RIP Roger Ebert

[deli]

https://twitter.com/Suntimes/status/319894506931617793

Sun-Times Obituary

Roger Ebert loved movies.

Except for those he hated.

For a film with a daring director, a talented cast, a captivating plot or, ideally, all three, there could be no better advocate than Roger Ebert, who passionately celebrated and promoted excellence in film while deflating the awful, the derivative, or the merely mediocre with an observant eye, a sharp wit and a depth of knowledge that delighted his millions of readers and viewers.

“No good film is too long,” he once wrote, a sentiment he felt strongly enough about to have engraved on pens. “No bad movie is short enough.”

Ebert, 70, who reviewed movies for the Chicago Sun-Times for 46 years and on TV for 31 years, and who was without question the nation’s most prominent and influential film critic, died Thursday in Chicago. He had been in poor health over the past decade, battling cancers of the thyroid and salivary gland.

[Lint]

at least he's back with Siskel now..

[Hobo]

The way he said "Thumbs up!" the way he said "Thumbs down!"... The way he said goodbye.

[GoGo Yubari]

Huge loss for the world of film. I have one of his books, might reread some of it tonight.

[GA!]

*thumbs down*

[LL!]

Damn.

Roger Ebert was someone that I used to let guide me when it came to films because of his well thought out criticism, and, thus, provided me with many films to make me a bit more well rounded in several aspects of the medium. Over the last few years I've pretty much separated myself from film critics because I realized I didn't need anyone to tell me which movies I should see, and for a while it seemed to me like Roger Ebert was going a bit nuts when it came to his film preferences. But I just realized his taste was evolving, and it took my taste evolving for me to notice. Roger Ebert was the last film critic that still had a place in my film heart. Sorry to see him go.

[GoGo Yubari]

This is just heartbreaking for me to read now.

[Lint]

WIll Leitch, former editor and now contributor at Deadspin, posted a heartfelt post about Ebert, talking how interacting with Ebert over the years helped Leitch as a writer and reviewer

http://deadspin.com/5482198/my-roger-ebert-story

[Berober]

Oh damn. In terms of movie reviews, he was the guy whose name I'd always look for a review from. I didn't know much about his other work, but his reviews were top notch and I'm gonna miss them. RIP.

[Bobfoc]

I must say that I often disagreed with the opinions he expressed in both his written and televised reviews, but I enjoyed reading and listening to them because they were entertaining. A lot of current reviewers could take a leaf out of Ebert's book when it comes to producing articles that don't follow the formulaic tedium we see all too often right now.

I do find solace in Ebert's own words relating to his illness, though. Here's a famous excerpt from one of his books:

I know it is coming, and I do not fear it, because I believe there is nothing on the other side of death to fear. I hope to be spared as much pain as possible on the approach path. I was perfectly content before I was born, and I think of death as the same state. I am grateful for the gifts of intelligence, love, wonder and laughter. You can’t say it wasn’t interesting. My lifetime’s memories are what I have brought home from the trip. I will require them for eternity no more than that little souvenir of the Eiffel Tower I brought home from Paris

Considering what he went through during the last few years of his life, those are powerful words indeed.

[Josh]

More than a great critic, he was a great defender of ideas. He was pretty engaged in large debates about art, politics, social reform, equality, etc. His death is a great loss for humanity.

I hope Scorcese completes that documentary.

[Skummy]

I'm only a recent convert - I don't think, as far as I'm aware, that Siskel & Ebert had all that much of a presence in the UK - but everything I have read or seen of his is wonderful. Even if I didn't agree, he was persuasive, and informed, and above all never boring.

A great loss.

[CobraKaiEnTai]

(Y) (Y) Two thumbs up on a wonderful life. Say hello to Gene Siskel, you'll be missed

[HC]

I've had a habit the past three years or so of always checking Ebert's website before viewing a film. I'm going to miss being able to read his great reviews.

[Adam]

I'm going to miss reading Roger Ebert's reviews of films. I more often than not checked out what he felt of a movie I was about to/planning to watch and I guess a lot of the time that coloured my expectation of the film for better or worse. It is a great shame that I won't get to read his thoughts on any more films. I know he has been ill for a while but I suppose I didn't think he'd be leaving us so soon.

[Jimmy]

This is just heartbreaking for me to read now.

I read this the other day and thus this news is just so shocking and horrible. Only recently discovered his work. Horrible

[Owen]

Damn, everything's pretty sad at the moment, so many deaths in this past month, it's horrible...

R.I.P Roger Ebert, I always enjoyed his reviews and he will definitely be missed..

Edited April 5, 2013 by 0wen

[Sousa]

I've been a follower of Ebert for the past few years in particular--especially since he's been involved in the atheist community a bit here and there, or at least has been outspoken about his views. Sometimes I very strongly agree with him. Sometimes I couldn't agree with him less. But he was honest, forthright, logical, and bold, and he wasn't afraid to broach uncomfortable topics. Perhaps best of all, he seemed to love his work.

I'm glad he was able to come to terms with his own death, and the world was richer for having him in it; for someone whose job was to review other people's art, he left a hell of a lot of it behind.

[ROC]

I think just the fact that he willfully published books worth of exposing readers to the art of film (and a book like Your Movie Sucks because his putdowns were so entertaining and worth putting in print) shows what he was willing to do to get middle America to understand great cinema and all that comes with it. Just being the premiere critic in the arts means he's influenced how we view not only film but writing. I'm sure in that archive of the What Did You See Today posts, there's a shitload of writing attempting to be like Roger Ebert. Which is not an insult by any means but just proof of the giant shadow (and the myriad of terms single-handedly made by Ebert) that will always loom from his work. I don't know if I ever directly wanted to be like him, but it's impossible for me to say that a lot of my writing isn't attempting to be like him. Because he was damn great at well-thought and understandable analysis. God, this sucks. RIP.

[Lint]