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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|AUS|AM}}
| honorific_suffix = {{post-nominals|AUS|AM}}
| name = David Stratton
| name = David Stratton
| image = David Stratton.jpg
| image = David Stratton.jpg
| caption = Stratton in 2012
| caption = Stratton in 2012
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1939}}
| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1939}}
| birth_place = [[Trowbridge]], [[Wiltshire]], England
| birth_place = [[Trowbridge]], [[Wiltshire]], England
| employer = [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]
| employer =
| occupation = Film critic ([[At the Movies (Australian TV program)|''At the Movies'']])
| occupation = {{hlist|Film critic|journalist|interviewer|television presenter}}
| known_for = {{unbulleted list|''[[The Movie Show]]''|''[[At the Movies (Australian TV program)|At the Movies]]''|''[[The Weekend Australian]]'' film reviews}}
| known_for = {{hlist|Film critic|journalist and interviewer|television presenter|television producer}}
| spouse = Susie Craig
| children = 2
}}
}}


'''David James Stratton''' {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} (born 1939) is an English-Australian award-winning [[film critic]], as both a [[journalist]] and interviewer, film historian, educator, television personality, and producer. His career as a film critic, writer, and educator in Australia spanned 57 years, until his retirement in December 2023. He co-presented film review shows with [[Margaret Pomeranz]] for 28 years, wrote film reviews for ''[[The Weekend Australian]]'' for 33 years, and lectured in film history for 35 years.
'''David James Stratton''' {{Post-nominals|country=AUS|AM}} (born 1939) is an English-Australian [[film critic]] and [[history of film|historian]]. He has also worked as a [[journalist]], interviewer, educator, television personality, and producer. His career as a film critic, writer, and educator in Australia spanned 57 years, until his retirement in December 2023.


Stratton's media career included presenting film review shows on television with [[Margaret Pomeranz]] for 28 years, writing film reviews for ''[[The Weekend Australian]]'' for 33 years, and lecturing in film history for 35 years.
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==Early life and education==
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Born in [[Trowbridge]], [[Wiltshire]], England, in 1939,<ref name=fellini/> David James Stratton<ref name=asio>{{cite book | last=Burgmann | first=M. | title=Dirty Secrets: Our ASIO files | publisher=NewSouth Publishing | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-74224-175-3 | url=https://books.google.com.au/books?id=x8toAwAAQBAJ | access-date=30 December 2023 | page=}}</ref> was sent to [[Hampshire]] to see out the [[World War II|war]] years with his grandmother, an avid filmgoer, where he was taken to the local cinemas regularly and saw a diverse range of films. He attended [[Chafyn Grove School]] from 1948 to 1953 as a [[Boarding school|boarder]],<ref name=fellini>{{cite book | last=Stratton | first=D. | title=I Peed on Fellini: Recollections of a Life in Film | publisher=William Heinemann | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-74166-619-9 | url=https://books.google.com.au/books?id=KPgXei32evoC | access-date=30 December 2023 | page=}}</ref> but never finished [[secondary school]].<ref name=hennessy2023/>


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==Early life and education==
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He saw his first [[World cinema|foreign film]] at [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] in 1955, the [[Cinema of Italy|Italian]] romantic comedy ''[[Bread, Love and Dreams]]''. That was soon followed by [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s Japanese adventure drama classic ''[[Seven Samurai]]'', found showing in [[Birmingham]].<ref name=abcprof/> At the age of 19, he founded the [[Melksham]] and District Film Society.<ref name="rhs">{{cite web|url = http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Authors/Default.aspx?Page=Author&ID=Stratton,%20David|title = David Stratton|access-date = 16 March 2008|publisher = Random House Australia}}</ref>
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Born in [[Trowbridge]], [[Wiltshire]], England, in 1939,<ref name=fellini/> David James Stratton<ref name=asio>{{cite book | last=Burgmann | first=M. | title=Dirty Secrets: Our ASIO files | publisher=NewSouth Publishing | year=2014 | isbn=978-1-74224-175-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x8toAwAAQBAJ | access-date=30 December 2023 | page=}}</ref> was sent to [[Hampshire]] to see out the [[World War II|war]] years with his grandmother. An avid filmgoer, his grandmother regularly took Stratton to the local cinemas. When he was around six years old, his father returned from the war and the family moved back to Wiltshire.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Purcell |first=Charles |date=2019-06-01 |title=David Stratton on changing up the Sydney Film Festival's retrospective |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/david-stratton-on-changing-up-the-sydney-film-festival-s-retrospective-20190529-p51s9n.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> He attended [[Chafyn Grove School]] from 1948 to 1953 as a [[Boarding school|boarder]],<ref name=fellini>{{cite book | last=Stratton | first=D. | title=I Peed on Fellini: Recollections of a Life in Film | publisher=William Heinemann | year=2008 | isbn=978-1-74166-619-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KPgXei32evoC | access-date=30 December 2023 | page=}}</ref> but never finished [[secondary school]].<ref name=hennessy2023/>


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He saw his first [[World cinema|foreign film]] at [[Bath, Somerset|Bath]] in 1955, the [[Cinema of Italy|Italian]] romantic comedy ''[[Bread, Love and Dreams]]''. That was soon followed by [[Akira Kurosawa]]'s Japanese adventure drama classic ''[[Seven Samurai]]'', found showing in [[Birmingham]].<ref name=abcprof/> At the age of 19, he founded the [[Melksham]] and District Film Society.<ref name="rhs">{{cite web|url = http://www.randomhouse.com.au/Authors/Default.aspx?Page=Author&ID=Stratton,%20David|title = David Stratton|access-date = 16 March 2008|publisher = Random House Australia}}</ref><ref name=hennessy2023/><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/david-stratton| website= The Australian| title= David Stratton | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref>
==Career==
==Career==
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Stratton arrived in Australia in 1963 under the "[[Ten Pound Poms|ten pound]]" migration scheme.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=Maddox |first=Garry |date=2024-10-11 |title=‘I thought I’d go completely blind’: Cruellest blow for a movie critic hits David Stratton |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/books/i-thought-i-d-go-completely-blind-cruellest-blow-for-a-movie-critic-hits-david-stratton-20240926-p5kdt6.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref> He soon became involved with the local [[film society]] movement. He directed the [[Sydney Film Festival]] (a job he landed after fighting [[film censorship]]<ref name=hennessy2023/>) from 1966 until 1983. At the time, he was the subject of surveillance by the [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]] (ASIO), due to the festival showing [[Cinema of the Soviet Union|Soviet films]], and his late-1960s visit to [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russia]]. This information was not made public until January 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/david-stratton-oblivious-hes-been-cast-as-a-spy-asios-vault-shows-its-odd-choice-of-surveillance-targets-20140103-309hu.html|title=David Stratton oblivious he's been cast as a spy|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]| date=4 January 2014 | access-date=4 January 2014|last=Fenely|first=Rick}}</ref><ref name=asio/>
Stratton's career as a film critic, writer, and educator in Australia spanned 57 years. He co-presented film review shows with [[Margaret Pomeranz]] for 28 years,<ref name=hennessy2023/> and wrote film reviews for ''[[The Weekend Australian]]'' for 33 years,<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/author/david-stratton| website= The Australian| title= David Stratton | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref> from around 1990 until December 2023, when he announced his retirement.<ref name=hennessy2023/>


