[DIX]⋙ [PDF] The Great Movies Roger Ebert 9780767910385 Books

The Great Movies Roger Ebert 9780767910385 Books

Download As PDF : The Great Movies Roger Ebert 9780767910385 Books

The Great Movies Roger Ebert 9780767910385 Books

I love reading about great classic movies. These are NOT reviews --- Roger Ebert has written essays describing WHY he considers these movies great .... very detailed and never boring. Roger brings a fresh perspective to explaining why I should watch these films and what makes them great.


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The Great Movies Roger Ebert 9780767910385 Books Reviews

Ebert at his best--as he frequently is here--can write clean, unhackneyed prose that illuminates and aspect you never noticed before in a favorite film. I started reading him early, when I was in high school and he was just getting started. A couple of film-obsessed friends and I phoned him and invited him to lunch and he accepted our invitation. One of those friends ended up becoming a major critic himself. This book is very good company.
The world misses Roger Ebert. In an age where the business has overtaken the show, it is so wonderful to read the words of an intelligent man whose love of film is based on the heart and not the box office. Loving, intelligent and insightful, this is exactly what film criticism should be
This collection of short, elegantly written essays touches on familiar classics as well as some lesser known movies (note they are less known to me, probably not to serious film buffs). It will make you want to rewatch old favorites and watch the ones you haven't seen yet. Truly reads like a collection of love letters to what is best about the movies. It doesn't try to be definitive, I think that is one reason it works so well.
Entertaining! Of course I don't agree with his choices, but I did enjoy reading his analysis of them. Some I haven't seen, so I couldn't pass judgment on those. But this man was a movie lover, and he made it his life's work to talk about what he liked and didn't in a movie. Keep on open mind and read it for fun. Hey, I might write my own book someday!
Some of the pieces here are very fine; perceptive, perspicacious, cleverly written and quite penetrating. On the other hand they are generally brief (obviously in order to suit a word count for Ebert's columns) and would be even better if he could go to further depths in what he has to say.
I particularly thought his responses to The Third Man were quite wonderful and brilliant. Worth it if you care deeply about all these films (and he covers many great ones) --and if it is on sale.
I confess that I’m not a big fan of movies or other forms of visual art. It’s not that I really have anything against the medium, it just seems that my time is so limited, that I rarely want to devote several hours of my frugal day to sit still and stare at a moving picture. I only mention this in my review because if someone such as myself can really enjoy this type of book, I would think that those who actually love going to the movies would find such a companion essential.

Roger Ebert first became a household name when he teamed up with fellow Chicago film critic Gene Siskel, and the two hosted the weekly syndicated show “Siskel and Ebert”. On the show, they would review three or four movies per week and gave each movie a “thumbs up” or “thumbs down”. The show was so successful that there were many copycat shows that surfaced during the 80s and 90s, but Siskel and Ebert were the originals, and the best. Nothing was better advertising for a new movie that could bolster the moniker “Two Thumbs Up!” as part of its advertising.

As time went on, the astute learned that being a film critic wasn’t necessary a job that “anyone could do”. In the late 80s, Roger Ebert started releasing annual books of his reviews, and one learned that the man was very insightful when it came to distinguishing great works of art from cookie-cutter exploitation. Then, the internet came along, and one could basically read every Roger Ebert review ever printed by going to his website. His insights and commentary were indispensable to all and he quickly became the most well-known film critic. I was one who, every time I would watch a movie, jump on to his website and read about what he had to say about the film that I had just watched. Most of the time I agreed with him, and he always had the ability to look much deeper and find things and see things that I could not.

That seems to be what prompted him to do his “Great Movies” series. Unlike what many people might think, this book (and the two others that followed) aren’t actually reviews of these movies, but rather essays where Ebert goes a bit further and explains in more depth why these movies are, in fact, great. It should be pointed out that when Ebert actually reviewed a movie, he tried very hard not to include spoilers. When he writes these essays, however, he assumes that his audience has already viewed the films, or if they haven’t, would rather study such works and not really care that he often, gives away much of the plot.

This book of movies covers a lot of ground, and I’m sure Ebert had to be a bit selective when choosing what films to feature. Most of the obvious ones are here (Star Wars, Citizen Cane, Gone with the Wind), but he also includes some very bizarre choices that 99% of movie goers not only haven’t seen, not only haven’t heard of, but probably couldn’t view such a film because of its limited availability. A lot of old, silent, foreign, and/or documentaries are featured here as well the more familiar. Again, though, this really isn’t a drawback. I imagine someone who seriously loves films would take a significant amount of time to attempt to track down all of the works that are featured here and purchase them to study for themselves. Fortunately, things such as the internet makes such an arduous task a bit more manageable.

I really can’t think of anyone better than Roger Ebert to produce such a work as this, yet I must confess that the man’s devotion to the cinema could be rather frightening at times. As I read this book, I often thought “Did this man ever do anything in his life other than watch movies?” He would state things such as “I manage to go back and watch this film a couple of times per year”, or “I often study this movie with a film class, and we do a shot by shot analysis.” Sheesh. I really can’t imagine anyone devoting that much time to anything, let alone watching movies, but this was what made the man so respected in the industry.

As I mentioned, if one is a bit lazy, one doesn’t really need to purchase this book, as he includes his “great movies” series on his internet site. Since many people can now access the internet via a tablet or a , one could definitely take such an advantage. It was sort of nice, however, to have all of these narratives in one place, which was why I chose to purchase it (and the fact that was having a sale).
I’m sure I’ll not be the first person that will say this as I conclude this review, and it does sound a bit hokey, but here it goes This book is a definite Thumbs Up. Thumbs way Up.
There are two things to look at here. His choices and how he writes about them.
More than a few of these films are simply, boring things he loves and he couldn't convince me are tolerable.
However, what he says about the majority of these films is wonderful.
His insight about the parallel between the protagonists and story of "The Searchers" and "Taxi Driver" is brilliant and, as far as I know, original. His chapter about watching "E.T" with two grandchildren is moving and illuminating.
His appreciation of the truly great films is so visible that one can forgive him praising Bunuel and other purveyors of emptiness.
I love reading about great classic movies. These are NOT reviews --- Roger Ebert has written essays describing WHY he considers these movies great .... very detailed and never boring. Roger brings a fresh perspective to explaining why I should watch these films and what makes them great.