Jim Brennan
VHS Member Old Skool
I read this Esquire article about Roger Ebert today. It made me think about how important he has been to cinema. But even more importantly to me, the impact he has had on my life, my work and my aspirations. So I thought I would write this.
Mr Ebert,
I remember seeing you in the early 80's when you and Gene Siskel were still on PBS. I enjoyed the show because it talked about one of my favorite things: movies. It was also refreshing to see opposing viewpoints, so vehemently asserted and defended by two intelligent men who never let the argument get the best of them. That was a stark contrast to the Gene Shalits and Rona Barrets of the world. Great things can come from conflict. Nothing comes from pontification. So thank you for that.
Today, as I watch the DVD of Citizen Kane (again), with your commentary (again), I am reminded of how much you have given me personally. You made movies matter to me. You showed me that the choices that are made in good films are not arbitrary. You taught me to look deeper than whether I "like" something. You taught me that I can appreciate something, even if it isn't my taste, because you gave me something to hold onto. So thank you for that as well.
Your commentaries are like a master class in filmmaking. As someone who has chosen that vocation, the lessons, insights and tidbits that you offer are invaluable. Your commentary on both Kane and Casablanca should be required for any student of film. And as a working, but still aspiring filmmaker, I thank you for that information.
Your reviews, as one might expect, do not always mirror my own opinions, yet I still find them valuable. They are critical, in the best and purest sense of the term. Criticism, at it's finest, should never be self serving and isolated. It should provide commentary, perspective and understanding of the piece. You do that for me. You seem to abandon preconceptions about what a movie should be, and dissect it for what it is. That is a rare trait. Thanks.
As someone who constantly strives to understand the medium I am drawn to, I have found your books to be both entertaining and full of knowledge. They have exposed me to invest hours of my life into films that I otherwise would not have seen. I value my time, because I know that it is limited, and I am not easily drawn into things I am unsure of. You have been an assertive, but never judgmental or intrusive, tour guide. And your advice has been well-taken. Thank you.
Above all else I want to thank you for your unabashed, unapologetic and unpretentious love of film. I do not pretend to know your thoughts on the matter, but you have fostered in me a belief that film can be as artistic as a Rembrandt, as deep as Kierkegaard, and as iconic as Warhol, but it is equally valuable when it is simply the entertainment of a roller coaster. That the pure joy of spending two hours with strangers, alone and yet somehow connected in the dark, to see something that merely makes you smile, laugh or cry is a worthwhile way to invest those hours.
I am in your debt.
Mr Ebert,
I remember seeing you in the early 80's when you and Gene Siskel were still on PBS. I enjoyed the show because it talked about one of my favorite things: movies. It was also refreshing to see opposing viewpoints, so vehemently asserted and defended by two intelligent men who never let the argument get the best of them. That was a stark contrast to the Gene Shalits and Rona Barrets of the world. Great things can come from conflict. Nothing comes from pontification. So thank you for that.
Today, as I watch the DVD of Citizen Kane (again), with your commentary (again), I am reminded of how much you have given me personally. You made movies matter to me. You showed me that the choices that are made in good films are not arbitrary. You taught me to look deeper than whether I "like" something. You taught me that I can appreciate something, even if it isn't my taste, because you gave me something to hold onto. So thank you for that as well.
Your commentaries are like a master class in filmmaking. As someone who has chosen that vocation, the lessons, insights and tidbits that you offer are invaluable. Your commentary on both Kane and Casablanca should be required for any student of film. And as a working, but still aspiring filmmaker, I thank you for that information.
Your reviews, as one might expect, do not always mirror my own opinions, yet I still find them valuable. They are critical, in the best and purest sense of the term. Criticism, at it's finest, should never be self serving and isolated. It should provide commentary, perspective and understanding of the piece. You do that for me. You seem to abandon preconceptions about what a movie should be, and dissect it for what it is. That is a rare trait. Thanks.
As someone who constantly strives to understand the medium I am drawn to, I have found your books to be both entertaining and full of knowledge. They have exposed me to invest hours of my life into films that I otherwise would not have seen. I value my time, because I know that it is limited, and I am not easily drawn into things I am unsure of. You have been an assertive, but never judgmental or intrusive, tour guide. And your advice has been well-taken. Thank you.
Above all else I want to thank you for your unabashed, unapologetic and unpretentious love of film. I do not pretend to know your thoughts on the matter, but you have fostered in me a belief that film can be as artistic as a Rembrandt, as deep as Kierkegaard, and as iconic as Warhol, but it is equally valuable when it is simply the entertainment of a roller coaster. That the pure joy of spending two hours with strangers, alone and yet somehow connected in the dark, to see something that merely makes you smile, laugh or cry is a worthwhile way to invest those hours.
I am in your debt.
