Overview
Roger Ebert has been writing film reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times for over forty years. In fact, no critic alive has reviewed more movies than he has. Yet his essential writings have never been collected in a single volume—until now. With Awake in the Dark, both fans and film buffs can finally bask in the best of Ebert’s work. The reviews, interviews, and essays collected here present a picture of his numerous contributions to the cinema and cinephilia. From The Godfather to GoodFellas, from Cries and Whispers to Crash, the reviews in Awake in the Dark span some of the most exceptional periods in film history.In addition, the extraordinary interviews gathered in Awake in the Dark capture Ebert engaging not only some of the most influential directors of our time—Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Werner Herzog, and Ingmar Bergman—but also some of the silver screen’s most respected personalities, including actors as diverse as Robert Mitchum, James Stewart, Warren Beatty, and Meryl Streep.
America’s most celebrated film critic, Ebert is a writer whose exceptional intelligence and bursts of insight have shaped the way we think about the movies. Awake in the Dark will be a treasure trove not just for fans of this seminal critic but for anyone desiring a fascinating and compulsively readable chronicle of film since the late 1960s.
“As film criticism becomes more marginalized, Ebert may come to be seen as the last of a kind—the critic who actually has the power to influence a national audience.”—Booklist
“[Ebert's] writing is top-notch. In Awake in the Dark, Ebert has produced his most personal collection of reviews, essays, and interviews, providing insights into the man as much as the movies he loves. . . . This volume contains some of Ebert's most exciting writing.”—Gary Kramer, Filmbill
Synopsis
Roger Ebert has been writing film reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times for over forty years. In fact, no critic alive has reviewed more movies than he has. Yet his essential writings have never been collected in a single volume—until now. With Awake in the Dark, both fans and film buffs can finally bask in the best of Ebert’s work. The reviews, interviews, and essays collected here present a picture of his numerous contributions to the cinema and cinephilia. From The Godfather to GoodFellas, from Cries and Whispers to Crash, the reviews in Awake in the Dark span some of the most exceptional periods in film history.
In addition, the extraordinary interviews gathered in Awake in the Dark capture Ebert engaging not only some of the most influential directors of our time—Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Werner Herzog, and Ingmar Bergman—but also some of the silver screen’s most respected personalities, including actors as diverse as Robert Mitchum, James Stewart, Warren Beatty, and Meryl Streep.
America’s most celebrated film critic, Ebert is a writer whose exceptional intelligence and bursts of insight have shaped the way we think about the movies. Awake in the Dark will be a treasure trove not just for fans of this seminal critic but for anyone desiring a fascinating and compulsively readable chronicle of film since the late 1960s.
“As film criticism becomes more marginalized, Ebert may come to be seen as the last of a kind—the critic who actually has the power to influence a national audience.”—Booklist
“[Ebert's] writing is top-notch. In Awake in the Dark, Ebert has produced his most personal collection of reviews, essays, and interviews, providing insights into the man as much as the movies he loves. . . . This volume contains some of Ebert's most exciting writing.”—Gary Kramer, Filmbill
Los Angeles Times
"To love the movies, [Ebert] tells us, 'does not mean to sit mindlessly and blissfully before the screen. . . . The task of every movie is to try to change how you feel and think during its running time,' and the task of the viewer is to participate in the process. He is moral but not moralistic, preferring stories of flawed people who struggle to do the right thing and fail over simplistic heroes facing simplified choices."—Tara Ison, Los Angeles Times
— Tara Ison
Editorials
Library Journal
