Roger Ebert Retires From Television
"WHAT is film criticism? This may sound like a lofty philosophical question, but I suspect to most people it has a down-to-earth, empirical answer. Film criticism is two guys (and usually it is guys) arguing: shifting in their seats, rolling their eyes, pointing fingers and interrupting, and every now and then agreeing. Or that’s the way it looks on television at least.One of the guys who made it look that way, who made the crazy idea that movie critics could thrive on TV seem like a no-brainer, recently announced his departure from the airwaves. On April 1 Roger Ebert published a letter to readers of The Chicago Sun-Times that was essentially a farewell to the long-running, widely syndicated weekly program that has made him not simply the best-known movie reviewer in America, but the virtual embodiment of this curious profession.
But the real news in Mr. Ebert’s letter was his return to regular written criticism. A recurrence of cancer of the salivary gland in the summer of 2006 might have left him unable to speak — a problem recent surgery failed to solve — but he has hardly lost his voice."
To read the rest of A. O. Scott's article, click here.
Photo by Associated Press.
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Isn't that picture fantastic? It really kicks my already overactive nostalgia into overdrive!
Labels: a. o. scott, article, film criticism, ny times, roger ebert, television
posted by Jeff Pidgeon at
7:50 AM
4 Comments:
I can even remember a younger Siskel and Ebert than that! Ebert was much bigger and had darker hair-and the show had rinky-dink intro music and was called "Sneak Previews".
My husband and I loved watching them back in the day-both of them were so sarcastic-Gene could really toss in a last-second zinger in there before the cuts to clips leaving Roger with an open mouth or just glaring at Gene, and Roger could be counted on to embarrassingly overpraise any especially nubile actress's performance no matter how good or bad the film was, lol.
It wasn't the same when Siskel died and we stopped watching what had been a weekly ritual--but we loved seeing Ebert uncorked every year at the Cannes closing ceremony coverage Bravo(or someone)did, where Ebert was a gushing fanboy-and a great leavening influence on the relative snootiness of Annette Insdorf.
I'd wondered what was up with his slurred speech some time ago, and assumed it was some sort of cancer/tongue surgery(didn't Siskel suffer from the same--oh, wait, that was a brain tumor IIRC. Good God). So tragic. At least Roger is kicking and fighting it and writing, which is terrific for him and us.
You mean... this opening?:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vGIQ31AVLNk
I remember it, too - I loved that show growing up! I still remember the excitement of seeing the "Death Star Escape" sequence with Roger & Gene before I actually saw Star Wars!
Wow! I LOVE youtube! Thanks Jeff!
Sad. He's been without the ability to speak since the hemorrhage. I hoped he would come back to the show but, alas, it's not to be.
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