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Ebert's Little Movie Glossaries
Ebert's Bigger Little Movie Glossary: A Greatly Expanded and Much Improved Compendium of Movie Clichés, Stereotypes, Obligatory Scenes, Hackneyed ... Shopworn Conventions, and Outdated Archetypes
A popular film critic provides witty and wise definitions and descriptions for cliche+a7d scenes and gimmicks used in motion pictures, including entries such as "Fruit Cart," "Rover, Dead Rover Rule," "The Non-Answering Pet," and "Talking Killer." Original.
240 pages, Paperback
First published November 1, 1994
46 people are currently reading
257 people want to read
About the author
Roger Ebert
91 books408 followersRoger 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
December 15, 2025
3.5 stars
"You go to enough different movies, you start to notice things. Like how every time there's a chase scene in an exotic locale, a fruit cart gets overturned. Or how whenever the hero knocks out a Nazi sentry and puts on his uniform, [it's] a perfect fit. Or how there are plots that would be over in five minutes, if all of the characters weren't idiots. These are clearly observations crying out to be organized into Ebert's Little Movie Glossary." -- from the author's introduction
While it won't replace his excellent memoir Life Itself or the entertaining collections such as I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie, legendary Chicago film critic Roger Ebert's spry Little Movie Glossary, first published back in the mid-1990's, is an amusing and brief 115-page compilation of various unofficial cinematic rules, truisms, and gimmicks that will strike a knowing chord with movie fans. It should be noted that not every entry is necessarily written by Ebert - a number of fans and readers contributed ideas as well - so occasionally there is a hit-or-miss quality to the A-Z list, while additionally some of these mentioned plot devices have increasingly fallen out of favor into the 21st century. Still, reading through it was a sometimes agreeable way to spend an hour on a snowy winter afternoon.
"You go to enough different movies, you start to notice things. Like how every time there's a chase scene in an exotic locale, a fruit cart gets overturned. Or how whenever the hero knocks out a Nazi sentry and puts on his uniform, [it's] a perfect fit. Or how there are plots that would be over in five minutes, if all of the characters weren't idiots. These are clearly observations crying out to be organized into Ebert's Little Movie Glossary." -- from the author's introduction
While it won't replace his excellent memoir Life Itself or the entertaining collections such as I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie, legendary Chicago film critic Roger Ebert's spry Little Movie Glossary, first published back in the mid-1990's, is an amusing and brief 115-page compilation of various unofficial cinematic rules, truisms, and gimmicks that will strike a knowing chord with movie fans. It should be noted that not every entry is necessarily written by Ebert - a number of fans and readers contributed ideas as well - so occasionally there is a hit-or-miss quality to the A-Z list, while additionally some of these mentioned plot devices have increasingly fallen out of favor into the 21st century. Still, reading through it was a sometimes agreeable way to spend an hour on a snowy winter afternoon.
April 16, 2019
Reference for WIP, this book is a collection of tropes and cliches, just begging to be mocked.
I heard that Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg referred to it extensively when writing the Hot Fuzz script and that was enough for me.
I heard that Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg referred to it extensively when writing the Hot Fuzz script and that was enough for me.
June 30, 2014
The late movie critic Roger Ebert is sorely missed by film fans who read his books and watched him on television giving a "thumbs up" or a "thumbs down" on a particular film(s). This little book takes on the inane situations that are constantly repeated in film after film and giving each of them a name. For example: Bomb Defusion Rule - no bomb can be defused if it is more than ten seconds away from detonation; or, Joel's Observation - Directors always make sure that air ducts are big enough to crawl around in.
You have seen every one of these situations in films you have viewed.....they are continuing cliches that we love anyway. A fun book
You have seen every one of these situations in films you have viewed.....they are continuing cliches that we love anyway. A fun book
March 21, 2023
This is a glossary of movie tropes
Some were invented by Roger Ebert some by his readers
Some of them are good and some are weirdly specific and lame
If you are a big film fan you may find it amusing
Some were invented by Roger Ebert some by his readers
Some of them are good and some are weirdly specific and lame
If you are a big film fan you may find it amusing
Read
September 16, 2018No stereotype, overdone plot point, or superfluous chase scene is safe in movie critic Roger Ebert's little pocketbook of movie concepts (many of which are overdone and should be retired). A quick, sarcastic read, all glossary entries are placed in alphabetical order for easy to use reference.
