Stuart Klawans

Film Critic

Stuart Klawans was the film critic for The Nation from 1988 through 2020

Schindler’s List Schindler’s List

From a book by Thomas Keneally, who was convinced by the shopkeeper to look at some old documents he kept in the back of his store. The man was one of the 12,000 people saved by Os...

Jan 10, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Unforgiven Unforgiven

Clint Eastwood won his first Academy Award for this Dirty-Harry-meets-the-western classic.

Jan 9, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Forrest Gump Forrest Gump

In which an addled man stumbles through recent American history, kind of like George W. Bush.

Jan 8, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Guilt and Absolution: Carlos Reygadas’s ‘Silent Light’ Guilt and Absolution: Carlos Reygadas’s ‘Silent Light’

Reviewing Silent Light and more.

Jan 8, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Saving Private Ryan Saving Private Ryan

It was said that the opening scenes of the D-Day invasion were so realistic that veterans hospitals across the country became filled with vets suffering from flashbacks after seein...

Jan 3, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Hoop Dreams Hoop Dreams

...are made to be broken, as Arthur Agee and William Gates learned the hard way over the five years their lives on and off the court were filmed.

Jan 3, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Roger and Me Roger and Me

The real question is who comes off worse: the callous GM executive, the bunny-cidal woman or Bob Eubanks, the anti-Semitic, joke-telling gameshow host.

Jan 1, 2009 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

GoodFellas GoodFellas

Unlike The Godfather, in Martin Scorsese's depiction of New York mafioso, no one pretends to be a man of honor. That's one of the reasons it's so great.

Dec 8, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Do the Right Thing Do the Right Thing

New York City's second most-famous Mookie delivers pizza and fights the power in Spike Lee's breakthrough film. Some critics predicted its provocative portrayal of race tensions wo...

Dec 8, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

Epic Moments: ‘Milk,’ ‘Australia,’ ‘Wendy and Lucy’ Epic Moments: ‘Milk,’ ‘Australia,’ ‘Wendy and Lucy’

Gus Van Sant's Milk, Baz Luhrmann's Australia, Kelly Reichardt's Wendy and Lucy.

Dec 3, 2008 / Books & the Arts / Stuart Klawans

x