CINXE.COM

<!doctype html> <html lang="en-US" prefix="og: https://ogp.me/ns#"> <head> <meta charset="UTF-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1, shrink-to-fit=no"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.googleapis.com"> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://fonts.gstatic.com" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://use.typekit.net" crossorigin> <link rel="preconnect" href="https://p.typekit.net" crossorigin> <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css2?family=Montserrat:ital,wght@0,100..900;1,100..900&display=swap" rel="stylesheet"> <link media="screen" href="https://use.typekit.net/fdo4xio.css" rel="preload" as="style" onload="this.rel='stylesheet'"> <meta content="Roger Ebert" name="application-name"> <meta content="#FFFFFF" name="msapplication-TileColor">  <script>(function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start': new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= 'https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f); })(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-T9HKKFWR');</script>   <script type="text/javascript">document.pageTypeLabel="unknown";</script>  <style> @font-face { font-family: "sw-icon-font"; src:url("https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/plugins/social-warfare/assets/fonts/sw-icon-font.eot?ver=4.5.4"); src:url("https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/plugins/social-warfare/assets/fonts/sw-icon-font.eot?ver=4.5.4#iefix") format("embedded-opentype"), url("https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/plugins/social-warfare/assets/fonts/sw-icon-font.woff?ver=4.5.4") format("woff"), url("https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/plugins/social-warfare/assets/fonts/sw-icon-font.ttf?ver=4.5.4") format("truetype"), url("https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/plugins/social-warfare/assets/fonts/sw-icon-font.svg?ver=4.5.4#1445203416") format("svg"); font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; font-display:block; } </style>   <title>In memoriam | Roger Ebert</title> <meta name="description" content="In memoriam | Roger Ebert"/> <meta name="robots" content="follow, index, max-snippet:-1, max-video-preview:-1, max-image-preview:large"/> <link rel="canonical" href="https://www.rogerebert.com/memoriam" /> <meta property="og:locale" content="en_US" /> <meta property="og:type" content="article" /> <meta property="og:title" content="In memoriam | Roger Ebert" /> <meta property="og:description" content="In memoriam | Roger Ebert" /> <meta property="og:url" content="https://www.rogerebert.com/memoriam" /> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Roger Ebert" /> <meta property="article:publisher" content="https://www.facebook.com/RogerEbert/" /> <meta property="og:updated_time" content="2024-08-22T22:11:18-05:00" /> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="966242223397117" /> <meta property="og:image" content="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/header-c1a3ee1e2809edf18bc5ca35745616e0fce661435ccf204e0db9f7c4dd9550ee.jpg" /> <meta property="og:image:secure_url" content="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/header-c1a3ee1e2809edf18bc5ca35745616e0fce661435ccf204e0db9f7c4dd9550ee.jpg" /> <meta property="og:image:width" content="2000" /> <meta property="og:image:height" content="800" /> <meta property="og:image:alt" content="Memoriam" /> <meta property="og:image:type" content="image/jpeg" /> <meta property="article:published_time" content="2024-06-09T17:52:58-05:00" /> <meta property="article:modified_time" content="2024-08-22T22:11:18-05:00" /> <meta name="twitter:card" content="summary_large_image" /> <meta name="twitter:title" content="In memoriam | Roger Ebert" /> <meta name="twitter:description" content="In memoriam | Roger Ebert" /> <meta name="twitter:site" content="@ebertchicago" /> <meta name="twitter:creator" content="@ebertchicago" /> <meta name="twitter:image" content="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/header-c1a3ee1e2809edf18bc5ca35745616e0fce661435ccf204e0db9f7c4dd9550ee.jpg" /> <meta name="twitter:label1" content="Time to read" /> <meta name="twitter:data1" content="23 minutes" /> <script type="application/ld+json" class="rank-math-schema">{"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":["Person","Organization"],"@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/#person","name":"Roger Ebert","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/RogerEbert/","https://twitter.com/ebertchicago"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/#website","url":"https://www.rogerebert.com","name":"Roger Ebert","publisher":{"@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/#person"},"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/header-c1a3ee1e2809edf18bc5ca35745616e0fce661435ccf204e0db9f7c4dd9550ee.jpg","url":"https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/header-c1a3ee1e2809edf18bc5ca35745616e0fce661435ccf204e0db9f7c4dd9550ee.jpg","width":"200","height":"200","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/memoriam#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":"1","item":{"@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/memoriam","name":"Memoriam"}}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/memoriam#webpage","url":"https://www.rogerebert.com/memoriam","name":"In memoriam | Roger Ebert","datePublished":"2024-06-09T17:52:58-05:00","dateModified":"2024-08-22T22:11:18-05:00","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/header-c1a3ee1e2809edf18bc5ca35745616e0fce661435ccf204e0db9f7c4dd9550ee.jpg"},"inLanguage":"en-US","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/memoriam#breadcrumb"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/contributors/chaz-ebert","name":"Chaz Ebert","description":"Chaz Ebert biography & movie reviews | Roger Ebert","url":"https://www.rogerebert.com/contributors/chaz-ebert","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/23935dcc001390d7ba003b78697df756?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https://secure.gravatar.com/avatar/23935dcc001390d7ba003b78697df756?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Chaz Ebert","inLanguage":"en-US"}},{"@type":"Article","headline":"In memoriam | Roger Ebert","datePublished":"2024-06-09T17:52:58-05:00","dateModified":"2024-08-22T22:11:18-05:00","author":{"@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/contributors/chaz-ebert","name":"Chaz Ebert"},"publisher":{"@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/#person"},"description":"In memoriam | Roger Ebert","name":"In memoriam | Roger Ebert","@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/memoriam#richSnippet","isPartOf":{"@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/memoriam#webpage"},"image":{"@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/header-c1a3ee1e2809edf18bc5ca35745616e0fce661435ccf204e0db9f7c4dd9550ee.jpg"},"inLanguage":"en-US","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https://www.rogerebert.com/memoriam#webpage"}}]}</script>  <script id="roger-ready"> window.advanced_ads_ready=function(e,a){a=a||"complete";var d=function(e){return"interactive"===a?"loading"!==e:"complete"===e};d(document.readyState)?e():document.addEventListener("readystatechange",(function(a){d(a.target.readyState)&&e()}),{once:"interactive"===a})},window.advanced_ads_ready_queue=window.advanced_ads_ready_queue||[]; </script> <link rel='stylesheet' id='social-warfare-block-css-css' href='https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/plugins/social-warfare/assets/js/post-editor/dist/blocks.style.build.css?ver=6.7' type='text/css' media='all' /> <style id='rank-math-toc-block-style-inline-css' type='text/css'> .wp-block-rank-math-toc-block nav ol{counter-reset:item}.wp-block-rank-math-toc-block nav ol li{display:block}.wp-block-rank-math-toc-block nav ol li:before{content:counters(item, ".") ". ";counter-increment:item} </style> <style id='rank-math-rich-snippet-style-inline-css' type='text/css'> /*! * Plugin: Rank Math * URL: https://rankmath.com/wordpress/plugin/seo-suite/ * Name: rank-math-review-snippet.css */@-webkit-keyframes spin{0%{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg)}100%{-webkit-transform:rotate(-360deg)}}@keyframes spin{0%{-webkit-transform:rotate(0deg)}100%{-webkit-transform:rotate(-360deg)}}@keyframes bounce{from{-webkit-transform:translateY(0px);transform:translateY(0px)}to{-webkit-transform:translateY(-5px);transform:translateY(-5px)}}@-webkit-keyframes bounce{from{-webkit-transform:translateY(0px);transform:translateY(0px)}to{-webkit-transform:translateY(-5px);transform:translateY(-5px)}}@-webkit-keyframes loading{0%{background-size:20% 50% ,20% 50% ,20% 50%}20%{background-size:20% 20% ,20% 50% ,20% 50%}40%{background-size:20% 100%,20% 20% ,20% 50%}60%{background-size:20% 50% ,20% 100%,20% 20%}80%{background-size:20% 50% ,20% 50% ,20% 100%}100%{background-size:20% 50% ,20% 50% ,20% 50%}}@keyframes loading{0%{background-size:20% 50% ,20% 50% ,20% 50%}20%{background-size:20% 20% ,20% 50% ,20% 50%}40%{background-size:20% 100%,20% 20% ,20% 50%}60%{background-size:20% 50% ,20% 100%,20% 20%}80%{background-size:20% 50% ,20% 50% ,20% 100%}100%{background-size:20% 50% ,20% 50% ,20% 50%}}:root{--rankmath-wp-adminbar-height: 0}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper{overflow:hidden}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper h5.rank-math-title{display:block;font-size:18px;line-height:1.4}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-review-image{float:right;max-width:40%;margin-left:15px}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-review-data{margin-bottom:15px}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-total-wrapper{width:100%;padding:0 0 20px 0;float:left;clear:both;position:relative;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-total-wrapper .rank-math-total{border:0;display:block;margin:0;width:auto;float:left;text-align:left;padding:0;font-size:24px;line-height:1;font-weight:700;-webkit-box-sizing:border-box;box-sizing:border-box;overflow:hidden}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-total-wrapper .rank-math-review-star{float:left;margin-left:15px;margin-top:5px;position:relative;z-index:99;line-height:1}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-total-wrapper .rank-math-review-star .rank-math-review-result-wrapper{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;position:relative;color:#e7e7e7}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-total-wrapper .rank-math-review-star .rank-math-review-result-wrapper .rank-math-review-result{position:absolute;top:0;left:0;overflow:hidden;white-space:nowrap;color:#ffbe01}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-total-wrapper .rank-math-review-star .rank-math-review-result-wrapper i{font-size:18px;-webkit-text-stroke-width:1px;font-style:normal;padding:0 2px;line-height:inherit}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-total-wrapper .rank-math-review-star .rank-math-review-result-wrapper i:before{content:"\2605"}body.rtl #rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-review-image{float:left;margin-left:0;margin-right:15px}body.rtl #rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-total-wrapper .rank-math-total{float:right}body.rtl #rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-total-wrapper .rank-math-review-star{float:right;margin-left:0;margin-right:15px}body.rtl #rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-total-wrapper .rank-math-review-star .rank-math-review-result{left:auto;right:0}@media screen and (max-width: 480px){#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-review-image{display:block;max-width:100%;width:100%;text-align:center;margin-right:0}#rank-math-rich-snippet-wrapper .rank-math-review-data{clear:both}}.clear{clear:both} </style> <style id='classic-theme-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> /*! This file is auto-generated */ .wp-block-button__link{color:#fff;background-color:#32373c;border-radius:9999px;box-shadow:none;text-decoration:none;padding:calc(.667em + 2px) calc(1.333em + 2px);font-size:1.125em}.wp-block-file__button{background:#32373c;color:#fff;text-decoration:none} </style> <style id='global-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> :root{--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--square: 1;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--4-3: 4/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-4: 3/4;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--3-2: 3/2;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--2-3: 2/3;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--16-9: 16/9;--wp--preset--aspect-ratio--9-16: 9/16;--wp--preset--color--black: #000000;--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray: #abb8c3;--wp--preset--color--white: #ffffff;--wp--preset--color--pale-pink: #f78da7;--wp--preset--color--vivid-red: #cf2e2e;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange: #ff6900;--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber: #fcb900;--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan: #7bdcb5;--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan: #00d084;--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue: #8ed1fc;--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue: #0693e3;--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple: #9b51e0;--wp--preset--color--primary-light: #F8F6F1;--wp--preset--color--primary-grey: #CCCCCC;--wp--preset--color--primary-gold: #C0A574;--wp--preset--color--secondary-bronze: #945B48;--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(6,147,227,1) 0%,rgb(155,81,224) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(122,220,180) 0%,rgb(0,208,130) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(252,185,0,1) 0%,rgba(255,105,0,1) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red: linear-gradient(135deg,rgba(255,105,0,1) 0%,rgb(207,46,46) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(238,238,238) 0%,rgb(169,184,195) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(74,234,220) 0%,rgb(151,120,209) 20%,rgb(207,42,186) 40%,rgb(238,44,130) 60%,rgb(251,105,98) 80%,rgb(254,248,76) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,206,236) 0%,rgb(152,150,240) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(254,205,165) 0%,rgb(254,45,45) 50%,rgb(107,0,62) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,203,112) 0%,rgb(199,81,192) 50%,rgb(65,88,208) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(255,245,203) 0%,rgb(182,227,212) 50%,rgb(51,167,181) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(202,248,128) 0%,rgb(113,206,126) 100%);--wp--preset--gradient--midnight: linear-gradient(135deg,rgb(2,3,129) 0%,rgb(40,116,252) 100%);--wp--preset--font-size--small: 16px;--wp--preset--font-size--medium: 20px;--wp--preset--font-size--large: 30px;--wp--preset--font-size--x-large: 44px;--wp--preset--spacing--20: 0.44rem;--wp--preset--spacing--30: 0.67rem;--wp--preset--spacing--40: 1rem;--wp--preset--spacing--50: 1.5rem;--wp--preset--spacing--60: 2.25rem;--wp--preset--spacing--70: 3.38rem;--wp--preset--spacing--80: 5.06rem;--wp--preset--shadow--natural: 6px 6px 9px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--deep: 12px 12px 50px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.4);--wp--preset--shadow--sharp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2);--wp--preset--shadow--outlined: 6px 6px 0px -3px rgba(255, 255, 255, 1), 6px 6px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);--wp--preset--shadow--crisp: 6px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 1);}:where(.is-layout-flex){gap: 0.5em;}:where(.is-layout-grid){gap: 0.5em;}body .is-layout-flex{display: flex;}.is-layout-flex{flex-wrap: wrap;align-items: center;}.is-layout-flex > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}body .is-layout-grid{display: grid;}.is-layout-grid > :is(*, div){margin: 0;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;}.has-black-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-color{color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-background-color{background-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-black-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--black) !important;}.has-cyan-bluish-gray-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-white-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--white) !important;}.has-pale-pink-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-pink) !important;}.has-vivid-red-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-red) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--luminous-vivid-amber) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--light-green-cyan) !important;}.has-vivid-green-cyan-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-pale-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--pale-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-cyan-blue) !important;}.has-vivid-purple-border-color{border-color: var(--wp--preset--color--vivid-purple) !important;}.has-vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--vivid-cyan-blue-to-vivid-purple) !important;}.has-light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--light-green-cyan-to-vivid-green-cyan) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-amber-to-luminous-vivid-orange) !important;}.has-luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-vivid-orange-to-vivid-red) !important;}.has-very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--very-light-gray-to-cyan-bluish-gray) !important;}.has-cool-to-warm-spectrum-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--cool-to-warm-spectrum) !important;}.has-blush-light-purple-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-light-purple) !important;}.has-blush-bordeaux-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--blush-bordeaux) !important;}.has-luminous-dusk-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--luminous-dusk) !important;}.has-pale-ocean-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--pale-ocean) !important;}.has-electric-grass-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--electric-grass) !important;}.has-midnight-gradient-background{background: var(--wp--preset--gradient--midnight) !important;}.has-small-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--small) !important;}.has-medium-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--medium) !important;}.has-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--large) !important;}.has-x-large-font-size{font-size: var(--wp--preset--font-size--x-large) !important;} :where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-flex){gap: 1.25em;}:where(.wp-block-post-template.is-layout-grid){gap: 1.25em;} :where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-flex){gap: 2em;}:where(.wp-block-columns.is-layout-grid){gap: 2em;} :root :where(.wp-block-pullquote){font-size: 1.5em;line-height: 1.6;} </style> <style id='dominant-color-styles-inline-css' type='text/css'> img[data-dominant-color]:not(.has-transparency) { background-color: var(--dominant-color); } </style> <link rel='stylesheet' id='main-css-css' href='https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/themes/roger-ebert/dist/css/main.min.css?ver=1743733620' type='text/css' media='' /> <link rel='stylesheet' id='social_warfare-css' href='https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/plugins/social-warfare/assets/css/style.min.css?ver=4.5.4' type='text/css' media='all' /> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-includes/js/jquery/jquery.min.js?ver=latest" id="jquery-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/mu-plugins/roger-ebert/template/custom-facets/custom-facet.js?ver=1743733599" id="custom-facet-js-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="advanced-ads-advanced-js-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var advads_options = {"blog_id":"1","privacy":{"enabled":false,"state":"not_needed"}}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/plugins/advanced-ads/public/assets/js/advanced.min.js?ver=1.56.1" id="advanced-ads-advanced-js-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="advanced_ads_pro/visitor_conditions-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var advanced_ads_pro_visitor_conditions = {"referrer_cookie_name":"advanced_ads_pro_visitor_referrer","referrer_exdays":"365","page_impr_cookie_name":"advanced_ads_page_impressions","page_impr_exdays":"3650"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/plugins/advanced-ads-pro/modules/advanced-visitor-conditions/inc/conditions.min.js?ver=2.28.0" id="advanced_ads_pro/visitor_conditions-js"></script> <link rel='shortlink' href='https://www.rogerebert.com/?p=215217' /> <meta name="generator" content="dominant-color-images 1.1.2"> <meta name="generator" content="performance-lab 3.6.1; plugins: dominant-color-images, speculation-rules, webp-uploads"> <meta name="generator" content="webp-uploads 2.3.0"> <script type="text/javascript"> var advadsCfpQueue = []; var advadsCfpAd = function( adID ){ if ( 'undefined' == typeof advadsProCfp ) { advadsCfpQueue.push( adID ) } else { advadsProCfp.addElement( adID ) } }; </script> <meta name="generator" content="speculation-rules 1.3.1"> <script async src="https://securepubads.g.doubleclick.net/tag/js/gpt.js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="AdvallyRules" src="https://cdn.adligature.com/rogerebert.com/prod/rules.js"></script> <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" id="AdvallyStyles" href="https://cdn.adligature.com/rogerebert.com/prod/rules.css"></link> <script type="text/javascript"> // Handle LazyLoaded content including ads document.addEventListener('facetwp-loaded', function(e) { advally.scanNew(); }); // Set custom targeting for page var advally = advally || {}; advally.cmd = advally.cmd || []; advally.cmd.push(function() { advally.Page.setTargeting('wp-page', document.pageTypeLabel); }); </script> <link rel="icon" href="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cropped-favicon-196x196-1-32x32.png" sizes="32x32" /> <link rel="icon" href="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cropped-favicon-196x196-1-192x192.png" sizes="192x192" /> <link rel="apple-touch-icon" href="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cropped-favicon-196x196-1-180x180.png" /> <meta name="msapplication-TileImage" content="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/cropped-favicon-196x196-1-270x270.png" /> </head> <body class="page-template page-template-page-inner page-template-page-inner-php page page-id-215217 no-sidebar">  <noscript><iframe src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/ns.html?id=GTM-T9HKKFWR" height="0" width="0" style="display:none;visibility:hidden"></iframe></noscript>  <div id="page" class="site"> <header id="masthead" class="site-header fixed w-full bg-white top-0 left-0 right-0 menu-top z-50"> <div class="border-b border-[#cccccc] border-solid max-w-full w-full"> <div class="max-w-[1440px] m-auto flex p-6 sm:px-8 justify-between items-center"> <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com" rel="home" class="w-[200px] sm:w-[270px]" aria-label="Roger Ebert homepage"> <img width="270" height="47" fetchpriority="high" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/themes/roger-ebert/source/images/roger-ebert-logo.svg" alt="Roger Ebert Logo"> </a> <a href="/search" class="ml-auto mr-0 sm:mr-5 block lg:hidden" aria-label="Site search"> <img width="21" height="21" fetchpriority="high" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/themes/roger-ebert/source/images/search-thin.svg" alt="Search Icon"> </a> <a href="/prime" class="gold-button lg:ml-auto mr-2 lg:mr-4 hidden sm:block"> Signup </a> <form action="/search" method="get" accept-charset="UTF-8" class="relative hidden lg:block"> <label for="search" class="sr-only">Search in https://www.rogerebert.com</label> <input type="text" placeholder="Search Keywords..." name="q" id="search" class="px-5 bg-primary-light text-sm py-2.5 border border-primary-gold montserrat-500 rounded-full text-base" value="" /> <input type="image" class="absolute right-4 top-3.5" alt="Search" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/themes/roger-ebert/source/images/search-icon.svg" /> </form> <div class="mobile-menu overflow-hidden visible w-10 relative h-5 flex items-center justify-end cursor-pointer xl:invisible xl:w-0"> <span></span> </div> </div> </div> <nav id="site-navigation" class="main-navigation fixed bg-white w-full left-0 right-0 top-24 m-auto flex px-2 xl:px-8 py-4 justify-center items-center invisible opacity-0 bottom-0 right-2/4 top-[84px] sm:top-[96px] xl:absolue xl:bottom-auto xl:right-auto xl:visible xl:opacity-100"> <div class="menu-primary-menu-container"><ul id="primary-menu" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-214879" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-214879"><a href="/reviews">Movie Reviews</a></li> <li id="menu-item-214880" class="great-movies menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-214880"><a href="/great-movies">Great Movies</a></li> <li id="menu-item-214881" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-214881"><a href="/streaming">TV/Streaming</a></li> <li id="menu-item-214882" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-214882"><a href="/interviews">Interviews</a></li> <li id="menu-item-214883" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-214883"><a href="/collections">Collections</a></li> <li id="menu-item-214884" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-214884"><a href="/roger-ebert">Roger Ebert</a></li> <li id="menu-item-214885" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-214885"><a href="/contributors">Contributors</a></li> </ul></div> </nav> </header> <div id="content" class="site-content"> <div class="row">  <div class="roger-top-leaderboard" id="roger-2137087253"><div class="AdvallyTag" id="AdvAd-TopLeaderboard"></div></div> <div id="primary" class="content-area"> <main id="main" class="site-main"> <article id="post-215217" class="post-215217 page type-page status-publish hentry"> <div class="entry-content"> <header class="page-header m-auto max-w-[1440px] px-6 sm:px-8 flex flex-col justify-center md:grid md:grid-cols-12"> <div class="pt-8 pb-8 xl:pt-12 sm:pt-12 sm:pb-9 xl:pb-14 col-start-1 col-end-13 lg:col-start-3 lg:col-end-11"> <nav aria-label="breadcrumbs" class="rank-math-breadcrumb"><p></p></nav> <h1 class="page-title mt-2 text-4xl sm:text-5xl sm:mt-3">Remembrances of Roger</h1> </div> </header> <figure class="wp-block-image alignwide size-full"><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="2000" height="800" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/header-c1a3ee1e2809edf18bc5ca35745616e0fce661435ccf204e0db9f7c4dd9550ee.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-215227" srcset="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/header-c1a3ee1e2809edf18bc5ca35745616e0fce661435ccf204e0db9f7c4dd9550ee.jpg 2000w, https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/header-c1a3ee1e2809edf18bc5ca35745616e0fce661435ccf204e0db9f7c4dd9550ee-768x307.jpg 768w, https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/header-c1a3ee1e2809edf18bc5ca35745616e0fce661435ccf204e0db9f7c4dd9550ee-1536x614.jpg 1536w" sizes="(max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px" /></figure> <div class="wp-block-columns alignwide content-small is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex"> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe title="Ebertfest Spot… for Rog" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/63397896?dnt=1&app_id=122963" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write"></iframe> </div></figure> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/63397896" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ebertfest Spot… for Rog</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user10918748" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Michael Mirasol</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Vimeo</a></p> <p><strong>A selection of tributes and memories from those who knew, and read, Roger Ebert. More will be added as we collect them:</strong></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“For a generation of Americans — and especially Chicagoans — Roger was the movies. When he didn’t like a film, he was honest; when he did, he was effusive — capturing the unique power of the movies to take us somewhere magical.</p> <p>“Even amidst his own battles with cancer, Roger was as productive as he was resilient — continuing to share his passion and perspective with the world. The movies won’t be the same without Roger, and our thoughts and prayers are with Chaz and the rest of the Ebert family.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/theoval/2013/04/04/obama-barack-michelle-roger-ebert/2054323/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">President Barack Obama, April 4, 2013</a></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>Roger’s customary seat at the <a href="http://www.filmteknik.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Lake Street Screening Room</a>, before a press screening of Terence Malick’s “To the Wonder,” the morning of April 5, 2013:</p> <div class="wp-block-image"> <figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img decoding="async" width="349" height="466" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/seat-1-mcn-488x651-thumb-350x466-60788-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-215248" style="width:450px"/><figcaption class="wp-element-caption"><em>(photo by Bill Stamets)</em></figcaption></figure></div> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“Though he was viewed as a movie critic with the soul of a poet, he also had killer business instincts. A journalist since the 1960s, he not only survived endless tumult in the craft, he thrived by embracing new opportunity and expanding his franchise at every turn.</p> <p>“Just as Jay-Z is more than a musician, Roger Ebert was much more than a guy who wrote about movies. He was a newspaper writer, a television personality, a public speaker, a book author, an event impresario and a Web publisher. And through his Web site, RogerEbert.com, he is still with us even though he is gone, demonstrating the kind of stickiness and durability that media brands crave.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/business/media/roger-eberts-legacy-as-a-relentless-empire-builder.