Who Gets to Call It Art?
Metascore
70 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 10 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
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  1. Film Threat
    Reviewed by: Phil Hall
    100
    One of the greatest art documentaries ever made. Through an imaginative mixture of rare footage, audio recordings and contemporary interviews with the living legends of modern art, Rosen has created a cinematic portrait which is, in itself, a work of art.
  2. Variety
    Reviewed by: Ronnie Scheib
    90
    Lively, intelligent collage, both richly complex and immediately accessible.
  3. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    88
    Shot with a Peter Greenaway-like austere impudence and edited brilliantly (by Jed Parker), this is an entertaining movie, and a moving one--even if, like me, you're not especially fond of these paintings or that scene.
  4. The A.V. Club
    Reviewed by: Noel Murray
    83
    Comes closer than most to seeing the whole picture.
  5. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    Paints an entertaining picture of the cherubic gentleman, who as the first curator of contemporary art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art brought new excitement to the stodgy institution.
  6. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: Fred Camper
    70
    Fun, lively, and a tad superficial.
  7. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jack Mathews
    63
    The film's appeal is for the eyes. Because Henry got to call it art, it's on display once again.
  8. TV Guide
    Reviewed by: Maitland McDonagh
    63
    The film's flippant style ultimately undermines its material - Rosen's decision not to immediately identify interviewees is especially irritating - and, ironically, makes the American art scene of the '60s appear as shallow and trendy as its detractors always claimed it was.
  9. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ed Halter
    60
    A TV-style compilation of big-name talking heads and occasionally fascinating footage, the film convokes an impressive cast of interviewees—David Hockney, Frank Stella, and Ellsworth Kelly among them--yet seems too dazzled by their luminance to squeeze a substantial analysis of Geldzahler from their pithy testimonials.
  10. The New York Times
    Reviewed by: Manohla Dargis
    40
    This glib, largely uninformative and poorly organized précis of the post-World War II art scene, with its emphasis on New York in the 1960's and the curator Henry Geldzahler, succeeds neither as history nor as art history.

User Reviews

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User Score
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No user score yet- Awaiting 1 more rating

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 2
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 2
  3. Negative: 0 out of 2
  1. PeggyQuinn
    10
    Excellent film. Editing was superb; sound track was perfect.
  2. Lois
    9
    Loved it. This film gave me a real sense of the art scene in the 60's and the man who played such a prominent role in it.
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