January 23, 2019
I picked this up after reading that Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg used it as a reference when they were writing the script for 'Hot Fuzz:' they wanted to make the ur-buddy cop movie by referring back to every possible cliché of the genre, which seems like a really fun way to write a screenplay.
Unfortunately this is not one of Ebert's better books. The actual proportion of it written by Ebert is probably no more than 40%--most of the book is derived from content sent to him during his time writing for the Chicago Tribune. Each term in the glossary is credited to its originator, and there are several names that show up almost constantly, and unfortunately, some of them come off more as snide or disparaging than as comedic. Minimal effort was put into editing the book, as the same concept often recurs multiple times, credited to different writers: for example, no fewer than three different people wrote some variant of a rule about the fact that the morning after sex, the man's body is exposed from the waist up while the woman's is exposed only above the neckline. It's a funny observation--the first time it shows up.
I would probably only recommend this for Ebert completists.
Unfortunately this is not one of Ebert's better books. The actual proportion of it written by Ebert is probably no more than 40%--most of the book is derived from content sent to him during his time writing for the Chicago Tribune. Each term in the glossary is credited to its originator, and there are several names that show up almost constantly, and unfortunately, some of them come off more as snide or disparaging than as comedic. Minimal effort was put into editing the book, as the same concept often recurs multiple times, credited to different writers: for example, no fewer than three different people wrote some variant of a rule about the fact that the morning after sex, the man's body is exposed from the waist up while the woman's is exposed only above the neckline. It's a funny observation--the first time it shows up.
I would probably only recommend this for Ebert completists.
December 16, 2017
This collection of film clichés, conventions, stereotypes, and so on will sometimes have you chuckling in recognition, or smacking your forehead because you never noticed that one, or occasionally frowning in puzzlement at one that just does not seem to work. Overall, it's a fun, light, amusing bathroom book.
January 31, 2019
Mandarin Version.
April 8, 2022
Hilarious
This book is good for a laugh, while at the same time explaining and defining the many cliches to be found in movies.
This book is good for a laugh, while at the same time explaining and defining the many cliches to be found in movies.
February 22, 2024
Heel leuk boekje met een opsomming van zo'n beetje alle clichés uit de filmwereld.
November 4, 2024
感觉像一个段子合辑
September 5, 2025
In my book, Roger Ebert can write no wrong. I have the pre-woke 1999 expanded edition, where he lets his fans heartily write the book for him, or at least most of it. Which accounts for the mix of sardonic, hilarious hits, and some overthought, occasionally sexist misses. As expected, the upended fruit cart-in-a-car-chase scene gets many mentions, as does the overly chatty villain who never cuts to the chase, the similar dismal results that await prized classic cars in movies and teenagers who strip and make out in R-rated teenage slasher films, and the miscalculated death of the villain in practically every thriller from the seventies (cue jump scare in 5, 4, 3...).
Roger Ebert fans can be as intensely cynical, sarcastic, and prolific as him. Some (male-dominated) impressions (and no doubt aching for further discussion), gleaned from this book:
"All leaders of the Roman Empire have British accents. Why don't filmmakers want Romans to at least have Italian accents?" asks Eugene Accardo of Brooklyn.
"Cars in high-speed chases can shift through more gears than they have. See Bullitt, where Steve McQueen's car upshifts more than sixteen times." - Edward Savio, San Francisco
"After Marlon Brando did Superman strictly for the money, he cleared the way for Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, and others to take big bucks to appear in silly comic book roles. (Illustrated in Blake Edwards's S.O.B. when Julie Andrews is asked to do a nude scene because Liv Ullman has done one.)" - Merwyn Grote, St Louis
"With the exception of Marilyn Monroe, no actress who has appeared nude in Playboy to advance her acting career has ever actually advanced her acting career." - Merwyn Grote, St Louis*
"Heroines who are tied up have an uncanny compulsion to spit in the villain's face. In response, the villain inevitably smiles." R.E.
"Ali McGraw's Disease: Movie illness in which only symptom is that the sufferer grows more beautiful as death approaches." - R.E.
