Roger Ebert back to print

Here is Ebert @ his best.

"More recently, Roger came to my defense when I got into a spitting match with comedy second-banana Rob Schneider, who took out a series of full-page ads in the trades deriding me after I made a sarcastic quip about his film, "Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo," saying it was "sadly overlooked at Oscar time because apparently nobody had the foresight to invent a category for Best Running Penis Joke Delivered by a Third-Rate Comic." Schneider blasted me in his ads, saying I'd never won a Pulitzer Prize either. This inspired Ebert to end his review of "European Gigolo," by saying: "As chance would have it, I have won the Pulitzer Prize, and so I am qualified. Speaking in my official capacity as a Pulitzer Prize winner, Mr. Schneider, your movie sucks." "

David, yes, Ebert wrote about Birth of a Nation as a great movie, and it's an excellent review. Here it is:
rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030330/REVIEWS08/303300301/1023

Here's what I think makes Ebert a great reviewer: He's humble before the films he watches, and he focuses on craftsmanship. There is no genre he will dismiss out-of-hand. In fact, he always seems to succeed at getting into the head of a film's intended audience (as opposed to casting judgment as The Great Ebert, Pulizer-Prize Winning Film Reviewer). He can give a thumbs-up to a slasher flick, if it really is a great example of the genre. He doesn't explain why HE liked (or disliked) the movie, really; he tries to explain why YOU will like (or dislike) the movie, if you're a certain type of filmgoer. It's good to hear his illness hasn't ended his career.

Many thanks for the links to Ebert's review of The Birth of a Nation. I've seen the movie at least a couple of times, and have always been astonished by the cinematography of the Civil War battle scenes -- esp. when one remembers that, in 1915, the Civil War was still within living memory, and in fact was a more recent event at that time than World War II is now for us.

Griffith's movie is one important example that contradicts the often-made assertion that history is written by the victors. The American Civil War is one historical event whose history -- at least the history that made a lasting popular impression -- was to a great extent written by the losers.

Dale, thanks for the links. I just read the exchange about the 'torture porn' film, "Chaos." Ebert's conclusion, that the filmmakers ought to take a moral stance about evil and not just stare at it "reflecting it" as a slice of life, reminds me of one of my favorite Alfred Hitchcock quotes - "Other directors make films that are slices of life, mine are slices of cake."

Hitchcock certainly dealt with evil and violence in his films, but he also did it in a way that illuminated rather than obscuring. That's why films like "Chaos" are long gone while Hitchcock's films great films have lasted.