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The Stone Reader

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The Stone Reader (2003)

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Reviews Counted:64

Fresh:52

Rotten:12

Average Rating:7.1/10

Consensus: This fascinating documentary will be of most interest to those who read and write for a living.

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins

Genre: Education/General Interest

Theatrical Release:Feb 12, 2003 Limited

Synopsis: In this labor-of-love documentary, director-writer-producer Mark Moskowitz tackles a project he had been wanting to pursue since he was 18 years old. In 1972 he read a New York Times book review of... In this labor-of-love documentary, director-writer-producer Mark Moskowitz tackles a project he had been wanting to pursue since he was 18 years old. In 1972 he read a New York Times book review of THE STONES OF SUMMER by Dow Mossman, a title which would later became an object of obsession for Moskowitz. Though he shelved the book for 25 years, Moskowitz finally did read it and was amazed at its ingenuity. He was shocked that its onetime author never penned another book. Determined to solve this mystery, Moskowitz made THE STONE READER, documenting his research project in finding the forgotten author and getting to the bottom of the publishing mystery of how so many great works of literature, and great authors, just disappear. Moskowitz's infectious excitement about literature--reading it, collecting it, understanding it, enjoying it--comes through loud and clear in this inspiring film. He interviews some fascinating characters on his search for Mossman, including Frank Conroy, an author and the head of the Iowa University Writer's Workshop; Robert Gottlieb, the editor of Joseph Heller's CATCH 22 and former Editor-in-Chief at Simon & Schuster; and Leslie Fiedler, a literary critic and author of LOVE AND DEATH IN THE AMERICAN NOVEL. [More]

Director: Mark Moskowitz

Director: Mark Moskowitz
Screenwriter: Mark Moskowitz
Producer: Mark Moskowitz, Robert Goodman
Studio: Jet Films

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Release:

Feb 17, 2004

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Reviews for The Stone Reader

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1 - 20 (sorted by critic A-Z)
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Enormously affectionate, gloriously self-indulgent and unhesitatingly heroic in its championing of good books.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
05/28/03
John Anderson
John Anderson
Newsday
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The film doesn't exactly sell you on the merits of The Stones of Summer, but it does make you want to run out to the bookstore to pick up some Kafka or some Faulkner.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
03/24/03
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

Readers and non-readers alike will thrill to the spare elegance of this stirring documentary.

Full Review Source: Palo Alto Weekly | comment Comment
03/19/03
Jeanne Aufmuth
Jeanne Aufmuth
Palo Alto Weekly

It's easy to relate to Mosko-witz's single-minded preoccupation and it's even easier to like Moskowitz himself. He's an affable guy. There's just too much of him in his film.

Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
04/04/03
Joe Baltake
Joe Baltake
Sacramento Bee

Failure can take an enormous toll on a writer, but success sometimes can be just as brutal.

Full Review Source: Des Moines Register | comment Comment
10/06/03
Jeffrey Bruner
Jeffrey Bruner
Des Moines Register

Stone Reader is a wonderfully imaginative documentary that will appeal to all book lovers since it is really an exploration of the filmmaker's enchantment with literature.

Full Review Source: Spirituality and Practice | comment Comment
02/06/03
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice

Stone Reader is in many ways an undisciplined home movie ... But that's OK. Little by little Moskowitz builds his airtight case that reading matters.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
10/24/03
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

No insight into its subject matter (reading, readership, creation), but a lot of insight into Moskowitz and the contents of his bookshelf.

Full Review Source: Film Freak Central | comment Comment
06/19/03
Walter Chaw
Walter Chaw
Film Freak Central

Stone Reader is flat, flawed filmmaking.

Full Review Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune | comment Comment
06/19/03
Colin Covert
Colin Covert
Minneapolis Star Tribune
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The stultifying pace and Moskowitz's filmmaking laziness are forgivable, but it's exasperating and indicative of our low expectations for the documentary form that a film that taps the likes of Leslie Fiedler could be so devoid of ideas.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
05/01/03
Manohla Dargis
Manohla Dargis
Los Angeles Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Stone Reader is an affirmation for anybody who loves to read and if you don't, this may inspire you - or at least help you understand those of us who do.

Full Review Source: TheMovieChicks.com | comment Comment
05/09/03
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone
TheMovieChicks.com

Moskowitz has made a wonderful film about readers and reading, writers and writing.

Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
07/11/03
Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Chicago Sun-Times
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Worthwhile for anybody with an interest in reading or writing.

Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
10/08/03
Jurgen Fauth
Jurgen Fauth
About.com

An honest, if old-fashioned, paean to reading as an almost spiritual experience.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
02/12/03
Ken Fox
Ken Fox
TV Guide's Movie Guide

As personal memoir, a story of men and the books that bind them, it's fairly complex but verges on maudlin.

Full Review Source: Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus | comment Comment
08/27/03
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer
Bryant Frazer's Deep Focus

Such stuff will most appeal to an endangered species -- the devotee of literary fiction -- but anyone who gives a damn about the state of popular culture and the future of language will want to take heed.

Full Review Source: Dallas Observer | comment Comment
05/09/03
Bill Gallo
Bill Gallo
Dallas Observer

Mark Moskowitz’s documentary, ostensibly about the director’s search for an admired author, is pointless and uncinematic.

Full Review Source: Film Journal International | comment Comment
02/22/03
Maria Garcia
Maria Garcia
Film Journal International

It sends viewers running to the bookstore or the library.

Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
05/07/04
Jack Garner
Jack Garner
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

You're not likely to see a more impassioned and heartfelt tribute to the joy of reading.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
02/21/04
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Loved the discovery, but hated the man’s forcing of himself on the project.

Full Review Source: Slant Magazine | comment Comment
02/11/04
Ed Gonzalez
Ed Gonzalez
Slant Magazine
 
 
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