[KineJapan] Tony Rayns

[Alexander Jacoby]

I didn't know Tony very well, but had been aware of him since my teenage
years, when, as a young cinephile, I flicked through the old Time Out Film
Guide and noticed that the reviews marked with the initials "TR" were
usually among the most perceptive and interesting. Those of us who got into
East Asian cinema in the 1990s owe him a real debt of gratitude.

I met him a number of times over the years. He could be prickly, and we
certainly had different tastes in films, but I generally got on well with
him. I knew he had health troubles, but his sudden death in an accident
comes as a shock. Last year in Bologna (I believe it was his first visit to
the film festival there since the pandemic) we happened to sit next to each
other in the cinema and chatted briefly before the lights went down. This
year, I glimpsed him through the window of a cafe as he was passing along
the Via delle Lame, but wasn't quick enough to dart out and say Hello. I
assumed I'd bump into him again later in the week, but alas, it didn't
happen.

Jia Zhangke's tribute quoted in the Variety article is rather beautiful. "A
free citizen of the kingdom of cinema" - that's a noble way to be
remembered.

ALEX



On Wed, 8 Jul 2026 at 17:21, Steven Elworth via KineJapan <
kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> wrote:

> I never met him. I saw him talk once but I could not get close. I read him
> For over 50 years starting in Sight and Sound on New German Cinema and then
> to East Asian cinema. He will be missed. On Wed, Jul 8, 2026 at 10: 07 AM
> Aaron Gerow via KineJapan
> 
> I never met him. I saw him talk once but I could not get close. I read him
> For over 50 years starting in Sight and Sound on New German Cinema and
> then to East Asian cinema. He will be missed.
>
> On Wed, Jul 8, 2026 at 10:07 AM Aaron Gerow via KineJapan <
> kinejapan at mailman.yale.edu> wrote:
>
>> I was very sad to hear of the passing of Tony Rayns. While I only met him
>> a few times, I learned much from his writing, especially when I was writing
>> my book on Kitano Takeshi. He was key in introducing a lot of East Asian
>> cinema of the 80s on to the world. RIP.
>>
>>
>> https://variety.com/2026/film/obituaries-people-news/tony-rayns-dead-east-asian-cinema-champion-1236804242/
>> <https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://variety.com/2026/film/obituaries-people-news/tony-rayns-dead-east-asian-cinema-champion-1236804242/__;!!FapE6t-4AhA!K81q4c4EjDrL8aRSkcbhplpz5tAh9Eczt2nYIrQGcHZ4qu66KyUG2xTtmun1GmW9Zo2_XYBUCI7lt_Y1AVMWgCmMuBUFZ9dKdiLe6g$>
>>
>> Aaron Gerow
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