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1&" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Carr</a>, New York Times</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“There will be a long, long echo [of his work] reverberating for a long, long time… I’ve always tried to be a good soldier of cinema myself, so of course since he’s gone, I will plow on, as I have plowed on all my life, but I will do what I have to do as if Roger was looking over my shoulder. And I am not gonna disappoint him.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://insidemovies.ew.com/2013/04/04/roger-ebert-werner-herzog/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Werner Herzog</a>, EW.com</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“‘I was born inside the movie of my life’: the opening words of [his memoir] ‘<a target="_blank" href="http://www.amazon.com/Life-Itself-Memoir-Roger-Ebert/dp/0446584967/ref=tmm_pap_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1365199000&sr=1-1" rel="noreferrer noopener">Life Itself</a>’ announce both the crucial cinematic lure of magic images on a big screen and Roger’s talent for analyzing his own adventures and limitations. Given his gift of gab, that movie must have been a talkie. He fits William F. Buckley Jr.’s description of Roger’s fellow Midwesterner Rush Limbaugh: ‘preternaturally fluent.’ One imagines him popping out of the womb and saying, ‘Hi, Mom! Well, that was an interesting nine-month movie I just sat through. The visuals were lacking; it was more like radio, really. But the soothing darkness well prepared me for a life of sitting in movie theaters. All in all, I give the experience two enthusiastic, tiny thumbs up!’”</p> <p>— <a href="http://entertainment.time.com/2013/04/04/roger-ebert-farewell-to-a-film-legend-and-friend/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Richard Corliss</a>, TIME</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“Virtually alone among his generation of journalists, Ebert saw the substantive potential of social media early on and translated his fame in print and on TV to the Internet, becoming a Twitter trailblazer and a mentor who showed the rest of us in this imploding profession not just how to survive but how to prosper in the digital age. […]</p> <p>“He’s up there with Will Rogers, H.L. Mencken and A.J. Liebling, and not too far short of Mark Twain, as one of the great plainspoken commentators on American culture and American life. What was so wonderful about Roger as a critic was the fact that he was never a snob and never condescended to anyone, while also being an immensely knowledgeable student of film who avoided the faux-populist reverse snobbery of so many of the critics who followed him into television. He wrote in clear, declarative newspaper prose aimed first and foremost at his Chicagoland readership — ‘I go into the movie, I watch it, and I ask myself what happened to me’ — but was just as likely to lavish praise on foreign films or tiny indies or cheesy exploitation flicks as on Hollywood star packages.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.salon.com/2013/04/05/rip_roger_ebert_movie_criticisms_great_communicator/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Andrew O’Hehir</a>, Salon.com</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“If there was any downside to [Siskel and Ebert’s] television success, it was that so many people only knew them from that medium and never sought out their printed reviews. I was one of those people. It was only with the invention of the Internet that I began reading Roger’s reviews, on his comprehensive website, and marveling at his writing skill. He is the only critic I know who unashamedly drew on his life experiences to explain his feelings about a given movie. It wasn’t a gimmick, and it never made him seem self-absorbed, just disarmingly candid.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/leonardmaltin/roger-ebert-more-than-just-a-critic" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Leonard Maltin</a>, Indiewire</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“CHICAGO—Calling the overall human experience ‘poignant,’ ‘thought-provoking,’ and a ‘complete tour de force,’ film critic Roger Ebert praised existence Thursday as ‘an audacious and thrilling triumph.’ ‘While not without its flaws, life, from birth to death, is a masterwork, and an uplifting journey that both touches the heart and challenges the mind,’ said Ebert, adding that while the totality of all humankind is sometimes ‘a mess in places,’ it strives to be a magnum opus and, according to Ebert, largely succeeds at this goal.”</p> <p>— <a target="_blank" href="http://www.theonion.com/articles/roger-ebert-hails-human-existence-as-a-triumph,31945/?ref=auto" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Onion</a></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <figure class="wp-block-embed aligncenter is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe loading="lazy" title="The Sight and Sound Film Poll: An International Tribute to Roger Ebert and His Favorite Films" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/42638994?dnt=1&app_id=122963" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write"></iframe> </div><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">— <a href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/pressplay/video-essay-the-sight-and-sound-film-poll-a-tribute-to-roger-ebert-and-his-favorite-films" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Kevin B. Lee’s</a> Press Play video tribute to Roger’s Sight & Sound Critics Poll selections. Recorded at Ebertfest 2012 and featuring the voices of contributors to the Far-Flung Correspondents and The Demanders<br><br></figcaption></figure> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“He saw, and felt, and described the movies more effectively, more cinematically, and more warmly than just about anyone writing about anything. Even his pans had a warmth to them. Even when you disagreed with Roger you found yourself imagining the movie he saw, and loved (or hated) more than you did.</p> <p>“I came late to film criticism in Chicago, after writing about the theater. Roger loved the theater. His was a theatrical personality: a raconteur, a spinner of dinner-table stories, a man who was not shy about his accomplishments. But he made room in that theatrical, improbable, outsized life for others.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-04-04/entertainment/chi-roger-ebert-talking-pictures-20130404_1_roger-ebert-richard-roeper-screenings" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michael Phillips</a>, Chicago Tribune</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“Ebert enjoyed his status as the world’s most famous film critic but did not believe it was fully deserved. When I wrote an article calling him the finest film critic we will ever see, he sent me an email telling me off. ‘I am not the best film critic in the world,’ he wrote. ‘Though I might be the hardest-working.’ He was right on the second count and wrong on the first.</p> <p>“His rules for writing were simple and obvious to anyone who knew him: never be dull, never be dishonest and never miss a deadline. This is what he taught me about film criticism and this is what he taught me about life.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/business/media/roger-eberts-legacy-as-a-relentless-empire-builder.html?smid=fb-share&_r=1&" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scott Jordan Harris</a>, Far-Flung Correspondent, The Telegraph</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“I grew up in Kansas City and Dallas in the seventies and eighties. To put it mildly, these were not film towns. They had precious few art-house theaters. Roger Ebert’s review show with Gene Siskel, which ran on PBS and then in syndication under various titles, was my gateway into cinematic worlds I might not have otherwise explored, and that road led to my becoming a film and TV critic. Siskel and Ebert had as much to do with stoking my interest in films and film criticism as anyone I knew personally. Maybe more.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2013/04/seitz-roger-ebert-tv-legacy.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Matt Zoller Seitz</a>, Vulture.com</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“Fast-forward to my adolescent years. Roger and Gene (in color) were on Channel 11, the same channel that satiated my love of Abbott and Costello, Douglas Sirk and Yankees baseball. Roger had also become syndicated in the New York newspaper, so I could finally partake of his prose. It read as if he were in the room with me, having a conversation. Roger Ebert was educating me about foreign films, arty-fartsy fare and blockbusters. But he was also telling me a story. There was no stuffy pretense to his words; he wrote in a relaxed, engaging style I wanted to emulate. This was odd at first, since I usually sided with Siskel. But great writing doesn’t need to be agreed with to be admired or even cherished. I had found my writer idol.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://odienator.blogspot.com/2013/04/roger-and-me.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Odie Henderson</a>, Demander, RogerEbert.com contributor</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <div class="wp-block-image"> <figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="500" height="421" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/for-roger-blog1-thumb-500x421-60809.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-215237" style="width:450px"/></figure></div> <p>“But after I met him, I, surprisingly, admired the man more than the critic. What an awesome human being! He was so kind and caring, always listening, always watching. He knew he had the power to touch people’s lives, and he did so as often as he could, and with such humbleness. For instance, what need did this man have to give people around the world a chance to speak up, on his blog?