Kevin Costner (left) in 1991’s JFK, directed by Oliver Stone. Image: Letterboxd
Hollywood director Oliver Stone called film historian/journalist Roger Ebert one of the great film critics, because Ebert understood what filmmakers are trying to achieve.
Stone’s comments may be due, in part, to Ebert’s appraisal of Stone’s controversial 1991 film, JFK. “This is not a film about the facts of the [John F. Kennedy] assassination, but about the feelings,” Ebert wrote. “JFK accurately reflects our national state of mind since November 22, 1963.”¹
Ebert defended Stone’s choice of New Orleans State Attorney Jim Garrison (played by Kevin Costner) as the film’s protagonist. “Whom should he have chosen?” asked Ebert. “As a filmmaker it is his assignment to find a protagonist who reflects his feelings. Jim Garrison may not have been on the right track [while investigating the assassination], but he was a perfect surrogate for our national doubts.”²
Maybe you liked JFK, or not, but there’s no doubt Ebert’s views were carefully considered. As Stone observed, he was a critic who did not take movies at Face Value. He considered the Whole, and what it Means.
He was, and still is, a punctilious advocate of Film.
Roger Ebert, 1942-2013. Image: IndieWire (c)Buena Vista Television/courtesy Everett Collection
In his book, The Great Movies, which is a survey of 100 notable films of the twentieth century, Ebert gives us essays that are both analytical and surprisingly romantic – as in, here’s someone in love with film, and has been, for a lifetime.
The book is a collection of some of the essays Ebert began writing in 1997 when he was film critic at the Chicago Sun-Times. At that time, he pitched a new bi-weekly series to his editor, a series “of longer articles revisiting the great movies of the past. [The editor] gave his blessing,” said Ebert. “Not many editors would have… Every other week since then, I have revisited a great movie”³.
Like his essays, Ebert’s choice of films have been carefully weighed, with a good mix of American and world cinema, including The 400 Blows (1959, France) and Woman in the Dunes (1964, Japan). There are unexpected choices, too, such as the 1978 documentary, Gates of Heaven. (“People think they don’t want to see a documentary about a pet cemetery,” Ebert mused.4)
The Great Movies is partly a response to “these latter days of the marketing-driven Hollywood, and a world cinema dominated by the Hollywood machine,” he wrote. “We buy our tickets and hope for diversion, and usually we get it, but we so rarely get anything more.”5
The movies in this book, he said, “are not ‘the’ 100 greatest films of all time, because all lists of great movies are a foolish attempt to codify works which must stand alone. But it’s fair to say: If you want to make a tour of the landmarks of the first century of cinema, start here.”6
The writing.
In our opinion, few people write about film the way Roger Ebert did in this book. He makes you fall in love with movies you’ve never heard of before.
There are so many passages we wanted to share with you, to show you how exquisitely Ebert describes these films. For example, his analysis of Billy Wilder’s The Apartment (1960), is a study of the partnership between set design and camera direction.
Or look at his summary of the Apu Trilogy – Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956) and The World of Apu (1959) – directed by Satyajit Ray. “It is about a time, place, and culture far removed from our own,” he wrote, “and yet it connects directly and deeply with our human feelings. It is like a prayer, affirming that this is what the cinema can be, no matter how far in our cynicism we may stray.”7
If you’ve always wondered why some films are Made A Big Deal Of, we implore you to read The Great Movies. It may cause you to look at – and think about – movies in a different way.
Notes
- Ebert, Roger. (2002) The Great Movies. New York, NY: Broadway Books.
- ¹Ibid., p. 234
- ²Ibid., p. 236
- ³Ibid., p. XVII
- 4Ibid., p. XIX
- 5Ibid., pp. XV
- 6Ibid., p. XV-XVI
- 7Ibid., p. 47
This post is part of SISKEL AND EBERT AT THE BLOGATHON, hosted by 18 Cinema Lane.
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Silver Screenings 
I have the book. My favourite film is in there, along with lots of the classics and quite a few I’d never have heard of otherwise. A lovely writing style.
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Ebert was a gifted writer, no? And what is your fave film?
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The Third Man. I’ve been lucky enough to go on the Prater ferris wheel in Vienna too.
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Get out! You’ve been on that ferris wheel in Vienna? Awesome!!
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I have a few photos on my blog. Would be cheeky to put them here but if you have an email I can send them to you
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Please! 925screenings [at] gmail [dot] com.
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Roger’s books are still my first port of call for film reviews. I doubt we’ll ever see his like again.
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I think you might be right, Paul, sadly. He was truly remarkable, the way he thought about film.
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Hello Ruth. Ebert and another critic, Gene Siskel, had a TV show for a number of years. On each episode they would give their opinions on new releases and, I think, on an older movie. They often disagreed. It was a very entertaining show.
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I’ve seen some clips from that show, and it looked like they really Got Into It at times. But that’s half the fun of talking about movies, no?
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Sounds like a very lovely book. I wasn’t crazy about the movie JFK – but I think that might be because I read one of the real Jim Garrison’s books and he seemed a little off the rails to me! Agreed though that he made a very fitting protagonist for this movie – and that film sure got people talking about that case!
