Movies, great and good

St. Paul, Minn. — In his most recent article, film critic David Thomson asks the difficult question, "When is a movie great?" Our films are artificial now, he says, and we are nostalgic for substance.

Fellow critic Richard Brody disagrees. They both join us today to discuss movies, great and good.

Follow along during the show on our live blog:

Guests

• David Thomson: Film critic, historian and author of more than 20 books, including The New Biographical Dictionary of Film.
• Richard Brody: Movie-listings editor at The New Yorker magazine; he writes film reviews, a column about DVDs, and a blog about movies, The Front Row. He is the author of the book "Everything Is Cinema: The Working Life of Jean-Luc Godard."

Resources

• About David Thomson
• About Richard Brody
• Movies, great and good by Richard Brody
• When is a movie great? The perils of medium and magic, by David Thomson (only available for Harper's subscribers)