Duncan Wu began writing film reviews while making television programmes in London in the mid-1980s. He has reviewed for Sight and Sound and the Times Literary Supplement, though in recent years he has written mainly for Times Higher Education. In his spare time he is Professor of English at Georgetown University.
He is an enthusiastic admirer of the creative genius of Werner Herzog, David Lynch, and David Mamet. He is sad to say that the films of Francois Truffaut, which he once loved, have lost much of their power; but those of Eric Rohmer seem to get better and better with the passing of time. Michael Winterbottom is, he believes, one of the most powerful talents in cinema at present, not least for such films as Code 46 and The Road to Guantanamo.
He fantasizes daily about making a film of his own, if only as a pleasant diversion from the serious business of teaching his students how to read poetry.
