“With this welcome collection, Jonathan Baumbach, known for his wry, take-no-prisoners experimental fiction, is revealed in retrospect to have been a brilliant film critic. In an era bristling with formidable commentators on the movies, Baumbach, we see now, was one of the sharpest. Writing for quarterlies such as Film Culture and Partisan Review, he could absent himself from the hype-manufacturing competition of daily/weekly reviewers, and weigh in with thoughtful, elegant prose, astute judgment and a dose of skepticism after the initial hoopla had died down… His film criticism brings us into the healing presence of a fully evolved, lively intelligence. We are grateful to have this scintillating and engaging and long-overdue collection.”—Philip Lopate, from his Preface to Shots in the Dark.