David Thomson (born 1941) is a British film critic and historian based in the United States and the author of more than 20 books. His reference works in particular — Have You Seen...?: A Personal Introduction to 1,000 Films (2008) and The New Biographical Dictionary of Film (5th edition, 2010) — are noted for their high literary merit and eccentricity. Benjamin Schwarz, writing in the Atlantic Monthly, called him "probably the greatest living film critic and historian" who "writes the most fun and enthralling prose about the movies since Pauline Kael". John Banville called him “the greatest living writer on the movies”.