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Who are the Tomatometer-approved critics?

Tomatometer-approved critics come from all across the U.S., and the world. They publish on a variety of platforms – among them you’ll find podcasters, newspaper and magazine writers, bloggers, and YouTubers. Reviews from Tomatometer-approved critics form the trusted Tomatometer ® score for movies and TV shows. Their reviews embody several key values – insight and dedication among them – and meet a set of Eligibility Guidelines . To see our full list of Tomatometer-approved critics, click here .

If you'd like to find out how to join their ranks, check out our Critics Criteria here . Applications are accepted between March 1-31.

Critic Spotlight

is an independent film critic and culture writer based in India. Her writing is situated at the juncture of gender, pop culture and socio-temporal politics. Find Ishita @MadameSengupta

is a regular contributor to Looper and Paste. They have also written for Anime News Network, CBR, JewishBoston, and The Verge among other sites. Find Reuben @AndalusianDoge

is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of POC Culture, and a member of the Asian American Journalists Association. His work can also be found at The Ringer & Nerdist. Find Ron @RonSeoulOh

is a freelance film critic and interviewer. Her work can be found at The Jewish Chronicle, as well as Empire Magazine, NME, New Scientist, Yahoo, and HeyUGuys. Find Linda @lindamarric

List of Famous Film Critics

List of famous film critics , with photos, bios, and other information when available. Who are the top film critics in the world? This includes the most prominent film critics, living and dead, both in America and abroad. This list of notable film critics is ordered by their level of prominence, and can be sorted for various bits of information, such as where these historic film critics were born and what their nationality is. The people on this list are from different countries, but what they all have in common is that they're all renowned film critics.

This list of famous movie critics and reviewers features Roger Ebert, Mark Kermode and more.

Roger Ebert

Facts We Learned About Roger Ebert That Made Us Say 'Whoa'
Famous People From Illinois
# 23 of 32 The Most Powerful People on Twitter

Gene Siskel

# 16 of 310 300+ Famous People Who Went to Prep School
# 45 of 101 101 Celebrities Who Went to Ivy League Schools
# 43 of 54 50+ Celebrities Who Went to Yale

Pauline Kael

Leonard Maltin

A. O. Scott

Richard Schickel

Jonathan Ross

Famous Comedians from the United Kingdom
Famous People From London
# 70 of 125 The Best Talk Show Hosts Of Daytime, Late Night, and All Time

Bosley Crowther

Peter Travers

Vincent Canby

Kenneth turan.

Michael Medved

Richard corliss, glenn kenny, bob mondello.

Janet Maslin

Gene Shalit

Mark Kermode

Claudia Winkleman

Éric Rohmer

J. hoberman, manohla dargis.

Joe Bob Briggs

Michael phillips.

Armond White

Christy lemire.

Alonso Duralde

David Edelstein

Paul Schrader

# 798 of 1,172 The Best Writers of All Time
# 13 of 151 The Greatest Hollywood Screenwriters Of All-Time, Ranked
# 57 of 100 The Best Directors Never Nominated for Oscars
Entertainment

The Best Denver Broncos Linebackers of All Time

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Film Critics

1. roger ebert.

Cinematographer | Siskel & Ebert & the Movies

Roger Joseph Ebert was the all-time best-known, most successful movie critic in cinema history, when one thinks of his establishing a rapport with both serious cineastes and the movie-going public and reaching more movie fans via television and print than any other critic. He became the first and ...

"reviews went far deeper than simply thumbs up or thumbs down. He wrote with passion through a real knowledge of film and film history, and in doing so, helped many movies find their audiences... [he] put television criticism on the map." ~ Steven Spielberg Influenced: A.O. Scott; Richard Corliss; James Berardinelli; Michael Phillips; Will Leitch; Harry Knowles; David Bordwell; Doug Walker; Jackson "Lights Camera Jackson" Murphy; Dan Schneider

2. Gene Siskel

Self | Siskel & Ebert & the Movies

Gene Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He partnered with fellow critic Roger Ebert to present a series of television shows which centered on film reviews. Their partnership lasted from 1975 to Siskel's death in 1999. Siskel became famous for his heated ...

3. Andrew Sarris

Writer | Billy Baxter Presents Diary of the Cannes Film Festival with Rex Reed

Andrew Sarris was born on October 31, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Billy Baxter Presents Diary of the Cannes Film Festival with Rex Reed (1980). He was previously married to Molly Haskell . He died on June 20, 2012 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, ...

