Roger Ebert documentary "Life Itself"

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by jupiter8, Jul 7, 2014.

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  1. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    Has anyone else seen it yet? Thoughts? I watched it on PPV this weekend and really enjoyed it-what an amazing story-his life, relationship with Gene Siskel, health struggles, and touching relationship with his wife Chaz--definitely check it out if you are a fan of his.

    http://www.magpictures.com/lifeitself/
     
  2. ssmith3046

    ssmith3046 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Arizona desert
    I want to see this. I miss his reviews a lot.
     
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  3. Scooterpiety

    Scooterpiety Ars Gratia Artis

    Location:
    Oregon
    I saw the trailer when I went to "A Hard Day's Night" a few days ago. Definitely will see it.
     
  4. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Saw it over the weekend and thought it was very, very sad. It's so hard to see Ebert in the last few months of his life, missing most of his lower jaw, and struggling to walk and communicate in the hospital. All the details of his life beforehand were terrific, and I loved his many debates and critical comments with Gene Siskel over the years. Roger was also a terrific writer, very passionate and articulate about his opinions, and the details of his childhood in Life Itself are really heartwarming and well-told.

    But the movie is a tough watch. Trailer here:



    BTW, the documentary is very well-shot and well-edited, which makes it a much better experience than it might otherwise be. I wish it could've had about 20 minutes' less of Ebert's last five years and his deteriorating condition... but having said that, I salute him for having the courage to let people see him as he was, and also that he embraced social media so early on and let Twitter and his web blog become his voice after his physical voice was taken away from him.

    I wish they had done one thing: Ebert told Howard Stern in an interview about 10 years ago that he was convinced that both he and Siskel had gotten weird forms of cancer because they both worked for many years in the WBBM-TV building in Chicago, which was later found to be built on top of a toxic waste dump and destroyed. He claimed at the time that many of their co-workers had also wound up getting weird, rare strains of cancer.

    Biggest surprise in the documentary was details of Gene Siskel's wild bachelor life. Who knew?
     
  5. hi_watt

    hi_watt The Road Warrior

    Location:
    San Diego, CA
    Thanks for the heads up! I really want to check this out. In regards to what Vidiot said about his final days being tough to watch, I can only imagine how tough it gets. Seeing him in that shot in the hospital was enough. :(
     
  6. swandown

    swandown Under Assistant West Coast Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Well, that explains why he bought the "Saturday Night Fever" disco suit!

    [​IMG]
     
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  7. Larry Mc

    Larry Mc Forum Dude

    I miss him.
     
  8. chacha

    chacha Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    mill valley CA USA
    Really looking forward to seeing this. It's still hard for me to accept the apparent fact that he and Siskel intensely disliked one another. I enjoyed them so much together.
     
  9. Squealy

    Squealy Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
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  10. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    I think it's fair to say they were extremely keen competitors, but they also had a healthy respect for each other. The documentary makes it clear that their two Chicago newspapers -- the Sun-Times and the Tribune -- had completely different attitudes and audiences. The Tribune was the snooty, rich Republican paper, while the Sun-Times was the mass-market "Everyman's" paper, very Democratic. Siskel & Ebert each worked for different papers, and each reflected that kind of sensibility.

    The documentary also goes into how, while Roger & Gene were very competitive, even though they weren't initially friends, they did cooperate and eventually did become friends over time when it became clear they were much stronger as a team than they would ever be separately. I think a lot of their on-screen animosity masked a genuine friendship and respect for each other. But they knew the arguments were what "sold" the show.

    My favorite moments were when Siskel & Ebert would go at it, and Siskel would say some snide remark like, "well, I think your opinion is a complete misfire this week," and Ebert would retort, "well, apparently the Pulitzer Prize committee didn't think so," or words to that effect. Roger really lorded it over Gene that he (not Siskel) was a best-selling author, had written several movie scripts, had wider syndicated readership, had more panache at film festivals, and had the Pulitzer. I also think by far that Ebert was the best raconteur just in terms of anecdotes and storytelling. But I think each balanced out the other, very much a yin & yang thing, and I enjoyed the passion and intensity of their arguments every week -- even if I didn't agree with them.

