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The New Republic reports that Stanley Kauffmann, who started reviewing movies in the late 1930s and held his last job at The New Republic from 1958 to the present, has died at 97. There are tributes here by colleagues James Wolcott and David Denby:

http://www.newrepublic.com/article/1150 ... -kauffmann" target="_blank" target="_blank

Kauffmann was, in one sense, living film history— the kind of critic who could compare the Robert Redford The Great Gatsby to the lost Warner Baxter silent, because he had seen it before it vanished.

I remember a wonderful show he hosted in the 'sixties called "The Art of Film." Different aspects of film making would be explained by people in the industry. I remember one episode where composer Elmer Bernstein was the guest. They ran a scene from "Magnificent Seven" without music (dialogue and effects only) and then with the music, with Bernstein explaining what he was trying to achieve. Another episode with a film editor illustrated how foley effects were added, with before/after scenes from "America, America." Strange that I remember those details from nearly fifty years ago but have to check my wallet in the morning to remember my name.