Influenced: J. Hoberman; Kenneth Turan; Armond White; Michael Phillips; A.O. Scott

4. J. Hoberman

Actor | Trigon Fire

J. Hoberman is known for Trigon Fire (1989), Breaking Good (2012) and The Jewish Americans (2008).

5. Pauline Kael

Self | Talking Film

Pauline Kael was born in Petaluma, CA, in 1919, and attended the University of California at Berkeley in the 1930s. She tried and failed to work as a playwright in her 20s, and began writing film reviews as a freelance writer for film journals in the 1950s. After success with national magazines in ...

"had a more positive influence on the climate for film in America than any other single person over the last three decades." ~ Roger Ebert "was more than a great critic. She re-invented the form, and pioneered an entire aesthetic of writing. She was like the Elvis or the Beatles of film criticism." ~ Owen Gleiberman Influenced: Paul Schrader, Wes Anderson, David Denby, David Edelstein, Anthony Lane, Greil Marcus, Elvis Mitchell, A. O. Scott, Michael Sragow, Quentin Tarantino, Armond White, Stephen Hunter, Tom Shales, Dr. Joseph Heiter, Jordi Costa, James Wolcott

6. Leonard Maltin

Actor | Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Leonard Maltin is one of the most recognized and respected film critics of our time. He recently completed his 30th season with the long-running television show, Entertainment Tonight (1981). Maltin was born on Friday, December 18th, 1950, in New York City and grew up in suburban Teaneck, New Jersey...

7. Peter Travers

Writer | US Magazine Looks at the '70s

Peter Travers is known for US Magazine Looks at the '70s (1980), Showbiz Today (1985) and Popcorn with Peter Travers (2009).

8. Joel Siegel

Actor | Deathtrap

Joel Siegel was born on July 7, 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He was an actor, known for Deathtrap (1982), Hotel (1983) and Hail Sid Caesar! The Golden Age of Comedy (2001). He was previously married to Ena Swansea, Melissa DeMayo, Jane Kessler and Karen Oshman. He died on June 29, 2007 in ...

9. A.O. Scott

Self | For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism

A.O. Scott was born on July 10, 1966 in Northampton, Massachusetts, USA.

10. Maitland McDonagh

Self | Dead Man Working

Maitland McDonagh was TV Guide Online's Senior Movie Editor from 1998-2008 and in 2012 founded 120 Days Books to republish forgotten gay adult genre novels of the 1970s. Born and raised in New York City, McDonagh received her undergraduate education at Hunter College, CUNY, and earned her MFA in ...

11. Jonathan Rosenbaum

The Other Side of the Wind

Jonathan Rosenbaum was born on February 27, 1943 in Alabama, USA. He is an actor and cinematographer, known for The Other Side of the Wind (2018), Hotel New York (1984) and For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (2009).

"I think there is a very good film critic in the United States today, a successor of James Agee, and that is Jonathan Rosenbaum. He's one of the best; we don't have writers like him in France today. He's like André Bazin." ~ Jean-Luc Godard

12. Robert Hammond

Writer | Yellowthread Street

Robert Hammond is known for Yellowthread Street (1990), The Poet (2003) and TECX (1990).

13. Todd McCarthy

Writer | Visions of Light

Todd is a veteran trade publication film critic, columnist and reporter who has also written several acclaimed books and documentary films. He served two stints on the staffs of Variety and The Hollywood Reporter and extensively covered film festivals internationally for both publications. His film...

14. Richard Corliss

Self | Life Itself

Richard Corliss was born on March 6, 1944 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He was previously married to Mary Corliss . He died on April 23, 2015 in New York City, New York, USA.

15. Dave Kehr

Writer | American Masters

Dave Kehr was born in 1953 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for American Masters (1985), Budd Boetticher: An American Original (2005) and Budd Boetticher: A Man Can Do That (2005).

"one of the most gifted film critics to come out of America, the peer of James Agee and Pauline Kael." ~ Philip French "one of the most gifted film critics in America." ~ Roger Ebert

16. Richard Roeper

Richard Roeper was born on October 17, 1959 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Siskel & Ebert (1986), Something to Live For and Entourage (2004).

17. Owen Gleiberman

Owen Gleiberman was born on February 24, 1959 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. He is an executive.

18. Robert Osborne

Actor | One Step Beyond

Robert Osborne was the host on Turner Classic Movies from its inception in 1994, in large part due to his deep and abiding love and knowledge of film. Osborne got his start working for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz . The ever-perspicacious Ball suggested that Osborne combine his interest in classic ...

