Joseph Patrick Michael "Joe" Leydon (born August 22, 1952) is an American film critic and historian. A critic and correspondent for Variety and a contributing writer for MovieMaker Magazine, he is the author of Joe Leydon's Guide to Essential Movies You Must See (Michael Wiese Productions) and a contributing critic for Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide.
Leydon was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and raised in the city's Ninth Ward. He graduated from Loyola University with a degree in Journalism (with a minor in film).[1] At Loyola, he studied under the late Ralph T. Bell. In the 2000s, he earned a Master of Arts degree at the Jack J. Valenti School of Communications at University of Houston.
Leydon was a film critic for The Houston Post from 1982 until the paper’s demise in 1995. He has also reviewed films for The San Francisco Examiner, MSNBC.com, and NBC affiliate KPRC-TV in Houston. His work as a journalist, interviewer and feature writer has appeared in the New York Daily News, Los Angeles Times, Newsday, The Tennessean, The Boston Globe, Toronto Star and the Austin American-Statesman; Film Comment and New Orleans magazines. He is also the communications director for Cowboys & Indians Magazine.
Since 2000, Leydon has been an adjunct professor at Houston Community College and the University of Houston's Jack J. Valenti School of Communications.