Marshall Fine’s career as a movie reviewer has included stints in Colorado, Kansas and Mississippi. But his love affair with pop culture began in St. Louis Park and then the University of Minnesota, where he wrote for the college paper and the Minneapolis Star.
Veteran film critic Marshall Fine picks the quintessential Minnesota movie
The Twin Cities-raised writer and director has just published his first novel.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
November 7, 2024 at 2:00PM
Fine, the former chairman for the New York Film Critics Circle and director of the 2017 documentary “Robert Klein Still Can’t Stop His Leg,” is now adding novelist to his list of accomplishments. “The Autumn of Ruth Winters,” set in the Twin Cities, came out this week.
Fine, 73, who was sporting a Twins T-shirt, talked about movies recently over steel-cut oatmeal at Golden Valley’s Good Day Cafe.
Q: What movies had an impact on you when you were growing up in the Twin Cities?
A: “Blow-Up” by Michelangelo Antonioni. I remember reading about it in Will Jones’ column in the Minneapolis Tribune and thinking I had to go see it. His column is what turned me on to movies as a teenager. “Blow-Up” changed my mind about what a movie could be. I also was affected by John Cassavetes’ ”Faces,” which I saw in college.
Q: When did you start writing about movies and music?
A: I walked into the Minnesota Daily my first day as a freshman and told them I would review whatever they had, not recognizing that they had older journalists who had been doing that kind of stuff for years. I would write a review on everything that I saw and turn it in. Then one Friday of my freshman year, I opened up the paper’s entertainment section and there were 12 of my reviews. The editor told me that he was given a bunch of extra pages at the last minute. He looked around and saw the big pile of stuff I had been turning in and ran them.
Q: At your peak, how many movies would you see in a week?
A: Five or six. My record was seven in a day. I was at the Toronto Film Festival and when I got to the last one, I completely didn’t want to sit through another movie. It ended up being “Reservoir Dogs.” That woke me up. I came out wanting to see seven more.
Q: You had a lot of success with your Robert Klein film. Do you have another documentary in you?
A: I have so many ideas. I was ready to do one on F. Lee Bailey. I spent my own money to film him speaking at a forensics conference and also interviewed him. But I couldn’t find anyone to finance it. At one point, I had conversations with Allen Toussaint about doing a documentary on him. We were going to put together a concert where young artists would sing his songs. I got him to agree and then he dropped dead of a heart attack.
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Q: What’s the quintessential Minnesota movie?
A: To me, it’s the Coen brothers’ “A Serious Man.” That felt like my childhood. They really captured the suburbs at that time.
Q: What movie do you wish you could see again for the first time?
A: “Chinatown.” It’s my favorite movie of all time. The writing is so well constructed. Roman Polanski really captured the period. There’s never a flat or slow moment. I was in Minneapolis when it first came out, looking for work. I saw it two or three times at the State Theatre. I can remember where I saw movies, but I can’t remember where I put my keys.
Q: Other favorites?
A: I love “Raging Bull,” “Taxi Driver,” “E.T.” I was extremely fortunate to be a working critic when directors like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg were working.
Q: What movie do you wish today’s teenagers would check out?
A: I love westerns. I’d love kids to know “The Wild Bunch.” But it’s so politically incorrect and incredibly violent. You’d have to have trigger warnings, no pun intended.
Q: What film did you hate that everyone else raved about?
A: Paul Thomas Anderson’s “The Master.” I felt like he was pranking the audience. I liked “Boogie Nights” and his last one, “Licorice Pizza.” But overall, I think he’s the most overrated director.
Q: What do you think about the overall state of movies today?
A: I retired from reviewing about seven or eight years ago. It had gotten to the point where I was having a problem caring. And you can’t just be dismissive. I got tired of Marvel movies and “Star Wars” movies. It just feels like there isn’t much original stuff out there. I don’t go to the theater very much. When I do go, about a half-hour in I start thinking, “Why did I come?” It feels too much like work.
The Minnesota Interview is a feature in which we dive deep into the personal side of public figures with special ties to our region and readers.
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