</p> <div class="wp-block-image"> <figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="500" height="385" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/rekrishna-thumb-500x385-60812-1.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-215238" style="width:450px"/></figure></div> <p>“What need did he have to contact me, saying he “liked your mind and style”? He did it as a simple act of kindness, but it profoundly changed my life. But “my Ebert story” is one for an other day. Today, I don’t feel like it. In a nutshell, with his infinite kindness and generosity, he changed my life in more ways than anyone will ever know.</p> <p>“He was the only person who made me feel good about being myself.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://krishnabalashenoi.wordpress.com/2013/04/08/thank-you-roger/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Krishna Shenoi</a>, Far-Flung Correspondent</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“Of the entries included on the [Microsoft Cinemania CD-ROM] disc, the ones by Roger were the longest and most detailed. Maltin wrote capsules and Kael’s pieces were the edited-down versions of her ‘New Yorker’ reviews, originally contained in ‘5001 Nights at the Movies.’ Roger’s prose was instantly accessible and inviting. He seemed uninterested in infallibility (something Kael would thrive on, clearly having enjoyed publishing what she saw as final words on her subjects). He came off as a super-knowledgeable guy who happened to want to simply talk movies with you. He would never judge you for botching a phrase in English, I thought to myself — only for being untrue to your gut feeling. I took immediate comfort in that; one that later allowed me to make my own tentative attempts of writing criticism in English.”</p> <p>— <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/memoriam" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Michał Oleszczyk</a>, Far-Flung Correspondent, Krakow, Poland</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>ldquo;On one of their many lively talk show appearances during that era, Gene paused in between trading playful barbs to confess that what he envied most about Roger was his writing ability. Gene was right: Ebert was better. And whether he was reviewing Cries and Whispers for the Sun-Times or jousting with cinephiles on CompuServe, the agility of his prose was the same. Many writers have linked Roger’s loss of his voice with his use of the Internet, probably because Roger made the connection many times himself. But he had created his own virtual forum at least as early as 1995 or 1996, a pioneer in online criticism and communication. I joined CompuServe briefly around then. Sparring directly with Ebert was fun. With the proto-trolls who prowled the forum spouting venom and lunacy, not so much. After a few months I wrote Roger an email, politely telling him that I was leaving. Unexpectedly he replied: ‘I’ll miss you!’ He added that there was ‘a lot of silliness’ online, but that he also found enough value in the virtual realm to stick around.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://themanfromporlock.blogspot.com/2013/04/roger-remembrance.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Craig Simpson</a>, The Man from Porlock</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“The irony is that it all feels so personally sad. It feels so personally, profoundly awful and unfair, and I feel it with the grief nerves, not just the admiration nerves, because people whose books you destroy from overuse as a 16-year-old, you will grieve when they die as if you knew them, whether they are novelists or critics. But still, after all that, I was doing all right until I remembered that he’s not going to write about any more movies. And I’m still not ready for that.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2013/04/04/176273118/remembering-roger-ebert" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Linda Holmes</a>, NPR</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“Because I was 19, I took this as an invitation to keep bothering Ebert, and over the next two years, I emailed him regularly, with questions about my career, with movie reviews I’d written and hoped he would offer tips on, with requests for advice on writing, on life, on the tough job market that awaited me upon graduation. Ebert wrote back to every single one, with lengthy and heartfelt missives that were far more than a snot-nosed kid clearly getting off on Knowing Roger Ebert deserved. I have no idea why he did it. He told me ‘that this is important to you as it is, that’s a very large percentage of what you need, really.’ He emphasized that such ephemera like ‘career’ and ‘success’ were mostly beside the point. ‘Just write, get better, keep writing, keep getting better. It’s the only thing you can control.’”</p> <p>— <a href="http://deadspin.com/5482198/my-roger-ebert-story" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Will Leitch</a>, Deadspin</p> <div class="wp-block-image"> <figure class="aligncenter size-full is-resized"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="500" height="333" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_9777-thumb-500x333-60776.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-215239" style="width:450px"/></figure></div> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> </div> <div class="wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow"> <p>“Dear Roger:</p> <p>“I’m not going to pretend that we were close; nonetheless, you were my friend. You were generous and supportive, and I never properly expressed to you how much your generosity and support meant to me. You were the only person I’ve ever asked for advice.</p> <p>“When I learned that you’d died, I had just filed a review for you website. I was about to start wrapping up one for this site — a pan of ‘Simon Killer.’ I no longer feel like working on that review. I don’t feel like writing about bad movies at all. I want to write about good movies and good people.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://mubi.com/notebook/posts/dear-roger" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ignatiy Vishnevetsky</a>, “Ebert Presents At the Movies,” MUBI.com</p> <p></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p></p> <p>Roger reads Mike Royko’s review of “<a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19700101/REVIEWS/708110301/1023" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Beyond the Valley of the Dolls</a>”:</p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe loading="lazy" title="Roger Ebert remembers Mike Royko (1999)" width="500" height="375" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/s5vGBnrcjdQ?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe> </div></figure> <p></p> <p></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p></p> <p>“It’s been five days since the world found out about Roger Ebert’s death. Writers have been competing in the eloquence of their tributes, and even though I am not one to judge the particular way a person mourns, I have found certain aspects of this deluge rather off-putting. I simply think it an incongruent way to mourn the death and celebrate the life of a man who despised cant and abhorred schmaltz (though he enjoyed having fawning admirers)… Roger knew the meaning of the phrase “too much of a good thing.” He was a measured man, who kept things simple. He loved the movies, he loved his wife, he loved his family, and he loved his friends. He was a kind and generous soul, who lived a full and happy life. He will be missed. Every day. /eom”</p> <p>— <a href="http://blogs.indiewire.com/pressplay/roger-ebert-end-of-message" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ali Arikan</a>, Far-Flung Correspondent, Dipnot.tv, PressPlay</p> <p></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p></p> <p>“Roger believed fervently in standing up, especially when it came to workers’ rights. Back in the ’80s, during the height of the politically reactionary Reagan era, he would proudly identify himself as a ‘card-carrying member of SDS.’ (Not sure, though, whether Roger hewed to the original Port Huron statement, or ‘the compromised second draft,’ as the Dude dismissed it in ‘The Big Lebowski.’)</p> <p>“His union sympathies began at an early age. His father, Walter, worked as an electrician, and Roger remained a member of the Newspaper Guild throughout his career — though after he became an independent contractor, he probably could have opted out. He famously stood with the Guild in 2004, when he wrote to then publisher John Cruickshank that ‘it would be with a heavy heart that I would go on strike against my beloved Sun-Times, but strike I will if a strike is called.’”</p> <p>— Laura Emerick, Roger’s Chicago Sun-Times editor</p> <p></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p></p> <p>“It would not be a stretch to say that Mr. Ebert was the best-known film reviewer of his generation, and one of the most trusted. The force and grace of his opinions propelled film criticism into the mainstream of American culture. Not only did he advise moviegoers about what to see, but also how to think about what they saw.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/05/movies/roger-ebert-film-critic-dies.html?nl=movies&emc=edit_fm_20130405&_r=0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">New York Times</a>, obit</p> <p></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p></p> <p>“I’ve long believed that the job of the daily reviewer is a very tough one. Ebert writes, in the introduction to his 2006 anthology of his work, ‘Awake in the Dark,’ of seeing ‘three movies during a routine workday,’ and, according to Douglas Martin’s obituary in the Times, Ebert ‘said he saw 500 films a year and reviewed half of them.’ Some movies elicit passionate exultation; others, passionate revulsion. Those movies that repel you are the hardest to write about, and, for many critics, that’s the majority of movies. That’s where Ebert’s unique temperament, his humanistic world view, comes into play.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/movies/2013/04/roger-ebert-the-critic.