How You Can Tell if You're a Cinephile

If you're a cinephile I don't need to tell you the name of this film

You don’t give a damn about the Oscars. You may be aware of them, you know a little about previous Oscar winners and Oscar snubs but you don’t put any stock in who’s nominated or who wins. You certainly don’t watch the broadcast. You realize they don’t really signify what is the best picture or who’s the best actress or director or any thing else. It’s an award show and people actually campaign to win the damn statuettes. You know that some of the great films and actors and directors that never won an award and you know some of the lame movies that did win. You also don’t care about any of the other award shows.

You watch films from throughout the history of the cinema.

You have an appreciation for films from the silent era, the Golden Age of Hollywood, and every other time period. You probably have a particular appreciation for one period but you don’t turn your nose up on any.

You appreciate films from other countries as much as you do American films, if not more.

Again, you may have a particular appreciation for, as an example, Italian or Japanese, or Swedish cinema, but you are open to films from any corner of the globe and number pictures from various parts of the world among your favorites. In fact, it’s quite possible you prefer foreign language films

You’re more interested in who the director is than who the lead actor or actors are.

You know that who the director a film is tells you a lot more than who stars in it. For example a much higher percentage of Stanley Kubrick’s films were excellent than Paul Newman’s. You know that a director controls most aspects of the making of a movie whereas the actor has — no pun intended — just one role in it. You likely ascribe to the auteur theory.

If given a choice you’d rather watch a movie in a theater than on your TV.

You accept the fact that there are certain inconveniences associated with going to a movie theater but think them well worth it given the advantages of both the big screen and the communal experiences of cinema-going. (I here add that I once overheard a cinema-goer say that she only watched movies in theaters. I found this utterly ridiculous, imagine limiting yourself in such a way. Imagine not being able to watch a movie at home. Imagine wanting to watch The Maltese Falcon or Persona or Pulp Fiction but you can’t because they’re not playing in a nearby theater.)

You read about and discuss movies and you see films as a form of art.

You read reviews, you read essays you read interviews that help inform your appreciation and understanding of particular films, performances, directors, genres etc. You think critically about movies and discuss them with others. Your love of film is based on an understanding that movies are an art form equal to music, dance, paintings and anything else.

You’re not a fan of the Marvel Universe or other hyper action, fantasy comic book films.

You agree with Martin Scorsese who said of such films: “they seem to me to be closer to theme parks than they are to movies as I’ve known and loved them throughout my life, and that in the end, I don’t think they’re cinema.”

You probably don't study movie trivia, but you know it from osmosis.

You have learned enough about movies that you've -- quite without trying -- accumulated a lot of factoids. There are an incredible number of movies for which you know the director, stars and release date. 

In addition to actors and directors you know and appreciate cinematographers, screenwriters, editors, set designers and other crew.

You know that the best actors and directors rely on so many other people in making a great film. You least know the names of noted cinematographers such as Sven Nykvist, Gregg Toland and Gordon Willis.

Lastly, if you’re a “good” cinephile you don’t feel superior to other movie-goers, you just feel privileged.

To understand and appreciate this art form is a rare and lucky thing. Congratulations.