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I didn’t realize he was an author as well, but I’m sure his experiences investigating the JFK assassination would naturally lend themselves to a book or two. I did a quick online search of him, and it sounds like his career was very colourful, indeed.
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He wrote two books about his investigation – “On the Trail of the Assassins” and “Heritage of Stone.” I’ve heard the first one is a little bit better than Heritage of Stone, which is the one I read.
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Also – you might be interested to know that he had a cameo in JFK as Judge Earl Warren.
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I just discovered that the other week. I’m going to re-watch the film to assess his acting skills. 😉
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And speaking of exquisite writing, thanks for this review.
I have to read this one!
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Hey, thanks, you! 🙂 And yes, you owe it to yourself to get a copy of this book. My copy was bought at a used bookstore, and the previous owner put checkmarks in the table of contents as, I assume, a way of keeping track of the films s/he watched.
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Beautiful. Looking forward to diving into “The Great Movies.” I’ve never read a book about films before and I find the idea very meta. One of the things I appreciated about Ebert was that he often went back to films he had initially not appreciated and reevaluated his critique of them, always with the understanding that he was one voice and one reviewer and not the end-all of film evaluation.
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Excellent point. He wasn’t normally dismissive of a movie on one viewing, like you said. He really thought about movies and wanted to be fair. I love that he would go back and revise his earlier opinion.
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I agree about his stature as a critic.
He lives and transmits his love and Understanding of film.
Regards Thom
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Beautifully said.
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I’ve read a lot of excerpts from this book. I should buy it. A lot of times after I see a famous film, I look to see what Ebert said about it. I see other writers who slam much better, but no one else could convey the joy of a film like he could. And he showed appreciation for some films (like Joe vs. the Volcano) I loved that so few others did. It felt good to be in his company. It still does.
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Me too – I look to see what Ebert says about a movie I liked (or didn’t). I hope you treat yourself to this book. Like you said, his joy of film is infectious.
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Fantastic article! You made a compelling argument for why I should buy this book! A dream would be to collect all of Roger’s movie related literature, which seems like acquiring a copy of “The Great Movies” would be a good place to start! Thank you for participating in Siskel and Ebert at the Blogathon! I was add your article to the participant list as soon as it’s released tomorrow.
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Sorry, in the last sentence, I meant to say I will add your article to the participant list as soon as it’s released tomorrow.
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Acquiring a copy of “The Great Movies” would be an excellent move. You ought to treat yourself! 😉
Thanks for organizing this blogathon. It’s a terrific idea!
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You’re welcome! I’m planning another blogathon, but I’ll announce it within the first half of 2020.
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We used to watch “At The Movies” faithfully–I miss his reviews.
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He is sorely missed. He wasn’t a stereotypical Always Snarky film critic. Much of his writings, in this book at least, show a generous spirit.
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I always enjoyed Roger Ebert’s reviews, even when I didn’t agree with them. He was willing to tackle–and even promote–movies that most critics would scoff at. The most famous example of that is probably INVASION OF THE BEE GIRLS, which he mentioned periodically on Sneak Previews and later At the Movies.
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I had to look up Ebert’s review of this film – I’d never heard of it before! You’re right: Although his review is amusing, he treats his subject matter seriously.
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Ebert had a rare talent and I admire that he kept writing about film despite his dire health. Woman in the Dunes is a great film. Gates of Heaven is not at that ’great’ level for me. I haven’t read The Great Movies but I loved his book “Scorsese by Ebert ” which helped me a lot when I reviewed those films. Do you know the documentary Life Itself (2014) ? Doesn’t just praise Ebert, but reveals some of his flaws too.
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Thanks for the heads up re: “Scorsese by Ebert” – sounds like a Must Read. Also, have yet to see “Life Itself”, but have heard good things about it.
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In a similar sense, I have a list on my blog about “essential films.” It isn’t a list of what I think the “greatest” foils are; rather a list of of anyone who calls themselves a “classic film fan” should have seen a significant number of.
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I’ve had a peek at your list & I think it’s a good one. Two thumbs up!
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As someone who is always amazed whenever she reads an article by Ebert on his website, I’m now incredibly curious to search this book. Ebert certainly loved film, and we can feel the passion in every single article he wrote.
Kisses!
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You’re right about Ebert’s love of film, and it really shows in this book. It’s an educational and refreshing read, and I hope you’re able to find it.
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He was such a remarkable person that had a horrible death. I didn’t know about this book so thank you!.
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It really was horrible, and what a tragedy for the family.
I hope you have a chance to take a look at this book! 🙂 He was a wonderful advocate of film.
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Reblogged this on No Nonsense with Nuwan Sen.
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Enjoyed reading this Ruth, I reblogged it 🙂
This is only the 2nd time I did so!! ❤
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Aw, thanks so much!! You just made my day. 🙂
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I’m grateful for people like you who continue to celebrate the Roger Ebert standard of sincere film criticism and passion. He will continue to be my guide as I watch the classics and the drab cash grabs that come out in droves today. “Good movies make good moviegoers; bad movies make bad moviegoers.” Amen. “Feelings, not facts.” Amen again.
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Thanks for stopping by.! 🙂 When I was younger, I didn’t pay much heed to Roger Ebert – until I actually started reading his reviews. Became an instant fan.
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He is still timeless and influential. I miss him very much.
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