Ebert began his professional critic career in 1967, writing for the
Chicago Sun-Times. That same year, Ebert's first book, a history of the University of Illinois titled
Illini Century: One Hundred Years of Campus Life was published by the University's press.
In 1969, his review of
Night of the Living Dead was published in
Reader's Digest.
Ebert co-wrote the screenplay for the 1970 Russ Meyer film
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls and likes to joke about being responsible for the film, which was poorly received on its release but is now regarded as a cult classic. Ebert and Meyer also made
Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens,
Up!, and others, and were involved in the ill-fated Sex Pistols movie
Who Killed Bambi? In April 2010, Ebert posted his screenplay of "Who Killed Bambi?" aka "Anarchy in the UK" on his blog.Since the 1970s, Ebert has worked for the University of Chicago as a guest lecturer, teaching a night class on film. His fall 2005 class was on the works of the German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
In 1975, Ebert and Gene Siskel of the
Chicago Tribune began co-hosting a weekly film review television show,
Sneak Previews, which was locally produced by the Chicago public broadcasting station WTTW. The show was picked up by PBS in 1978 for national distribution. In 1982, the critics moved to a syndicated commercial television show named
At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and in 1986 they left to create
Siskel & Ebert & The Movies with Buena Vista Television (part of Disney). The duo was known for their "thumbs up/thumbs down" review summaries.When Siskel died in 1999, the producers retitled the show
Roger Ebert & the Movies with rotating co-hosts. In September 2000, fellow
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper became the permanent co-host and the show was renamed
At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper.
On January 31, 2009, Ebert was made an honorary life member of the Directors Guild of America during the group's annual awards ceremony.
Ebert ended his association with Disney in July 2008, after the studio indicated they wished to take
At the Movies in a new direction. He and Gene Siskel's widow, Marlene Iglitzen Siskel, still own the trademark phrase "Two Thumbs Up." On February 18, 2009, Ebert reported that he and Roeper would soon announce a new movie review program. Ebert reiterated this plan after Disney announced the last episode of the program would air in August 2010.
Style of critique and personal tastes
Ebert has described his critical approach to films as "relative, not absolute"; he reviews a film for what he feels will be its prospective audience, yet always with at least some consideration as to its value as a whole. He awards four stars to films of the highest quality, and generally a half star to those of the lowest unless he considers the film to be "artistically inept" and/or "morally repugnant", in which case it will receive no stars.
When you ask a friend if Hellboy is any good, you're not asking if it's any good compared to Mystic River, you're asking if it's any good compared to The Punisher. And my answer would be, on a scale of one to four, if Superman is four, then Hellboy is three and The Punisher is two. In the same way, if American Beauty gets four stars, then The United States of Leland clocks in at about two.
Ebert has emphasized that his star ratings have little meaning if not considered in the context of the review itself. Occasionally (as in his review of
Basic Instinct 2), Ebert's star rating may seem at odds with his written opinion. Ebert has acknowledged such cases, stating, "I cannot recommend the movie, but ... why the hell can't I? Just because it's godawful? What kind of reason is that for staying away from a movie? Godawful and boring,
that would be a reason." In August of 2004 Stephen King, in a column, criticized what he saw as a growing trend of leniency towards films from critics including Ebert. His main criticism was that films, citing
Spider-Man 2 as an example, were constantly given four star ratings that they did not deserve. In his review of
The Manson Family, Ebert gave the film three stars for achieving what it set out to do, but admitted that didn't count as a recommendation
per se. He similarly gave the Adam Sandler-starring remake of
The Longest Yard a positive rating of three stars, but in his review, which he wrote soon after attending the Cannes Film Festival, he recommended readers not see the film because they had access to more satisfying cinematic experiences. He also declined to give a star rating to
The Human Centipede, arguing that the rating system was "unsuited" to such a film: "Is the movie good? Is it bad? Does it matter? It is what it is and occupies a world where the stars don't shine."
Ebert has reprinted his starred reviews in movie guides. In his appearances on
The Howard Stern Show, he was frequently challenged to defend his ratings. Ebert stood by his opinions with one notable exception...when Stern pointed out that Ebert had given
The Godfather Part II a three-star rating in 1974, but had subsequently given
The Godfather Part III three and a half stars. Ebert later added
The Godfather Part II to his "Great Movies" list in October, 2008 stating that his original review has often been cited as proof of his "worthlessness" but he still hasn't changed his mind and wouldn't change a word of his original review.
