David Thomson
British film critic and historian
Who is David Thomson?
David Thomson (born 18 February 1941) is a British film critic and historian based in the United States, and the author of more than 40 books. His reference works in particular – Have You Seen...?: A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films (2008) and The New Biographical Dictionary of Film (6th edition, 2014) – have been praised as works of high literary merit and eccentricity despite some criticism for self-indulgence. Benjamin Schwarz, writing in The Atlantic Monthly, called him "probably the greatest living film critic and historian" who "writes the most fun and enthralling prose about the movies since Pauline Kael".
Historical significance
John Banville called him "the greatest living writer on the movies" and Michael Ondaatje said he "is our most argumentative and trustworthy historian of the screen." In 2010, The New Biographical Dictionary of Film was named the greatest book on the cinema by a poll in Sight and Sound; his novel Suspects also received multiple votes. Guillermo Cabrera Infante of The New Republic wrote "Thomson is the Dr. Johnson of film.