A lively doc testifies to everything this formative rock writer invented.
Plus IconOwen Gleiberman
Chief Film Critic
@OwenGleiberman See All
Courtesy of Past Prime Productions As a critic, I should probably take offense at the title of “The Last Critic.” The movie is a captivating portrait of Robert Christgau, the legendary music writer who was one of the founding fathers of what was once known as “rock criticism.” (These were the days before poptimism, not to mention the Taylor Swift fan base.) To be fair, the film never asserts the claim of its title — that Christgau was or is “the last critic.” He was, in fact, one of the first writers to establish rock criticism as a vibrant and essential form, the others being Greil Marcus and Ellen Willis (both of whom he’s still close to; they’re both featured in the documentary) as well as Lester Bangs, the brilliant bad boy who died in 1982.
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