RIP Roger Ebert

It was kind of a surreal experience when I learned of the death of Roger Ebert. I was having lunch today and reading the newspaper, there was an article about Roger Ebert and how he was going to take some time off from his work as a film critic because his cancer had come back. When I came back to work moments later, I learned that he had passed away.

The last piece I read that Roger Ebert published, was his "Leave of Presence" entry in his blog, which I read on his website. In it, he mentions the return of his cancer, but also that he was going to do what he dreamed of doing which was only review movies that he wants to review.

It's somewhat fitting that the last film I watched before learning of Roger Ebert's passing was Yasujiro Ozu's "Early Summer". I was actually planning on the film to be my next entry for this blog, and since it was somewhat of a slow day at work today, I found myself jotting down notes about what I thought of the film. It was actually through Roger Ebert I first heard of Yasujiro Ozu and his films, and he has since become my favorite filmmaker. Ebert had written about Ozu's masterpiece "Tokyo Story" as part of his ongoing "Great Movies" series, and I was intrigued about how Ebert described Ozu's technique where he placed the camera three feet off the ground and barely moved it. I had not seen a film quite like it, and it started an ongoing love for Ozu's films.

I must admit, Roger Ebert was the main reason I started writing in this blog, it was through his "Great Movies" series I found a love of reading about movies we love and how they effect us. It inspired me to share my own thoughts about my favorites and through it I've found what I like and what I don't like about certain films. I also dug deeper than I ever did about certain filmmakers who I've always loved, it's like my own ongoing film school.

But Roger Ebert didn't stop there, before he lost his voice from cancer, he provided audio commentaries to some classic films. If you have a DVD or Blu Ray of "Citizen Kane", listen to Ebert's commentary on that and you'll understand even more why it's such a great movie. He also does commentary on "Casablanca" and Ozu's own "Floating Weeds" which Ebert has said was his favorite film from him.

Roger Ebert is the kind of person who cannot be replaced, I've been reading outpouring of condolences from other critics I read and admire and how they are all in indebted to Ebert for his contribution to film criticism. Above all else, Roger Ebert was a writer, he wrote all the time, it was a daily routine of me to check his website to see if he had a new blog entry or just a new film entry available. He's taught me that there's always something worth writing about, which is what I try to do every day. Even when I feel I don't have anything to write, I can always write about movies, and I don't see that slowing down any time soon. Thank you Roger Ebert for making me realize that.