33 Movies to Restore Your Faith in Humanity: Ebert's Essentials

Ebert's Essentials

by Roger Ebert

In this e-book exclusive, the Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic presents reviews of 33 films that showcase the power of the human spirit.

Wondering if the world is really going to hell in a handbasket? Then consider Roger Ebert's e-book original 33 Movies to Restore Your Faith in Humanity. Read Roger's full-length reviews of movies and rekindle your belief in the human spirit. From the out-of-the-world experience of E.T. to the outer space drama of Apollo 13 to the personal insights into ordinary people in Cinema Paradiso and Everlasting Moments, you'll be reassured that maybe there is hope for us all. Mix in historical dramas like The Bridge on the River Kwai and Gandhi, stories of personal heroism like Hotel Rwanda and Schindler's List, and the irresistible Up, and things will be looking, well, up!

Genres: Nonfiction, Film, Media Tie In, Reference

142 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2012

About the author

Roger Joseph Ebert was a Pulitzer Prize-winning American film critic and screenwriter.

He was known for his weekly review column (appearing in the Chicago Sun-Times since 1967, and later online) and for the television program Siskel & Ebert at the Movies, which he co-hosted for 23 years with Gene Siskel. After Siskel's death in 1999, he auditioned several potential replacements, ultimately choosing Richard Roeper to fill the open chair. The program was retitled Ebert & Roeper and the Movies in 2000.

Ebert's movie reviews were syndicated to more than 200 newspapers in the United States and abroad. He wrote more than 15 books, including his annual movie yearbook. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. His television programs have also been widely syndicated, and have been nominated for Emmy awards. In February 1995, a section of Chicago's Erie Street near the CBS Studios was given the honorary name Siskel & Ebert Way. Ebert was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in June 2005, the first professional film critic to receive one. Roger Ebert was named as the most influential pundit in America by Forbes Magazine, beating the likes of Bill Maher, Lou Dobbs, and Bill O'Reilly.[2] He has honorary degrees from the University of Colorado, the American Film Institute, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

From 1994 until his death in 2013, he wrote a Great Movies series of individual reviews of what he deemed to be the most important films of all time. He also hosted the annual Roger Ebert's Overlooked Film Festival in Champaign, Illinois from 1999 until his death.

Reviews

[Algernon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad movies rarely make me cry. I pick up all the clues, the story hits its mark, the music underlines the emotion, but most of the time my interest is only technical. For that matter, I don't cry a whole lot at the movies anyway. But when I do, I notice that it's almost always because of the goodness of a character. Someone in the film has been sympathetic, generous, or moved to help others because of a good heart.

Roger Ebert came late into my life, and departed much too soon after I discovered his blog. I have been a movie aficionado since before I started reading, but I always found it difficult to talk about why I loved some movies and why I felt they were important in my life. Ebert showed me how it can be done, not only through his movie reviews, but also through his personal blog, where his passion for films became inseparable from the memories of his past and from his current fight against a merciless illness.

What makes his reviews so special? He always makes it personal, and he always strives to be not a critical machine, but a regular spectator of the scene before his eyes. He makes no distinction between highbrow and lowbrow - he is absorbed by the story or he is annoyed by it. Of course, for the person interested in technical details, they can be found in his accounts, but they are never taking central stage. That space is always reserved for the moral of the story, for the seed of wisdom or for the human interest angle that transforms entertainment into art and into philosphy of life. Ebert's reviews are what inspired me to come out of my shell and try to express my love of novels and films into these amateur scriblings that I share on Goodreads. I hope that by persevering, and by taking example from a master wordsmith like him, I will get better in time, and I will find more people who feel the same way.

The 33 titles included here do not claim to be an exhaustive list. They are a personal roadmap of the Pullitzer winning writer. As such they reveal more about his personality and about his sensibilities than about any empirical, analytical scale of value. The reviews were not written especially for this collection: they are simply selected from the extensive library that Ebert has accumulated in his decade long career of film watching. Some are classics by anybody's standards, some are oldies, some are modern, some are blockbusters, some art-house limited releases. But I agree with his assessment:

We need more of these films and fewer weekend blockbusters entertaining young people with the slaughter and suffering of anonymous victims in action pictures.

I will include here a list of all the reviews in the ebook, with the observation that the real challenge is not to emulate Ebert and follow his pointers ad-literam, but to come up with your own version of 'movies that restore your faith in humanity'

<<<>>> <<<>>>

+ Apollo 13 S
+ The Band Visit W
+ Bang the Drum Slowly W
+ Breaking Away W
+ Bridge on the River Kwai S
+ Casablanca S
+ Chariots of Fire S
+ Nuevo Cinema Paradiso S
+ Departures W
+ E.T. S
+ Everlasting Moments W
+ Gandhi S
+ Grand Canyon W
+ Hotel Rwanda
+ Ikiru S
+ The King's Speech S
+ Lawrence of Arabia S
+ Moolaade
+ My Uncle Antoine W
+ October Sky W
+ Philadelphia
+ The Right Stuff W
+ Say Amen, Somebody
+ Schindler's List
+ The Shawshank Redemption S
+ Silkwood
+ The Station Agent S
+ The Straight Story W
+ The Tree of Life W
+ 12 Angry Men S
+ 2001 S
+ Up S
+ Whale Rider W

symbols:
W - want; I trust Ebert recommendation and I added it to my wishlist.
S - seen it already

