A TRIBUTE TO THE LATE ROGER EBERT (1942 - 2013)
The loss of one of cinema's most endearing and recognisable critics has left a gaping hole in the world. Roger Ebert, who for nearly 50 years was the greatest, and arguably the first, film critic in the truest sense of the word, has passed away at the age of 70. He was not afraid to like a film everybody else thought was bad, and likewise he wasnt always fond of movies everyone else seemed to love. His influence on film criticism helped it evolve into what it is today; an individual view, not influenced by what everybody else thinks, but what you think. It was always Ebert''s opinion that mattered, whether a movie got two thumbs up or two thumbs down was so big that movies started to display it on their posters. A seal of approval from Roger generally meant the film was worth the price of entry, at least, if nothing else.
He also pioneered the film criticism television format, first with Gene Siskel on At the Movies, where the two critics, Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times and Siskel of the Chicago Tribune. Siskel sadly passed away in 1999, and was replaced by the acerbic fellow Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper. To say that Roger's influence on film criticism was huge would hardly cover it, embedded in popular culture, he was instantly recognisable. His voice on cinema was one many turned to, even after it was silenced by his prolonged battle with cancer, to which he succumbed sadly to today. By his side through this ordeal was his wife Chaz remained his most dedicated, speaking for him where he could not. And yet even without his voice he was still able to speak his mind on the medium of cinema, a medium he loved deeply and admired. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his epic expanse of work spanning 46 years in print and 31 on the small screen. He will be immortalised by his thousands of reviews, and his groundbreaking television shows. The hole that was left by Gene Siskel fourteen years ago has grown bigger with the death of his colleague in Roger, who leaves a life that has impacted on cinema as much as any director or actor would ever. Film criticism has lost one of its biggest and boldest figures, arguably the film critic archetype, but his legacy lives on through print and television.
He also pioneered the film criticism television format, first with Gene Siskel on At the Movies, where the two critics, Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times and Siskel of the Chicago Tribune. Siskel sadly passed away in 1999, and was replaced by the acerbic fellow Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper. To say that Roger's influence on film criticism was huge would hardly cover it, embedded in popular culture, he was instantly recognisable. His voice on cinema was one many turned to, even after it was silenced by his prolonged battle with cancer, to which he succumbed sadly to today. By his side through this ordeal was his wife Chaz remained his most dedicated, speaking for him where he could not. And yet even without his voice he was still able to speak his mind on the medium of cinema, a medium he loved deeply and admired. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his epic expanse of work spanning 46 years in print and 31 on the small screen. He will be immortalised by his thousands of reviews, and his groundbreaking television shows. The hole that was left by Gene Siskel fourteen years ago has grown bigger with the death of his colleague in Roger, who leaves a life that has impacted on cinema as much as any director or actor would ever. Film criticism has lost one of its biggest and boldest figures, arguably the film critic archetype, but his legacy lives on through print and television.