19. François Truffaut

Writer | La nuit américaine

French director François Truffaut began to assiduously go to the movies at age seven. He was also a great reader but not a good pupil. He left school at 14 and started working. In 1947, aged 15, he founded a film club and met André Bazin , a French critic, who became his protector. Bazin helped the ...

20. Judith Crist

Actress | Stardust Memories

Judith Crist was born on May 22, 1922 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Stardust Memories (1980). She was previously married to William B. Crist. She died on August 7, 2012 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.

21. Peter Bogdanovich

Director | The Last Picture Show

Peter Bogdanovich was conceived in Europe but born in Kingston, New York. He is the son of immigrants fleeing the Nazis, Herma (Robinson) and Borislav Bogdanovich, a painter and pianist. His father was a Serbian Orthodox Christian, and his mother was from a wealthy Austrian Jewish family. Peter ...

22. Éric Rohmer

Director | Le genou de Claire

Admirers have always had difficulty explaining Éric Rohmer 's "Je ne sais quoi." Part of the challenge stems from the fact that, despite his place in French Nouvelle Vague (i.e., New Wave), his work is unlike that of his colleagues. While this may be due to the auteur's unwillingness to conform, ...

23. Jacques Rivette

Director | La Belle Noiseuse

Although François Truffaut has written that the New Wave began "thanks to Rivette," the films of this masterful French director are not well known. Rivette, like his "Cahiers du Cinéma" colleagues Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard , Claude Chabrol and Éric Rohmer , did graduate to filmmaking but, like Rohmer...

24. Jean-Luc Godard

Director | Bande à part

Jean-Luc Godard was born in Paris on December 3, 1930, the second of four children in a bourgeois Franco-Swiss family. His father was a doctor who owned a private clinic, and his mother came from a preeminent family of Swiss bankers. During World War II Godard became a naturalized citizen of ...

25. Michael Phillips

Michael Phillips was born on March 11, 1961 in Kenosha, Wisconsin, USA. He has been married to Heidi Stevens since 2013. He was previously married to Ann Jarmusch and Andrea Lenaburg.

26. Ian Freer

Self | The People vs. George Lucas

27. Robert Hammond

28. philip french.

Self | Festival international de Cannes

Philip French was born in Liverpool on 28 August 1933 to John and Bessie French and originally studied Law at Exeter College, Oxford. However after National Service he went into journalism, particularly writing about film. In 1978 he became the cinema critic for the Observer newspaper and remained ...

29. Lisa Schwarzbaum

Lisa Schwarzbaum was born in New York City, New York, USA. She is known for Zoom (1972), For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (2009) and Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire (2004).

30. Peter Bradshaw

Actor | Baddiel's Syndrome

Peter Bradshaw is known for Baddiel's Syndrome (2001), Coffee and Cake (2014) and Love Express. The Disappearance of Walerian Borowczyk (2018).

31. Armond White

Self | Headliners & Legends with Matt Lauer

Armond White was born on April 24, 1953 in Detroit, Michigan, USA.

32. Xan Brooks

Self | BAFTA: Films in the Frame

33. Ben Mankiewicz

Actor | White House Down

Ben Mankiewicz was born on March 25, 1967 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for White House Down (2013), Mank (2020) and The Practice (1997). He has been married to Michelle (Lee) Larkin Russo since December 12, 2013. They have one child. He was previously...

34. Geoff Andrew

Self | The True Story of the Electric Cinema Club

Film editor, Time Out magazine

35. Tom Charity

The Last Seduction: The Art of Seduction

Tom Charity is known for The Last Seduction: The Art of Seduction (2006).

36. Nigel Floyd

Self | Into the Dark: Exploring the Horror Film

37. Richard Rayner

Writer | Knightfall

Richard Rayner was born on December 15, 1955 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, UK. He is a writer and producer, known for Knightfall (2017), Amazing Stories (2020) and Crash Unit .

38. Geoff Brown

Writer | Vibe

Geoff Brown is known for Vibe (1997) and Zo What? Morning Show (2014).

39. Rex Reed

Actor | Superman

Rex was born in Fort Worth, Texas, and grew up in Louisiana. He became one of the most prolific movie critics in the country, and for decades has written entertainment columns for The New York Observer. In 1970, Rex made his movie debut, playing Myron in Myra Breckinridge (1970) - Myron was the ...

40. Elvis Mitchell

Producer | Is That Black Enough for You?!?

Elvis Mitchell was born in 1958 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Is That Black Enough for You?!? (2022), Black Lightning (2017) and The Black List: Volume One (2008).

