Saturday 19 December 2009

Crossing the Wild River: R.I.P. Robin Wood (1931-2009)

Last updated on June 4, 2010
'If I were asked to choose a film that would justify the existence of Hollywood, I think it would be Rio Bravo.' Robin Wood
Film Studies For Free briefly emerges from an enforced absence due to illness (back properly soon, it hopes), to mark the sad passing, on December 18, of Robin Wood, one of the true giants of the difficult endeavour of film criticism and also of the discipline of film studies.

FSFF's own special-favourite Wood works are the talk on 'Responsibilities of a Gay Film Critic', his books on Hitchcock (especially the Vertigo chapter), the book he co-authored with Michael Walker on Claude Chabrol's films, his incredibly enlightening study of Hawk's Rio Bravo and the other BFI book on The Wings of a Dove. Each of these was paradigm-shifting in their own ways, as was much of Wood's other writing on cinema.

As online tributes to this major film writer appear in the next days they will be added to the list of online and freely accessible works by or about Wood given below.

May this hugely prolific, influential, and talented writer, film-thinker, and teacher rest in peace.

Posthumous online tributes to Robin Wood:

Online works by or about Robin Wood:






        5 comments:

        Lesser Feat said...

        An absolute giant. He perhaps had more influence on my decision to pursue the study of film than any other writer. It's an irreparable loss.

        Adrian Mendizabal said...

        big, big loss.

        Unknown said...

        A sad, sad loss. This man has had such an enormous influence on my love of film and will always remain a major source of inspiration. RIP.

        Chad said...

        He certainly will be missed. His writings on Hitchcock are in a class of their own.

        Anonymous said...

        For information on an unpublished novel by Robin Wood see http://friendsofrobinwood.blogspot.com/