April 4th was a very sad day to be a film fan and critic; because it was a moment in time when a titan had passed on. Roger Ebert for more than forty years had been the face of American film criticism and by extension one of the chief architectures in this sub-genre of nonfiction writing and media.
His first great contribution was on television, when he and the late Gene Siskel teamed up on the show “Sneak Preview” The idea for the program was quite a novel as it comprised of two respected film critics in print, discussing and critiquing movies. It was quite apparent at this stage that Roger was very talented. His articulation, turn of phrase and sense of humour all combined together to create a compelling person to listen and watch.
A great example of this is in a review of “The Evil Dead” while he ultimately did not enjoy the picture, he did have some nice things to say about it. For example he complements the filmmaking calling it a “pure film” and comparing it with its genre forebears such as “Night of the Living Dead”, all while doing it with funny phrasing such as saying “the dead teenage slashing and dicing genre”
Roger and Gene left “Sneak Preview”, moving onto to a show called “At the Movies” which lasted two years. Eventually they syndicated their own show which would last a very long time under the name of “Siskel and Ebert” However tragedy had struck the pair because in 1999 Siskel had passed away due to complications of surgery. It is here where we see how Ebert transitioned from being just a great movie critic and becoming an inspirational human being. His tribute to Gene Siskel with the one extended show was really touching and one of the best tributes I have ever seen.
Ebert would continue the show; at first he did it with a slew of visiting critics as well as special guests like Martin Scorsese. In 2000, the show was reborn with young esteemed critic Richard Roper taking Gene`s place on the balcony. But this was short lived as Ebert now would have to leave the show in 2004 due to developing Cancer. He suffered with this for many years and eventually he lost his voice and could no longer continue his long television career. But this did not stop him as he continued to write and make his prescience known through ever increasing social media outlets.
Veteran Germen filmmaker Werner Herzog in an interview with Charlie Rose after Ebert`s death referred to him as more than a critic and as a “good soldier”. While this seems odd upon first hearing, I get what Herzog is talking about. One of the most enduring qualities of Ebert was you got the sense he had tremendous strength, despite the pitfalls that he had experienced in his life.
As someone with long term health problems, I have always found inspiration from Roger Ebert. The first and most important reason for this was his enduring strength and passion. He showed that no matter what life throws at you; you should always find comfort and peace of mind in your passions and that you should never let anything come and distinguish the fiery commitment you have to what you love doing.
But also at the same time, his expression of film as a medium whether it was in print or on television was always so educational and informative, that I could not feel but inspired to be as well spoken and informed in this pastime. His knowledge of film was so extensive that he has nearly single handily carried the banner for film criticism and its existence as a credible form of self expression. He also introduced me to many films that I now love and championed small movies no matter what his contemporaries thought of them. The best example of this is the 1998 film Dark City which was sadly overshadowed by the Matrix a year later. But thanks to Ebert it has found a second life and an ever increasing audience.
Roger Ebert was one of the last of a great generation of American film critics that fundamentally changed the shape and scope of the field. His death has ignited a debate about the future of film criticism and its existence in the world today. While the pessimistic and cynical will point out that it is dying a slow painful death because of the democratisation of the internet which allows people to become reviewers and critics easier, I feel the debate at this point is rather moot. This is because we should be mourning the loss of a great man who has enriched the landscape of discussions about movies and like the great stuff he had held in high regard we will never think of him in any less of light.
RIP Roger Joseph Ebert (1942-2013)
No comments:
Post a Comment