History Creator / RogerEbert

[[CausticCritic His wrath, when deployed, was the stuff of legend.]] He published three compilations of bad reviews: ''[[Film/{{North}} I Hated, Hated, HATED This Movie!]]'' (reviews published in 1999 and earlier), ''[[Film/DeuceBigalow Your Movie Sucks]]'' (reviews published from 2000-2006) and ''[[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length]]'' (reviews published from 2006-2011). He printed annual compilations of his movie reviews from TheEighties onward, and wrote three books of essays about his favorite movies entitled ''The Great Movies''. These essays are also available on his website in a condensed form. He also wrote ''Ebert's Glossary of Movie Terms'', ''Ebert's Little Movie Glossary'' and ''Ebert's Bigger Little Movie Glossary,'' which are books of FilmTropes in ''Literature/TheDevilsDictionary'' form. (An even bigger movie glossary is on his web page.) They could be considered a proto-Website/TVTropes in a sense (and the {{Trope Namer|s}} for many).

** The best known example of Ebert's law that actually involves Ebert himself comes from a [[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050811/REVIEWS/50725001/1023 review]] of ''Film/DeuceBigalow: European Gigolo''. Star Creator/RobSchneider took offense to an article by Patrick Goldstein of the ''UsefulNotes/LosAngeles Times'', pointing out that several major studios turned down the chance to finance the year's Best Picture nominees while financing a sequel to a crude sex comedy. After reading it, he took out a full-page ad in the ''Hollywood Reporter'' and called Goldstein a "hack" because he had never won a Pulitzer Prize.[[note]]Schneider would later say that he was angry that Goldstein had trashed the movie without even seeing it; the comment about his lack of a Pulitzer was meant as a joke.[[/note]] In Ebert's review of the film, he taunted Schneider and said that he himself actually ''did'' win the Pulitzer, and thus by Schneider's criteria he was fully qualified to tell Schneider that "your movie sucks". The story took an unexpected turn after several back-and-forth barbs in the press. After one of Ebert's cancer surgeries, Schneider sent Ebert flowers and a "get well" card signed "Your Least Favorite Movie Star, Creator/RobSchneider". Ebert conceded that while Schneider may make bad movies, he's a good man. Schneider later [[https://www.rogerebert.com/chazs-blog/one-act-of-kindness-rob-schneider-and-roger admitted]] that Ebert's review of the film was "mean but fair" and that their exchanges helped Schneider reassess how he approached his work.

** And, of course, ''Film/TheVillage'':

* 1974: ''Series/ScenesFromAMarriage1973''

* InnocentlyInsensitive: In his review of ''Film/DeathToSmoochy'', Ebert describes the ShowWithinAShow as "what kiddie TV would look like if kids wanted to see an Ann Miller musical starring midgets." Dwarf actor Danny Woodburn, who was in ''Smoochy'' and known for his stint on ''Series/{{Seinfeld}}'', wrote to Ebert informing him that it was a highly insensitive slur to little people. Roger apologized in reply, noting that not only had he not known it was considered as such, but even the Associated Press style guide for newspaper writers did not consider it as one. They continued to correspond as Roger wanted to know more about the context of its offensive use, and with Woodburn's blessing, published it as a column in hopes the others would never use the word again, as Roger vowed.

* WritersCannotDoMath: Ebert was consistent in translating a two-and-a-half star review (out of four) as a "marginal thumbs-down" on ''Siskel & Ebert'', and describing it in text as a "negative review". Two-and-a-half stars out of four is 62.5%, a passing grade in many places, and certainly means there was more about the film to like than dislike. Siskel apparently went on a case-by-case basis, occasionally going with a "thumbs-up" on a two-and-a-half star movie.

** He didn't do it very often, but he did leave ''Caligula'' before it was over.

->''"As chance would have it, I have won the UsefulNotes/PulitzerPrize, and so I am qualified. Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, [[Creator/RobSchneider Mr. Schneider]], [[SophisticatedAsHell your movie sucks]]."''

