are representative writings about the films of Peter Thompson.

A FILMMAKER IN THE HOLOCAUST ARCHIVES: PHOTOGRAPHY AND NARRATIVE IN PETER THOMPSON'S UNIVERSAL HOTEL

Study by Gary Weissman, Department of English, University of Cincinnati, January 2012 Download PDF

CHICAGO PREMIERE OF LOWLANDS + DIGITAL RESTORATION OF UNIVERSAL HOTEL

Film reviews by critics including Jonathan Rosenbaum, Barbara Scharres, Ben Sachs, Patrick Friel, Michael Phillips Published in Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, Cine-File, Ceeres, October 2011 Download PDF

A HANDFUL OF WORLD: THE FILMS OF PETER THOMPSON, AN INTRODUCTION AND INTERVIEW

Film review by Jonathan Rosenbaum Published in FILM QUARTERLY, September 2009 Eight pages, fifteen illustrations. Download PDF Read at jonathanrosenbaum.net

TOP TEN

Film review by Michael Almereyda Published in ART FORUM, April 2009

The monthly series, “Top Ten”, provides a noted artist with the opportunity to identify ten favorite artists or art works. In this issue, film director Michael Almereyda selected Peter Thompson’s films to be on his "Top Ten" list (in the company of Harold Pinter, John Updike and seven others). Mr. Almereyda describes Thompson as an “…under-the-radar master of concentrated, minimalist forms. For my money, “Universal Citizen” (1986)—a sly, sweet, fragmented travel essay shot in Guatemala—invites comparisons with Jorge Luis Borges and Chris Marker….” Mr. Almereyda has directed a number of films, including a modern day “Hamlet” set in New York starring Ethan Hawke and Bill Murray. Read at MutualArt.com

ACTION HEROES: 26 PEOPLE WHO MAKE FILMS HAPPEN IN CHICAGO

Film review by Robert Loerzel and Jeff Ruby Published in CHICAGO MAGAZINE, February 2009

In the company of Harold Ramis, Joan Cusack, Roger Ebert and Milos Stehlik, Peter Thompson is profiled: "Peter Thompson, Director, 64. When Peter Thompson was 35, his father committed suicide. That tragedy 29 years ago sent the Columbia College professor searching for Super 8 film of his father. He found only 12 seconds’ worth, but stretched them out to 17 minutes and added narration. When he expanded it to include his mother, the resulting film, Two Portraits, moved audiences to tears. Thompson, who once studied guitar with Andrés Segovia, has since made documentaries on Nazi experiments (Universal Hotel and Universal Citizen) and a Mayan shaman (El Movimiento)—leading The Reader’s eclectic former critic Jonathan Rosenbaum to call Thompson 'perhaps the most original and important Chicago filmmaker you never heard of.' Now a grandfather of ten and the owner of a documentary film production company called Chicago Media Works, Thompson has just completed Lowlands, which asks how Vermeer created tranquil art even as war raged outside his home in the Netherlands." Read at ChicagoMag.com

EL MOVIMIENTO AND UNIVERSAL HOTEL

Film review by JONATHAN ROSENBAUM Published in CHICAGO READER, January 16, 2004, section 2, page 17 Read at ChicagoReader.com Read at jonathanrosenbaum.net

PAST LIVES, PRESENT PUZZLES

Film review by JONATHAN ROSENBAUM Published in CHICAGO READER, January 16, 2004, section 1, pps. 24-25 Read at ChicagoReader.com Read at jonathanrosenbaum.net (includes photos)

Two Portraits and Universal Hotel/Universal Citizen

Film review by JONATHAN ROSENBAUM Published in CHICAGO READER, November 19, 1987 Read at ChicagoReader.com Read at jonathanrosenbaum.net

Looking for America

Film review by JONATHAN ROSENBAUM Published in CHICAGO READER, August 25,1988 Read at ChicagoReader.com Read at jonathanrosenbaum.net (includes photos)

Talking to Strangers: A Look at Recent American Independent Cinema (1989 lecture)

Jonathan Rosenbaum, “Talking to Strangers: A Look at Recent American Independent Cinema”, ARTPAPERS, Vol. 13, No. 5, September/October 1989, pp. 6-10 Read at jonathanrosenbaum.net

For a short biography of Jonathan Rosenbaum and for information on the many books he has written: http://www.chireader.com/movies/rosenbaum.html