{{Short description|English film critic}} {{Redirect|Victor Perkins|the fictional character|Victor Perkins (Despicable Me)}} {{More citations needed|date=July 2016}}
'''Victor Francis Perkins''' (22 December 1936 – 15 July 2016), usually cited as '''V. F. Perkins''', was an English film critic, best known for his work on film aesthetics and interpretation. He was born in Devon.
Perkins was a founder-editor of the journal ''Movie'' (1962–2000) and was employed as Teacher Adviser at the British Film Institute (BFI) before leaving to take up an academic post in 1968.<ref>McArthur, Colin, "Two Steps Forward, One Step Back: Cultural Struggle in the British Film Institute", in ''Journal of Popular British Cinema'', n. 4, pp. 112 - 127, {{issn|1461-104X}}</ref> He co-founded the film department at the University of Warwick in 1978, where he acted as a full time lecturer/senior lecturer until 2004.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/arts/film/staff/perkins/|title=Victor F Perkins - University of Warwick|work=warwick.ac.uk|access-date=29 July 2016}}</ref>
Best known for his first book, ''Film as Film'' (1972), which quickly became a core text in Film Studies courses, Perkins influenced the way in which film is studied and became internationally known for his sharp intellect and jargon-less approach to the critical analysis of film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://thescenarist.wordpress.com/|title=Victor F. Perkins: Film Critic. Author. Educator|first=Helen|last=Konstan|date=25 October 2013|work=the-scenarist.com|access-date=29 July 2016}}{{Unreliable source?|date=September 2018}}<!--blog by a student is NOT a RS--></ref> Perkins remained an active scholar until he died, continuing to lecture at Warwick University, as well as write and give papers on film analysis at home and abroad.
Perkins died on 15 July 2016,<ref>[https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/comment/obituaries/vf-victor-francis-perkins-1936-2016 V.F. (Victor Francis) Perkins, 1936-2016] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805225158/http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/sight-sound-magazine/comment/obituaries/vf-victor-francis-perkins-1936-2016 |date=2016-08-05 }}</ref> after suffering an aneurysm.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-38590113|title=Coventry Hospital 'sent home' MP's dying father|publisher=BBC News|date=12 January 2017|access-date=14 January 2017}}</ref> Perkins married Tessa Pudney (daughter of the poet John Pudney) in the late 1960s <ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/news/2004/nov/04/guardianobituaries.obituaries Tessa Perkins, obituary in ''The Guardian'', 4 November 2004]</ref> Their son, Toby Perkins, is the Labour Member of Parliament for Chesterfield. Their daughter, Polly Vienna Perkins, is a writer and film producer.
== Select bibliography == *"The British Cinema" in MOVIE No.1, 1962 *"Why Preminger?" in MOVIE No. 4 (November 1962) *"The Cinema of Nicholas Ray," ''MOVIE'' No. 9, May 1963., reprinted in Ian Cameron (ed.) ''Movie Reader'', New York, 1972, and in Bill Nicholls (ed.), ''Movies and Methods Vol 1'', California, 1976. *"55 Days at Peking" in ''MOVIE'' No. 11. *"Cheyenne Autumn" in ''MOVIE'' No. 12, Spring 1965. *"Supporting the British Cinema" in ''MOVIE'' No. 16, Winter, 1968-1969. *"America, America", ''MOVIE'' No. 19, Winter, 1971–1972 *''Film as Film'', Penguin Books, 1972. *"Moments of Choice" in The Movie, ch. 58, reprinted in Ann Lloyd (ed.), ''Movie Book of the Fifties'', Orbis, 1982. *"Letter from an Unknown Woman" [on the Linz sequence] in ''MOVIE'' 29/30, Summer 1982 *"Must We Say What They Mean ? Film criticism and interpretation" in ''MOVIE'' No. 34, October 1990 *"Film Authorship - the premature burial" in ''CineAction'', No. 21/22, November, 1990 *"In a Lonely Place" in Ian Cameron (ed.) ''The Movie Book of Film Noir'', Studio Vista, 1992 *"Johnny Guitar", in Ian Cameron & Douglas Pye (eds.) ''The Movie Book of the Western'', Studio Vista, 1996. *''The Magnificent Ambersons'', British Film Institute, 1999. *"Ophuls contra Wagner and Others" in ''MOVIE'' No 36, January 2000. *"I Confess - Photographs of People Speaking" in ''CineAction'' No 52, September 2000. *"'Same Tune Again!' - Repetition and Framing in Letter from an Unknown Woman " in ''CineAction'' No 52, September 2000. *“Where is the world? The horizon of events in movie fiction” in John Gibbs and Douglas Pye (eds.) ''Style and meaning: studies in the detailed analysis of film'', Manchester U.P., 2005. For an in-depth examination of Perkins' career, see: Jeffrey Crouse, "Fueled by Enthusiasms: Jeffrey Crouse Interviews V. F. Perkins," ''Film International'', 2004:3, pp. 14–27.
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, VF}} Category:1936 births Category:2016 deaths Category:English film critics Category:People from Devon