[[CausticCritic His wrath, when deployed, was legendary.]] He published three compilations of bad reviews: ''[[Film/{{North}} I Hated, Hated, HATED This Movie!]]'' (reviews published in 1999 and earlier), ''[[Film/DeuceBigalow Your Movie Sucks]]'' (reviews published from 2000-2006) and ''[[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length]]'' (reviews published from 2006-2011). He printed annual compilations of his movie reviews from TheEighties onward, and wrote three books of essays about his favorite movies entitled ''The Great Movies''. These essays are also available on his website in a condensed form. He also wrote ''Ebert's Glossary of Movie Terms'', ''Ebert's Little Movie Glossary'' and ''Ebert's Bigger Little Movie Glossary,'' which are books of FilmTropes in ''Literature/TheDevilsDictionary'' form. (An even bigger movie glossary is on his web page.) They could be considered a proto-Website/TVTropes in a sense (and the {{Trope Namer|s}} for many).

All his reviews are available on his website. The website of his 2011 show can be found [[http://www.ebertpresents.com/ here]] and there's an archive of the old ''Siskel & Ebert'' episodes [[http://siskelandebert.org/ here.]] His own life was brought to the screen in the 2014 documentary ''Film/LifeItself.''

Ebert loved movies, and this was shown in his reviews. He was a fairly lenient critic[[note]]On [[http://www.metacritic.com/critic/roger-ebert his Metacritic profile]], his average score for the 4,069 reviews that aggregator cites is around 71 percent, nearly twelve percentage points higher than the site's average.[[/note]] who liked a range of genres and was primarily concerned with whether or not a film was made with passion and craft. To him, even a "bad" movie was worthy of praise if those involved were sincere in their intent. Those who cynically ticked the necessary boxes earned his scorn, doubly so if they did a bad job ticking those boxes. He also tended to rate films compared to others of their genre, not "overall"; ''Film/{{Superman}}'', for example, was pretty much the best superhero film going, but it was not on the same level as, for example, ''Film/TheGodfather''. Any subsequent superhero film would, at some level, be compared to ''Superman'', and so on.

[[http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/ Roger Joseph Ebert]] (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was a {{film}} critic who in his later life was probably the most famous film critic in the United States. He was the reviewer-in-chief at the ''UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} Sun-Times'' from [[TheSixties 1967]] until his death in 2013.

Ebert loved movies, and this was shown in his reviews. He was a fairly lenient critic[[note]]On [[http://www.metacritic.com/critic/roger-ebert his Metacritic profile]], his average score for the 4,069 reviews that aggregator cites is around 71 percent, nearly twelve percentage points higher than the site's average.[[/note]] who liked a range of genres and was primarily concerned with whether or not a film was made with passion and craft. To him, even a "bad" movie was worthy of praise if those involved were sincere in their intent. Those who cynically ticked the necessary boxes earned his scorn. Doubly so if they did a bad job ticking those boxes. He also tended to rate films compared to others of their genre, not "overall"; ''Film/{{Superman}}'', for example, was pretty much the best superhero film going, but it was not on the same level as, for example, ''Film/TheGodfather''. Any subsequent superhero film would, at some level, be compared to ''Superman'', and so on.

[[CausticCritic His wrath, when deployed, was legendary.]] He published three compilations of bad reviews: ''[[Film/{{North}} I Hated, Hated, HATED This Movie!]]'' (reviews published in 1999 and earlier), ''[[Film/DeuceBigalow Your Movie Sucks]]'' (reviews published from 2000-2006) and ''[[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length]]'' (reviews published from 2006-2011). He printed annual compilations of his movie reviews from TheEighties onward, and wrote three books of essays about his favorite movies entitled ''The Great Movies''. These essays are also available on his website in a condensed form. He also wrote ''Ebert's Glossary of Movie Terms'', ''Ebert's Little Movie Glossary'' and ''Ebert's Bigger Little Movie Glossary,'' which are books of FilmTropes in ''Literature/TheDevilsDictionary'' form. (An even bigger movie glossary is on his web page.) They could be considered a proto Website/TVTropes in a sense (and the {{Trope Namer|s}} for many).

