Derek Malcolm | |
|---|---|
 Malcolm in 2012 | |
| Born | Derek Elliston Michael Malcolm (1932-05-12)12 May 1932 London, England |
| Died | 15 July 2023(2023-07-15) (aged 91) Deal, Kent, England |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouse | |
| Father | Douglas Malcolm |
Derek Elliston Michael Malcolm (12 May 1932 – 15 July 2023) was an English film critic and historian.[1]
Derek Elliston Michael Malcolm was born on 12 May 1932.[2] He was the son ofDouglas Malcolm (died 1967) and Dorothy Vera (died 1964; née Elliston-Taylor),[3]
Malcolm was educated atEton College andMerton College,Oxford.[4] As a child, he expressed an interest in film, often going to the newsreel cinema onVictoria station.[5]
Malcolm worked for several decades as a film critic forThe Guardian, having previously been an amateurNational Huntjockey, where he had 13 victories, then an actor, and the paper's firsthorse racing correspondent.[1][6] In 1977, he was a member of the jury at the27th Berlin International Film Festival.[7]
Malcolm defended the "video nasty"Nightmare (1981) during an obscenity trial and expressed disappointment over the ruling against the distributors.[6][8] In the mid-1980s he was host ofThe Film Club onBBC2, which was dedicated to art house films,[1] and was director of theLondon Film Festival for several years.[6]
After leavingThe Guardian in 2000, Malcolm published his final series of articles,The Century of Films, in which he discussed films he admired from his favourite directors from around the world. He became chief film critic for theEvening Standard, before being replaced in 2009 by novelistAndrew O'Hagan.[9] He still contributed film reviews for the newspaper, but it emerged in July 2013 that his contribution to the title was to be reduced further.[10]
In 2008, Malcolm was a member of the jury at the30th Moscow International Film Festival.[11]
Malcolm was president of theBritish Federation of Film Societies and the International Film Critics' Circle and the honorary president of theInternational Federation of Film Critics. In 2003, he published an autobiographical book,Family Secrets, which recounts how in 1917 his father shot his mother's lover dead, but was found not guilty of murder.[6][12][13]
Malcolm was married to the journalist and authorSarah Gristwood from 1994 until his death.[14]
Malcolm died from heart and lung failure at his home inDeal, Kent, on 15 July 2023, at the age of 91.[1]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