Ebert has occasionally accused some films of having an unwholesome political agenda, and the word "fascist" accompanied more than one of Ebert's reviews of the law-and-order films of the 1970s such as
Dirty Harry. He is also suspicious of films that are passed off as art, but which he sees as merely lurid and sensational. Ebert has leveled this charge against such films as
The Night Porter.Ebert's reviews can clash with the overall reception of movies, as evidenced by his one-star review of the celebrated 1986 David Lynch film
Blue Velvet ("marred by sophomoric satire and cheap shots... in a way, [director Lynch's] behavior is more sadistic than the Hopper character"). He was dismissive of the popular 1988 Bruce Willis action film
Die Hard "inappropriate and wrongheaded interruptions reveal the fragile nature of the plot"), while his positive review of 1997's
Cruise Control ("Movies like this embrace goofiness with an almost sensual pleasure") is the only one accounting for that film's 2% approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes critical website.
Ebert often makes heavy use of mocking sarcasm, especially when reviewing movies he considers bad. At other times he is direct, famously in his review of the 1994 Rob Reiner comedy
North, which he concluded by writing that:
I hated this movie. Hated hated hated hated hated this movie. Hated it. Hated every simpering stupid vacant audience-insulting moment of it. Hated the sensibility that thought anyone would like it. Hated the implied insult to the audience by its belief that anyone would be entertained by it.
Ebert's reviews are also often characterized by dry wit. In January 2005, when Rob Schneider insulted
Los Angeles Times movie critic Patrick Goldstein, who panned his movie
European Gigolo, by commenting that the critic was unqualified because he had never won the Pulitzer Prize, Ebert intervened by stating that, as a Pulitzer winner, he was qualified to review the film, and bluntly told Schneider, "Your movie sucks." Ebert and Schneider would later mend fences regarding this.
(See "Personal life" below.)Ebert has been known to comment on films using his own Roman Catholic upbringing as a point of reference, and has been critical of films he believes are grossly ignorant of or insulting to Catholicism, such as
Stigmata and
Priest, though he has given favorable reviews of controversial films with themes or references to Jesus and Catholicism, including
The Passion of the Christ,
The Last Temptation of Christ, and to Kevin Smith's religious satire
Dogma. However, Ebert identifies himself today as anagnostic.
He often includes personal anecdotes in his reviews when he considers them relevant. He has occasionally written reviews in the forms of stories, poems, songs, scripts, open letters, or imagined conversations. He has written many essays and articles exploring the field of film criticism in depth.
Ebert has been accused by some horror movie fans of bourgeois elitism in his dismissal of what he calls "Dead Teenager Movies". Ebert has clarified that he does not disparage horror movies as a whole, but that he draws a distinction between films like
Nosferatu and
The Silence of the Lambs, which he regards as "masterpieces", and films which he feels consist of nothing more than groups of teenagers being killed off with the exception of one survivor to populate a sequel.
Ebert has indicated that his favorite film is
Citizen Kane, although he has expressed ambivalence in naming this film in answer to this question, preferring to emphasize it as "the most important" film. His favorite actor is Robert Mitchum, and his favorite actress is Ingrid Bergman.Ebert has emphasized his general distaste for "top ten" lists, and all movie lists in general, but due to his participation in the 2002 Sight and Sound Directors' poll, he has revealed his top-ten films (alphabetically):
Aguirre, Wrath of God;
Apocalypse Now;
Citizen Kane;
Dekalog;
La dolce vita;
The General;
Raging Bull;
A Space Odyssey;
Tokyo Story; and
Vertigo.
Ebert has long been an admirer of director Werner Herzog, whom he supported through many years when Herzog's popularity had been eclipsed. He conducted an onstage public "conversation" with Herzog at the Telluride Film Festival in 2004, after a screening of Herzog's film Invincible at the Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival. Herzog dedicated his 2008 film
Encounters at the End of the World to Ebert, and Ebert responded with a heartfelt public letter of gratitude.
