ABSTRACT
Films are not uniform products like cans of peas. Neither are they sold at pre-determined prices in terms of length. Once the specific attributes-stars, wide-scope, quadrophonic soundof particular films become commercially important, the idea of film as a product like any other disintegrates. The value of a film cannot be assessed in advance. With expected return on investment unpredictable, two procedures lie open to producers: First, the industry has induced the social habit of "going to the cinema." This habit reduces the need for choice or the practice of examining the product before purchase. Audience expectation is conditioned and satisfied through the development of genres and the star system. Located within this process is the newspaper critic who "functions more or less as a glorified copywriter."2 It is through this journalist that the audience is able to "inspect" the product before seeing it on screen. It is not surprising, then, that the industry often regards critics as unpredictable extensions of their publicity machine.
