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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

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Stone Reader

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1 - 20 (sorted by rotten rating)
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N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
09/12/03
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
07/02/03
Boston Phoenix
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Newsweek | comment Comment
11/01/07
David Ansen
David Ansen
Newsweek
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
06/24/06
Derek Adams
Derek Adams
Time Out
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Variety | comment Comment
08/07/08
Scott Foundas
Scott Foundas
Variety

Stone Reader is flat, flawed filmmaking.

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

The mainstream nature of Moskowitz's taste in books undermines his proselytizing for Mossman, whose prose we barely meet in the movie. "I like subplots and twists in stories," he counsels us at one point.

Full Review Source: DVDTalk.com | comment Comment
04/26/03
D.K. Holm
D.K. Holm
DVDTalk.com

No review available.

comment Comment
08/16/05
Emanuel Levy
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com

Stone Reader's subject is worthy, and receives a mostly entertaining treatment, but I felt like there was more to gain from the quest than Moskowitz puts on the screen.

Full Review Source: Film Blather | comment Comment
05/01/03
Eugene Novikov
Eugene Novikov
Film Blather

This filmed travelogue, a cinematic one-man's-diary -- or whatever you care to call it -- never really gives a reason for the audience to care about its subjects or its central thesis.

Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
09/20/03
Jeff Vice
Jeff Vice
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

familiar ground of bookish geeks conversing about their favorites

Full Review Source: ToxicUniverse.com | comment Comment
09/20/03
John A. Nesbit
John A. Nesbit
ToxicUniverse.com

Occasionally overwrought and overwritten.

Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
05/09/03
Linton Weeks
Linton Weeks
Washington Post

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

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

Moskowitz indulgences himself too often at the expense of audience patience.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
03/21/03
Mick LaSalle
Mick LaSalle
San Francisco Chronicle
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This navel-gazing documentary is too much about Moskowitz and not enough about the object of his obsession.

Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
09/19/03
Sean Means
Sean Means
Salt Lake Tribune

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

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/06/05
Film Threat

An unalloyed treasure for any viewer who has ever felt transformed by reading a good novel.

Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
02/19/03
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

As a reader myself, it was quite a fun experience.

Full Review Source: Film Threat | comment Comment
12/23/02
Barry Robison
Barry Robison
Film Threat
 
 
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