- Born
- Died
- Birth namePhilip Neville French
- Philip French was born in Liverpool on 28 August 1933 to John and Bessie French and originally studied Law at Exeter College, Oxford. However after National Service he went into journalism, particularly writing about film. In 1978 he became the cinema critic for the Observer newspaper and remained in that capacity until 2013, when he received the O.B.E. - additionally publishing several books on film. He died on October 27th 2015.- IMDb Mini Biography By: don @ minifie-1
- SpouseKersti Molin(1957 - October 27, 2015) (his death, 3 children)
- Former BBC radio producer, he has been the film critic of The Observer (British Sunday newspaper) from 1978. He is the father of the writer and critic Sean French.
- Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1986
- His top ten films of all time are: The General (1926), The Grand Illusion (1937), Stagecoach (1939), Citizen Kane (1941), Singin' in the Rain (1952), Seven Samurai (1954), Pather Panchali (1955), Vertigo (1958), Winter Light (1963) and The Godfather (1972).
- He was awarded the OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2013 Queen's New Years Honours List for his services to Film. He is a film critic for the Observer.
- London, England: film critic
- [on Hudson Hawk (1991)] Its utter failure can only be explained by some form of madness having overcome the people involved in its making.
- [Reviewing Horrible Bosses (2011)] I laughed frequently, probably to the detriment of my self-respect.
- [on Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)]: The clear purpose of the film is to locate in the all-American figure of the cowboy some less attractive native traits: patriotism masking xenophobia, ignorance masquerading as intuitive common sense, mindless aggression concealed beneath virility, arrogance disguised as style. In addition, they can't even fight fair, although a little skill at karate and a touch of intelligence by their one-armed opponent is more than enough to defeat them.
- I don't know much about philately, but I know what I lick...
- [on Lindsay Anderson] He never flattered and he never kowtowed, and he was a keeper and pricker of consciences for two generations.
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