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Richard Brody</a>, The Front Row</p> <p></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p></p> <p>“But his death should not be taken as yet another occasion to lament the decline of movies or the decay of movie criticism. The day before he died, Roger announced that he was taking a ‘leave of presence’ necessitated by the reappearance of his cancer, and even though the message was a farewell, it was also full of plans for the future: the redesign of his Web site; the kick-start of the latest iteration of his television show; the refocusing of his energies on the films he most wanted to write about.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/06/movies/ebert-was-a-critic-whose-sting-was-salved-by-caring.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A.O. Scott</a>, New York Times</p> <p></p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>A video remembrance from <a href="http://vimeo.com/63380511" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Nelson Carvajal:</a></p> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-vimeo wp-block-embed-vimeo wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> <iframe loading="lazy" title="VIDEO: In Memory of Roger Ebert [1942-2013]" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/63380511?dnt=1&app_id=122963" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; fullscreen; picture-in-picture; clipboard-write"></iframe> </div></figure> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“… [Friends] called to express their sympathies: ‘It’s like Ebert stuck two thumbs up your ass and then had a tug of war with himself.’”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.rogerebert.com/cast-and-crew/alan-zweibel" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alan Zweibel</a>, , author and co-screenwriter of “<a href="http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/north-1994">North</a>”</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“I noticed how much Ebert could put across in a limited space. He didn’t waste time clearing his throat. ‘They meet for the first time when she is in her front yard practicing baton-twirling,’ begins his review of ‘Badlands.’ Often, he managed to smuggle the basics of the plot into a larger thesis about the movie, so that you don’t notice the exposition taking place: ‘“Broadcast News” is as knowledgeable about the TV news-gathering process as any movie ever made, but it also has insights into the more personal matter of how people use high-pressure jobs as a way of avoiding time alone with themselves.’ The reviews start off in all different ways, sometimes with personal confessions, sometimes with sweeping statements. One way or another, he pulls you in. When he feels strongly, he can bang his fist in an impressive way. His review of ‘Apocalypse Now’ ends thus: ‘The whole huge grand mystery of the world, so terrible, so beautiful, seems to hang in the balance.’”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2013/04/learning-from-ebert.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Alex Ross</a>, The New Yorker</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“The more Roger became a prisoner of his body, the more he seemed to escape into his rich and sophisticated mind. By the agreement of almost everyone I know, his writing in these last years was among the best he’d ever done, more personal and expansive, marked by a still-astonishing rate of productivity. He wrote a wonderful memoir, close in its deceptively profound, plainspoken way to two of the writers Roger most admired: Charles Dickens and Samuel Johnson. And indeed, Roger was nothing if not an Anglophile: Among the least known books he authored is a slender volume called ‘The Perfect London Walk,’ an instructional travel book that, having taken the journey it maps, I can assure you is a rare case of truth in titling.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://variety.com/2013/film/opinion/roger-ebert-dead-variety-remembers-1200333601/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Scott Foundas</a>, Variety</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“I started this blog in May, and it has enriched my life. I have been astonished by the high quality of the comments received. I have also been educated, amused, moved, corrected, encouraged. I personally read all the comments that are submitted, and after four months I have received not one obscene message, not one illiterate message, not one hostile message. Those few comments I have not published were not dumb or offensive, but simply things like well-wishes that I didn’t think most readers would be interested in.</p> <p>“Your comments have provided me with the best idea of my readers that I have ever had, and you are the readers I have dreamed of. I was writing to you before I was sure you were there. You are thoughtful, engaged, fair, and often the authors of eloquent prose. You take the time to craft comments of hundreds of words. Frequently you are experts, and generous enough to share your knowledge.”</p> <p>— <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/confessions-of-a-blogger" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Roger remembers</a>, how he fell in love with blogging</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“Even with his illness he continued to write. And the writing (and how much of it there is to read!) is what will keep Ebert a titan, alongside Pauline Kael and Andrew Sarris, who died last June. Ebert worked in a separate realm (and city) from Kael’s and Sarris’s rivalries and coteries and seemingly endless word counts. In print, Ebert practiced criticism with vivid clarity. A writer I know once told me he didn’t read Ebert because he get could a plot summary anywhere. It’s true that a typical Ebert review contains mostly plot synopsis, but it’s mostly plot synopsis the way diamonds are mostly coal.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/73213/the-peoples-critic-remembering-roger-ebert" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Wesley Morris</a>, Grantland</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“In honor of Roger Ebert’s immense, diverse body of work, here are fifteen great quotes and passages from his writing — from pans to effusive praise to touching blog posts and even recipes. These aren’t necessarily his most definitive reviews or passages, and yet each one evokes exactly what he did so well in every bit of writing, no matter how banal, grand, or universal the subject.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2013/04/15-roger-ebert-passages.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bilge Ebiri</a>, Vulture.com: “15 Roger Ebert Passages That Epitomize His Writing”</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <figure class="wp-block-image alignfull size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="465" height="335" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/ebert-captioned-cartoon-thumb-465x335-60786.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-215242"/></figure> <p>— <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/cartoonists/2013/04/roger-eberts-caption-contest-entries.html#slide_ss_0=1" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bob Mankoff</a>, The New Yorker — Best of Ebert’s Cartoon Contest Captions</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“As a friend, Roger would send quick and clever emails in conspiratorial tones and longer ones that were warm and encouraging. I’ve never had an actual conversation with Roger, because cancer sadly claimed his ability to speak before our paths crossed; instead, he knew how to convey a sense of connection with a genuine, direct look in his eyes. […]</p> <p>“Once he was no longer able to speak, he turned his blog into an outpouring of musings on every topic imaginable, from alcoholism to atheism. In some ways, I actually enjoyed his writings on subjects outside of film even more. They reflected a curiosity, a yearning to be a citizen of the world rather than just a big fish in a particular pond.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=176279952" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Christy Lemire</a>, Associated Press, “Ebert Presents At the Movies”</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“But I still have him in the form of the finest and highest standard of what it means to be a journalist and critic. All my life, Roger Ebert has always been the bar I’ve tried to reach. I never will. But his example has made me stronger through failure.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://ihnatko.com/2013/04/04/roger/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Andy Ihnatko</a>, Sun-Times tech columnist</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“Roger took me on from just about the start of my career on the internet, 15 years ago. He used to be the star writer for Yahoo! Internet Life. The Hot Button, as it once was known, and roughcut.com, as it once existed, got a lot of praise from him on those pages. He called my column ‘gossip of the highest order’ and that compliment stuck in my craw for… well, it still does. It still comes to mind more often than I wish it would.</p> <p>“As we developed more of a relationship, it got more complicated. I can’t say we were close. There was always an arms length. But there was always a big smile and a hug from Chaz and a moment taken from his busy schedule. A few minutes at TIFF the first year he returned after his throat surgery … he wasn’t being brave … he was living. No giving up. And professionally, he was very generous with me.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://moviecitynews.com/category/mcn-blogs/the-hot-blog/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Poland</a>, Movie City News</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“‘Most Americans don’t understand the First Amendment, don’t understand the idea of freedom of speech, and don’t understand that it’s the responsibility of the citizen to speak out,’ he said. […]</p> <p>He also defended his own right to speak out:</p> <p>“I write op-ed columns for the Chicago Sun-Times, and people send me e-mails saying, ‘You’re a movie critic. You don’t know anything about politics.’ Well, you know what, I’m 60 years old, and I’ve been interested in politics since I was on my daddy’s knee… I know a lot about politics.’”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.progressive.org/roger-ebert-remembered" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Matthew Rothschild</a>, The Progressive</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“Roger has immensely influenced me since I got acquainted with him through his reviews, and he taught me a lot about how I should think and analyze movies. As a guy diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, movies came to me as the useful tool for communication, and I have tried to communicate with others through good movies and my reviews written about them. Roger showed me the good examples of how to do that…”</p> <p>— <a href="http://kaist455.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/remembering-roger-ebert/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Seyongyong Cho</a>, Far-Flung Correspondent (Seoul, South Korea)</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>Roger addresses the question: “In facing your own mortality, what final message would you leave for future generations?” — CPT12, <a target="_blank" href="http://video.cpt12.org/video/2364991008" rel="noreferrer noopener">Colorado Public Television</a></p> <p>“But then came the cancer, the removal of his jaw, the loss of his ability to eat (which he loved) and hold forth (which he loved as much). But this cursed event was in some respects a gift. As a film blogger, he was peerless, and he was, if anything, better on politics and social issues than on movies. On Twitter, he found the kind of direct line to the public he’d never had before. He loved the community, the interchanges both respectful and feisty, the instant feedback. What an irony: Lacking the power of his speech, he was still in his element.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.vulture.com/2013/04/tribute-david-edelstein-on-critic-roger-ebert.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">David Edelstein</a>, New York Magazine</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“… Roger is known for fighting for people that don’t have a voice. That’s why he’s so loved and will be missed by so many millions of people.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/darryl-roberts/roger-ebert-america-the-beautiful-review_b_3018656.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Darryl Roberts</a>, director of “<a href="http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080508/REVIEWS/277581949/1023" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">America the Beautiful</a>”</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“I’m tempted to say that if Roger had never written a word, he’d be known for bringing people together. But the writing was what made Roger Roger. He wasn’t just generous with those close to him. He told everyone a lot about himself — sometimes, I think, more than he knew — in the words he published: his reviews, his op-ed pieces, his interviews, his blog, his memoir — even his tweets.”</p> <p>— <a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/scanners/remembering-the-roger-i-knew" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Jim Emerson</a>, RogerEbert.com, Scanners</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“Did I mention he was a film critic?</p> <p>“Well, <em>who you are</em> is and isn’t what you officially do for a living. Ebert wasn’t working so hard to prove a point. He worked so hard because that’s who he was. Writing was like breathing to him.</p> <p>“No wonder this Champaign-Urbana transplant was the quintessential Chicagoan. We like to think of Chicago as the city that gets things done.</p> <p>“Ebert got things done. He got a whole hell of a lot of things done.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/chi-roger-ebert-appreciation-20130404,0,1991543.column" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Mark Caro</a>, Chicago Tribune</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> <p>“‘Start writing. Short sentences. Describe it. Just describe it.”</p> <p>“Roger said, when I asked him about writer’s block. Then he quoted the first three paragraphs of his ‘Persona’ review and told me that it had completely baffled him in 1967 but this strategy worked brilliantly. Tonight, as I sit here numbly staring at the screen with the hardest writer’s block I’ve ever known, I place my fingers on the keyboard to follow the advice of the greatest man I know, and just describe it.”</p> <p>— <a href="http://etheriel.wordpress.com/2013/04/05/for-roger/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Grace Wang</a>, Far-Flung Correspondent</p> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity"/> </div> </div> <div class="swp-content-locator"></div> </div> </article> </main> </div> </div> </div> <section id="subscribe" class="newsletter-subscribe bg-black mt-6 md:mt-12 py-12 lg:py-16 xl:py-20 w-full"> <div class="wrapper m-auto max-w-[1440px] px-8 text-center flex flex-col justify-center md:grid md:grid-cols-12"> <img width="80" height="86" class="mx-auto col-start-6 w-[80px] col-end-8 mb-5 lg:mb-6" loading="lazy" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/themes/roger-ebert/source/images/thumb-up-subscribe.svg" alt="subscribe icon"> <h4 class="text-white text-3xl mb-6 lg:mb-7 col-start-2 col-end-12 lg:col-start-3 lg:col-end-11">The best movie reviews, in your inbox</h4> <form action="https://rogerebert.us6.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=53d28014f6494e01798442219&amp;id=9ac9effdc7" class="mailing-list--form validate js--newsletter col-start-2 col-end-12 lg:col-start-3 lg:col-end-11" id="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" method="post" name="mc-embedded-subscribe-form" novalidate="" target="_blank"> <div class="mailing-list--input flex flex-col md:flex-row justify-center items-center"> <input class="py-3 px-6 w-full flex-auto mb-6 md:mb-auto md:mr-2.5 border border-primary-gold montserrat-500 montserrat-500 rounded-full text-white text-base md:text-lg bg-transparent required email" id="mce-EMAIL" name="EMAIL" placeholder="Enter your email" type="email" value=""> <input class="cursor-pointer py-3 px-6 border md:ml-2.5 border-primary-gold bg-primary-gold montserrat-700 uppercase text-base md:text-lg text-white rounded-full transition-colors hover:bg-secondary-bronze hover:border-secondary-bronze" id="mc-embedded-subscribe" name="subscribe" type="submit" value="Subscribe"> </div> <div id="mce-responses"> <div class="response" id="mce-error-response" style="display:none"></div> <div class="response" id="mce-success-response" style="display:none"></div> </div> </form> </div> </section> <footer id="site-footer" class="site-footer"> <div class="w-full max-w-[1440px] m-auto pt-6 pb-0 sm:pt-10 text-center sm:text-left px-2 sm:px-4 flex flex-col sm:grid sm:grid-cols-3 lg:grid-cols-6"> <div class="px-4"> <div class="font-heading-serif footer-menu-heading text-xl mb-1 mt-4 sm:min-h-[28px]"> Movie Reviews </div> <div class="footer-menu font-heading-sans text-sm"> <div class="menu-footer-movie-reviews-container"><ul id="menu-footer-movie-reviews" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-215041" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-215041"><a href="/great-movies">Roger’s Greatest Movies</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215042" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-215042"><a href="/reviews">All Reviews</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215043" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-215043"><a href="/cast-and-crew">Cast and Crew</a></li> </ul></div> </div> <div class="font-heading-serif footer-menu-heading text-xl mb-1 mt-4 sm:min-h-[28px]"> Ebert Prime </div> <div class="footer-menu font-heading-sans text-sm"> <div class="menu-footer-ebert-prime-container"><ul id="menu-footer-ebert-prime" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-215044" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-215044"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/prime">Sign Up</a></li> </ul></div> </div> </div> <div class="px-4"> <div class="font-heading-serif footer-menu-heading text-xl mb-1 mt-4 sm:min-h-[28px]"> Movie Genres </div> <div class="footer-menu font-heading-sans text-sm"> <div class="menu-footer-genres-1-container"><ul id="menu-footer-genres-1" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-214957" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-214957"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/action">Action</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215063" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-215063"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/amazon-prime">Amazon Prime</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215064" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-215064"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/comedy">Comedy</a></li> <li id="menu-item-214959" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-214959"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/documentary">Documentary</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215065" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-215065"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/drama">Drama</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215066" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-215066"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/horror">Horror</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215074" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-215074"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/hulu">Hulu</a></li> </ul></div> </div> </div> <div class="px-4"> <div class="font-heading-serif footer-menu-heading text-xl mb-1 mt-4 sm:min-h-[28px]"></div> <div class="footer-menu font-heading-sans text-sm"> <div class="menu-footer-genres-2-container"><ul