The Balcony Forever Closed
by Hunter Isham
For as long as I can remember, Roger Ebert's always been there. I didn't really start watching his At the Movies television program until very late in its run, but "Two Thumbs Up!" was as present in my childhood as were Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny. That summary of sentiment could be found on the TV spots, posters, and (most nostalgic of all) VHS boxes of some of my favorite films. Ebert, along with Gene Siskel and Richard Roeper, entered the national consciousness as a harbinger of smart film criticism available to the masses, forever leaving his mark on the cinematic landscape. Although likely to be remembered for his work on television, Ebert was certainly a prolific writer, and it became a joyous routine for me to check in on his site to see what he thought of the latest blockbusters, indies, and everything else in between.
I grew interested in (and thoroughly enjoyed) Ebert's presence on the small screen around 2006, not long before one of his bouts with cancer left him speechless and absent from his show. I continued to watch on and off until Richard Roeper left, and resumed once more a year later (following questionable choices on the part of show-owner Disney) when The New York Times' A.O. Scott and the Chicago Tribune's Michael Phillips took over hosting duties. A few months later, after feeling sad about the once-more intelligent (if Ebert-less) show's cancellation, a new incarnation of the old program was launched on public broadcasting. Ebert Presents At the Movies was a return to form featuring hand-picked critics, the Associated Press' Christy Lemire and MUBI.com's Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, and even Ebert himself, handily voiced by a rotating repertoire. I nary missed an episode, leading to further devastation when a year later, Roger and his wife (and producer) Chaz announced an indefinite hiatus. As it turned out, they had been funding the program themselves, an act of kindness and dedication that afforded movie-lovers like myself another chance to hear intelligent debate about our favorite form of art, however short lived.
Through all the many incarnations of At the Movies of which I was a fan (including archived segments with Siskel dating back to 1985 on the original show's now-defunct website), I could always have faith that Ebert would be there on the page, if not on the screen. His ability to view films on a level playing field, a method that can allow both pictures like Iron Man and Michael Clayton to receive four stars each, has helped me see films on their own terms. A great action adventure yarn, as shallow as it may be, can still be a great film, just as a serious drama can be great without trying to compete with the works of Orson Welles. A recent and vivid example of Roger Ebert simply enjoying the giddy fun of a film is evident in his review of Pixar's Cars 2. Many consider it the prolific studio's worst film, but Roger gave it three and a half out of four stars, marveling at the fun John Lasseter has playing with his toys, and reminiscing about such fun he once had as a boy. It's a unique approach to film criticism, and one that can remove some of the unnecessary snark and jaded convictions directed at many films, particularly big blockbusters and sequels. Of course, he wasn't always nice to films and their creators, sometimes explicitly disliking every aspect of a production, and reminding readers that his pen was the mightiest sword of them all.
The final, non-written frontier Ebert conquered, though only on occasion, was that of the DVD audio commentary. He recorded commentary tracks for a handful of films, including the classics Casablanca and Citizen Kane, the latter being a particular favorite of Mr. Ebert's if my memory serves me correctly. His tracks on both films are non-stop, hugely informative, and genuinely interesting, providing tricks of the trade and anecdotes made even better by his evident passion for film. I have no doubt that his other commentary work is similarly outstanding, giving the viewer the wholly unique opportunity to watch a movie with Roger Ebert. His reviews always let the reader know he was a true fan and student of film, and these tracks are a joyously relentless demonstration of that knowledge.
Roger Ebert quite simply changed the movies. Alongside Gene Siskel, he became a symbol of how film is a medium worth discussing and debating, regardless of if you liked a movie, hated it, or were just plain indifferent. The movies should makes us feel something, so why not express those feelings? Critics can appear a prickly bunch, no matter their target, yet Roger seems to have been one of the first who put his status as an audience member before that of a critic. He could cite the influence of Fellini or Bergman, but he might also just tell you why Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is simply a good bit of fun. They say that everyone's a critic, and on some level that may be true, but there was only one Roger Ebert. We'll miss you at the movies, Roger, and it'll never be quite the same without you, but now I suppose it's time to close the balcony one last time.
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