    Watch these outtakes while the two battle it out in the studio...



    I'd give it only 3 stars, only because of the grisly hospital scenes. The scene of Ebert refusing to walk up stairs in his own house because he was in so much pain... godamighty, it gets you really choked up. Very, very hard to watch.
     
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  11. chacha

    chacha Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    mill valley CA USA
    That outtake video is fantastic
     
  12. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    It is hilarious, and there's a piece of it in the documentary. I think this shows the true "one upmanship" game that Gene and Roger constantly played with each other. These were both very bright guys, but you can see that Roger constantly kept Gene off-kilter. I would definitely give the edge to Roger on the insults and one-liners.
     
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  13. Chris C

    Chris C Music was my first love and it will be my last!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Siskel & Ebert reviewing my all-time favorite motion picture, "The Shawshank Redemption" and I've got to be honest and say that neither of them even came close to celebrating this movies greatness, in my opinion.

     
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  14. guidedbyvoices

    guidedbyvoices Old Dan's Records

    Location:
    Alpine, TX
    I loved ebert and was truly sad when he passed. In the late 80s started watching him and gene but his blog writing his last five years are what really blew me away. I really want to see this but after vidiots comments, I'm not so sure.

    I do miss hearing him, especially enjoyed his casablanca and Kane commentaries
     
  15. guidedbyvoices

    guidedbyvoices Old Dan's Records

    Location:
    Alpine, TX
    Sure seems like they both grasped its greatness pretty well.
     
  16. jupiter8

    jupiter8 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    NJ, USA
    ,,
    No kidding! Hanging out with Hef, oogling topless babes and rockin' the pornstache. Gene had quite the wild side.
     
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  17. BradyJonesATL

    BradyJonesATL New Member

    I loved Siskel and Ebert and was sad, of course, that they died so young. "Life Itself" tells both their stories pretty well, tho more Ebert, naturally. I loved his wife! This is a powerful doc and must-see for anyone who loves movies. More here: http://wp.me/p4aJQT-mj
     
  18. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    Tell me more!

    Obviously getting more than his thumb up.
     
  19. Agent57

    Agent57 Marshall will buoy, but Fender control

    Location:
    PA
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  20. chacha

    chacha Forum Resident In Memoriam

    Location:
    mill valley CA USA
    Yes to Roger on the insults but it's cool to see Gene taking them well, laughing and not taking himself too seriously
     
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  21. MRamble

    MRamble Forum Resident

    I saw it on Sunday night and thought it was fantastic. They did a brilliant job balancing the two storylines: Roger's illness in the then present day and also the biographical narrative of his early life. Absolutely well done. It chronicles his life all the way to the very end and it is done beautifully. It's emotional--to say the least. Not surprisingly, I got an Ebert/Siskel kick after seeing it and watched several Siskel/Ebert interviews on Letterman on the old YouTube. Great stuff.

    For all the hoopla about how much they didn't get along, it always appeared to be an act. The documentary goes into this and it's clear that early on, they did not get along too well but after working more than 20 years together, no doubt there was a warming up to each other. Many times you'd catch them laughing and slipping a couple smiles towards each other in interviews--it wasn't as cold as they made it out to be. I think they knew that audiences loved a good catty fight between and exaggerated that aspect a bit. Considering how much Ebert later would post tribute after tribute for his deceased friend--I think there was always more to that relationship than what we thought we saw.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
    Last edited: Jul 8, 2014
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  22. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    I hope this comes to KC soon!
     
  23. MRamble

    MRamble Forum Resident

    I don't think it's been mentioned but you can also watch it online in HD by renting it on iTunes--that's how I watched it.
     
  24. moople72

    moople72 Forum Resident

    Location:
    KC
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  25. The Hud

    The Hud Breath of the Kingdom, Tears of the Wild

    moople72 likes this.
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