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Movies / On DVD / The Stone Reader
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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41 - 60 (sorted by date)
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It should delight anyone who loves to curl up with a book, or loves to tell someone about a book worth curling up with.

Full Review Source: Dallas Morning News | comment Comment
05/08/03
Chris Vognar
Chris Vognar
Dallas Morning News
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The most improbably thrilling movie you'll see in 2003 -- an utterly absorbing, invigorating celebration of creativity and its symbiotic and replenishing relationship with the human spirit.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Today | comment Comment
05/05/03
Brent Simon
Brent Simon
Entertainment Today

Who'd have thought that a documentary about reading could be so much fun?

Full Review Source: Movie Habit | comment Comment
05/04/03
Marty Mapes
Marty Mapes
Movie Habit

The first movie I can recall that really inspired me to read afterward.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Daily News | comment Comment
05/02/03
Glenn Whipp
Glenn Whipp
Los Angeles Daily News

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

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

To anyone whose soul lives or dies by reading or writing or both, the movie is a total thrill.

Full Review Source: L.A. Weekly | comment Comment
05/01/03
Ella Taylor
Ella Taylor
L.A. Weekly

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

After seeing The Stone Reader, hearing J.D. Salinger speak or read from an unpublished work would be an anticlimax.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Daily News | comment Comment
04/25/03
Gary Thompson
Gary Thompson
Philadelphia Daily News

Both an involving real-life mystery and a passionate romance between a novelist and his ideal reader.

Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
04/24/03
Carrie Rickey
Carrie Rickey
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

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

May leave audience members with thoughts of buying a book rather than their next movie ticket.

Full Review Source: Sacramento News & Review | comment Comment
04/03/03
Mark Halverson
Mark Halverson
Sacramento News & Review

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

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

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

Absolutely mesmerizing ... The beauty of this page-turner of a documentary comes from more than just the quest to find the elusive Mossman. The journey is the reward.

Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
03/17/03
Steve Rhodes
Steve Rhodes
Internet Reviews

Stone Reader is the story of a Quixotian quest by a man who is more than an ideal reader. Mark Moskowitz is the sort of reader writers live for.

Full Review Source: Rediff.com | comment Comment
03/14/03
Jeet Thayil
Jeet Thayil
Rediff.com

A riveting literary adventure.

Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
03/10/03
Jerry Weinstein
Jerry Weinstein
culturevulture.net

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

Filmmaker Mark Moskowitz, who earns a living making political commercials, turns his considerable skills of media persuasion to the nobler service of selling serious books. And with Stone Reader, he makes the sale.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Weekly | comment Comment
02/20/03
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
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