Vincent Canby, who died on October 15th aged 76, was one of the most powerful film critics in America. A bad review from him in the New York Times, for which he wrote for 35 years, was the death knell for any independent, or foreign, film in the United States. A good one could have almost as profound an effect.
He began reviewing films for the New York Times in 1965, and was its senior critic from 1969 to 1993. From 1994 until 1996, he was the paper's chief theatre critic. He worked at a relentless pace and delivered his verdicts as if totally unaware of his power to make or break. He once wrote not one, but two bad reviews of a film by the British director Terence Davies, which effectively ruined its chances for American distribution.
When asked why he had bothered to slate a small British film a second time, he replied that he wanted to correct the impression, given by other American critics, that it was worth seeing. He did, however, champion the films of other distinguished film-makers - including Woody Allen.
His reviews were never academic, and were often invested with a wry humour. He wrote that Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate, shortened for re-release after a disastrous opening at full-length, "looks like a fat man who has been on a crash diet". And he once described the physique of the young Arnold Schwarzenegger as "something the actor might want to shed in order to slip into something more comfortable".
Vincent Canby did not look or sound like a champion of radical cinema, though his reviews were often sympathetic to more difficult work. There were times, however, when he seemed more comfortable with orthodox fare; as often as not, he gave Hollywood the benefit of the doubt. Because of his power, he was often courted. But he invariably maintained a dignified distance from those who sought to influence him. If he often seemed a remote figure, he never yielded to any kind of pressure.
Born in Chicago, Vincent Canby was educated at Christchurch School, in Alexandria, Virginia. Subsequently, he studied English at Dartmouth College.
Writing once about his work as a critic, he said: "The basic difference between the critic and the member of the public who attends movies on a more or less casual basis, is that after a certain length of time spent watching movies, the critic can no longer be entertained by simply sitting back and allowing the movie to roll over him like a tank made of feathers. He wants to assume an active role, that's his entertainment."
Vincent Canby never married but was, for many years, the companion of his fellow critic, Penelope Gilliatt.
Vincent Canby: born 1924; died, October 2000