Roger Ebert (1942 - 2013)

Roger Ebert, film critic and author, has died.  Not long ago he revealed in a blog entry that a fracture had been found in his hip, and since then others have stepped in to help write reviews for his website as his ability to work was hindered.  His final blog entry, a mere two days before he died, outlined future plans for his writing, his website, his film festival, the involvement of fellow critics, and even a bio-documentary.  It stated that his hip fracture had been revealed to be a cancer.  With so many plans ahead, his death came as a shock.

I’m not writing this blog entry to serve as an obituary, but as an explanation of why I admire Roger Ebert.  Maybe it’s also a way for me to deal with the sudden reality of his death.

I remember seeing Siskel & Ebert At the Movies on TV when I was young.  I was too young to understand film criticism, and just couldn’t understand what those guys were always arguing about.  It simply didn’t make sense to me . . . at the time.

Fast-forward to my teenage years.  I was often found in the “arts” section of the local library.  (It’s been a pattern for me to find this section in every library or bookstore I visit.)  One day I spotted a book called Roger Ebert’s Video Companion.  I instantly recognized who he was, and realized that I had never read much in the way of movie reviews.  As I glanced through the book, which was good and thick, I recognized the titles of many movies I had seen and many more I was interested in.  I decided to check the book out and see what it had to offer.

I felt an instant connection to his writing style.  It was personal, easily accessible and intellectual at the same time.  He was obviously well-read, experienced, observant, and extremely knowledgeable about film.  But he never condescended.  All he did was write of his experience watching a film, what he thought was good or bad about it, and that was that.  I was surprised how his writing could inspire me to watch a movie I’d never seen, and to see things in movies I thought I was familiar with.  What really caught my attention was how I could understand his point of view, even if I disagreed.  Slowly my respect began to grow.

I read that book from cover to cover.  It was hundreds of pages long, filled with reviews, interviews and essays, so it took a while to get through it.  By the time I finished I was already a fan.  From then on, I read every review Roger Ebert wrote that I could get my hands on.  One of my happiest memories in a bookstore was the day I bought Roger Ebert’s Video Companion 1997 Edition.  It was a newer edition of the same book I had discovered in the library, it was profoundly thick, and I read every word.

Roger’s reviews taught me a new way of watching movies, a more personal way.  They taught me what to watch for, what was trite and overdone, what made a story weak or powerful.  His reviews are well-written, displaying a sharp wit, and feature numerous anecdotes from his personal life.  Anyone who has read so much of his work could not help but feel that they knew him in some small way.

Over the years I’ve collected Roger Ebert’s Movie Yearbook, and other books that he has written, including his Great Movies collections.  I’m an avid follower of his website.  I’ve regularly read the reviews of other film critics, but Roger Ebert is the one I respect the most.  As I stated before, even if I didn’t agree with him, I knew where he was coming from.  Other critics and writers are not always blessed with such clarity.

In 2006, after a scary bout with cancer, he lost his ability to speak, drink or eat.  A year or two went by without any new movie reviews.  When he returned to his writing, though, he did so with a vengeance.  He had lost the ability to speak with his voice, but his voice in writing and on the internet seemed to pour out of him.  His output was staggering.  Not only did he review more movies than ever before, but he created a blog, Roger Ebert’s Journal, and became one of the most followed members of Twitter.  His blog became a more personal outlet, where he wrote of his life and family, his beliefs and experiences.

In his final year, at the age of 70, Mr. Ebert saw more movies than he ever had in a single year.  Health complications that would justify slowing down didn’t seem to affect his work.  But they finally caught up to him.

My blog is a direct result of my respect and admiration for Roger Ebert, not only as a critic and writer, but as a human being.  There are a few movies about which I’ve never written because his reviews are so powerfully imprinted on my mind.  I have to make a conscious decision not to quote him every time I write.  His reviews radiate a kind of joy in watching movies, and reflect the wisdom gained in life experiences that influenced his point of view.

Now there will be no more new Ebert reviews to look forward to.  I suspect that a couple more books might be published, but we’ll have to wait and see.  In the meantime I can look at my bookshelves and see thousands of pages of writing that have influenced me, not only how I watch movies, but how I write, and have introduced me to countless movies and books I might have otherwise missed.  Roger Ebert’s work added to my life and I will be forever grateful.

Here are the last words of his final blog entry, written so soon before his death, which now seem strangely appropriate: “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.”

As I continue my own journey as a moviegoer, and a lover of the arts and stories that are well-told, I’ll take him with me as my teacher and my friend.