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Roger Ebert reviewing again in 2007 (Passed Away: See Post #158) (1 Viewer)

Michael Elliott

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Wow, this is really shocking and I'm at a loss of words. I'll comment more later but after reading that (now) final post, it seemed like he was very hopeful that everything was going to work out.
 

JohnS

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Yep, Fox News says he has died.Very sad.We also have his audio commentaries, one of the best is from Dark City.His words will be missed.
 

John Kilduff

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It's been about a year or so since I posted here (I've been busy with various things), but I had to come back for this. I feel so horrible that I thought about that "Animaniacs" short all those years ago. I wish I hadn't written that comment. Ebert didn't deserve to go out the way he did. I will definitely remember the enjoyment I got from his reviews...Even the ones where I disagreed with him. I admired him because, unlike most critics, he actually had film experience through writing the screenplays for several Russ Meyer movies. I wish the best for his family, especially his widow Chaz.

Sincerely,

John Kilduff...

I imagine he and Gene Siskel are meeting up again as speak.
 

mattCR

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Very sad for his loss; but I am glad for all the reviews and comments he made about film that influenced the way I view movies. More than any other critic - even when I disagreed with him, I found Ebert's reviews to come from a place of real love of the movies, and his ability to highlight the unique kept me interested.
 

Citizen87645

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Wow, what a shock after just reading his highly inspiring and even reassuring blog post! He had horrible battles with various afflictions, but what a testament to the human spirit. He leaves behind a legacy of great writing, criticism and commentary, but I think for a little while I will consider his example of courage his true legacy.

Rest in peace Mr. Ebert.
 

Robert Crawford

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Very sad news indeed as he was one of the few film critics I respected enough to read his reviews on a constant basis. May he R.I.P.
 

Neil Middlemiss

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Wow, what a shock after just reading his highly inspiring and even reassuring blog post! He had horrible battles with various afflictions, but what a testament to the human spirit. He leaves behind a legacy of great writing, criticism and commentary, but I think for a little while I will consider his example of courage his true legacy. Rest in peace Mr. Ebert.
Amen. Such a sad loss. Rest in peace, Mr. Ebert, you will be missed.
 

schan1269

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Cameron Yee said:
Wow, what a shock after just reading his highly inspiring and even reassuring blog post! He had horrible battles with various afflictions, but what a testament to the human spirit. He leaves behind a legacy of great writing, criticism and commentary, but I think for a little while I will consider his example of courage his true legacy.

Rest in peace Mr. Ebert.
Amen to the courage...
 

Sam Favate

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Very sorry to hear this. Roger Ebert's writing showed a love of movies and a fierce intelligence. There have never been nor will there be many like him.
 

Steve Christou

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Sad news, Ebert was one of the few critics I trusted and nearly always agreed with.

Here in the UK I was buying his film books before I knew who he was if that makes any sense.

Rest in Peace.
 

Michael Elliott

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I think with the internet brought on many trolls who simply don't get the term film buff, reviewer or film criticism and these trolls are already out with their knives cutting at this news.

I grew up in a rather small town where the local cinema played just three movies so obviously they didn't book much and certainly nothing other than the current blockbusters. I really enjoyed watching movies but I had no idea how big they were or how many there were. In fact, I remember going into a panic after the 1990 Oscars because I fell asleep and feared that I'd never know who won. Around the age of 11 I became a diabetic and a month or so after I woke up early in the morning. Not yet knowing how to control sugar, it ended up dropping and I woke up around two in the morning. I got something to eat, put the TV on and then I saw two critics reviewing DEAD AGAIN. They showed a love for cinema that I thought no one but I had and I still remember how exciting it was seeing the two go after one another.

Over the next few weeks I kept getting up at 2am, telling my parents it was my sugar levels, but it was in fact just so I could see the show. Where it was so helpful was in how they shined the spotlight not only on the mainstream films but foreign and classics. This is when my love of cinema started to grow because it was an education. I eventually started recording the shows and I would seek the films out then go back and watch the show. To me it was an education that was happening but it also made me love the format even more. Whenever someone asks what my favorite Christmas present was I always answer Kino's VHS release of The Art of Buster Keaton. I saw S&E discuss it on their show and it became my most wanted item.

I've thrown away pretty much every VHS I ever had but I still have my recorded S&E shows. I know they're all on Youtube but there's still just some reason inside me that I can't just throw them away.

I'm not going to sit here and say I agreed with everything Ebert wrote. In fact, I think both were quite stupid in their attack of the horror genre back in the 80s. Still, there's no question that the two of them had a passion for film and they certainly helped a lot of people. I guess their style of debate could be debated by us but I think it was entertainment. I personally didn't care for what Ebert was doing over the last few years but I just wasn't into the political debates or anything else. However, I still loved reading his reviews whether I agreed with them or not.

Over the past few weeks at work I've been going through Youtube watching past episodes, appearances on television and other items. It's really amazing at how magical these things were. Again, I know some trolls attack him (and other film critics) because they don't agree with something. That's always be so stupid and pointless in my opinion. I really don't think the point of a film critic is to please fans but instead to give their opinion. I don't agree with everything he did but I did love hearing his opinion.
 

Brian Sheffield

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Mr. Ebert along with Mr. Siskel were the first and only "rock star" critics. He had an enduring wit, and will be missed.

I doubt anyone will come along to fill the void he has left in film criticism.
 

TravisR

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Michael Elliott said:
I'm not going to sit here and say I agreed with everything Ebert wrote. In fact, I think both were quite stupid in their attack of the horror genre back in the 80s.
And oddly enough, as Wes Craven just pointed out on Twitter, Ebert gave The Last House On The Left its only positive review back in 1972. While I'll never find a critic that I agree with all the time, I've never read a critic who I agreed with as much as Ebert.

One thing I loved about his reviews is that, as others have said, you could tell that he loved all types of movies and so he didn't come off as a snob. I guess that love of movies also helped from devolving into the bitter and laughably jealous old complainer that is the hallmark of so many of today's internet film 'critics' (professional and armchair).
 

Michael Elliott

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I once wrote Ebert asking why he called I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE the worst movie ever made AND got it thrown out of Chicago yet he loved THE LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT since both films pretty much aimed and are enjoyed by the same crowd. His reply was very short but it contained that dry humor and wit many know him for.

I wrote him and got a third reply a short time later when a site I was working for wanted to post a "comeback" to a review he had written about Lucio Fulci's THE BEYOND. He was very kind in letting us post the review and have our own fun with it.

He also wrote me a third time many years later when he stumbled across something I had written and was taking a beating over it. Again, a very small reply but it just said so much and had that certain wit.

I think I only posted on his blog once but I guess it was a nice way for fans (and enemies) to reach out to him. I almost did Tuesday when I read that post but something just didn't seem right. Considering what happened today, I wonder if that was written months ago and he wanted it posted when his time was about to be up.
 

Adam Lenhardt

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Given his health problems in recent years, this news would not be so shocking if his post yesterday hadn't been so robust and so optimistic about the future. If there's any silver lining, it's that he went quickly with all of his faculties and abilities intact. I can't say it was his time, because I'm sure he had in him many more years of invaluable contributions to the world's ongoing conversation about films.

I communicated with him a couple times, through his Answer Man column and later through his blog, and appreciated the response each time.

As debilitating as what happened to him with his jaw was, his written output remained as prolific as ever. I was never a huge "Siskel & Ebert" watcher, but it has always been my ritual after coming home from the movies to read his review and discover his thoughts. There will be many times in the months to come where I'll get sad all over again, because I'll so desperately want to know what he'd have thought of a movie, and now we'll never find out.
 

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