In 2005, answering a question from a reader, Ebert opined that video games are not art, and are inferior to traditional art forms created through authorial control, such as film and literature, stating, "video games can be elegant, subtle, sophisticated, challenging and visually wonderful", but "the nature of the medium prevents it from moving beyond craftsmanship to the stature of art". This inspired a variety of angry letters from video game enthusiasts. Writer Clive Barker also defended video games as an art form, stating that they have the power to move people, that the views of book or film critics are less important than those of the consumers experiencing them, and that Ebert's were prejudiced. Ebert responded that the charge of prejudice was merely a euphemism for disagreement, that merely being moved by an experience does not denote it as artistic, and that critics are also consumers. Ebert later defended his position in April 2010 in a blog post, saying, "No video gamer now living will survive long enough to experience the medium as an art form." He has also stated in the blog posts that he has never found a video game "worthy of (his) time," and thus has never played one. Cracked.com writer Robert Brockway responded by opining that this makes Ebert unqualified to judge video games, and that debating Ebert on such a topic was comparable to "a structured philosophical debate on the importance of pacifism and restraint with a rabid badger: Your opponent is not only unqualified from the start, but it’s obviously just out to attack you."
On 1 July 2010, Ebert published a new blog entry in response to the outcry he received from video gamers. In it, he admitted that his opinion was limited because of the small amount of video games he had played in his lifetime. He reflected about the reaction to his blog and his friends' subsequent attempts to show him games, and his reluctance to play games due to his lack of interest in the medium. He also admitted he had made a mistake in claiming video games would never be art. However, he still maintained his position regarding games as art.
Ebert stated in his August 18, 2010 "Answer Man" column that he was writing his memoirs.
Views on the film industry
Ebert is an outspoken opponent of the Motion Picture Association of America film rating system. He has repeatedly criticized their decisions regarding which movies are "suitable for children." For example,
Whale Rider and
School of Rock were both rated PG-13 (not recommended for children under the age of 13), while he thought both were inoffensive enough for schoolchildren and contained positive messages for that age group. In his review of
The Exorcist, Ebert said it was "stupefying" that the film received a rating of "R" from the MPAA instead of an "X" (suitable only for adults). He has frequently argued that the MPAA is more likely to give an "R" rating for mild sexual content than for highly violent content. In his review of
The Passion of the Christ, he was quoted as saying:"I said the film is the most violent I have ever seen. The MPAA's R rating is definitive proof that the organization either will never give the NC-17 rating for violence alone, or was intimidated by the subject matter. If it had been anyone other than Jesus up on that cross, I have a feeling that NC-17 would have been automatic."
He also frequently laments that cinemas outside major cities are "booked by computer from Hollywood with no regard for local tastes", making high-quality independent and foreign films virtually unavailable to most American moviegoers.
Ebert is a strong advocate for Maxivision 48, in which the movie projector runs at 48 frames per second, as compared to the usual 24 frames per second. He is opposed to the practice whereby theatres lower the intensity of their projector bulbs in order to extend the life of the bulb, arguing that this has little effect other than to make the film harder to see. Ebert has been skeptical of the recent resurgence of 3D effects in film, which he has found unrealistic and distracting.
Film and TV appearances
Ebert has provided DVD audio commentaries for several films, including
Citizen Kane,
Casablanca,
Dark City,
Floating Weeds,
Crumb, and
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (for which Ebert also wrote the screenplay, based on a story that he co-wrote with Russ Meyer). Ebert was also interviewed by Central Park Media for an extra feature on the DVD release of the anime film
Grave of the Fireflies.
On the day of the Academy Awards, Ebert and Roeper typically appear on the live pre-awards show,
An Evening at the Academy Awards: The Arrivals. This airs prior to the awards ceremony show, which also features red carpet interviews and fashion commentary. They also appear on the post-awards show entitled
An Evening at the Academy Awards: The Winners. Both shows are produced and aired by the American Broadcasting Company-owned Los Angeles station KABC-TV. This show also airs on WLS-TV as well as the network's other owned stations along with being syndicated to several ABC affiliates and other broadcasters outside the country. Ebert did not appear on the 2007 show for medical reasons.
In 1995, Ebert, along with colleague Gene Siskel, guest starred on an episode of the animated TV series
The Critic. In the episode, Siskel and Ebert split and each wants Jay as his new partner. The episode is a parody of the film
Sleepless in Seattle.
In 1996, Ebert appeared in "Pitch", a documentary by Canadian film makers Spencer Rice and Kenny Hotz.
In 2003, Ebert had a cameo appearance in the film
Abby Singer, in which he recited the white parasol monologue from
Citizen Kane.Roger Ebert founded his own film festival, Ebertfest, in his home town of Champaign, Illinois and is also a regular fixture at the Hawaii International Film Festival.
On May 4, 2010, Ebert was announced by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences as the Webby Person of the Year having taken to the Internet following his battle with cancer.