Alexander Walker RIP

Oh no - how am I going to guarentee a film is good now. (If AW liked it it was crap & vica versa).

He'll be licking Stanley Kubrick arse in heaven.

I sort of admired his insane prejudices, dbl-standards (yeah, sex/violence in Kubrick = good! in everything else = v. v. bad), obsessions/hobby-horses (smoking, the BFI, Northern Ireland, the BBFC, Ken Loach) and old-fashioned critical faith in high art. He seems to have had zero effect, pos or neg, on film theory/history/culture, and will no doubt chiefly be remembered for once getting biffed by Ken Russell (cue wryly affectionate and cheaply priced trib from KR on 10 O'Clock news.) He was an original who cld sometimes surprise you w/ his unexpected likes and dislikes - he knew an awful lot abt golden age of Hollywood stars/movies (I used to like a little retro col he wrote for the Hot Ticks mag). As long as I can remember, he's been film crit for the Standard - will Neil Norman finally inherit the gig?

I have a feeling that Neil Norman (solid if uninspiring critic) will get stiffed and they will bus in a bigger name.