* One reader comment said that a positive review of a certain film gave him HypeBacklash, while a negative review of another film [[BileFascination made him want to see it.]] Ebert's reply was that a critic's job is not to pass judgment on a particular movie, but to give the reader an impression as to whether or not they would want to see it themselves.

He was one of the great proponents of film preservation, letterboxing (back when most televisions were square and most movies in theaters weren't), and giving credit to directors and screenwriters; he probably helped make these issues important. Also a proponent of seeing films ''in'' theaters, but he accepted modern viewing habits enough to write UsefulNotes/{{DVD}} reviews. He did a few [[DVDCommentary audio commentaries]] notably ones for two of his all-time favorite films, ''Film/CitizenKane'' and ''Film/DarkCity,'' which have appeared on most releases of those films on DVD. He was also a master at uncovering the FreezeFrameBonus -- for years, he would spend a week at the University of Colorado's World Affairs Conference dissecting a film frame-by-frame with an audience's help to reveal small details.

He was one of the major opponents to Colorization. He often liked DeliberatelyMonochrome films, and ones that were monochrome because of when they were made, because of the light and shadow effects. Ebert also protested censorship in the name of AvoidTheDreadedGRating or avoiding the dreaded X/NC-17 rating. He advocated for years for a properly trademarked '''A''' rating to replace X since that sounds more respectable, and basically called out the MPAA for trying to [[MediaWatchdog enforce American morality]] from behind the veneer of arbitrary letterings (He'd hoped NC-17 would become a respectable alternative, and was disappointed when it didn't, thanks in no small part to the failure of ''Film/{{Showgirls}}''). In the last few years of his life, he was critical of what he saw as an overuse of 3D technology in movies, though this was more because of how dim he felt the picture ended up in that format than because of the "gimmickiness" of it.

* 1976: Small Change

* 1980: The Black Stallion

* 1982: Sophie's Choice
* 1983: The Right Stuff

* 1985: The Color Purple

* 1987: House of Games
* 1988: Mississippi Burning

* 1995: Leaving Las Vegas

* 1997: Eve's Bayou

* 2001: Monster's Ball

* 2009: The Hurt Locker

* 2011: A Separation

* 1971: The Last Picture Show

* 1977: 3 Women
* 1978: An Unmarried Woman

* 1981: My Dinner with Andre

* 1984: Amadeus

* 1986: Platoon

* 1996: Fargo

* 1998: Dark City
* 1999: Being John Malkovich
* 2000: Almost Famous

* 2003: Monster
* 2004: Million Dollar Baby
* 2005: Crash
* 2006: Pan's Labyrinth

* 2008: Synecdoche, New York

** He was on the receiving end of this once: a mother wrote in to tell him how her daughter was upset at his negative review of one of the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' movies, and she comforted her by telling her that Ebert also panned ''Franchise/StarWars'' when it was new, [[ItWillNeverCatchOn saying it would bomb.]] Ebert's response was to awesomely and politely direct the irate mother to his glowing 1977 review of ''Film/ANewHope'', which was easily found on his website the entire time.

He was one of the major opponents to Colorization. He often liked DeliberatelyMonochrome films, and ones that were monochrome because of when they were made, because of the light and shadow effects. Ebert also protested censorship in the name of AvoidTheDreadedGRating or avoiding the dreaded X/NC-17 rating. He advocated for years for a properly trademarked '''A''' rating to replace X since that sounds more respectable, and basically called out the MPAA for trying to [[MediaWatchdog enforce American morality]] from behind the veneer of arbitrary letterings. (He'd hoped NC-17 would become a respectable alternative, and was disappointed when it didn't, thanks in no small part to the failure of ''Film/{{Showgirls}}.'') He was critical of what he saw as an overuse of 3D technology in movies, though this was more because of how dim he felt the picture ended up in that format than because of the "gimmickiness" of it.

