He was a senior editor for Newsweek, where he served as film critic from 1977 to 2008 and subsequently contribute to the magazine in a freelance capacity.
Prior to writing for Newsweek, he served as chief film critic for Boston's The Real Paper.
[1] Ansen has also written several documentaries for television: on Greta Garbo (for TNT), Groucho Marx (HBO), Elizabeth Taylor (PBS), and the Ace Award-winning All About Bette (Bette Davis) for TNT.
In 2015, Ansen was named lead programmer of the Palm Springs International Film Festival.
[2] Ansen is a current or previous member of the New York Film Critics Circle, the National Society of Film Critics, and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and is a three-time winner of the Page One Award from the Newspaper Guild of New York.