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Stratton worked for [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] from 1980, acting as their film consultant and introducing the SBS Cinema Classics on Sunday evenings and Movie of the Week for 24 weeks a year.<ref name=evershed2014/> From 30 October 1986<ref name=nfsa2011>{{cite web| url=https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/and-silver-goes-margaret-and-david| website= [[National Film and Sound Archive]]| title=Celebrating 25 years in 2011| first= Jan |last=Thurling |date=2011 | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref> onwards Stratton co-hosted the long-running SBS TV program ''[[The Movie Show]]'' with [[Margaret Pomeranz]], who was also the show's original producer. Stratton and Pomeranz (often referred to as "Margaret and David"<ref name=evershed2014>{{cite web | last=Evershed | first=Nick | title=At the Movies: Margaret and David's most divisive films revealed | website=[[The Guardian]] | date=16 September 2014 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/sep/16/at-the-movies-margaret-and-davids-most-divisive-films-revealed | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=What Margaret and David say about 500 Oz Movies | website=Ozflicks | date=13 September 2016 | url= https://ozflicks.wordpress.com/2016/09/13/what-david-and-margaret-say-about-400-oz-movies/ | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref>) left SBS in 2004.<ref name=hennessy2023/><ref name=abcprof>{{cite web| url=http://www.abc.net.au:80/goldcoast/stories/s1076954.htm| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080304143210/http://www.abc.net.au:80/goldcoast/stories/s1076954.htm| publisher= [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|website= ABC Gold and Tweed Coasts| title= David Stratton| date= 7 April 2004| first= Jane| last= Cowan| archive-date= 4 March 2008}}</ref>
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Stratton arrived in Australia in 1962<ref name=abcprof/> or 1963, and soon became involved with the local [[film society]] movement. He directed the [[Sydney Film Festival]] (a job he landed after fighting [[film censorship]]<ref name=hennessy2023/>) from 1966 until 1983. At the time, he was the subject of surveillance by the [[Australian Security Intelligence Organisation]] (ASIO), due to the festival showing [[Cinema of the Soviet Union|Soviet films]], and his late-1960s visit to [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic|Russia]]. This information was not made public until January 2014.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/national/david-stratton-oblivious-hes-been-cast-as-a-spy-asios-vault-shows-its-odd-choice-of-surveillance-targets-20140103-309hu.html|title=David Stratton oblivious he's been cast as a spy|newspaper=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]| date=4 January 2014 | access-date=4 January 2014|last=Fenely|first=Rick}}</ref><ref name=asio/>


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From 1 July 2004,<ref name=nfsa2011/> they co-hosted the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] film show, [[At the Movies (Australian TV program)|''At the Movies with Margaret and David'']].<ref name="atmprof">{{cite web |date=2014 |title=David Stratton |url=http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1138600.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170706201441/http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1138600.htm |archive-date=6 July 2017 |website=At the Movies with Margaret and David |publisher=[[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]}}</ref> On 16 September 2014, Stratton and Pomeranz announced that they would be retiring at the end of the 2014 series. The ABC confirmed that the series would end, with the last episode broadcast on 9 December 2014.<ref name=atmend>{{cite news|title=Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton roll end credits on 28-year film review partnership; ''At The Movies'' will not return to ABC in 2015|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-16/margaret-pomeranz-and-david-stratton-roll-end-credits/5747214 |access-date=16 September 2014|work=[[ABC News (Australia)]] |date=16 September 2014}}</ref>
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Stratton worked for [[Special Broadcasting Service|SBS]] from 1980, acting as their film consultant and introducing the SBS Cinema Classics on Sunday evenings and Movie of the Week for 24 weeks a year.<ref name=evershed2014/> From 30 October 1986<ref name=nfsa2011>{{cite web| url=https://www.nfsa.gov.au/latest/and-silver-goes-margaret-and-david| website= [[National Film and Sound Archive]]| title=Celebrating 25 years in 2011| first= Jan |last=Thurling |date=2011}}</ref> onwards Stratton co-hosted the long-running SBS TV program ''[[The Movie Show]]'' with [[Margaret Pomeranz]], who was also the show's original producer. Stratton and Pomeranz (often referred to as "Margaret and David"<ref name=evershed2014>{{cite web | last=Evershed | first=Nick | title=At the Movies: Margaret and David’s most divisive films revealed | website=[[The Guardian]] | date=16 September 2014 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2014/sep/16/at-the-movies-margaret-and-davids-most-divisive-films-revealed | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=What Margaret and David say about 500 Oz Movies | website=Ozflicks | date=13 September 2016 | url= https://ozflicks.wordpress.com/2016/09/13/what-david-and-margaret-say-about-400-oz-movies/ | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref>) left SBS in 2004.<ref name=hennessy2023/><ref name=abcprof>{{cite web| url=http://www.abc.net.au:80/goldcoast/stories/s1076954.htm| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080304143210/http://www.abc.net.au:80/goldcoast/stories/s1076954.htm| publisher= [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]|website= ABC Gold and Tweed Coasts| title= David Stratton| date= 7 April 2004| first= Jane| last= Cowan| archive-date= 4 March 2008}}</ref>


