Here, Here! I love that guy and agree wholeheartedly.
I agree. Pretty much the only professional critic I still read. Great guy. Even when I disagree with his overall opinion on a film, I always understand his reasoning.
He also has a great sense of humor. It’s a joy to read his reviews of bad movies.
I can’t say a “consensus consciousness” is a good thing for a critic to have; that sounds like someone who reviews a film based on whether most people would like it or most reviewers like it. Ebert has slammed a lot of films that people like, ranging from “:A Clockwork Orange” to “Blue Velvet.” Ebert views films with a certain amount of perspective; he takes movies on their own ground, and doesn’t blame the latest blockbuster for not being an art film. I think sometimes he’s too generous, but his view is always honest, well-articulated and, usually, smart.
ebert is great. check out any of his books.
He’s one of my film writer heroes. He’s willing to get personal in his likes and dislikes, and seeing how he connects to the films he loves is always fascinating.
Agree about Roger Ebert. Just discovered recently the brilliant French-Canadian film Leolo thanks to him. I love going through his own lists of greatest films and reading his always insightful reviews and commentary. He has my sincere admiration for picking through all that dreadful dross to find the gems. He is a gem himself. He does excellent commentaries, as I discovered when watching Kieslowski’s Dekalog and listening to his insightful comments on the dvd set. He is never pretentious or boring. We could all learn from his example.
Any one interested in films should consider the essays of Roger Ebert . It will open your eyes and help rethink on your opinions on a certain film and maybe help you appreciate it even more. His great movies list is a fascinating way to explore and expand your knowledge of the cinema. He made it easier for me to appreciate movies and give second chances to films I neglected or just didn’t understand. It would be a privilege to meet him and watch a movie with him.
I think hes a jaw-less douchebag. so long and thanks for nothing fat ass! Night Porter was great!
Ooooh, wow, Evan goes against the grain. He must be a fascinating person!
Never mind, he likes Ween. He couldn’t be less interesting.
The films like Clockwork Orange, Blue Velvet, Fight Club that he didnt give good ratings to are based on a single viewing so I dont blame him. I would probably give a sketchy first-view review of some movies like these also.
His Great Movies list was a first basis on what directors I should get into, I go back to them from time to time.
A recent blurb on Ebert being honored by the DGA:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090131/COMMENTARY/902019998
He mentions going through Fight Club “a shot at a time for a week with students in Boulder, who patiently explained to me why I had completely misunderstood the film.”
The oft repeated Altman quote:
Of course sometimes my reviews have not been favorable. Robert Altman once told me, “If you never wrote a negative review, what would your positive reviews mean?”
“That’s true,” I said.
“Unfortunately,” Altman said, “in my case, all of your negative reviews have been mistaken.”
Mr. King, that Altman quote is dead ass true.
And Ebert has a point. I love quite a lot of films. I even liked Benjamin Button from the first viewing till I started picking it apart in my head, coming to the conclusion about 3 hours later that it’s a piece of Holly-trash. But honestly, I think the guy is a more avid appreciator of the American styles and not as much the avant-garde or foreign styles. It’s a shame. That’s where the best stuff is. He’s a contributor to the American thinking machine, and it’s something I rather loathe him for.
Really? I haven’t really found that to be true, except in that he has to watch and review an awful lot more American films for obvious reasons.
I mean, the guy put El Topo and Werckmeister Harmonies into his Great Films series..
but maybe I’m misinterpreting what you mean by foreign styles..
Didn’t know he put El Topo in there. I mean, there are exceptions I suppose. Fuck it, I’m gonna’ do a bit more reading on the guy and give him a second chance.
one thing i’ve always enjoyed about reading Ebert’s reviews is that if i don’t agree i feel like he’s someone i could actually sit down and have a b.s. session about the films with, and it won’t matter that each of us thinks the other is wrong. that might be why At The Movies ran for as long as it did, even after Gene Siskel(sp?) passed and after Ebert himself was no longer able to be on the show. He laid the groundwork for funny yet still intelligent dialogue about the good and bad of the films. Sometimes he’s too dismissive, i.e., Blue Velvet and Die Hard, where his reviews focus on such minor details that they seem to pre-occupy his review of the film. But other times he adds some insight that is plain and simple, without all the extra philosophical, socio-psychological jargon us less-educated types sometimes have trouble wrapping our heads around. Even when i completely disagree with him (he thought Crash was a great film, i thought it was something close to crap), his reviews don’t cheat the audience out of a basic explanation of the reasons behind his thoughts. thanks to him, i’ve explored alot of films and have found a deeper appreciation for many classics i might not have otherwise considered checking out.
—M.
I had recently sent him an e-mail asking why there aren’t too many short films on his Great Movies list. There are so many great short movies that he hasn’t written about, such as the work of Maya Deran, Stan Brahkage, and Kenneth Anger. I gave the example that if you were chronicling the greatest writers of all literature, would you leave out Edgar Allen Poe because he has not one notable novel to his credit.
I actually meet the guy three times at the University of Colorado, Boulder. That was before the man had gotten so ill. The last movie he showed during the coincidentally Robert Altman’s The Long Goodbye.
Maurice Gianesin
Now that I have retired I have the time to re – watch and seek out films that I have either seen or want to see. I cannot think of a better lighthouse than Roger Ebert. I have been an ardent fan for my whole life and will be deeply saddened when he no longer will write. I can think of no one who possesses a consensus consciousness as he does. Never tainted by class structure, intellectuality, prejuidice or an enourmous ego he continues to critizise and examine film as The Common Man. Never ever being far from his own humanity, gut feelings and his personal demons he looks for the dream within the vision. A true renaissance man.