41. Molly Haskell

Molly Haskell was born on September 29, 1939 in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. She is a writer, known for Billy Baxter Presents Diary of the Cannes Film Festival with Rex Reed (1980) and For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (2009). She was previously married to Andrew Sarris ...

42. Eddie Muller

Writer | Mau Mau Sex Sex

Eddie Muller is known for Mau Mau Sex Sex (2001), The Grand Inquisitor (2008) and Twelve Chimes It's Midnight Podcast (2017).

43. Jami Bernard

Jami Bernard is an award-winning film critic, media consultant, and author. Her books include "Quentin Tarantino: The Man and His Movies," Chick Flicks," "First Films," "Total Exposure," "The Incredible Shrinking Critic," and "Breast Cancer: There & Back." She is a former chair of the New York Film...

44. Rudy Behlmer

Director | The Ray Anthony Show

Rudy Behlmer was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He has had a strong interest in the history and evolution of motion pictures since childhood when he began filming his own miniature dramas. He served two years in the Naval Air Corps, then was a Theatre Arts major at Los Angeles City ...

45. Richard Schickel

Producer | The Big Red One

Richard Schickel was born on February 10, 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for The Big Red One (1980), Minnelli on Minnelli: Liza Remembers Vincente (1987) and Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us (2005). He was previously married to Carol ...

46. Martin Scorsese

Director | Taxi Driver

Martin Charles Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942 in Queens, New York City, to Catherine Scorsese (née Cappa) and Charles Scorsese , who both worked in Manhattan's garment district, and whose families both came from Palermo, Sicily. He was raised in the neighborhood of Little Italy, which later ...

47. Ben Lyons

Actor | The House Bunny

Ben Lyons is a Television, Radio, and Online host and producer from New York City, who covers pop culture and sports like nobody else. Based in Los Angeles, Ben is a special correspondent on EXTRA!, a regular contributor for ESPN LA radio and was just named Chief Content Officer for Derek Jeter's ...

48. Bosley Crowther

Self | Grierson

Bosley Crowther was born on July 13, 1905 in Lutherville, Maryland, USA. He was previously married to Florence Marks. He died on March 7, 1981 in Mount Kisco, New York, USA.

49. Joe Morgenstern

Writer | Law & Order

Joe Morgenstern was born on October 3, 1932 in Matamoras, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Law & Order (1990), American Playhouse (1982) and The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976). He was previously married to Piper Laurie .

50. Stephen Hunter

Actor | Rough and Ready

Stephen Hunter is known for Rough and Ready (2015), The X Factor UK (2004) and The Xtra Factor (2004).

51. David Sterritt

Self | Robert Wise: American Filmmaker

52. Rod Lurie

Director | The Outpost

Rod Lurie is the director of the "The Outpost," released July 2020, starring Scott Eastwood, Caleb Landry Jones, and Orlando Bloom. The film, based on CNN chief correspondent Jake Tapper's bestselling book of the same name, tells the true story of the events leading up to and including the Battle ...

53. Jay Cocks

Writer | Silence

Jay Cocks was born on December 1, 1944 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a writer, known for Silence (2016), Gangs of New York (2002) and Strange Days (1995). He was previously married to Verna Bloom .

54. Thom Andersen

Director | Los Angeles Plays Itself

Thom Andersen was born in 1943 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a director and writer, known for Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003), The Thoughts That Once We Had (2015) and Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer (1975).

55. James Agee

Writer | The African Queen

James Agee, Pulitzer Prize winning author, was born in Knoxville in 1909. The intense writer was to enjoy little real success in his lifetime, but after death won accolades. In 1958 he won the Pulitzer Prize in fiction for his uncompleted biographical novel A Death in the Family. Agee also wrote ...

56. Steven Rea

Actor | Angry Boards

Steven Rea is known for Angry Boards (2012).

57. Emanuel Levy

Actor | Somewhere

Emanuel Levy is known for Somewhere (2010), The Reunion (2015) and The Evolution of Clint Eastwood (2008).

58. Kenneth Turan

Writer | Call Me Anna

Kenneth Turan was born on October 27, 1946 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a writer, known for Call Me Anna (1990), Love Hollywood Style (2004) and Phil Stern Eyewitness .

59. Park Chan-wook

Director | Oldeuboi

Park Chan-wook was born on August 23, 1963 in Seoul, South Korea. He is a producer and director, known for Oldboy (2003), The Handmaiden (2016) and Decision to Leave (2022). He is married to Eun-hee Kim. They have one child.