David Denby

New York

Staff Writer at The New Yorker

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Articles

EMINENT JEWS | Kirkus Reviews

2 weeks ago | kirkusreviews.com | David Denby

Dogged original research and superb narrative skills come together in this gripping account of pitiless evil. During that time, enrolled members of the Osage Indian nation were among the wealthiest people per capita in the world. The rich oil fields beneath their reservation brought millions of dollars into the tribe annually, distributed to tribal members holding "headrights" that could not be bought or sold but only inherited.
How Leonard Bernstein Won Over Europe

3 weeks ago | theatlantic.com | David Denby

Leonard Bernstein’s way with orchestras that wouldn’t give him what he wanted was usually imploring, even beseeching. He was disappointed—the musicians were not so much failing him, the conductor, as failing the composer, failing the music. But on one occasion, his disappointment turned to anger. In 1972, he was working with the Vienna Philharmonic on Gustav Mahler’s Fifth Symphony. Mahler had been the head of the Vienna Court Opera and had conducted the Philharmonic from 1897 to 1907.
Jewish Masterpiece: Blazing Saddles | SAPIR Journal

1 month ago | sapirjournal.org | David Denby

Nothing is more stirring in Western movies than the horses. Beautiful and noble beasts, always our friends, they carry Indians, villains, and heroes across open plains; they bear John Wayne’s bulk for a day but often stand around waiting, exhausted, probably underfed, yet always ready for some demanding task.
Where to begin with Marguerite Duras

Jul 10, 2024 | bfi.org.uk | Adam Scovell |Michael Brooke |David Denby

Though predominantly known as one of the foremost writers of the nouveau roman movement, Marguerite Duras was an equally adept if underrated filmmaker. Like her contemporary Alain Robbe-Grillet, she found that her sparse prose style and deeply haunted themes had equal purchase in often complex and experimental cinematic forms.
Where to begin with Czech animation

Jul 8, 2024 | bfi.org.uk | Michael Brooke |Adam Scovell |David Denby |Richard G. Combs

One of the first written words I committed to memory was ‘Konec’, or the Czech for ‘The End’, a by-product of Czechoslovak animated shorts forming a surprisingly staple part of 1970s BBC childrens’ programming.
How The Beatles’ London looks today: 60 years of A Hard Day’s Night

Jul 5, 2024 | bfi.org.uk | Adam Scovell |Michael Brooke |David Denby |Richard G. Combs

It’s impossible to underestimate the influence of Richard Lester’s Beatles collaboration A Hard Day’s Night, released 60 years ago on 6 July 1964. Its imagery of the Fab Four rapidly entered the lexicon of popular culture, its antic approach to pop music on screen going on to influence everything from fashion, attitudes and culture to music videos and MTV.
Stolen privacy: Coppola’s The Conversation

Jul 4, 2024 | bfi.org.uk | David Denby |Richard G. Combs |Chloe Walker |Sam Wigley

This essay in our Summer 1974 issue explored Francis Ford Coppola’s study of a paranoid wiretapper living in a world where privacy can be bought and sold. 4 July 2024When Francis Ford Coppola insisted that he made The Godfather for the freedom big money would bring him to work on his own personal projects, many people jeered at what they took to be the guilty old Hollywood bull, the promise so often made, so often not delivered. Well, Coppola has delivered and the cynics stand mute.
Bewitched, Bored, and Bewildered: ‘Notes on Beverly Hills Cop II’

Jul 3, 2024 | vulture.com | David Denby

Editor’s note: This review originally appeared in the June 22, 1987, issue of New York. We’re republishing it to mark the release of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F this week. Notes on a summer-season mega-hit: Producers Don Simpson and Jerry Bruckheimer have ruined my breakfast again. Not only is their terrible Beverly Hills Cop II a gigantic success, it is being celebrated throughout the media as an example of the right way to make movies.
From the Archives: David Denby on Beverly Hills Cop (1984)

Jul 3, 2024 | vulture.com | David Denby

“Murphy overwhelms everyone, even himself, with his gift of gab. He wants the world to be a faster place…” Editor’s note: This review originally appeared in the December 10, 1984, issue of New York. We’re republishing it to mark the release of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel Fthis week. Eddie Murphy is an example of democratic man stretched to his limits.
From the Archives: David Denby on Beverly Hills Cop III (1994)

Jul 3, 2024 | vulture.com | David Denby

Editor’s note: This review originally appeared in the June 6, 1994, issue of New York. We’re republishing it to mark the release of Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F this week. In the dreadful Beverly Hills Cop III, there’s one hilarious sequence. Bronson Pinchot returns in the tiny role of Serge, who has left the art gallery that he inhabited in the original Beverly Hills Cop.