Friday, April 05, 2013

The Passing of Roger Ebert, Movie Lover and Critic

Roger Ebert of Siskel and Ebert fame, passed away on Thursday, April 4, 2013.

Just two days before his death, Ebert had announced he was taking a "leave of presence" from his writing.

While I can only briefly speak of Ebert's impact on the art of moviemaking, personally, for me, Ebert elevated the art of movie reviewing. In some of his reviews he would weave classic literature into what may have seemed like a modern movie and make me appreciate it.

I remember waiting for the next Siskel and Ebert show because they were fearless in their joy and criticism of movies. Ultimately, a movie is a story and everyone loves a good story.

Only recently, I was lucky enough to have followed Ebert's Tweets on Twitter. His tribute to his friend and fellow critic, Gene Siskel was touching and powerful. Passion seemed to be Roger's middle name.

I appreciated the breadth of Ebert's movie reviews. Of course, anything Bollywood was important, too, and Ebert's scope of movie reviews always included international movies.

For example, in April 2012, he invited Nawazuddin Siddiqui, a Kahanni actor, to the Eberfest where Siddiqui's film, Patagis, would be shown.

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/1431566/Kahaani-actor-gets-special-invitation-from-Roger-Ebert

A quote from the article:

"Nawazuddin Siddiqui, the actor who lately made a resounding impact as an intelligence officer in Kahaani, is going places.

One of America's most avidly read film critics Roger Ebert has personally invited Nawazuddin to attend the Eberfest, Roger Ebert's annual film festival in Illinois, Chicago. 

The unassuming actor can't believe he actually got a call from Roger Ebert. "It took me a while to realize the invitation came from THE Roger Ebert. My film Patangis the only Indian entry in Ebert's festival. In fact I think it's the only Indian film that has ever been shown at this festival. That he's aware of my work is a big compliment." "


RIP Roger Ebert


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