** He was on the receiving end of this once: a mother wrote in to tell him how her daughter was upset at his negative review of one of the ''Literature/{{Twilight}}'' movies, and she comforted her by telling her that Ebert also panned ''Franchise/StarWars'' when it was new, [[ItWillNeverCatchOn saying it would bomb.]] Ebert's response was to awesomely and politely direct the irate mother to his glowing 1977 review of ''Film/ANewHope'', which was [[CriticalResearchFailure easily found on his website the entire time.]]

** His review of ''Film/HalloweenIIISeasonOfTheWitch'', which he mistakenly believed to be an ImmediateSequel to ''Film/HalloweenII'' and confused the assassin who immolates himself in the film’s opening for Michael Myers[[note]]possibly due to Myers having also been incinerated in a hospital at the end of ''II'', albeit under completely different circumstances[[/note]].

In 1975, Ebert paired up with Creator/GeneSiskel, reviewer in chief at the ''Chicago Tribune'', to present a film review program called ''Opening Soon at a Theater Near You,'' the great grandfather of the VideoReviewShow, on local Creator/{{PBS}} station WTTW. The program went to the full PBS network as ''Sneak Previews'' in 1978, and in 1982 the duo moved to UsefulNotes/{{syndication}} on commercial stations across America, with a new but very similar program called ''At the Movies with Siskel & Ebert'' (or vice versa), or ''Series/SiskelAndEbert'' as it was commonly known. Unexpectedly, this made Ebert one of the two most important movie critics in America. Because the show was televised, [[RuleOfPerception many more Americans saw it]] than read the reviews in the newspapers; because Ebert and Siskel had credentials in real newspapers in a major city first, and didn't review every movie favorably, they could be taken more seriously than most other movie reviewers on television. Films that received their signature "Two Thumbs Up" review (indicating that both of them had liked it) got a reliable boost at the box office.

[[CausticCritic His wrath, when deployed, was legendary.]] He published three compilations of bad reviews: ''[[Film/{{North}} I Hated, Hated, HATED This Movie!]]'' (reviews published in 1999 and earlier), ''[[Film/DeuceBigalow Your Movie Sucks]]'' (reviews published from 2000-2006) and ''[[Film/TransformersRevengeOfTheFallen A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length]]'' (reviews published from 2006-2011). He printed annual compilations of his movie reviews from TheEighties onward, and wrote three books of essays about his favorite movies entitled ''The Great Movies''. These essays are also available on his website in a condensed form. He also wrote Literature/EbertsGlossaryOfMovieTerms, ''Ebert's Little Movie Glossary'' and ''Ebert's Bigger Little Movie Glossary,'' which are books of FilmTropes in ''Literature/TheDevilsDictionary'' form. (An even bigger movie glossary is on his web page.) They could be considered a proto Website/TVTropes in a sense (and the {{Trope Namer|s}} for many).

Siskel and Ebert's [[LikeAnOldMarriedCouple passive-aggressive chemistry]] was the stuff of legend. It was often thought that due to their occasionally hostile on-screen presence when they disagreed, that the two hated each other. However, [[VitriolicBestBuds each man considered the other to be a close friend,]] even if their professional relationship was competitive by nature. In fact, in 2009 on the tenth anniversary of Siskel's death, Ebert posted a [[http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/02/i_remember_gene.html touching remembrance]] of his friend on his blog.

