
* Newly updated reviews of 500 films---all available on DVD!
* Sophisticated, intelligent, entertaining, provoking---these films run the gamut.
* Each critic's top 10 picks from the book
* Introduction by A. O. Scott, chief movie critic for "The New York Times"
The perfect gift for any serious movie buff, no matter what they prefer, from "Waiting for Guffman "to "Happy, Texas," "The Opposite of Sex "to "Belle Epoque," Film noir, documentaries, drama, Westerns, animation, comedies, foreign films, even a few must-see TV shows on DVD---"The Best DVDs You've Never Seen, Narrowly Missed or Almost Forgotten" has it all.