Stratton wrote for US film industry magazine ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' from 1984,<ref name=hennessy2023/> and has also written for ''[[TV Week]]''. Stratton has presented a number of film reviews for [[Palace Nova]] cinemas, which are posted on their website.<ref>{{cite web |date=1 January 2024 |title=David Stratton Recommends |url=https://www.palacenova.com.au/david-stratton-recommends |access-date=1 January 2024 |website=Palace Nova}}</ref>
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From 1 July 2004<ref name=nfsa2011/> they co-hosted the [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] film show, [[At the Movies (Australian TV program)|''At the Movies with Margaret and David'']].<ref name=atmprof/> On 16 September 2014, Stratton and Pomeranz announced that they would be retiring at the end of the 2014 series. The ABC confirmed that the series would end, with the last episode broadcast on 9 December 2014.<ref name=atmend>{{cite news|title=Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton roll end credits on 28-year film review partnership; ''At The Movies'' will not return to ABC in 2015|url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-09-16/margaret-pomeranz-and-david-stratton-roll-end-credits/5747214 |access-date=16 September 2014|work=[[ABC News (Australia)]] |date=16 September 2014}}</ref>


Stratton wrote for US film industry magazine ''[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]'' from 1984,<ref name=hennessy2023/> and has also written for ''[[TV Week]]''. He lectured in film history at the [[University of Sydney]]'s [[University of Sydney Centre for Continuing Education|Centre for Continuing Education]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cce.sydney.edu.au/course/AHWC |title=A History of World Cinema Course with David Stratton|access-date=10 August 2015}}</ref> from around 1988 until December 2023, during which he covered around 840 films and showed 7,506 film clips. Many of his students re-enrolled year after year.<ref name=hennessy2023>{{cite web | last=Hennessy | first=Kate | title=David Stratton's closing credits: 'I've done the best I could' | website=[[The Guardian]] | date=22 December 2023 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/dec/23/david-strattons-closing-credits-ive-done-the-best-i-could | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref>
He lectured in film history at the [[University of Sydney]]'s [[University of Sydney Centre for Continuing Education|Centre for Continuing Education]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://cce.sydney.edu.au/course/AHWC |title=A History of World Cinema Course with David Stratton|access-date=10 August 2015}}</ref> from around 1988 until December 2023, during which he covered around 840 films and showed 7,506 film clips. Many of his students re-enrolled year after year.<ref name="hennessy2023">{{cite web | last=Hennessy | first=Kate | title=David Stratton's closing credits: 'I've done the best I could' | website=[[The Guardian]] | date=22 December 2023 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/dec/23/david-strattons-closing-credits-ive-done-the-best-i-could | access-date=30 December 2023}}</ref>


In 2008 he released his autobiography called ''I Peed on Fellini'', a reference to a drunken attempt to shake director [[Federico Fellini]]'s hand while using a [[urinal]].<ref name=fellini/>
In 2008 he released his autobiography called ''I Peed on Fellini'', a reference to a drunken attempt to shake director [[Federico Fellini]]'s hand while using a [[urinal]].<ref name="fellini" /> {{as of|2024}}, he had authored six books.<ref name="hennessy2023" /><ref name=":0" />

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==In film and other TV==
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*The documentary film ''David Stratton: A Cinematic Life'', written and directed by [[Sally Aitken (director)|Sally Aitken]], was released in 2017, and re-edited for television, featuring interviews with Stratton about his life and with actors, directors, producers representing Australian cinema since the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/film-critic-david-stratton-gets-his-own-movie-at-last-20170216-gueeja.html|title=Film critic David Stratton gets his own movie at last|last=Cerabona|first=Ron|date=February 18, 2017|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref><ref>{{IMDb title|6554406|David Stratton: A Cinematic Life|(2017)}}</ref> A preliminary version of the film was first released at the 2016 [[Adelaide Film Festival]] as ''David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema'', a "work in progress screening{{nbsp}}... a celebration of 110 years of Australian Cinema history and its creators".<ref>{{cite web|website=[[Adelaide Film Festival]] |url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/titles/105933/?festivalid=2|title=David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema|date = 2 October 2018|access-date=22 May 2019}}</ref>
* In 1995 Stratton made an uncredited cameo in ''Touch Me'', one of the short films featured in Zieglerfilm's series ''Erotic Tales''.
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* He has appeared in several [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] programs including ''[[The Chaser's War on Everything]]'', ''[[Review with Myles Barlow]]'', ''[[Good Game (TV program)|Good Game]]'', ''[[Adam Hills Tonight|Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight]]'', ''[[Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure]]'', ''[[Dance Academy]]'' and ''[[The Bazura Project]]'', often parodying himself


==Juries and other roles==
==Juries and other roles==
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Stratton and Pomeranz have played an important role in challenging the often heavy-handed decisions of the [[Australian Classification Board]] throughout their career.<ref>[http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=7595&s=features "Lies and Damned Censorship"] by Andrew L. Urban, ''Urban Cinefile'' (3 July 2003)</ref><ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/04/1057179156219.html "Film board chief on the defensive over banned movie"] by Suzanne Carbone, ''[[The Age]]'' (5 July 2003)</ref> One of Stratton's legacies is the part he played in bringing about the [[R18+]] film classification.<ref name="atmprof" />
Stratton has been invited to sit on many international juries at film festivals.<ref name=hennessy2023/>


A highly-regarded expert on international cinema, particularly [[Cinema of France|French cinema]], Stratton was president of [[FIPRESCI]] (International Film Critics) Juries in [[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]] (twice) and [[Venice Film Festival|Venice]].<ref name="rhs"/> He was also a member of the jury at the [[32nd Berlin International Film Festival]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1982/04_jury_1982/04_Jury_1982.html|title=Berlinale 1982: Juries|access-date=2 September 2010|publisher=[[Berlinale]]}}</ref>
Stratton has been invited to sit on many international juries at film festivals.<ref name="hennessy2023" /> Regarded as an expert on international cinema, particularly [[Cinema of France|French cinema]], he was president of [[FIPRESCI]] (International Film Critics) Juries in [[Cannes Film Festival|Cannes]] (twice) and [[Venice Film Festival|Venice]].<ref name="rhs" /> He was also a member of the jury at the [[32nd Berlin International Film Festival]] in 1982.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.berlinale.de/en/archiv/jahresarchive/1982/04_jury_1982/04_Jury_1982.html|title=Berlinale 1982: Juries|access-date=2 September 2010|publisher=[[Berlinale]]}}</ref>


