INTRODUCTION

The nicest words ever written about me are these: "Mr. Schickel knows how to use his prodigious knowledge of cinematic history to create portraits of film artists that illuminate their individual talents while at the same time situating them within a social and aesthetic context." A.O. Scott, the New York Times reviewer, wrote that about my work on a documentary I made about Charlie Chaplin, but I'd like to think his words apply to at least some of the books and films I've created over a career that is now something like 40 years old. No one knows better than I that I how often I've nodded and floundered over that period. I've written too much and made too many films (and written uncounted of reviews and articles as well). Excessive energy can be a curse as well as a blessing.

It's not for me to say when I attained the ideal Tony Scott so flatteringly set forth. Or when I failed it (though I have my own ideas on that subject). All I can say is that I've done my best to be serious and thoughtful about a topic that is not always approached in that spirit. And that, most of the time, I've loved the career that resulted from that commitment . It hasn't always been "fun." But it has always been absorbing. Imagine being paid to comment on a topic that fascinated you long before it ever occurred to you that you might somehow make a living by writing about it. That's the kind of good luck most people never have. Which does not mean that I ever feel complacent. Like every writer I know, I never begin a new piece of work without wondering if I'm still up to it, still able to find the words (or the images) and string them together in a coherent, intelligible way. But...On the whole...So far, so good.

- Richard Schickel