Life itself roger ebert documentary
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Every time that I watch a film in the screening room here in Chicago, I always sit in the seat in front of where Roger used to sit. I never had the chance to meet the legend himself, but through watching the documentary, it’s as if I did.”
“Life Itself,” Steve James’s acclaimed documentary based on the best-selling 2011 memoir by legendary film critic Roger Ebert, won the Best Documentary prize at the 2015 Producer’s Guild of America award ceremony held at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on Saturday, January 24th, in Los Angeles.
Documentary master Steve James has put the pieces of Ebert’s life together with extraordinary fascination and vision."
- Owen Gleiberman, EW
"ENCHANTING AND INSPIRING. DOCUMENTARY MASTER STEVE JAMES HAS PUT THE PIECES OF EBERT’S LIFE TOGETHER WITH EXTRAORDINARY FASCINATION AND VISION."
- ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
"TREMENDOUSLY MOVING.
It is, as Ebert might say had he lived to see it, exactly what we go to the movies for — and easily earns two thumbs up"
- NY DAILY NEWS
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- NY DAILY NEWS
"Thumbs up."
- AP
"A moving tribute."
- USA TODAY
"Roger Ebert Gets the Two-Thumbs-Up Doc He Deserves."
- GQ
"A THRILLING TALE WITH UNFORGETTABLE CHARACTERS.
It gains its universal impact in smaller, earthier revelations."
- Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out NY
"RIVETING. James tells this unapologetic story with little sympathy, as per Ebert’s wishes, and a lot of passion—he wants the audience to really know who Roger Ebert was, and understand the importance of his work.
After reading a review that I didn't agree with, I even took particular pride in holding a different point of view. But so does his tendency to be petty and competitive over the screen time and fame he must share with Siskel. Ebert’s life contained as much melodrama, tragedy and uplift as any weepie movie he reviewed. Documentary master Steve James has put the pieces of Ebert’s life together with extraordinary fascination and vision."
- Owen Gleiberman, EW
" Unusually moving.
He extracted meaning from virtually every movie; a movie reviewed by Ebert wasn't just a movie, it became a vehicle for exploring our deepest emotions, aspirations, frustrations; a way of redefining our common humanity. James has done a wonderful job of telling a colorful life story."
- Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter
"Intensely emotional.
Ebert may not be fighting dragons or fording streams, but he demonstrates superhuman courage whenever he tries to drag his uncooperative body up a flight of steps. Any biographical documentary demands onscreen star quality, and this one has a hero and a heroine worth rooting for."
- Richard Corliss, Time
"A clear-eyed portrait of a complicated, Falstaffian figure.
It celebrates colorful characters, an indomitable spirit and a generous mind. Engrossing, unflinching, moving and comprehensive.
James’s empathetic-yet-unflinching profile provides the same kind of transformative power that its subject championed as one of the great powers of cinema. A paradoxical and vitally overflowing character emerges: a compassionate moralist with vast appetites, a raucous public performer whose confessional candor had a nearly religious purity."
- Richard Brody, The New Yorker
"PROFOUND.
Any biographical documentary demands onscreen star quality, and this one has a hero and a heroine worth rooting for."
- Richard Corliss, Time
"A clear-eyed portrait of a complicated, Falstaffian figure. On the contrary, his was an honest, almost heart- to-heart talk, in which he told us how he empathized with the characters, how he was drawn in by the plot, what details about the direction, the cinematography, the acting, the soundtrack had struck a particular chord with him.
But most importantly, he had this uncanny ability to put the movie in the context of "Life itself", to use the title of his book and of the recent documentary about his life.