Roger Ebert has died

QikBax

One of the great film critics Roger Ebert has passed away at 70.

Always enjoyed his reviews even if I disagreed with his opinion from time to time.

Manco

RIP, very grim news.

constitutionus

jaysus.

was just watching a bit on him in godzilla with siskel on youtube.

CatInABox

Very sad, only heard he had a recurrence recently.

Always liked his reviews, even if I didn't always agree with them. They always seemed to have a fair bit of thought put into them, and always, always came across as his opinion, not a paid opinion.

irishash

CatInABox wrote: »

Very sad, only heard he had a recurrence recently.

Always liked his reviews, even if I didn't always agree with them. They always seemed to have a fair bit of thought put into them, and always, always came across as his opinion, not a paid opinion.

Totally agree. Was a very honest critic. Disagreed with him many times, but always listened to him. Was never swayed by what the majority thought about a movie.

I will always remember his review of the Phantom (Billy Zane flick). He loved it and thought it would be a huge smash....2 thumbs up !!

duckworth

Oh, very sad about this...

Was sad when I saw his blog post yesterday saying he taking a step back - so this is a bit shocking.

Loved all his writing, especially when I disagreed with it (which was about 60% of the time)

He was a true cinema lover, and I loved hearing what he had to say.

Rip big man

Da Shins Kelly

Wow, sad news. I enjoyed his reviews a lot, even if I didn't always agree with him. Very honest and thoughtful critic.

johnny_ultimate

Was just reading an enthusiastic post from him about his prognosis the other day

I didn't always agree with his writing - often completely opposed, in fact! - but the man had a genuine love for cinema that was endlessly infectious. He had a completely unique perspective and genuine class and integrity. His health issues in later years actually filled him with a new lease of life when it would suck others down. His opinions were proudly all his own, and even when regularly breaking with consensus - he must have been the only fan of The Happening in existence - he argued and debated with such strength that his opinion was completely justified. Even his infamous distaste for video games saw him provoking worthy discussion, and to the end he was still willing to engage with others to help him discover the joys of that young medium. But most simply his boundless passion for watching and writing about cinema was inspirational.

Film criticism will be a blander place without him.

e_e

I discovered Siskel & Ebert long after it aired and their level of insight and passion for film couldn't have been more palpable. They give movie shows a real credibility and I've always been reading up on Ebert's latest opinions.

R.I.P. to a great man.

JP Liz V1

RIP

okioffice84

RIP

titan18

RIP, one of the very few critics whose reviews I enjoyed reading and always wondered what he thought about different films.

murrayp4

One my favourites...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALFpRJKnK2U

Jimmy Iovine

He is the only film reviewer that I knew. If he liked a film then I made sure to check it out. I didn't always agree with him afterwards, but I knew that he was more than likely correct. He saw things that weren't there to my eye.

I also liked his Facebook page and really enjoyed the posts and links he put up on it.

I'll miss reading his reviews of new films.

branie

He gave one of the commentaries on my Casablanca DVD.

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

he does a great audio track on the dark city blu ray, might give it a listen/watch over the weekend

Technocentral

That's very sad, I actually looked up his review for "Young Adult" earlier this evening (he liked it very much) before watching it. Along with Philip French and Peter Bradshaw he was the only person whose reviews I read and rated. One big thumbs down for his passing.

Edit:

Actually its doubly sad, because I just read this from the Suntimes website that he always reviewd for, its from only 2 days ago and he is saying that he is slowing down writing for them but "isn't going away", a very humane man who will be missed:

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2013/04/a_leave_of_presense.html

arch_stanton

I first came across his reviews in the Microsoft Cinemania CD ROM (remember those?). I used to work nights in the late 90's and looked forward to his site updating early Friday morning with the new reviews. He was a fantastic writer, not just on movies but on many social, political and other issues through his blog.

If you've never heard of him before, take some time to browse his "Great Movies " reviews. You won't find a better collection of writing about film.

RIP Roger

mike65

The Guardian ran a story about him withdrawing from active duty due to a set back only yesterday. Certainly no hint of this.

Very sad news.

bnt

This is a real shock - only a couple of days after he wrote about taking a leave of presence: cutting back his review schedule to the films he wanted to review. It's front page news in many papers, particularly the Chicago Sun-Times, where he spent all his writing career. The obituary on his review site there is currently unavailable: the server isn't able to cope with all the traffic.

Sad Professor

I had a feeling this wasn't far off after his recent announcement, but I wasn't expecting it so soon.

I grew up reading Ebert's reviews. A true film critic doesn't merely review a film and point out what's right or wrong with it. Whether I agreed with Ebert even half the time is irrelevant because he did something far more important: he provided insights that deepened my understanding and appreciation for cinema.

My respect for him only grew in later years as I saw him add films to his Great Movies list that he had originally slated upon release. He wasn't afraid to admit when he was wrong. Some might have seen this as backtracking but it taught me that film watching is a process, that opinions can change and evolve over time.

Goodbye, Roger. You'll be greatly missed.

Ole Rodrigo

RIP

A prolific reviewer who's reviews I always enjoyed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_9WEyuMq0Yk

nervous_twitch

Whenever I watched a movie, no matter how much I loved or hated it, I always checked Ebert's review afterward. Not because I thought his opinion was gospel, but I always thought he was coming from a most honest place. Even if I entirely disagreed with him, I felt he was one of the few critics who didnt lazily fall in line with the general consensus of every other reviewer. He had a genuine passion for good film, and even when it made him unpopular, he stuck with his gut. I can only hope that other critics will learn from him. Sadly missed.

Duggy747

Didn't agree with him more often than not, probably, but always listened to / read what he had to say because he stuck to his guns, wouldn't allow himself to be swayed by the majority, and you knew he had a genuine passion for cinema.

Was a staple, one of those guys who was always around.

Jason Todd

Just watched the Siskel & Ebert reviews of Jurassic Park and Back to the Future the other day. No one did the movie reviews better imo. Sad news, RIP

Lightbulb Sun

arch_stanton wrote: »

I first came across his reviews in the Microsoft Cinemania CD ROM (remember those?). I used to work nights in the late 90's and looked forward to his site updating early Friday morning with the new reviews. He was a fantastic writer, not just on movies but on many social, political and other issues through his blog.

If you've never heard of him before, take some time to browse his "Great Movies " reviews. You won't find a better collection of writing about film.

RIP Roger

I was just going to post the exact same thing! It was a CD that came with Windows 95.

I would have been only 5/6 at the time but I read through that disc for a few years and his reviews were on many of the films in that database. That would be my main memory of him.


RIP.

Jijsaw

A lot of deaths in the film and music industries recently a lot of "behind the scenes" people eg. producers, studio musicians. I always enjoyed reading his reviews even though like many others I disagreed with him on quite a few reviews. RIP

Technocentral

Unlike most on here I agreed with most of his reviews, maybe about 75% of them, that's why his death reasonates so much with me

e_e

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iZ9suJXJTk

This video series is so enjoyable. I'm gonna re-watch 'em all now.

Kylo Ren

His last written words were "I'll see you at the movies."

So brilliant and appropriate.

RIP.

tfker

RIP,hope he likes the plot in this one

bnt

On another forum I visit, this was mentioned, and was followed by "who?" and "so what?", and even "movie critics don't create anything, just pick apart what others created". The sheer number of tributes pouring in, from anyone who's anyone in the movie business, tells you more about the legacy he has left us. Ebert took film criticism from pure academia, and made it something accessible to anyone who can see more than flashing lights and explosions on the screen.

Dirty Dingus McGee

I started reading his website after reading one of his reviews on Rottentomatoes and every Thursday would check out his reviews of the weeks new releases,. After every film I watch I generally go a read his review of it.His website is terrific and I enjoyed reading his blog posts from time to time he was an excellent writer.

charlie_says

That's a real shame.

I enjoyed reading his reviews, in general I agreed with his opinions except for one or two blockbusters.

Rest in peace Roger.

crazygeryy

The Chicago Tribune's cartoon tribute to Roger Ebert

http://i.imgur.com/rKdlGZZ.jpg


r.i.p

Corkfeen

I disagreed with plenty of his views but he was a superb reviewer at the very same time. I used his blog a fair bit too, purely because it had really interesting discussions on various topics and he also tended to reply to comments so the comment sections didn't become the ravings of nutjobs. In terms of losses to cinema in recent years, he's up there at the top.

RIP

Technocentral

Watched Casablanca blu ray with his commentary last night, very insightful and informative about the characters, production and the actors backgrounds, well worth a look with it switched on.

Corkfeen

The Onion did a rather nice tribute to Ebert. I initially cringed when I saw that they'd written anything in relation to him but it's rather tasteful.
http://www.theonion.com/articles/roger-ebert-hails-human-existence-as-a-triumph,31945/?ref=auto

Sad Professor

Ebert's final review, of Terrence Malick's To the Wonder, is now up.

Why must a film explain everything? Why must every motivation be spelled out? Aren't many films fundamentally the same film, with only the specifics changed? Aren't many of them telling the same story? Seeking perfection, we see what our dreams and hopes might look like. We realize they come as a gift through no power of our own, and if we lose them, isn't that almost worse than never having had them in the first place?

http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20130406/REVIEWS/130409984

Blisterman

RIP. Nearly every time I finish watching a film, I check out what he had to say about it, cause whether he liked them or not, or whether I agreed with what he said, he'd provide some insight which made me think.

At least his entire archive of reviews is still available to view on his website, and hopefully will be for some time.

s8n

lost a lot of respect from him after his tweet on Ryan Dunn's death a few years back

Da Shins Kelly

s8n wrote: »

lost a lot of respect from him after his tweet on Ryan Dunn's death a few years back

That tweet was badly timed, but nothing he said about that incident wasn't true.