80
The New York Times by Dana Stevens
Mr. Richard's film makes a persuasive case for Langlois as one of the most important figures in the history of film and therefore in the history of 20th-century art.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
70
The Hollywood Reporter by Frank Scheck
An inspirational film for cinephiles everywhere.
75
San Francisco Chronicle by John McMurtrie
A treat for anyone who's passionate about films or who's ever wanted to learn more about them.
88
At a little over two hours, there's a lot of Langlois to digest. But cinephiles won't mind a bit: Richard includes tons of great anecdotes and clips from classic films that wouldn't exist if Langlois hadn't saved them.
88
Includes insightful and often hilarious archival interviews with Langlois and dozens of associates, as well as wonderful footage of Langlois.
80
Village Voice by Michael Atkinson
While the astonishing street footage of "l'affaire Langlois"--perhaps more familiar to the French than to us--is where this exhaustive talking-heads portrait becomes beautifully, bafflingly surreal, the whole project, however conventional, has the allure of a communal embrace, a home movie of a motherland left irrevocably in the past.
70
Though Phantom Of The Cinematheque is fascinating throughout, Richard squanders a chance to recreate one of those long Parisian nights where Langlois held court for his fellow movie buffs.
80
The New Republic by Stanley Kauffmann
Jacques Richard has fashioned an adoring tribute to this wonderfully maniacal man.
80
A labor of love made over the course of seven years that crucially matches the energy and passion Langlois himself embodied, this deep-dish account of the life and times of the longtime head of the Cinematheque Francaise will enthrall buffs.
75
A sound piece of profiling that has miles of archival footage of the affable, pop-eyed Langlois enthusing.