Sydney Pollack was a gracious man and an accomplished director, but he never knew how to work the press. That was reflected (inadvertently) in the tributes extended by critics and film writers following his death last week. The man who gave us ‘Tootsie,’ ‘They Shoot Horses, Don’t They?’ and ‘Out of Africa,’ directed “intelligent Hollywood pictures for an adult audience,” offered Ken Turan in the Los Angeles Times. The “Hollywood” designation is obviously the qualifier. The New York Times ran the headline, “Sydney Pollack, Filmmaker New and Old” (that means his work was old school) and A.O. Scott explained to his readers that Pollack’s work was “mainstream” (that means, audiences liked them). The trouble with Pollack’s movies, Scott wrote, was that audiences admired the performances and the stories, rather than obsessing on directorial style, as critics do with an Altman or Scorsese movie. According to Scott, the sort of pictures Pollack turned out “no longer has the industry cachet or cultural impact they used to.” Translated from critic-ese, that means Altman, like other ‘auteurs,’ would take the top critics out to dinner and even show them cuts of their films, supposedly to “ask their advice” about final trims (their films, of course, already were locked). Pollack didn’t.
All this blurs an array of critical issues: For one thing, who is an ‘auteur’ these days? A director who chooses his films, finances them and has final cut? But that sounds like someone like Spielberg. Maybe he’s too “mainstream” as well, and that, as we know, is death with the critics.
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I loved Sydney Pollock - not just as a director but as an actor as well. His performances in "Tootsie" and "Death Becomes Her" were right on the money and hilarious - so good he practically steals the films -he was unique and there will never be another Sydney Pollock.
Posted by: AJ Buttacavoli | 6/7/2008 4:52:50 PM
Sydney Pollack was what Jean Cocteau would call a craftsman... Someone that works with his hands in all the arts of life. Not only did he make profound films that have stood the test of time and become classics, he also contributed and supported the work of other filmmakers. Sydney Pollack, in my book, is one of the greats.
Posted by: Nick Dillon | 6/3/2008 12:14:10 PM
Pollack was a well-rounded professional, who understood all facets of movie making, and that includes giving the audience something they can love for many reasons, and not just because the directing was great. He knew his role and how far his influence could or should extend, rather than thinking he could or should stick him impramateur on every single facet of a film, which often leads to a film being labeled as a "Director A film," rather than as a good film.
Posted by: Lisa Romeo | 6/3/2008 8:34:35 AM
Pollack may not have an 'auteur' in the traditional sense, but I know what a Sydney Pollack feels and looks like. I think there was a distinct visual style to all his films.
Posted by: Richard Douglas | 6/3/2008 7:02:37 AM
Sidney was multi-talented and maybe that's why each of his films is so different. And his legacy is not only within the body of work he directed but also the kind of guy he was. He enjoyed the craft of movie making and everything else was less important - including influencing critics opinions.He is one of the giants who left us prematurely and his integrity, professionalism and charm off and on screen are something that will be remembered for generations.
Posted by: Ian Peterson | 6/2/2008 7:59:18 PM