Today marks the ninth anniversary of critic Roger Ebert’s tragic passing. One of the true giants of film criticism, together with fellow late critic Gene Siskel, Ebert paved the way for easily digestible, marketable film criticism with his famous “thumbs up/ thumbs down” gimmick. Without him, something like Rotten Tomatoes wouldn’t exist. But, beyond the gimmicks, Ebert was a brilliant writer of film criticism, with his Chicago Sun-Times reviews remaining brilliant reads decades after they were written. Name one director, and you’ll get a variety of answers. The same goes with actors/ actresses, but ask them to name a critic, and chances are they’ll name Roger Ebert. That’s how famous he was. Always a passionate defender of cinema, one wonders what his take on the streaming wars would be. Indeed, he was a tireless advocate for film and a truly inspiring figure to any of us who’ve tried our hand at film criticism over the years.
This episode of We Remember is written by Mathew Plale, narrated by Travis Hopson, edited by Juan Jimenez, and produced by Taylor James Johnson. Watch previous episodes below and let us know your fondest Roger Ebert memories in the comments!