Maitland McDonagh
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Maitland McDonagh () is an American
film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outl ...
and the author of several books about cinema. She is the author of ''Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento'' (1991) and works of erotic fiction and erotic cinema, as well as providing DVD commentary. She is the founder of 120 Days Books, which became an imprint of Riverdale Avenue Books. In 2022, she was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame.Archive link
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Early life

McDonagh was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
, the daughter of Don McDonagh, a dance critic and author, and Jennifer Jane Tobutt, She received her
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...
from Hunter College and her Master of Fine Arts from
Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, where she co-founded and edited the ''Columbia Film Review''. She was simultaneously working in the publicity department of the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...
under George Balanchine and
Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras as ...
, eventually becoming head of publicity.


Career

In 1991, McDonagh released her book ''Broken Mirrors, Broken Minds'', which offers commentary on the films of Dario Argento. After leaving New York City Ballet, McDonagh taught film as an adjunct professor at Hunter College and Brooklyn College, during which time she completed ''Filmmaking on the Fringe: The Good, The Bad, and the Deviant Directors'' and ''The 50 Most Erotic Films of All Time''. Her freelance work during this period included film pieces for ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
''. Her book ''Movie Lust'', third in the
Sasquatch Books Sasquatch Books is an American book publishing company based in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1986 by David Brewster of the '' Seattle Weekly'' and primarily publishes nonfiction books about the western United States and Canada and cover ...
series begun with ''
Book Lust ''Book Lust: Recommended Reading for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason'' was written by Nancy Pearl, former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book and inspiration for the Librarian action figure. It was published in 2003 by Sasquatc ...
'' by
Nancy Pearl Nancy Pearl (born January 12, 1945) is an American librarian, best-selling author, literary critic and the former Executive Director of the Washington Center for the Book at Seattle Public Library.Rebekah DennNancy Pearl trading the quiet confi ...
and ''Music Lust'' by Nic Harcourt, was published August 28, 2006. Later that year, she became the founding vice-president of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists. She is also a member of the
New York Film Critics Online The New York Film Critics Online (NYFCO) is an organization founded by Harvey Karten in 2000 composed of Internet film critics based in New York City. The group meets once a year, in December, for voting on its annual NYFCO Awards. 2001 Various ...
. In 2014, McDonagh created the company 120 Days Books to republish rare 1970s and 1980s gay-erotica genre novels, beginning with a pair of two-in-one volumes: the crime thrillers ''Man Eater'' and ''Night of the Sadist'' and the supernatural fantasies ''Vampire's Kiss'' and ''Gay Vampire''. Later in the decade, this became an imprint of Riverdale Avenue Books. McDonagh provides interviews and second-channel commentary on
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kind ...
/
Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
releases, including for
director Director may refer to: Literature * ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine * ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker * ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty Music * Director (band), an Irish rock band * ''D ...
Paul Schrader's ''
Blue Collar A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and power ...
'', and ''
Tenebrae Tenebrae (—Latin for "darkness") is a religious service of Western Christianity held during the three days preceding Easter Day, and characterized by gradual extinguishing of candles, and by a "strepitus" or "loud noise" taking place in total ...
'', and
liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are desc ...
, including for the Criterion Collection releases '' The Tunnel'', '' The Innocents'', ''
Kuroneko Galbraith IV, Stuart (1994). ''Japanese Fantasy, Science Fiction and Horror Films''. McFarland & Company. is a 1968 Japanese horror film directed by Kaneto Shindo, and an adaptation of a supernatural folktale. Set during a civil war in feudal J ...
'', and the paired '' Corridors of Blood/
The Haunted Strangler ''The Haunted Strangler'' (also known as ''Grip of the Strangler'' and originally titled ''The Judas Hole'') is a 1958 British horror film directed by Robert Day. It was adapted from "Stranglehold", a story which screenwriter Jan Read had writte ...
'', and
Arrow Video An arrow is a fin-stabilized projectile launched by a bow. A typical arrow usually consists of a long, stiff, straight shaft with a weighty (and usually sharp and pointed) arrowhead attached to the front end, multiple fin-like stabilizers ca ...
's '' Dressed to Kill''. She stars in a documentary short, speaking on serial-killer cinema, on the Criterion Collection release of '' The Silence of the Lambs''. McDonagh contributed weekly commentary as the American correspondent for British Armed Forces Radio in 2004.


Works

*''Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento'', (London, England, Sun Tavern Fields, 1991; reissued New York, Citadel Press, 1994) *''Filmmaking on the Fringe: The Good, the Bad, and the Deviant Directors'' (New York, Carol Publishing Corporation, 1995) *''The 50 Most Erotic Films of All Time: From Pandora's Box to Basic Instinct'' (New York, Carol Publishing Corporation, 1996) *''Movie Lust: Recommended Viewing for Every Mood, Moment, and Reason'' (Seattle, Wash., Sasquatch Books, 2006)


As co-author

*Lassalle, Nancy, and Maitland McDonagh, Lincoln Kirstein,
Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and John Taras as ...
,
Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...
, ''New York City Ballet: Fortieth Anniversary'' (New York, New York City Ballet, 1988)


As editor

*McDonagh, Maitland (editor). ''Holiday Gay: Tales of Love, Lust, Romance and Other Seasonal Gifts'' (2018) New York: Riverdale Avenue Books.


Anthologies

Maitland McDonagh essays appear in: * * * * * * *


References


External links

* * * Interview with Maitland McDonagh a
Behind the Couch
{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonagh, Maitland Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Hunter College alumni American film critics Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Writers from Manhattan