Hi Mark! Really enjoyed this article, really have come to miss film writing like this - in depth, insightful, gives new dimension to a familiar film. Also, really enjoyed Pictures at a Revolution. Thanks to you and Criterion for publishing.
I’m looking forward to seeing your thoughts. I, too, loved the film from the time I was a child, though I was always nervous about the father being beaten in the stairwell. Tatum O’Neill was sterling.
I remember first seeing Paper Moon at a multiplex by myself (my parents went to an R-rated movie a couple of doors over). I raved about it so much, Mom took me to it again the following week, and she became an instant convert, too.
What a delightful essay that made me see things I hadn’t about the film and also gave me something of the feeling I had while watching it as a kid. But did I get that right—Madeleine Kahn only has 12 min of screen time?!?! 🤯
I saw this film when I was a kid, been waiting to see it again since. Is it available to stream or am I just too cheap to purchase it? Either way, it’s special for sure.
I was lucky enough to get an early copy of this one, and I thought your essay was such an incredible addition to the set. The Paper Moon 4K UHD is the first title I discuss this week on my physical media review series this week: https://youtu.be/_0JCNEXeQM0?si=qwSM6k33CLTZlkDx
Fantastic—I’m a big fan of PAPER MOON (I even own a 16mm print); your essay gets at exactly what I love about it. I didn’t pay attention to who wrote the essay til I reached the end, and ha!, damned if this week I’m not already listening to your book on Mike Nichols (he just married Diane Sawyer)!
The best essays make us see and/or appreciate our favorite films in a new way. This essay nearly brought a tear to my eye with its comprehensive understanding not only of what makes Paper Moon a great film, but of how it got that way. Racing out to B&N to see if there are any left.
Hooray! It’s so wild that I designed the sheet music cover idea without having the text of your essay to work with and you mentioned the song right away! It worked out perfectly, haha! ❤️
I started watching it recently and found it almost unbearably sad, mostly in light of what we know now about the Ryan/Tatum relationship and how things turned out for her.
That movie sparked my deep love for 1920s music, which I’ve since passed onto my tween nieces. My sis informed me they asked a wedding DJ to play some Annette Hanshaw for them. So proud! 🥲
Comments
Lovely, insightful essay—thank you. (And thanks, Polly Platt! ❤️)
I was one of those kids too, saw this in the movies.
(Belated birthday wishes, btw💜)
*There were chaperones in the children's section.