I was very sad to hear that Roger Ebert has lost his long battle with cancer.
He was a terrific film critic who discussed film with intelligence and humour, and unfortunately the "thumbs up/thumbs down" was a cartoonish simplification of the detailed analysis of a movie that he or Gene Siskel had written. While the Thumbs Up/Down made both of them famous and a little bit rich, it ultimately ill-served them both, as their writing was far more deserving of critical praise than they got, undoubtedly due to the Thumbs Up/Down moniker that they were saddled with.
There is so much to say about the volumes of movie reviews that Ebert produced, but I'll share one memory that has always stuck with me. During one review on the Siskel and Ebert TV show, they started to talk about the costumes in a particular movie, and they actually mentioned the costume designer by name. This is unheard of in movie reviews to mention crew members, but it showed Ebert and Siskel's desire to give credit where credit was due, and it impressed me.
But my appreciation of his writing talents didn't start until I started reading his blog, where besides his movie reviews, he once a week mused on a wide range of topics - be it gun control, politics, a tavern in Chicago or whatever popped into his mind. His most powerful and vivid blog entries were memories of his childhood, and it was in these blog entries that showcased his writing talents. Ebert was an exceptional writer, and when he was writing about his childhood growing up in Urbana, Illinois, or getting his first car, or going to his first AA meeting, you felt you were there with him.
Here are two entries to sample:
Ebert on his father - http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/03/my_old_man.html
Ebert on his cars - http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/12/ive_got_the_sweetest_set_of_wh.html
His battle with cancer was depressing and inspirational at the same time. Whatever one may think about Ebert's personality, the fortitude and character he demonstrated in his numerous bouts of cancer treatment was humbling. He asked for no pity, soldiered on in unimaginable pain, and kept going.
I had just read his last blog post on Wednesday evening, and he bravely talked about how the cancer had returned, he was going for radiation treatment, but he was forging ahead with new ventures. But a sense of sadness hung over the entry, and one could tell the end was near.
The world has not only lost a major film critic, but it has also lost a great writer, and I will miss him.
He was a terrific film critic who discussed film with intelligence and humour, and unfortunately the "thumbs up/thumbs down" was a cartoonish simplification of the detailed analysis of a movie that he or Gene Siskel had written. While the Thumbs Up/Down made both of them famous and a little bit rich, it ultimately ill-served them both, as their writing was far more deserving of critical praise than they got, undoubtedly due to the Thumbs Up/Down moniker that they were saddled with.
There is so much to say about the volumes of movie reviews that Ebert produced, but I'll share one memory that has always stuck with me. During one review on the Siskel and Ebert TV show, they started to talk about the costumes in a particular movie, and they actually mentioned the costume designer by name. This is unheard of in movie reviews to mention crew members, but it showed Ebert and Siskel's desire to give credit where credit was due, and it impressed me.
But my appreciation of his writing talents didn't start until I started reading his blog, where besides his movie reviews, he once a week mused on a wide range of topics - be it gun control, politics, a tavern in Chicago or whatever popped into his mind. His most powerful and vivid blog entries were memories of his childhood, and it was in these blog entries that showcased his writing talents. Ebert was an exceptional writer, and when he was writing about his childhood growing up in Urbana, Illinois, or getting his first car, or going to his first AA meeting, you felt you were there with him.
Here are two entries to sample:
Ebert on his father - http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/03/my_old_man.html
Ebert on his cars - http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2008/12/ive_got_the_sweetest_set_of_wh.html
His battle with cancer was depressing and inspirational at the same time. Whatever one may think about Ebert's personality, the fortitude and character he demonstrated in his numerous bouts of cancer treatment was humbling. He asked for no pity, soldiered on in unimaginable pain, and kept going.
I had just read his last blog post on Wednesday evening, and he bravely talked about how the cancer had returned, he was going for radiation treatment, but he was forging ahead with new ventures. But a sense of sadness hung over the entry, and one could tell the end was near.
The world has not only lost a major film critic, but it has also lost a great writer, and I will miss him.