id="menu-footer-genres-2" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-215068" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-215068"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/mystery">Mystery</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215069" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-215069"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/netflix">Netflix</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215070" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-215070"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/romance">Romance</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215071" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-215071"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/science-fiction">Science Fiction</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215072" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-215072"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/suspense">Suspense</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215073" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-genre menu-item-215073"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/genre/thriller">Thriller</a></li> </ul></div> </div> </div> <div class="px-4"> <div class="font-heading-serif footer-menu-heading text-xl mb-1 mt-4 sm:min-h-[28px]"> Blogs </div> <div class="footer-menu font-heading-sans text-sm"> <div class="menu-footer-blogs-1-container"><ul id="menu-footer-blogs-1" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-215045" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-215045"><a href="/reviews">Reviews</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215046" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-215046"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/category/chazs-blog">Chaz’s Journal</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215051" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-215051"><a href="/great-movies">Great Movies</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215049" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-215049"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/category/mzs">MZS</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215047" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-215047"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/category/far-flung-correspondents">Far Flungers</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215048" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-215048"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/category/interviews">Interviews</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215050" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-215050"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/category/tributes">Tributes</a></li> </ul></div> </div> </div> <div class="px-4"> <div class="font-heading-serif footer-menu-heading text-xl mb-1 mt-4 sm:min-h-[28px]"></div> <div class="footer-menu font-heading-sans text-sm"> <div class="menu-footer-blogs-2-container"><ul id="menu-footer-blogs-2" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-215057" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-215057"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/category/video-games">Video Games</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215052" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-215052"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/category/black-writers-week">Black Writers Week</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215053" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-215053"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/category/features">Features</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215056" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-215056"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/category/streaming">TV/Streaming</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215055" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-215055"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/category/roger-ebert">Roger Ebert</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215054" class="menu-item menu-item-type-taxonomy menu-item-object-category menu-item-215054"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/category/festivals">Festivals & Awards</a></li> </ul></div> </div> </div> <div class="px-4"> <div class="font-heading-serif footer-menu-heading text-xl mb-1 mt-4 sm:min-h-[28px]">Ebert Co.</div> <div class="footer-menu font-heading-sans text-sm"> <div class="menu-footer-ebert-co-container"><ul id="menu-footer-ebert-co" class="menu"><li id="menu-item-215058" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-215058"><a href="/about">About the site</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215059" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-215059"><a href="/contact-us">Contact us</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215060" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-215060"><a href="mailto:advertising@ebertdigital.com">Advertise with us</a></li> <li id="menu-item-215061" class="menu-item menu-item-type-custom menu-item-object-custom menu-item-215061"><a href="/contributors">Contributors</a></li> </ul></div> </div> <div class="flex gap-4 items-center justify-center sm:justify-start mt-4"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/RogerEbert" aria-label="Find us on Facebook"> <img loading="lazy" width="18" height="18" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/themes/roger-ebert/source/images/facebook.svg" alt="Facebook logo"> </a> <a href="" aria-label="Find us on YouTube"> <img loading="lazy" width="21" height="16" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/themes/roger-ebert/source/images/youtube.svg" alt="YouTube logo"> </a> <a href="" aria-label="Find us on Twitter (X)"> <img loading="lazy" width="18" height="18" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/themes/roger-ebert/source/images/x-icon.svg" alt="Twitter (X) logo"> </a> </div> </div> </div> <div class="w-full max-w-[1440px] m-auto gap-8 justify-center items-center py-10 pb-0 px-4 flex flex-col md:flex-row"> <div class="in-memoriam flex text-center md:text-right items-center md:items-end lg:items-center lg:justify-center flex-col lg:flex-row"> <span class="font-heading-serif text-2xl lg:mr-4">“Roger Ebert Loved Movies”</span> <a href="/memoriam" class="underline font-heading-sans text-sm">In Memoriam 1942 - 2013</a> </div> <img loading="lazy" width="398" height="136" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/themes/roger-ebert/source/images/roger-pic.png" alt="Photo of Roger Ebert In Memoriam"> </div> <div class="w-full flex flex-col sm:flex-row justify-center footer-terms text-center py-8 border-t border-line-grey font-heading-sans text-sm"> <span>Ebert Digital LLC © Copyright 2025</span> <div class="menu-footer-terms-container"><ul id="menu-footer-terms" class="w-full sm:w-auto sm:flex sm:ml-3"><li id="menu-item-214948" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-214948"><a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/terms-of-use">Terms of use</a></li> <li id="menu-item-214952" class="menu-item menu-item-type-post_type menu-item-object-page menu-item-privacy-policy menu-item-214952"><a rel="privacy-policy" href="https://www.rogerebert.com/privacy-policy">Privacy Policy</a></li> </ul></div> </div> </footer> </div> <script type="speculationrules"> {"prerender":[{"source":"document","where":{"and":[{"href_matches":"\/*"},{"not":{"href_matches":["\/wp-login.php","\/wp-admin\/*","\/*\\?*(^|&)_wpnonce=*","\/wp-content\/uploads\/*","\/wp-content\/*","\/wp-content\/plugins\/*","\/wp-content\/themes\/roger-ebert\/*"]}},{"not":{"selector_matches":"a[rel~=\"nofollow\"]"}},{"not":{"selector_matches":".no-prerender"}}]},"eagerness":"moderate"}]} </script> <script type="text/javascript">var algolia = {"debug":false,"application_id":"40M9V88SHV","search_api_key":"6a93834cc03da63576a3caf9b5c19c06","powered_by_enabled":false,"query":"","autocomplete":{"sources":[],"input_selector":"input[name='s']:not(.no-autocomplete):not(#adminbar-search)"},"indices":{"searchable_posts":{"name":"prod_wp_searchable_posts","id":"searchable_posts","enabled":true,"replicas":[]}}};</script><style id='core-block-supports-inline-css' type='text/css'> .wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-1{flex-wrap:nowrap;} </style> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/themes/roger-ebert/dist/js/main.min.js?ver=1743733620" id="main-js-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="social_warfare_script-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var socialWarfare = {"addons":[],"post_id":"215217","variables":{"emphasizeIcons":false,"powered_by_toggle":false,"affiliate_link":"https:\/\/warfareplugins.com"},"floatBeforeContent":""}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/plugins/social-warfare/assets/js/script.min.js?ver=4.5.4" id="social_warfare_script-js"></script> <script type="text/javascript" id="advanced-ads-pro/front-js-extra"> /* <![CDATA[ */ var advanced_ads_cookies = {"cookie_path":"\/","cookie_domain":""}; var advadsCfpInfo = {"cfpExpHours":"3","cfpClickLimit":"3","cfpBan":"7","cfpPath":"","cfpDomain":"www.rogerebert.com"}; /* ]]> */ </script> <script type="text/javascript" src="https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-content/plugins/advanced-ads-pro/assets/js/advanced-ads-pro.min.js?ver=2.28.0" id="advanced-ads-pro/front-js"></script> <script>window.advads_admin_bar_items = [{"title":"Advertising Wrapper Includes","type":"ad"},{"title":"Ad Wrapper","type":"placement"},{"title":"Top Leaderboard","type":"ad"},{"title":"Top Leaderboard","type":"placement"}];</script><script type="text/javascript"> var swp_nonce = "b849872678";var swpFloatBeforeContent = false; var swp_ajax_url = "https://www.rogerebert.com/wp-admin/admin-ajax.php"; var swp_post_id = "215217";var swpClickTracking = false;</script><script>!function(){window.advanced_ads_ready_queue=window.advanced_ads_ready_queue||[],advanced_ads_ready_queue.push=window.advanced_ads_ready;for(var d=0,a=advanced_ads_ready_queue.length;d<a;d++)advanced_ads_ready(advanced_ads_ready_queue[d])}();</script> </body> </html>