Established critics validated midnight cult cinema for mainstream audiences

Evidence

Not long after, Peter Schjeldahl shouldered the task of explaining El Topo to the readers of the New York Times (which had investigated but not reviewed the film). It was, he asserted, “a monumental work of filmic art,” “vastly complex, genuinely profound.” Jodorowsky agreed, with a caveat: “If you are great, El Topo is a great picture; if you are limited, El Topo is limited.” — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now, 1684

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Underground films gained legitimacy as official festival short subjects — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now: The 1960s New York…, 930; European avant-garde acclaim amplified a banned underground film’s fame — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now: The 1960s New York…, 492
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Underground films gained legitimacy as official festival short subjects — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now: The 1960s New York…, 930; European avant-garde acclaim amplified a banned underground film’s fame — J. Hoberman, Everything Is Now: The 1960s New York…, 492