Thanks to his high-profile television personality, Ebert enjoys the reputation of being America's most respected and influential movie critic. This volume collects 40 years of Ebert's movie journalism and film criticism, mostly from the Chicago Sun-Times, and while it may not represent the author's best writing, the book clearly summarizes Ebert's pantheon of best films or at least the movies that have meant the most to him. Also included are appreciations of and interviews with notable actors and filmmakers, ranging from James Stewart and Ingmar Bergman to Meryl Streep and Spike Lee. Ebert surveys his long career, analyzing American and foreign films, documentaries, and overlooked or underrated films while also offering thought pieces on topics such as the colorization of old films and the legacy of Star Wars. The book concludes with meditations on the value of film criticism, allowing for rebuttals from fellow critics Andrew Sarris and Richard Corliss. Always alert to trends and defending film as an art form, Ebert never fails to connect with his readers, although the short journal pieces could have been expanded. Highly recommended for all public and academic film collections.-Stephen Rees, Levittown Lib., PA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.Martin Scorsese
“Roger Ebert loves movies more, and better, than almost any critic I’ve ever met. He also has a keen understanding of the way they work, which you will find out as you make your way through this irreplaceable collection of reviews, reminiscences, and critiques. There’s a lifetime of thought and appreciation between these pages—a life, really—and you simply can’t say that about most other collections of film criticism.”Steven Spielberg
“Roger Ebert understands how to pop the hood of a movie and tell us how it runs, while still enjoying the ride with his box of popcorn or, in some cases, a bottle of aspirin. Awake in the Dark captures both those sides of Ebert and shows him to be a serious friend of film, someone who loves the movies as much as he understands them.”Robert Altman
“Roger Ebert is the grand poobah of them all.”Werner Herzog
“Roger Ebert has become a member of our households, our families. He is the one who tells us all about the movies. And, as his passion for the cinema is so deep, and his knowledge so profound, he is the one we can always trust.”Dave Eggers
“This is a fittingly grand and sweeping collection of Roger Ebert’s writing on film. Ebert is the most widely read and most trusted film writer in America because he is still, in some way, an amateur viewer—he goes to the movies as a pilgrim, ready to be amazed, wanting to be enlightened. He believes in the power of the medium, and has not, after all these decades, become the least bit calloused to it. And no one is more eloquent in expressing why and how the best movies work, and why they’re so incredibly necessary.”Los Angeles Times
"To love the movies, [Ebert] tells us, 'does not mean to sit mindlessly and blissfully before the screen. . . . The task of every movie is to try to change how you feel and think during its running time,' and the task of the viewer is to participate in the process. He is moral but not moralistic, preferring stories of flawed people who struggle to do the right thing and fail over simplistic heroes facing simplified choices."Filmbill
“[Ebert's] writing is top-notch. In Awake in the Dark, Ebert has produced his most personal collection of reviews, essays, and interviews, providing insights into the man as much as the movies he loves. . . . This volume contains some of Ebert's most exciting writing.”Blogcritics
"[This] excellent new compendium . . . serves as a fine way to remind us that Ebert is, first and foremost, a gifted writer. A survey of his 40 years in the business of loving and explaining movies, it's essential reading for anyone who likes film."Booklist
"As film criticism becomes more marginalized, Ebert may come to be seen as the last of a kind—the critic who actually has the power to influence a national audience."Blogcritics
[This] excellent new compendium . . . serves as a fine way to remind us that Ebert is, first and foremost, a gifted writer. A survey of his 40 years in the business of loving and explaining movies, it's essential reading for anyone who likes film.— Nik Dirga
Booklist
As film criticism becomes more marginalized, Ebert may come to be seen as the last of a kind—the critic who actually has the power to influence a national audience.— Gordon Flagg
Filmbill
[Ebert's] writing is top-notch. In Awake in the Dark, Ebert has produced his most personal collection of reviews, essays, and interviews, providing insights into the man as much as the movies he loves. . . . This volume contains some of Ebert's most exciting writing.”— Gary Kramer
Los Angeles Times
To love the movies, [Ebert] tells us, 'does not mean to sit mindlessly and blissfully before the screen. . . . The task of every movie is to try to change how you feel and think during its running time,' and the task of the viewer is to participate in the process. He is moral but not moralistic, preferring stories of flawed people who struggle to do the right thing and fail over simplistic heroes facing simplified choices.— Tara Ison