The first
edition of David Thomson's magnum opus A Biographical Dictionary
of Film came out in 1975, and it was filled with a young
man's
strong opinions, flights
of fancy, sensitive tributes to people like Howard Hawks, Max Ophüls, Jean Renoir, Carl Dreyer, Jean Renoir, Robert Bresson, Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, and surprisingly forceful condemnations
of such citadels as John Ford and Frank Capra.