Victor Francis Perkins (22 December 1936 – 15 July 2016) was a British film critic, best known for his work on film aesthetics and interpretation. He was born in Devon, and began teaching at
Warwick University
, mottoeng = Mind moves matter
, established =
, type = Public research university
, endowment = £7.0 million (2021)
, budget = £698.2 million (2020 ...
in 1978.
Best known for his first book, ''Film as Film'' (1972), which quickly became a core text in Film Studies courses, Perkins influenced the way in which film is studied and became internationally known for his sharp intellect and jargon-less approach to the critical analysis of film. Victor Perkins remained an active scholar until he died, continuing to lecture at Warwick University, as well as write and give papers on film analysis at home and abroad.
He died on 15 July 2016, after suffering an
aneurysm
An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus (s ...
. Perkins married Tessa Pudney (daughter of the poet
John Pudney
John Sleigh Pudney (19 January 1909 – 10 November 1977) was a British poet, journalist and author. He was known especially for his popular poetry written during the Second World War, but he also wrote novels, short stories and children's fict ...
) in the late 1960s
Tessa Perkins, obituary in ''The Guardian'', 4 November 2004
/ref> Their son, Toby Perkins
Matthew Toby Perkins (born 12 August 1970) is a British Labour Party politician who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Chesterfield since 2010. He has been Shadow Minister for Apprentices and Lifelong Learning since April 2020. Previ ...
, is the Labour
Labour or labor may refer to:
* Childbirth, the delivery of a baby
* Labour (human activity), or work
** Manual labour, physical work
** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer
** Organized labour and the labour ...
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
for Chesterfield
Chesterfield may refer to:
Places Canada
* Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan
* Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom
* Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England
** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...
. Their daughter, Polly Vienna Perkins, is a writer and film producer.
Select bibliography
*"The British Cinema" in MOVIE No.1, 1962
*"Why Preminger?" in MOVIE No. 4 (November 1962)
*"The Cinema of Nicholas Ray," ''MOVIE'' No. 9, May 1963., reprinted in Ian Cameron (ed.) ''Movie Reader'', New York, 1972, and in Bill Nicholls (ed.), ''Movies and Methods Vol 1'', California, 1976.
*"55 Days at Peking" in ''MOVIE'' No. 11.
*"Cheyenne Autumn" in ''MOVIE'' No. 12, Spring 1965.
*"Supporting the British Cinema" in ''MOVIE'' No. 16, Winter, 1968-1969.
*"America, America", ''MOVIE'' No. 19, Winter, 1971–1972
*''Film as Film'', Penguin Books, 1972.
*"Moments of Choice" in The Movie, ch. 58, reprinted in Ann Lloyd (ed.), ''Movie Book of the Fifties'', Orbis, 1982.
*"Letter from an Unknown Woman" n the Linz sequencein ''MOVIE'' 29/30, Summer 1982
*"Must We Say What They Mean ? Film criticism and interpretation" in ''MOVIE'' No. 34, October 1990
*"Film Authorship - the premature burial" in ''CineAction'', No. 21/22, November, 1990
*"In a Lonely Place" in Ian Cameron (ed.) ''The Movie Book of Film Noir'', Studio Vista, 1992
*"Johnny Guitar", in Ian Cameron & Douglas Pye (eds.) ''The Movie Book of the Western'', Studio Vista, 1996.
*''The Magnificent Ambersons'', British Film Institute, 1999.
*"Ophuls contra Wagner and Others" in ''MOVIE'' No 36, January 2000.
*"I Confess - Photographs of People Speaking" in ''CineAction'' No 52, September 2000.
*"'Same Tune Again!' - Repetition and Framing in Letter from an Unknown Woman " in ''CineAction'' No 52, September 2000.
*“Where is the world? The horizon of events in movie fiction” in John Gibbs and Douglas Pye (eds.) ''Style and meaning: studies in the detailed analysis of film'', Manchester U.P., 2005.
For an in-depth examination of Perkins' career, see: Jeffrey Crouse, "Fueled by Enthusiasms: Jeffrey Crouse Interviews V. F. Perkins," ''Film International'', 2004:3, pp. 14–27.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, VF
1936 births
2016 deaths
English film critics