<<<>>> <<<>>>

I will think about my own choices, and hopefully will update the review with my own list. ("Buena Vista Social Club" and "A Railway Station for Two" come to mind)
Until then, here are a few quotes that I bookmarked in my ebook edition:

Maybe beneath everything else it deals with learning to see people as they really are, and accepting them on those terms. (about "Departures"


The universal reason people attend movies is that they hope to be told an absorbing story that will move them. They would rather be touched emotionally, I believe, than thrilled, frightened, or made to laugh. Yet there are few things more deadening than manipulative sentimental melodramas - what Variety likes to call "weepers". (about "Hotel Rwanda")


What is important about this film is not that it serves as a history lesson (although it does) but that, at a time when the threat of nuclear holocaust hangs ominously in the air, it reminds us that we are, after all, human, and thus capable of the most extraordinary and wonderful achievements, simply through the use of our imagination, our will, and our sense of right. (about "Gandhi")


... to break down the barriers society erects between people. (about "Grand Canyon")


It is not bad that he must die. What is worse is that he has never lived. (about "Ikiru")


People like excitement at the movies, and titles that provide it do well. Films about "redemption" are approached with great wariness; a lot of people are not thrilled by the prospect of a great film - it sounds like work. But there's a hunger for messages of hope, and when a film offers one, it's likely to have staying power even if it doesn't grab an immediate audience. (about "The Shawshank Redemption")

If you want to know more about Roger Ebert, in his own words, I would recommend "Life Itself" the autobiography piblished shortly before his death.

[Kurt Pankau · Rating 3 out of 5]

I checked this out from the library with a few other really short titles to cleanse my palate before leaping back into 800 page epic fantasy tomes. I'm enjoyed it, but I don't know if I would have wanted to pay for it (although the Kindle price is under $4, so it's not like it's a huge investment). And while I will go on in the next paragraph to complain about this mini-book, I did add one of its titles to my Netflix queue, so it seemed to do the trick.

If the "chapters" had been shortened to paragraphs, this would have been one of the most essential lists ever to show up on io9. As it stands, "33 Movie to..., etc" is a collection of essays and reviews of Roger Ebert's choicest heart-warming flicks. Because Ebert has seen sooooooooooo many movies in his career, this list contains a healthy blend of movies I've never heard of (My Uncle Antoine, Silkwood), movies I've heard of but never gotten around to watching (Lawrence of Arabia, The Station Agent) and personal favorites (Philadelphia, The Shawshank Redemption). So, if nothing else, the table of contents is worth a read.

The rest feels a bit slap-dash. Some of the chapters are obviously reviews that have been re-purposed, some even have endnotes appended--one of which actually answers a technical question raised in the review--which implies that whoever assembled this couldn't be bothered to edit it. Other entries are essays that consider a film's cultural impact and legacy and reflect repeated viewings. Whether they were written for this or not is unclear. Then there's the organization: the movies are arranged... get this... alphabetically. That just feels lazy to me.

All of that aside, Ebert is a very readable critic with wonderful insight and a clear voice. His choices for this collection are spot-on, at least based on the films in it that I've seen. And, as someone who worked in retail for several years, I appreciate the value of restoring someone's faith in humanity. So I'd say give it a skim, at least.

[Julie Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

E-book only. These are Ebert's previous reviews which he pulled together under a few different themes as "essentials" shortly before his death. They are good in the way that all his writing was, with the added advantage that you will discover something unexpected in each category which might make you take a new look at how you categorize movies.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I haven't seen all these movies, but I have seen many of them, and agree with Ebert that they are worthwhile and uplifting for the most part. This is a collection of reviews that may remind you of movies you have intended to see or would like to see again. Get it at the library if it's available; it's not really a keeper.

[Gehayi · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was very happy to read reviews of movies where the screenwriter, director and/or actors got everything right and created works of such quality that they made the world itself just the tiniest bit better. During this dreary, depressing year, it was a relief to hear unabashed praise that seemed to be deserved.

[Sydney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this back to back with Ebert's Great Movies II, which I have reviewed for my list. I don't have much to add to that review. I especially recommend the review of Everlasting Moments, which I have not seen yet. But now I have reminded myself to move it to the top of my list.

[MagicDave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good book by Roger Ebert

I always enjoy reading any thing written by Roger Ebert.
I have some new movies to watch. And some old favorites to rewatch.

[Ruth Shulman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Movies...

Reviewed by a GREAT critic. If you need some uplift, check out these movies. You'll absolutely feel renewed in spirit.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lyrical, lustrous prose in praise of movies that show us the goodness of people. We need this these days. Every movie represented here is steeped in authenticity. Every review proceeds from the heart of our greatest movie critic, Roger Ebert. He will be missed!

[Katya Vinogradova · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rober Ebert was a brilliant film critic, whose detailed and passionate reviews make you want to watch every movie he's ever loved, and skip every movie he's ever hated. Though this collection is all about the best movies, so you can't go wrong with a single title on his list.

[Christine D · Rating 3 out of 5]

I mostly agree with his picks. being a film minor I'm not an expert but I know what I'm talking about when it comes to movies :)