The 50 Year Argument
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''The 50 Year Argument'' is a documentary film by
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, inclu ...
and co-directed by David Tedeschi about the history and influence of the ''
New York Review of Books New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
'', which marked its 50th anniversary in 2013. The documentary premiered in June 2014 at the Sheffield Doc/Fest and was soon screened in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
and
Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
before airing on the British
Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
television series in July. It was also screened at the
Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, t ...
and the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...
and was seen at the
New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...
, in September, and at other film festivals. It first aired on HBO in September 2014 and was given other national broadcasts. It had a limited theatrical release in Toronto in 2015. The film uses a combination of archival footage, quotes from the ''Review'' and contemporary interviews to give a view of the coverage of the journal over its half-century of publication, focusing on how its writers and editors have approached the larger issues of the day. Reviews of the film have been mostly warm.Foundas, Scott
"Film Review: ''The 50-Year Argument''"
''Variety'', July 1, 2014


Description

The 97-minute film is a "hop-scotching journey through the ''NYRB's'' history".Thrift, Matt
"Sheffield Doc/Fest 2014: ''The New York Review of Books: A 50 Year Argument''"
, ''Little White Lies'', June 7, 2014
Scorsese and Tedeschi "delve into the journal's eventful fifty-year history, from its emergence during the writer strikes and Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s through to the Arab Spring uprisings in Egypt, Libya and Syria. ...
hey Hey or Hey! may refer to: Music * Hey (band), a Polish rock band Albums * ''Hey'' (Andreas Bourani album) or the title song (see below), 2014 * ''Hey!'' (Julio Iglesias album) or the title song, 1980 * ''Hey!'' (Jullie album) or the title s ...
aim to offer not just an overview of the ''Review's'' half-century history, but also seek to highlight some of the newsworthy events that the magazine has covered in-depth since its conception. ... 's the monumental clashes of intellect that really capture the imagination." They "present a fascinating account of a publication that defies the modern culture of news reporting" but "avoid probing its political character beyond saluting a broad interest in human rights ... a few dissenting voices among the cheerleaders might have added a little necessary grit."Dalton, Stephen
"''The 50 Year Argument'': Sheffield Review"
''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'', June 7, 2014
The film's title "is a reference to how the ... publication has so frequently exposed stories less reported and made challenges to the mainstream during its time." "Anchored by the old-world charm" of the editor of the ''
New York Review of Books New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...
'',
Robert Silvers Robert Benjamin Silvers (December 31, 1929 – March 20, 2017) was an American editor who served as editor of ''The New York Review of Books'' from 1963 to 2017. Raised on Long Island, New York, Silvers graduated from the University of Chicago ...
, the film focuses on notable contributors to, and articles in, the ''Review''; it "slides fluidly between handsomely shot contemporary interviews and well-curated retro footage. ...
Michael Stuhlbarg Michael Stewart Stuhlbarg ( ; born July 5, 1968) is an American actor. He is known as a character actor having portrayed a variety of roles in film, television and theatre. He has received several awards including two Screen Actors Guild Awards wi ...
reads the spare voiceover while a vintage jazz soundtrack invokes a lost golden age of uptown Manhattan sophistication." The articles' texts are "enlightened by the rich visual illustration with which they're accompanied. ... Scorsese hoosesto have many famous articles read by their authors", which is sometimes poignant, and results in "a thematically dense but wholly accessible film about how fifty years of sensuous ideas can open a dialogue towards social and political change." The film has been variously characterized as "a warm, engaging, celebratory love letter from one New York institution to another" and "a bracing film about the value of radical ideas and the importance of being courageous enough to consider them." Silvers said of the ''Review'' as a documentary subject: "The book review sounds like it might be quiet, but it can be extremely intense and revelatory. It can have a lot of power – or that's what you hope for."


