Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic Roger Ebert has died at the age of 70. His death took place on Thursday, April 4, according to a family friend.
Ebert, who to many is film's most indelible critic and scholar, wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times for 45 years and for more than three decades was a co-host of perhaps the most enduring film criticism television series of all time. Ebert's iconic "thumbs-up"/"thumbs-down" review show with fellow critic Gene Siskel switched gears in 1999 when Siskel passed away and was replaced by Ebert's Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper.
Ebert was preparing to host the 15th annual Roger Ebert's Film Festival in his hometown of Champaign-Urbana later this month.
"Prolific almost to the point of disbelief - the Weekend section of the Sun-Times often featured as many as nine on some days. Ebert reviews on any given Friday-Ebert was arguably the most powerful movie critic in the history of that art form," the Chicago Tribune says in its obituary. "He was also the author of 15 books, a contributor to various magazines, author of the liveliest of bloggers and an inspiring teacher and lecturer at the University of Chicago."
With such a hefty oeuvre, it's difficult to peg down which accomplishment we love the best of this true "auteur" of film criticism. Here are five to consider in fond memory of the man behind the sweater, glasses and box of popcorn.
Five: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls script
Believe it or not, Ebert was not only a tip-top film critic. He was also an occasional screenwriter who worked with schlockmeister extraordinaire Russ Meyer (of Faster, Pussycat! Kill !Kill! fame, among many other B-movie staples) on the semi-sequel of Jacqueline Susann's Valley of the Dolls, aptly titled Beyond the Valley of the Dolls.
As with most of Meyer's films, the picture makes little to no sense, is brightly colored to the point of being nauseating, reeks of bad taste and filth, and makes John Waters look like an amateur, all while being one of the most trippy and intoxicating B-movies made in 1970. If you love camp, you've got to check out Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, which along with music by psychedelic mainstays Strawberry Alarm Clock, boasts a surprise that might very well trump the climax of The Crying Game.
Four: Vincent Gallo vs. Roger Ebert
After reporting that artistic provocateur and perennial cause celebre Vincent Gallo had expressed regret over making stripped-down avant-garde film The Brown Bunny, Ebert found himself at the end of Gallo's feisty serpent tongue.
"I never apologized for anything in my life," Gallo replied to Ebert's report. "I like the movie. I had 100 per cent creative and financial control of it and if I didn't like it, I would have changed it. The only thing I'm sorry about is putting a curse on Roger Ebert's colon. If a fat pig like Roger Ebert doesn't like my movie, then I'm sorry for him."
Ebert's response?
"It is true that I am fat, but one day I will be thin, and he will still be the director of The Brown Bunny."
Three: Jimmy Stewart's Super-Fast Obituary
Rumor has it that as soon as Ebert found out that Jimmy Stewart had died, he rushed back into his office, and was out in less than 30 minutes with an obituary that completely encapsulated the great actor's "wonderful life." Not bad for doing so on someone who'd been in the business of entertainment for nearly 60 years.
Two: Screw The MPAA
Along with his feelings about films themselves, Ebert was also quite outspoken about the way films are received by the general public. He was notorious for outcries against the Motion Picture Association of America, which grants ratings for films in the U.S. Whereas he felt both School of Rock and Whale Rider should not have been PG-13 due to their not being offensive enough for children he felt would enjoy both films, he did have this to say about the R rating Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ received:
"I said the film is the most violent I have ever seen. The MPAA's R rating is definitive proof that the organization either will never give the NC-17 rating for violence alone, or was intimidated by the subject matter. If it had been anyone other than Jesus up on that cross, I have a feeling that NC-17 would have been automatic."
One: This Quote From Esquire Magazine in 2010
"When I am writing, my problems become invisible, and I am the same person I always was. All is well. I am as I should be."
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