Life Itself

Roger Ebert, through his show At The Movies, was an early influence on my taste in watching movies. Through his show with Gene Siskel I was introduced to a number of films that probably would have escaped me as I didn't regularly read movies reviews as a grade school student. I suspect that his reviews of foreign films and documentaries were especially influential on my film viewing. Later I would read his movie guide books and probably 80% of the time we had the same opinions of a film. Thus as a fan, I was really looking forward to learning more about him from the documentary, Life Itself (2014), directed by Steve James, whose documentary Hoop Dreams was championed by Ebert. I suppose I ought to read his book as well. This was a very enjoyable and moving tribute to a man not without flaws, but who was known for being generous as well. (One story not included in the film relates to a nine year old Dana Stevens, who is now a film critic at Slate.com, asking for advice on how to become a film critic-he answered her letter and gave her advice). He had something of a renaissance once he got cancer. His activity on the internet increased as he sought solace in work. The fact that he died during the filming of this documentary added an element of melodrama to the film, but it chronicled his life well. I didn't realize how influential he was to Martin Scorsese one of the film directors he championed and I was amused to see the behind-the-scenes shenanigans with Siskel. Even more surprising was that Siskel at one time was a member of Hugh Hefner's entourage! An entertaining and fitting tribute to one of the most influential film critics of all-time.