I had a review of Belle de Jour lined up for today, but now it seems so trivial to post it. Today the world lost one of the most important film critics of all time, Roger Ebert. Roger wasn’t just a great film critic, though; he was an excellent writer, and above all else, a wonderful person. In recent years, I had enjoyed following his Facebook and Twitter feeds, as he continued to share interesting, and often fascinating, material at all hours of the day. When he lost his ability to physically speak, he flawlessly moved into the realm of digital media, never losing his writing voice.
His death today is a major loss not just for film buffs, but for movie lovers and fans of great writing in general. Roger’s influence is monumental, and he will be dearly missed.
His final written words, from his blog post yesterday:
“So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I’ll see you at the movies.”
A great movie reviewer who will be sadly missed. The review and movie world has not been the same without his partner in crime and now that he is gone, no one catch match their expertise. Thank you for this post.
Agree with you 100%, Serenity. I still can’t believe he’s gone.
Great post, Eric.
Thank you, Morgan.
Well done, Eric.
Thank you, Michael.
Nicely said, Eric. An inspiration to all of us.
Thank you, Georgina. He made an impact on so many people. No one can ever fill that void.
Sad day for film, writing, and for cinephiles everywhere. One of my inspirations. I will miss reading his reviews. Well done Eric.
Thanks, Niels. I always looked forward to seeing new posts from him when I would sign onto Twitter and Facebook. Still in shock…
A great tribute. Ebert is my favorite film critic and he will be missed.
Thank you. Ebert was one of my favorite writers, too. His Great Movies series has pushed me to see countless classics, most of which I loved.
Great tribute, Eric. Mr. Ebert be sorely missed indeed, may he rest in peace.
Thank you, Ruth. It was sad walking around Chicago today and seeing his face everywhere. But at the same time, it was great to see so much support and love for him.
Reblogged this on Mr.Feathers.
Nice post, RIP Ebert, you will be missed.
Indeed. Thank you, Nostra.
Sorry to hear this, he was an institution.
Apparently Scorsese is producing a documentary about Ebert called Life Itself (2014), according to The Playlist today. A pity Ebert himself didn’t get to see it.
I’m glad they are still going through with the documentary. He had an incredible life.
Hi, all:
I always preferred Gene Siskel. Though Mr. Ebert did steer into many areas that I’m cozily comfortable today. Older film, directors, cinematographers and stables of actors and actresses. With more talent in their pinkies and index fingers than most running around today.
“With more talent in their pinkies and index fingers than most running around today.”
Well said there, Jack. The world of film is lesser now without both of them.
Nice post Eric… was my and a lot of others I am sure first exposure to film criticism and discussion.
Thank you, Adam. He really was the go-to source for movie reviews. Will miss seeing them pop up in my news feed.
Great post Eric. I disagreed with many of his reviews, but always read them (and he’s the only “mainstream” person whose reviews I would read for movies). He was a great writer and knew his stuff. When I abandoned the gaming industry standard 10-point review scale for a unified system across all reviews, I went with Ebert’s four star system. He will be missed.
Thanks, Gary. I didn’t always agree with him either, but the great thing about his reviews was that it was easy to tell if *you* would like the movie just based on his writing. That’s hard to pull off, and he was the best at it.
Agreed. Ebert had a great sense of what other people would like even if he wouldn’t, and could convey that. My favorite reviews of his though were always the ones where he absolutely trashes a subpar outing, such as say North…. I just ordered his biography ‘Life Itself’ a few weeks ago, and was going to read it after I finish my current book…. It’s still hard to imagine a world without Roger Ebert reviewing movies….. It seems as long as I can recall, I watch a movie, and then google “Movie Title” followed by his name to see what he thought of it. Greatly missed is an understatement.
Oh yeah, I remember borrowing his “Your Movie Sucks!” book from the library. It was always so much fun to read his negative reviews, and his back-and-forth banter with Rob Schneider is the stuff of legends. I still need to read “Life Itself”, which sounds like a really terrific read.