Margaret and David : 5 stars by Sandy George et al.

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Wakefield Press, 2017 ISBN 9781743055137
(Age: senior secondary to adult) Recommended. Theatre, Film, Critics. When Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton first aired their new show, The Movie Show on SBS in 1989, no one could have predicted that the show, now called At the Movies would be aired on the ABC,  or that the presenters, now simply called Margaret and David by the world of film, would be icons. But their obsessive knowledge of film and all of its variety has made them household names and people are now bereft at losing their insightful comments and commentary about many of the new films released.
It is no surprise that the 2017 Don Dunstan Award, given at the Adelaide Film Festival was awarded to Margaret and David for their extraordinary achievement and promotion of the Australian film culture.
In this book, tributes are penned by many of the bright stars within our film industry: Fred Schepisi, Geoffrey Rush, Gillian Armstrong, amongst the nineteen contributors. Each is an outstanding recognition of the pair, variously thanked for their promotion, advocacy, criticism and support of film and the host of people who make up the industry. Adolfo Aranjuez appreciates their ability to 'temper gut-based reactions with critical ones', Sandra Levy gives the inside story of how Margaret and Dvid came from SBS to ABC, Josh Pomeranz gives a child's view of growing up with Margaret, Jay Weatherill loves the 'radically different takes on the films', Cate Shortland was enthused seeing a woman debating film and being heard. And Sandy George's contribution of a longer essay encapsulates the work Margaret and David have done within the whole film industry.
Each writer's contribution in this engrossing publication verablises for us all why we love these two film critics, evaluating the contribution made by Margaret and David with love and admiration.
At the end of the book is a list of all the films to which they awarded five stars, the same number of stars given to them for their outstanding careers.
For students of film this will be a valuable resource and for the casual reader a look into how the film industry reveres these people.
Fran Knight

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