Production and release

To help celebrate and memorialize the 50th anniversary of the 1963 debut of ''The New York Review of Books'', Silvers approached Scorsese, who is known as an avid reader of the ''Review'', with the idea to make a documentary about the paper. Scorsese said, "I have learned so much over the years from ''The New York Review of Books'' – it’s given me so much that I jumped at the chance to make this film ... a film about the adventure of thought, and, as
Colm Toibin Colm is a male given name of Irish origin. Colm can be pronounced "Collum" or "Kullum". It is not an Irish version of Colin, but like Callum and Malcolm derives from a Gaelic variation on ''columba'', the Latin word for 'dove'. People * Colm B ...
puts it, the sensuality of ideas." The film took 18 months to produce. The documentary screened as a work in progress at the
Berlin International Film Festival The Berlin International Film Festival (german: Internationale Filmfestspiele Berlin), usually called the Berlinale (), is a major international film festival held annually in Berlin, Germany. Founded in 1951 and originally run in June, the fest ...
in February 2014 and premiered in June 2014 at the Sheffield Doc/Fest.Barnes, Henry
"Sheffield Doc/Fest 2014 review: ''The 50 Year Argument'' – Scorsese's love letter to old media"
''The Guardian'', June 7, 2014
It was also screened in
Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
in June and at the
Jerusalem Film Festival The Jerusalem Film Festival ( he, פסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים, ar, مهرجان القدس السينمائي) is an international film festival held annually in Jerusalem, It was established in 1984 by the Director of the Jerusal ...
in July. The film was shown on British television on the
Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
documentary series in July and at the
Telluride Film Festival The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022. History First held on 30 August 1974, t ...
in August. In September, it was seen at the
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a perman ...
, the
Calgary International Film Festival The Calgary International Film Festival (CIFF) is a film festival held annually in Calgary, Alberta, in late September and early October. CIFF is the largest international film festival in Alberta and the sixth largest in Canada. The Festival's ...
, and the
New York Film Festival The New York Film Festival (NYFF) is a film festival held every fall in New York City, presented by Film at Lincoln Center (FLC). Founded in 1963 by Richard Roud and Amos Vogel with the support of Lincoln Center president William Schuman, i ...
. It first aired on HBO on September 29, 2014 and was screened at the
Tokyo Film Festival The is a film festival established in 1985. The event was held biennially from 1985 to 1991 and annually thereafter. Along with the Shanghai International Film Festival, it is one of Asia's competitive film festivals, and is considered to be the ...
in October. Other film festival screenings in 2014 were held in Rio de Janeiro, Mumbai, Denmark, St. Louis, and it was broadcast on television in Japan. The film was released for public showings in a theatre in Toronto in January 2015.


Reception

Press reviews at the early screenings were generally favorable, noting that the filmmakers captured the two key factors of the magazine's half century: its long-form reviews of the great books of the time, and its independent take on political and historical events. Some reviewers felt that Scorsese and Tedeschi were noticeably well disposed to the ''Review''. ''
The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...
'' called the film "a warm, engaging, celebratory love letter from one New York institution to another" but commented on "the irony of a film that champions serious criticism without containing any serious criticism itself." The English newspaper ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' concurred, observing that Scorsese and Tedeschi "are here to celebrate the magazine, not challenge it. It's testament to their skill, as much as the ''NYRB's'' commitment to good stories, thoroughly told, that you find yourself rooting for the staff." ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', though concurring that the film "comes mainly to lionize", remarked that it successfully encapsulates the paper's origins and first years, its modern day-to-day operations under Silvers, and a detailed examination of the ''Review's'' most important articles and contributors. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...
'' said, "Scorsese's nose for mafia-style feuds works well in this study of the literati who inhabit the ''Review's'' august and book-tsunamied offices in New York's Village."Muir, Kate
"Shining a light on a near extinct breed – At the Sheffield Doc/Fest, cinema is falling in love with the literary documentary"
''The Times'', June 9, 2014
An ''
Indiewire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
'' reviewer wrote, in previewing the film for its HBO release: "''The 50 Year Argument'' ... is a must-see. ... It reveals how many pivotal cultural arguments were started at the ''NYRB'' ... the movie visualizes and captures videos ... to remind us of some of the great debates over the decades." ''
Brooklyn Magazine ''Brooklyn Magazine'' is an online news magazine, focusing on "New York’s most populous borough through the lens of culture, community, commerce, arts and leisure." The company was bought by Michael Bassik and the website was launched in Decembe ...
'' called it "a moving and memorable tribute to something that matters." A reviewer at ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' commented that "the film does a thoughtful and appealing job of opening up the rarefied literary realm of the ''NYRB'' to a viewer who may have never heard of it." Another at the ''
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...
'' wrote: "''The 50-Year Argument'' is a rare animal among documentaries because it honors intellectualism — a dirty word in some quarters — rather than a person or an event and proves that ideas are powerful and effective in the hands of serious-minded people.""''50-Year Argument'' explores history of ''New York Review of Books''"
''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', September 28, 2014


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:50 Year Argument, The 2014 films Films directed by Martin Scorsese The New York Review of Books Documentary films about journalism Documentary films about New York City 2014 documentary films American documentary films Films produced by Martin Scorsese 2010s English-language films 2010s American films