He has also acted as programming consultant to the [[London Film Festival|London]] and [[Los Angeles Film Festival]]s, and has contributed regularly to the ''International Film Guide'', compiled and published in [[London]].<ref name=abcprof/>
He has also acted as programming consultant to the [[London Film Festival|London]] and [[Los Angeles Film Festival]]s, and has contributed regularly to the ''International Film Guide'', compiled and published in [[London]].<ref name="abcprof" /> Stratton and Pomeranz are patrons of the [[Adelaide Film Festival]].<ref name="aff" />


On 14 March 2015 Stratton appeared in a meeting with [[David Lynch]] in ''David Lynch: Between Two Worlds'', at the [[Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane|Gallery of Modern Art]] (GOMA) in [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]].{{cn|date= January 2024}}
On 14 March 2015 Stratton appeared in front of a sold-out crowd in a meeting with [[David Lynch]] on the opening weekend of the exhibition ''David Lynch: Between Two Worlds'', at the [[Gallery of Modern Art, Brisbane|Gallery of Modern Art]] (GOMA) in [[Brisbane]], [[Queensland]].<ref>{{cite report| url= https://documents.parliament.qld.gov.au/tableOffice/TabledPapers/2015/5515T1154.pdf| title= Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees Annual Report 2014–15 |publisher= Queensland Art Gallery| date= 18 September 2015}}</ref> The one-hour conversation was Lynch's first and only public appearance in Australia.<ref>{{cite web | last=Caldwell | first=Thomas | title=Living Inside a Dream: The Art and Films of David Lynch | website=CINEMA AUTOPSY | date=26 April 2015 | url=https://blog.cinemaautopsy.com/2015/04/26/living-inside-a-dream-the-art-and-films-of-david-lynch/ | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>


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==In film and other TV==
Stratton and Pomeranz are patrons of the [[Adelaide Film Festival]].<ref name=aff/>
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The documentary film ''David Stratton: A Cinematic Life'', written and directed by [[Sally Aitken (director)|Sally Aitken]], was released in 2017, and re-edited for television, featuring interviews with Stratton about his life and with actors, directors, producers representing Australian cinema since the 1960s.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/film-critic-david-stratton-gets-his-own-movie-at-last-20170216-gueeja.html|title=Film critic David Stratton gets his own movie at last |last=Cerabona |first=Ron |date=February 18, 2017|work=[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]}}</ref><ref>{{IMDb title|6554406|David Stratton: A Cinematic Life|(2017)}}</ref> A preliminary version of the film was first released at the 2016 [[Adelaide Film Festival]] as ''David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema'', a "work in progress screening{{nbsp}}... a celebration of 110 years of Australian Cinema history and its creators".<ref>{{cite web|website=[[Adelaide Film Festival]] |url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/titles/105933/?festivalid=2|title=David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema|date = 2 October 2018|access-date=22 May 2019}}</ref> The title was later screened as a three-part series on ABC Television.<ref>{{cite web | title=David Stratton's Stories Of Australian Cinema | website=[[ABC iview]] | url=https://iview.abc.net.au/show/david-stratton-s-stories-of-australian-cinema | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref> The series was produced by Jo-anne McGowan of production company [[Stranger Than Fiction (company)|Stranger Than Fiction]].<ref >{{cite web | title=David Stratton: A Cinematic Life | website=Stranger Than Fiction | url=https://www.strangerthanfictionfilms.com.au/film/david-stratton-a-cinematic-life/ | access-date=6 May 2024}}</ref>

In 1993 Stratton made an uncredited [[cameo appearance]] in [[Paul Cox (director)|Paul Cox]]'s ''Touch Me'', one of the [[short film]]s featured in the series ''Erotic Tales''.<ref>{{cite web | last=Foundas | first=Scott | title=Australia's Siskel & Ebert Sign Off After 28 Years of Savvy Sparring | website=Yahoo News | date=10 December 2014 | url=https://news.yahoo.com/australia-siskel-ebert-sign-off-28-years-savvy-221153733.html | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{imdb title|0108367|Touch Me}}</ref>


⚫
He has appeared in several [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation|ABC]] programs, including ''[[The Chaser's War on Everything]]'', ''[[Review with Myles Barlow]]'', ''[[Good Game (TV program)|Good Game]]'', ''[[Adam Hills Tonight|Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight]]'', ''[[Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure]]'', ''[[Dance Academy]]'', and ''[[The Bazura Project]]'', often parodying himself.
{{as of|2023}} he had authored five books.<ref name=hennessy2023/>


==Recognition and honours==
==Recognition and honours==
Line 57: Line 58:
* 22 March 2001: Croix de Commandeur of the [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]] (Order of Arts and Literature), the highest rank for this award, for his services to cinema, in particular French cinema<ref>{{cite web
* 22 March 2001: Croix de Commandeur of the [[Ordre des Arts et des Lettres]] (Order of Arts and Literature), the highest rank for this award, for his services to cinema, in particular French cinema<ref>{{cite web
|url=http://www.ambafrance-au.org/article.php3?id_article=399 |title=French Embassy media release 04/2001 |access-date=16 March 2008 |date=22 March 2001 |publisher=Embassy of France in Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029162532/http://www.ambafrance-au.org/article.php3?id_article=399 |archive-date=29 October 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>
|url=http://www.ambafrance-au.org/article.php3?id_article=399 |title=French Embassy media release 04/2001 |access-date=16 March 2008 |date=22 March 2001 |publisher=Embassy of France in Australia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071029162532/http://www.ambafrance-au.org/article.php3?id_article=399 |archive-date=29 October 2007 |url-status=dead |df=dmy }}</ref>
* 2001: [[Australian Film Institute]]'s [[Australian Film Institute Longford Life Achievement Award|Longford Life Achievement Award]]<ref name="rhs"/>
* 2001: [[Australian Film Institute]]'s [[Australian Film Institute Longford Life Achievement Award|Longford Life Achievement Award]]<ref name="rhs"/>
* 9 June 2006: Honorary [[Doctor of Letters]] from the [[University of Sydney]] in recognition of his career and his contribution to intellectual life at the university<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.usyd.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=6&newsstoryid=1089|title = David Stratton to receive honorary doctorate|access-date = 16 March 2008|date = 7 June 2006|publisher = [[University of Sydney|The University of Sydney]]| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201124184608/https://www.sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=6&newsstoryid=1089| archive-date=24 November 2020}}</ref><ref name=bmg2015>{{cite web | last=Curtin | first=Jennie | title=David Stratton's 50-year service to film honoured | website=Blue Mountains Gazette | date=26 January 2015 | url=https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/2842933/david-strattons-50-year-service-to-film-honoured/ | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=The great honorary doctorates list | website=The Mayne Report | date=28 April 2010 | url=https://www.maynereport.com/articles/2010/04/28-1159-6605.html | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>
* 9 June 2006: Honorary [[Doctor of Letters]] from the [[University of Sydney]] in recognition of his career and his contribution to intellectual life at the university<ref>{{cite web |url = http://www.usyd.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=6&newsstoryid=1089|title = David Stratton to receive honorary doctorate|access-date = 16 March 2008|date = 7 June 2006|publisher = [[University of Sydney|The University of Sydney]]| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201124184608/https://www.sydney.edu.au/news/84.html?newscategoryid=6&newsstoryid=1089| archive-date=24 November 2020}}</ref><ref name="bmg2015">{{cite web |last=Curtin |first=Jennie |date=26 January 2015 |title=David Stratton's 50-year service to film honoured |url=https://www.bluemountainsgazette.com.au/story/2842933/david-strattons-50-year-service-to-film-honoured/ |url-access=registration |access-date=1 January 2024 |website=Blue Mountains Gazette}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=The great honorary doctorates list | website=The Mayne Report | date=28 April 2010 | url=https://www.maynereport.com/articles/2010/04/28-1159-6605.html | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>
* 2007: 60th Anniversary Medal by the Festival du Film de Cannes and The [[Chauvel Award]] by the [[Brisbane International Film Festival]]<ref name="rhs"/>
* 2007: 60th Anniversary Medal by the Festival du Film de Cannes and The [[Chauvel Award]] by the [[Brisbane International Film Festival]]<ref name="rhs"/>
* 2015: [[Member of the Order of Australia]] in the [[Australia Day]] honours<ref>[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1150917 David James Stratton – Member of the Order of Australia], Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 26 January 2015</ref>
* 2015: [[Member of the Order of Australia]] in the [[Australia Day]] honours<ref>[https://honours.pmc.gov.au/honours/awards/1150917 David James Stratton – Member of the Order of Australia], Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 26 January 2015</ref>
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* 13 April 2016: Honorary doctorate (Doctor of Letters) at [[Macquarie University]], for his contribution to the film industry<ref>{{cite web | last=Deare | first=Steven | title=Five stars! Highest honour for movie critics | website=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)]] | date=13 April 2016 | url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/the-hills/margaret-pomeranz-and-david-stratton-of-the-movie-show-honoured-at-macquarie-university/news-story/038c841e545b5704f25865163c17a12f?nk=da64b648a9ae798938c375bde214ab51-1704076516 | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Autumn graduation season commences: Honorary Doctorates for alumna Margaret Pomeranz AM and more | website=The Lighthouse| publisher= [[Macquarie University]] | date=10 June 2022 | url=https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/media-releases/autumn-graduation-season-commences-honorary-doctorates-for-alumna-margaret-pomeranz-am-and-more | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>
* 13 April 2016: Honorary doctorate (Doctor of Letters) at [[Macquarie University]], for his contribution to the film industry<ref>{{cite web | last=Deare | first=Steven | title=Five stars! Highest honour for movie critics | website=[[The Daily Telegraph (Sydney)]] | date=13 April 2016 | url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/newslocal/the-hills/margaret-pomeranz-and-david-stratton-of-the-movie-show-honoured-at-macquarie-university/news-story/038c841e545b5704f25865163c17a12f?nk=da64b648a9ae798938c375bde214ab51-1704076516 | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=Autumn graduation season commences: Honorary Doctorates for alumna Margaret Pomeranz AM and more | website=The Lighthouse| publisher= [[Macquarie University]] | date=10 June 2022 | url=https://lighthouse.mq.edu.au/media-releases/autumn-graduation-season-commences-honorary-doctorates-for-alumna-margaret-pomeranz-am-and-more | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref>
*2018: Co-recipient (with Pomeranz) of the [[Don Dunstan Award]]<ref name=aff>{{Cite web |title=Patrons and Board |url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/about-aff/patrons-board/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Adelaide Film Festival |language=en-AU}}</ref>
*2018: Co-recipient (with Pomeranz) of the [[Don Dunstan Award]]<ref name=aff>{{Cite web |title=Patrons and Board |url=https://adelaidefilmfestival.org/about-aff/patrons-board/ |access-date=2023-09-26 |website=Adelaide Film Festival |language=en-AU}}</ref>
*2024: National Cinema Pioneer of the Year<ref>{{Cite web |last=Swift |first=Brendan |date=2024-09-04 |title=David Stratton AM named 2024 National Cinema Pioneer of the Year |url=https://if.com.au/david-stratton-am-named-2024-national-cinema-pioneer-of-the-year/ |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=IF Magazine |language=en-AU}}</ref>


==Best films==
== Personal life ==
Stratton is married to Susie Craig.<ref name="bmg2015" /> He has a son and a daughter.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schmidt |first=Lucinda |date=2008-03-05 |title=Profile: David Stratton |url=https://www.smh.com.au/business/profile-david-stratton-20080305-gds3lz.html |access-date=2024-10-30 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}</ref>

== Best films ==
Stratton has said that his favourite movie is the 1952 American musical ''[[Singin' in the Rain]]'': "I grew up on musicals and this is the best musical ever made".<ref name=hennessy2023/>
Stratton has said that his favourite movie is the 1952 American musical ''[[Singin' in the Rain]]'': "I grew up on musicals and this is the best musical ever made".<ref name=hennessy2023/>


Stratton participated in the [[The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012|2012 ''Sight & Sound'' critics' poll]], where he listed his ten favourite films as follows: ''[[Charulata]]'', ''[[Citizen Kane]]'', ''[[The Conversation (film)|The Conversation]]'', ''[[Distant (film)|Distant]]'', ''[[Distant Voices, Still Lives]]'', ''[[Kings of the Road]]'', ''[[Lola (1961 film)|Lola]]'', ''[[The Searchers]]'', ''[[Singin' in the Rain]]'', and ''[[The Travelling Players]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/voter/669 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818153824/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/voter/669|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 August 2016|title=David Stratton|publisher=[[BFI]]}}</ref>
Stratton participated in the [[The Sight & Sound Greatest Films of All Time 2012|2012 ''Sight & Sound'' critics' poll]], where he listed his ten favourite films as follows: ''[[Charulata]]'', ''[[Citizen Kane]]'', ''[[The Conversation (film)|The Conversation]]'', ''[[Distant (film)|Distant]]'', ''[[Distant Voices, Still Lives]]'', ''[[Kings of the Road]]'', ''[[Lola (1961 film)|Lola]]'', ''[[The Searchers]]'', ''[[Singin' in the Rain]]'', and ''[[The Travelling Players]]''.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/voter/669 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160818153824/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/sightandsoundpoll2012/voter/669|url-status=dead|archive-date=18 August 2016|title=David Stratton|publisher=[[BFI]]}}</ref>


Two articles which analysed their reviews at SBS and ABC showed that Stratton was generally a slightly harsher critic than Pomeranz.<ref name=ozflicks2016>{{cite web | title=What Margaret and David say about 500 Oz Movies | website=Ozflicks | date=13 September 2016 | url=https://ozflicks.wordpress.com/2016/09/13/what-david-and-margaret-say-about-400-oz-movies/ | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref><ref name=evershed2014/> At SBS, they only both gave five stars to four films: ''[[Evil Angels (film)|Evil Angels]]'' (1988), ''[[Return Home]]'' (1990), ''[[The Piano]]'' (1993), and ''[[Lantana (film)|Lantana]]'' (2001).<ref name=ozflicks2016/> At the ABC, they only both gave five stars to six films: ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (2005), ''[[Good Night, and Good Luck]]'' (2005), ''[[No Country for Old Men|No Country For Old Men]]'' (2007), ''[[Samson and Delilah (2009 film)|Samson and Delilah]]'' (2009), ''[[A Separation]]'' (2011), and ''[[Amour (2012 film)|Amour]]'' (2012).<ref name=evershed2014/> They disagreed particularly on ''[[Romper Stomper]]'' (David refusing to rate it because of the racist violence in the film), ''[[The Castle (1997 Australian film)|The Castle]]'' (1997), ''[[Last Train to Freo]]'' (1006), ''[[Human Touch (film)|Human Touch]]'' (2004), and ''[[Kenny (2006 film)|Kenny]]'' (2006), with Stratton awarding fewer stars than Pomeranz on all but ''Human Touch''.<ref name=ozflicks2016/>
Two articles which analysed their reviews at SBS and ABC showed that Stratton was generally a slightly harsher critic than Pomeranz.<ref name=ozflicks2016>{{cite web | title=What Margaret and David say about 500 Oz Movies | website=Ozflicks | date=13 September 2016 | url=https://ozflicks.wordpress.com/2016/09/13/what-david-and-margaret-say-about-400-oz-movies/ | access-date=1 January 2024}}</ref><ref name=evershed2014/> At SBS, they only both gave five stars to four films: ''[[Evil Angels (film)|Evil Angels]]'' (1988), ''[[Return Home]]'' (1990), ''[[The Piano]]'' (1993), The Thin Red Line (1999) and ''[[Lantana (film)|Lantana]]'' (2001).<ref name=ozflicks2016/> At the ABC, they only both gave five stars to six films: ''[[Brokeback Mountain]]'' (2005), ''[[Good Night, and Good Luck]]'' (2005), ''[[No Country for Old Men|No Country For Old Men]]'' (2007), ''[[Samson and Delilah (2009 film)|Samson and Delilah]]'' (2009), ''[[A Separation]]'' (2011), and ''[[Amour (2012 film)|Amour]]'' (2012).<ref name=evershed2014/> They disagreed particularly on ''[[Romper Stomper]]'' (David refusing to rate it because of the racist violence in the film), ''[[The Castle (1997 Australian film)|The Castle]]'' (1997), ''[[Last Train to Freo]]'' (2006), ''[[Human Touch (film)|Human Touch]]'' (2004), and ''[[Kenny (2006 film)|Kenny]]'' (2006), with Stratton awarding fewer stars than Pomeranz on all but ''Human Touch''.<ref name=ozflicks2016/>

==Achievements==
⚫
Stratton and Pomeranz have played an important role in challenging the often heavy-handed decisions of the [[Australian Classification Board]] throughout their career.<ref>[http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=7595&s=features "Lies and Damned Censorship"] by Andrew L. Urban, ''Urban Cinefile'' (3 July 2003)</ref><ref>[http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/07/04/1057179156219.html "Film board chief on the defensive over banned movie"] by Suzanne Carbone, ''[[The Age]]'' (5 July 2003)</ref> One of Stratton's legacies is the part he played in bringing about the [[R18+]] film classification.<ref name=atmprof>{{cite web| url=http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1138600.htm| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170706201441/http://www.abc.net.au/atthemovies/txt/s1138600.htm| title=David Stratton| archive-date=6 July 2017| website= At the Movies with Margaret and David| publisher= [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]]| date= 2014}}</ref>


==Publications==
==Publications==
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=1980|title=The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival|publisher=Angus & Robertson|isbn=9780207141461|ref=none| author-mask=1 }}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=1980|title=The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival |publisher=Angus & Robertson|isbn=9780207141461|ref=none| author-mask=1 }}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=1990|title=The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=9780732902506|ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=1990|title=The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry|publisher=Pan Macmillan|isbn=9780732902506|ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=2008|title=I Peed on Fellini: Recollections of a Life in Film|publisher=William Heinemann / Random House|location=Australia|isbn=978-1-74166-619-9|ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=2008|title=I Peed on Fellini: Recollections of a Life in Film |publisher=William Heinemann / Random House|location=Australia|isbn=978-1-74166-619-9|ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=2018|title=101 Marvellous Movies You May Have Missed|publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=9781760870096|ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=2018|title=101 Marvellous Movies You May Have Missed |publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=9781760870096|ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=2021|title=My Favourite Movies|publisher=Allen & Unwin|isbn=9781761063268|ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=2021|title=My Favourite Movies|publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=9781761063268 |ref=none|author-mask=1}}
* {{cite book|last=Stratton|first=David|year=2024|title=Australia at the Movies|publisher=Allen & Unwin |isbn=9781761472091 |ref=none|author-mask=1}}


==References==
==References==
Line 87: Line 90:
==External links==
==External links==
*{{IMDb name|id=0833636}}
*{{IMDb name|id=0833636}}
*[https://www.nfsa.gov.au/tags/david-stratton David Stratton] at the [[National Film and Sound Archive|NFSA]]


{{Raymond Longford Award}}
{{Raymond Longford Award}}

Latest revision as of 04:11, 30 October 2024

For other people named David Stratton, see David Stratton (disambiguation).

David Stratton
AM
Stratton in 2012
Born1939 (age 84–85)
Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England
Occupations
  • Film critic
  • journalist
  • interviewer
  • television presenter
Known for
SpouseSusie Craig
Children2

David James Stratton AM (born 1939) is an English-Australian film critic and historian. He has also worked as a journalist, interviewer, educator, television personality, and producer. His career as a film critic, writer, and educator in Australia spanned 57 years, until his retirement in December 2023.

Stratton's media career included presenting film review shows on television with Margaret Pomeranz for 28 years, writing film reviews for The Weekend Australian for 33 years, and lecturing in film history for 35 years.

Early life and education

[edit]

Born in Trowbridge, Wiltshire, England, in 1939,[1] David James Stratton[2] was sent to Hampshire to see out the war years with his grandmother. An avid filmgoer, his grandmother regularly took Stratton to the local cinemas. When he was around six years old, his father returned from the war and the family moved back to Wiltshire.[3] He attended Chafyn Grove School from 1948 to 1953 as a boarder,[1] but never finished secondary school.[4]

He saw his first foreign film at Bath in 1955, the Italian romantic comedy Bread, Love and Dreams. That was soon followed by Akira Kurosawa's Japanese adventure drama classic Seven Samurai, found showing in Birmingham.[5] At the age of 19, he founded the Melksham and District Film Society.[6][4][7]

Career

[edit]

Stratton arrived in Australia in 1963 under the "ten pound" migration scheme.[8] He soon became involved with the local film society movement. He directed the Sydney Film Festival (a job he landed after fighting film censorship[4]) from 1966 until 1983. At the time, he was the subject of surveillance by the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), due to the festival showing Soviet films, and his late-1960s visit to Russia. This information was not made public until January 2014.[9][2]

Stratton worked for SBS from 1980, acting as their film consultant and introducing the SBS Cinema Classics on Sunday evenings and Movie of the Week for 24 weeks a year.[10] From 30 October 1986[11] onwards Stratton co-hosted the long-running SBS TV program The Movie Show with Margaret Pomeranz, who was also the show's original producer. Stratton and Pomeranz (often referred to as "Margaret and David"[10][12]) left SBS in 2004.[4][5]

From 1 July 2004,[11] they co-hosted the ABC film show, At the Movies with Margaret and David.[13] On 16 September 2014, Stratton and Pomeranz announced that they would be retiring at the end of the 2014 series. The ABC confirmed that the series would end, with the last episode broadcast on 9 December 2014.[14]

Stratton wrote for US film industry magazine Variety from 1984,[4] and has also written for TV Week. Stratton has presented a number of film reviews for Palace Nova cinemas, which are posted on their website.[15]

He lectured in film history at the University of Sydney's Centre for Continuing Education,[16] from around 1988 until December 2023, during which he covered around 840 films and showed 7,506 film clips. Many of his students re-enrolled year after year.[4]

In 2008 he released his autobiography called I Peed on Fellini, a reference to a drunken attempt to shake director Federico Fellini's hand while using a urinal.[1] As of 2024, he had authored six books.[4][8]

Juries and other roles

[edit]

Stratton and Pomeranz have played an important role in challenging the often heavy-handed decisions of the Australian Classification Board throughout their career.[17][18] One of Stratton's legacies is the part he played in bringing about the R18+ film classification.[13]

Stratton has been invited to sit on many international juries at film festivals.[4] Regarded as an expert on international cinema, particularly French cinema, he was president of FIPRESCI (International Film Critics) Juries in Cannes (twice) and Venice.[6] He was also a member of the jury at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival in 1982.[19]

He has also acted as programming consultant to the London and Los Angeles Film Festivals, and has contributed regularly to the International Film Guide, compiled and published in London.[5] Stratton and Pomeranz are patrons of the Adelaide Film Festival.[20]

On 14 March 2015 Stratton appeared in front of a sold-out crowd in a meeting with David Lynch on the opening weekend of the exhibition David Lynch: Between Two Worlds, at the Gallery of Modern Art (GOMA) in Brisbane, Queensland.[21] The one-hour conversation was Lynch's first and only public appearance in Australia.[22]

In film and other TV

[edit]

The documentary film David Stratton: A Cinematic Life, written and directed by Sally Aitken, was released in 2017, and re-edited for television, featuring interviews with Stratton about his life and with actors, directors, producers representing Australian cinema since the 1960s.[23][24] A preliminary version of the film was first released at the 2016 Adelaide Film Festival as David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema, a "work in progress screening ... a celebration of 110 years of Australian Cinema history and its creators".[25] The title was later screened as a three-part series on ABC Television.[26] The series was produced by Jo-anne McGowan of production company Stranger Than Fiction.[27]

In 1993 Stratton made an uncredited cameo appearance in Paul Cox's Touch Me, one of the short films featured in the series Erotic Tales.[28][29]

He has appeared in several ABC programs, including The Chaser's War on Everything, Review with Myles Barlow, Good Game, Adam Hills in Gordon Street Tonight, Lawrence Leung's Choose Your Own Adventure, Dance Academy, and The Bazura Project, often parodying himself.

Recognition and honours

[edit]

Personal life

[edit]

Stratton is married to Susie Craig.[33] He has a son and a daughter.[39]

Best films

[edit]

Stratton has said that his favourite movie is the 1952 American musical Singin' in the Rain: "I grew up on musicals and this is the best musical ever made".[4]

Stratton participated in the 2012 Sight & Sound critics' poll, where he listed his ten favourite films as follows: Charulata, Citizen Kane, The Conversation, Distant, Distant Voices, Still Lives, Kings of the Road, Lola, The Searchers, Singin' in the Rain, and The Travelling Players.[40]

Two articles which analysed their reviews at SBS and ABC showed that Stratton was generally a slightly harsher critic than Pomeranz.[41][10] At SBS, they only both gave five stars to four films: Evil Angels (1988), Return Home (1990), The Piano (1993), The Thin Red Line (1999) and Lantana (2001).[41] At the ABC, they only both gave five stars to six films: Brokeback Mountain (2005), Good Night, and Good Luck (2005), No Country For Old Men (2007), Samson and Delilah (2009), A Separation (2011), and Amour (2012).[10] They disagreed particularly on Romper Stomper (David refusing to rate it because of the racist violence in the film), The Castle (1997), Last Train to Freo (2006), Human Touch (2004), and Kenny (2006), with Stratton awarding fewer stars than Pomeranz on all but Human Touch.[41]

Publications

[edit]
  • — (1980). The Last New Wave: The Australian Film Revival. Angus & Robertson. ISBN 9780207141461.
  • — (1990). The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 9780732902506.
  • — (2008). I Peed on Fellini: Recollections of a Life in Film. Australia: William Heinemann / Random House. ISBN 978-1-74166-619-9.
  • — (2018). 101 Marvellous Movies You May Have Missed. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781760870096.
  • — (2021). My Favourite Movies. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781761063268.
  • — (2024). Australia at the Movies. Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9781761472091.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b c Stratton, D. (2008). I Peed on Fellini: Recollections of a Life in Film. William Heinemann. ISBN 978-1-74166-619-9. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  2. ^ a b Burgmann, M. (2014). Dirty Secrets: Our ASIO files. NewSouth Publishing. ISBN 978-1-74224-175-3. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  3. ^ Purcell, Charles (1 June 2019). "David Stratton on changing up the Sydney Film Festival's retrospective". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i Hennessy, Kate (22 December 2023). "David Stratton's closing credits: 'I've done the best I could'". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  5. ^ a b c Cowan, Jane (7 April 2004). "David Stratton". ABC Gold and Tweed Coasts. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 4 March 2008.
  6. ^ a b c d "David Stratton". Random House Australia. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
  7. ^ "David Stratton". The Australian. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  8. ^ a b Maddox, Garry (11 October 2024). "'I thought I'd go completely blind': Cruellest blow for a movie critic hits David Stratton". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  9. ^ Fenely, Rick (4 January 2014). "David Stratton oblivious he's been cast as a spy". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  10. ^ a b c d Evershed, Nick (16 September 2014). "At the Movies: Margaret and David's most divisive films revealed". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  11. ^ a b Thurling, Jan (2011). "Celebrating 25 years in 2011". National Film and Sound Archive. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  12. ^ "What Margaret and David say about 500 Oz Movies". Ozflicks. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  13. ^ a b "David Stratton". At the Movies with Margaret and David. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2014. Archived from the original on 6 July 2017.
  14. ^ "Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton roll end credits on 28-year film review partnership; At The Movies will not return to ABC in 2015". ABC News (Australia). 16 September 2014. Retrieved 16 September 2014.
  15. ^ "David Stratton Recommends". Palace Nova. 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  16. ^ "A History of World Cinema Course with David Stratton". Retrieved 10 August 2015.
  17. ^ "Lies and Damned Censorship" by Andrew L. Urban, Urban Cinefile (3 July 2003)
  18. ^ "Film board chief on the defensive over banned movie" by Suzanne Carbone, The Age (5 July 2003)
  19. ^ "Berlinale 1982: Juries". Berlinale. Retrieved 2 September 2010.
  20. ^ a b "Patrons and Board". Adelaide Film Festival. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
  21. ^ Queensland Art Gallery Board of Trustees Annual Report 2014–15 (PDF) (Report). Queensland Art Gallery. 18 September 2015.
  22. ^ Caldwell, Thomas (26 April 2015). "Living Inside a Dream: The Art and Films of David Lynch". CINEMA AUTOPSY. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  23. ^ Cerabona, Ron (18 February 2017). "Film critic David Stratton gets his own movie at last". The Sydney Morning Herald.
  24. ^ David Stratton: A Cinematic Life (2017) at IMDb
  25. ^ "David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema". Adelaide Film Festival. 2 October 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2019.
  26. ^ "David Stratton's Stories Of Australian Cinema". ABC iview. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  27. ^ "David Stratton: A Cinematic Life". Stranger Than Fiction. Retrieved 6 May 2024.
  28. ^ Foundas, Scott (10 December 2014). "Australia's Siskel & Ebert Sign Off After 28 Years of Savvy Sparring". Yahoo News. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  29. ^ Touch Me at IMDb
  30. ^ "David James Stratton – Centenary Medal". Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 2 November 2021.
  31. ^ "French Embassy media release 04/2001". Embassy of France in Australia. 22 March 2001. Archived from the original on 29 October 2007. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
  32. ^ "David Stratton to receive honorary doctorate". The University of Sydney. 7 June 2006. Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 16 March 2008.
  33. ^ a b c Curtin, Jennie (26 January 2015). "David Stratton's 50-year service to film honoured". Blue Mountains Gazette. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  34. ^ "The great honorary doctorates list". The Mayne Report. 28 April 2010. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  35. ^ David James Stratton – Member of the Order of Australia, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, 26 January 2015
  36. ^ Deare, Steven (13 April 2016). "Five stars! Highest honour for movie critics". The Daily Telegraph (Sydney). Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  37. ^ "Autumn graduation season commences: Honorary Doctorates for alumna Margaret Pomeranz AM and more". The Lighthouse. Macquarie University. 10 June 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  38. ^ Swift, Brendan (4 September 2024). "David Stratton AM named 2024 National Cinema Pioneer of the Year". IF Magazine. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  39. ^ Schmidt, Lucinda (5 March 2008). "Profile: David Stratton". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
  40. ^ "David Stratton". BFI. Archived from the original on 18 August 2016.
  41. ^ a b c "What Margaret and David say about 500 Oz Movies". Ozflicks. 13 September 2016. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
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