It seems curious that some ca. 35 years after the inauguration of "Film Studies" (dated from the organizational meeting of the Society for Cinema Studies, originally dubbed the "Society of Cinematologists"), a thread emerges addressing the paucity of readable and literate film critics. What's gone wrong? For what it's worth, my nomination of a most readable and literate film critic is David Denby, who unfortunately is to be found only in New York Magazine, which is not widely disttributed outside of the NY Metropolitan area. . Denby writes with extraordinary style and gracefulness, and his prose never gets in the way of his ideas. His recent piece on Dumb and Dumber is a treat. This is not to disparage Richard Dyer, who manages to be both a scholar and a readable and literate critic, and Maurice Yacowar. -Henry Breitrose Dept. of Communication Stanford ---- To signoff SCREEN-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF SCREEN-L in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask]