100 Great Films: Ten Years of William Wolf's Best Ten Films

William Wolf, a noted film and theater critic, author, and journalist, will celebrate his 30th year as an NYU instructor this fall. Wolf, who currently teaches the NYU-SCPS Movie Previews course on Saturday mornings at the Walter Reade Theater in Lincoln Center, has had a long career as a critic, writing for such publications as New York Magazine, Cue Magazine, the Gannett newspaper chain, and more throughout the country. He is currently President of Drama Desk and a member of the National Society of Film Critics and has donated to the New York City Library of Performing Arts about 450 recorded interviews of film and theater personalities, such as those with Charlie Chaplin and Ingmar Bergman, plus many culled from discussions in his film class.

When recently interviewed about the current state of film, Wolf says the industry is undergoing a change as important as when sound was introduced in the 1920s. “The digital revolution is changing the way films are shown. The practice of heavy containers of film reels being shipped around to theaters will disappear; in cinemas, digital projection will soon become the norm."

Wolf adds that almost anyone with desire and talent can make a film on a limited budget. Wolf says, "By uploading to the web, wide audiences can be reached, and careers can be developed. The studios will still make big budget films, but the independent film world will claim a fresh power of its own, as film festivals will abound with ever more home-grown movies.”

As for his favorite film, Wolf says, “Movies are so very different from one another that I'd prefer to choose favorites within genres. Choices are very personal, and critics disagree passionately with one another. I tend to favor independent work and find many foreign films to be superior. But if pressed, for me the top spot is held by director Roman Polanski’s powerful film about survival during World War II, The Pianist."

William Wolf Movie Previews (X34.9507) runs October 17 – December 12 at NYU-SCPS during the Fall 2009 semester. Course details, faculty bios, and registration information are available at on the NYU-SCPS website at www.scps.nyu.edu/film.

For links to Wolf’s special reports and critiques, please visit http://www.wolfentertainmentguide.com/.

Following are ten of William Wolf’s annual Best Ten lists: