Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
#226
DVD Talk Legend
re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
He became friends with my mother and sister after he and Chaz met them at a spa resort in Mexico in 2004. He INSISTED to my Mom that Spiderman 2 was THE must-see movie of the summer. She was incredulous. When they returned from Mexico and informed me about their new friendship with Roger, my jaw fucking hit the floor. Ebert was the reason I became a film nerd. He and Siskel got me into laserdiscs, widescreen, Kurosawa, Ozu, Welles, Almodovar... I can barely go on. He saved me from thinking the next great moment of cinema was the next Police Academy sequel. My love of cinema started with Siskel and Ebert. A lifelong debt that can hardly be repaid. RIP Roger. Fuckin ay, thank you man.
#227
DVD Talk Special Edition
re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
Wow, when I heard the news earlier today, it felt like I had lost a life long friend. I grew up watching "Sneak Previews' on PBS and looked forward to the show each and every week and followed Ebert through every single version of his show. I didn't always agree with his reviews, but I knew that the man knew movies. He introduced me to so many things that I love about movies over the years. My favorite moments were his letterbox/widescreen crusades which I used to finally convince my dad that he really was getting the whole picture despite it looking like those black bars were masking the top and bottom of his square screen while watching my laser discs.
#229
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Re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation [Update: Dead]
Terrible news; there'll never be another critic like him. I watched Ebert & Siskel (and later Roeper) regularly; like some others, I gained a new appreciation for film through his reviews. I may have disagreed with some of his opinions on horror movies, but he sometimes surprised me with a positive review (his and Roeper's "two severed thumbs up" for The Devil's Rejects comes to mind).
RIP Roger.
RIP Roger.
#230
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation [Update: Dead]
He became friends with my mother and sister after he and Chaz met them at a spa resort in Mexico in 2004. He INSISTED to my Mom that Spiderman 2 was THE must-see movie of the summer. She was incredulous. When they returned from Mexico and informed me about their new friendship with Roger, my jaw fucking hit the floor. Ebert was the reason I became a film nerd. He and Siskel got me into laserdiscs, widescreen, Kurosawa, Ozu, Welles, Almodovar... I can barely go on. He saved me from thinking the next great moment of cinema was the next Police Academy sequel. My love of cinema started with Siskel and Ebert. A lifelong debt that can hardly be repaid. RIP Roger. Fuckin ay, thank you man.

He and Gene Siskel had such a huge influence on me growning up and learning about movies from the age of eleven on up. I really miss those two and the insight they brought.
Roger
#231
Banned by request
re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
I do have to say, I stopped watching the show when Roeper replaced Siskel. There was a period where Ebert had a serious of special guest critics, and some of them were so good at expressing their opinions and debating Ebert, and Roeper felt much more like this wimpy guy who couldn't articulate why he felt the way he felt about films. It felt like a heavyweight agreeing to do a charity bout with a lightweight and then knocking him flat on his ass. The balance was gone.
#232
Re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation [Update: Dead]
Ebert was not only a great movie reviewer, but he championed motion pictures almost at a scholarly level but in a way that appealed to "everyman." He wrote prolifically about the motion picture industry, to say the least.
He will be sorely missed.
He will be sorely missed.
#233
DVD Talk Reviewer & TOAT Winner
re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
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#234
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation [Update: Dead]
http://blogs.suntimes.com/scanners/2..._of_roger.html
#235
DVD Talk Legend
Re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation [Update: Dead]
He became friends with my mother and sister after he and Chaz met them at a spa resort in Mexico in 2004. He INSISTED to my Mom that Spiderman 2 was THE must-see movie of the summer. She was incredulous. When they returned from Mexico and informed me about their new friendship with Roger, my jaw fucking hit the floor. Ebert was the reason I became a film nerd. He and Siskel got me into laserdiscs, widescreen, Kurosawa, Ozu, Welles, Almodovar... I can barely go on. He saved me from thinking the next great moment of cinema was the next Police Academy sequel. My love of cinema started with Siskel and Ebert. A lifelong debt that can hardly be repaid. RIP Roger. Fuckin ay, thank you man.
#236
DVD Talk Legend
re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
I'm a huge film critic fanboy.
Who out there among the current generation can stand with Kael, Sarris, Simon, Siskel, Ebert, Canby?
Anthony Lane and David Denby in THE NEW YORKER are still pretty damn good, but it is a dying art.
P.S.
Although Rex Reed is ridiculous nowadays, he was great fun to watch on the old Merv Griffin/Mike Douglas 70's talk shows.
Who out there among the current generation can stand with Kael, Sarris, Simon, Siskel, Ebert, Canby?
Anthony Lane and David Denby in THE NEW YORKER are still pretty damn good, but it is a dying art.

P.S.
Although Rex Reed is ridiculous nowadays, he was great fun to watch on the old Merv Griffin/Mike Douglas 70's talk shows.
#237
DVD Talk Hero
re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
I've always enjoyed Michael Phillips and to a lesser extent Christy Lemire. On occasion I don't mind Elvis Mitchell as well.
#238
DVD Talk Legend
#240
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From: Chicago
re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
This is an article written by him in 2011 thinking about it.
http://www.salon.com/2011/09/15/roger_ebert/
http://www.salon.com/2011/09/15/roger_ebert/
#242
DVD Talk Special Edition
Re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation [Update: Dead]
(and frankly there are quite a lot of pertinent and poignant comments on this thread. A bit odd for a dvdtalk forum.)
RIP, I will miss mentally arguing with your comments.
#243
DVD Talk Legend
re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
Curious to know what his last official review was... and the last movie he watched was (they're necessarily the same movie).
It'd be nice for him to go out on a movie he enjoyed.
It'd be nice for him to go out on a movie he enjoyed.
#244
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
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From: Part of the Left-Wing Conspiracy
re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
I remember when Siskel and Ebert reviewed the Criterion Wizard of Oz Laserdisc, and I went out that week and bought it and a player. I still have all my Laserdiscs and often think back to those early days of really getting into owning movies.
#245
DVD Talk Special Edition
re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
I still remember complaining back in high school that just reading Roger Ebert's website was using up all the Internet hours I had on my dial-up plan.
#247
DVD Talk Hero
re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation (1942-2013)
^ it has already been stated that he had more reviews submitted that had not yet been posted. To The Wonder is definitely one of them... there may be more... but not many.
#248
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation [Update: Dead]
Here's a clip from ABCNews from 1983 with Siskel and Ebert debating and defending Return of the Jedi with the nimrod on the right. S/E pretty much win the day!
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Last edited by Jack Straw; 04-05-13 at 12:47 PM.
#249
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation [Update: Dead]
The infamous review of "North"
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<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KAAEFRVQU14?list=PL6CD82015CB9644A7" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
#250
Re: Roger Ebert – Discussion & Appreciation [Update: Dead]
At the time of its release, Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel considered this to be one of the worst films they'd ever reviewed. Ebert wrote, "I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it." The pair later reviewed it on their television show, where Ebert went on to say that the movie made him "cringe... just sitting here thinking about it." Gene Siskel characterized it as "junk" and said that it made him feel "unclean." The clip of their review would go on to become a popular Internet meme associated with bad movie reviews. When Rob Reiner was roasted at the New York Friar's Club, Richard Belzer asked him to read Ebert's review, Reiner did so, then joked "if you read between the lines, [the review] isn't really that bad." Screenwriter Alan Zweibel keeps a clipping of the review in his wallet, sometimes reading it at public appearances. Ebert's review eventually became so notorious (arguably more so than the film itself) that he later released a collection of negative reviews titled "I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie."
I remember that moment during Rob Reiner's roast.