In 1975, Ebert paired up with Creator/GeneSiskel, reviewer in chief at the ''Chicago Tribune'', to present a film review program called ''Opening Soon at a Theater Near You,'' the great grandfather of the VideoReviewShow, on local Creator/{{PBS}} station WTTW. The program went to the full PBS network as ''Sneak Previews'' in 1978, and in 1982 the duo moved to UsefulNotes/{{syndication}} on commercial stations across America, with a new but very similar program called ''At the Movies with Siskel & Ebert'' (or vice versa), or ''Series/SiskelAndEbert'' as it was commonly known. Unexpectedly, this made Ebert one of the two most important movie critics in America. Because the show was televised, [[RuleOfPerception many more Americans saw it]] than read the reviews in the newspapers; because Ebert and Siskel had credentials in real newspapers in a major city first, and didn't review every movie favorably, they could be taken more seriously than most other movie reviewers on television. Films that received their signature "Two Thumbs Up" review (indicating that both of them liked it) got a reliable boost at the box office.

Siskel and Ebert's [[LikeAnOldMarriedCouple passive-aggressive chemistry]] was the stuff of legend. It was often thought that due to their occasionally hostile on-screen presence when they disagreed, that the two hated each other. However, [[VitriolicBestBuds each considered the other a close friend,]] even if their relationship was competitive by nature. In fact, in 2009 on the tenth anniversary of Siskel's death, Ebert posted a [[http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/02/i_remember_gene.html touching remembrance]] of his friend on his blog.

In 1975, Ebert teamed up with Creator/GeneSiskel, reviewer in chief at the ''Chicago Tribune'', to present a film review program called ''Opening Soon at a Theater Near You,'' the great grandfather of the VideoReviewShow, on local Creator/{{PBS}} station WTTW. The program went to the full PBS network as ''Sneak Previews'' in 1978, and in 1982 the duo moved to UsefulNotes/{{syndication}} on commercial stations across America, with a new but very similar program called ''At the Movies with Siskel & Ebert'' (or vice versa), or ''Series/SiskelAndEbert'' as it was commonly known. Unexpectedly, this made Ebert one of the two most important movie critics in America. Because the show was televised, [[RuleOfPerception many more Americans saw it]] than read the reviews in the newspapers; because Ebert and Siskel had credentials in real newspapers in a major city first, and didn't review every movie favorably, they could be taken more seriously than most other movie reviewers on television. Films that received their signature "Two Thumbs Up" review (indicating that both of them liked it) got a reliable boost at the box office.

[[quoteright:280:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/roger_ebert_portrait.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:280: [-Deliberating whether his thumb should go up or down.-] ]]

In 1975, Ebert teamed up with Creator/GeneSiskel, reviewer in chief at the ''Chicago Tribune'', to present a film review program called ''Opening Soon at a Theater Near You,'' the great grandfather of the VideoReviewShow, on local Creator/{{PBS}} station WTTW. The program went to the full PBS network as ''Sneak Previews'' in 1978; in 1982 ''Series/SiskelAndEbert'' moved to UsefulNotes/{{syndication}} on commercial stations across America, as a new but very similar program called ''At the Movies with Siskel and Ebert'' (or vice versa). Unexpectedly, this made Ebert one of the two most important movie critics in America. Because the show was televised, [[RuleOfPerception many more Americans saw it]] than read the reviews in the newspapers; because Ebert and Siskel had credentials in real newspapers in a major city first, and didn't review every movie favorably, they could be taken more seriously than most other movie reviewers on television. Films that received their signature "Two Thumbs Up" review (indicating that both of them liked it) got a reliable boost at the box office.

* [[invoked]]EightPointEight:
** One of only two critics to like ''Film/Speed2CruiseControl'' (the other being Gene Siskel) on Website/RottenTomatoes and the only one not to like ''Film/{{Brazil}}''. Additionally, he gave ''Film/TheGodfather, Part II'' three stars, his lowest "good movie" rating, but later included it on his list of Great Movies, though while still standing by his original rating.
** On the other hand, to an aspiring indie director who was disheartened because of a negative review his previous film had received (not from Ebert), he [[http://www.rogerebert.com/answer-man/why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-genders pointed out]] that the film's average Website/IMDb rating of 8.8 actually gave it a higher overall score than such films as ''Film/{{Casablanca}}'' (8.6) and ''Film/ANewHope'' (8.7). Ebert encouraged him to consider that maybe 8.8 wasn't so bad after all.