The funniest quips are found on the last few pages of the book, which features Mark O'Donnell's Laws of Cartoon Motion, the seventh law illustrating the gem kids raised on Warner Brothers cartoons are doubtless familiar with: "Certain bodies can pass through solid walls painted to resemble tunnel entrances; others cannot. This trompe l'oeil inconsistency has baffled generations, but at least it is known that whoever paints an entrance on a wall's surface to trick an opponent will be unable to pursue him into this theoretical space. The painter is flattened against the wall when he attempts to follow into the painting. This is ultimately a problem of art, not of science."
And lastly, it holds that invaluable list of Things You Would Never Know Without the Movies, which comes with sage counsel such as "If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises in their most revealing underwear;" "Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to speak the language. A German accent will do;" and of course the indispensable, "When confronted by an evil international terrorist, sarcasm and wisecracks are your best weapons."
Three and a half stars. Five if Gore Vidal and Mel Brooks had phoned in their thoughts.
* Oh yes they have. In the Philippines, at least, where Tetchie Agbayani did..., done that.
Roger Ebert fans can be as intensely cynical, sarcastic, and prolific as him. Some (male-dominated) impressions (and no doubt aching for further discussion), gleaned from this book:
"All leaders of the Roman Empire have British accents. Why don't filmmakers want Romans to at least have Italian accents?" asks Eugene Accardo of Brooklyn.
"Cars in high-speed chases can shift through more gears than they have. See Bullitt, where Steve McQueen's car upshifts more than sixteen times." - Edward Savio, San Francisco
"After Marlon Brando did Superman strictly for the money, he cleared the way for Gene Hackman, Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Al Pacino, and others to take big bucks to appear in silly comic book roles. (Illustrated in Blake Edwards's S.O.B. when Julie Andrews is asked to do a nude scene because Liv Ullman has done one.)" - Merwyn Grote, St Louis
"With the exception of Marilyn Monroe, no actress who has appeared nude in Playboy to advance her acting career has ever actually advanced her acting career." - Merwyn Grote, St Louis*
"Heroines who are tied up have an uncanny compulsion to spit in the villain's face. In response, the villain inevitably smiles." R.E.
"Ali McGraw's Disease: Movie illness in which only symptom is that the sufferer grows more beautiful as death approaches." - R.E.
The funniest quips are found on the last few pages of the book, which features Mark O'Donnell's Laws of Cartoon Motion, the seventh law illustrating the gem kids raised on Warner Brothers cartoons are doubtless familiar with: "Certain bodies can pass through solid walls painted to resemble tunnel entrances; others cannot. This trompe l'oeil inconsistency has baffled generations, but at least it is known that whoever paints an entrance on a wall's surface to trick an opponent will be unable to pursue him into this theoretical space. The painter is flattened against the wall when he attempts to follow into the painting. This is ultimately a problem of art, not of science."
And lastly, it holds that invaluable list of Things You Would Never Know Without the Movies, which comes with sage counsel such as "If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises in their most revealing underwear;" "Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to speak the language. A German accent will do;" and of course the indispensable, "When confronted by an evil international terrorist, sarcasm and wisecracks are your best weapons."
Three and a half stars. Five if Gore Vidal and Mel Brooks had phoned in their thoughts.
* Oh yes they have. In the Philippines, at least, where Tetchie Agbayani did..., done that.
October 23, 2015
Ebert's "Bigger" Little Movie Glossary (1999) is a set of terms that are supposed to apply to films in general, or at least films within certain genres. However, as I read it, I realized how often films rarely conform to this level of generality, hence underscoring Ebert et al.'s abilities as critics to adequately demonstrate the abundant number of film conventions. I'll give you three examples at random.
CLIDVIC (Climb from Despair to Victory). Formula for Rocky and all the Rocky rip-offs. Breaks plot into three parts: (1) defeat and despair; (2) rigorous training, usually shown in the form of would-be MTV videos; (3) victory, preferably ending in free-frame of triumphant video. (p. 41)You can read it, and see whatcha think.
Kidding Battery. In horror films, when the hero/heroine jumps in a car while being pursued by the killer, the car never starts at the first crank. The following generic montage is used: Close-up shot of hero/heroine's face sweating. Face goes out of focus as background focuses to reveal killer approaching car. Close-up of ignition failing again to start engine. Repeat sequence as many times as necessary to match generic crescendo music. Finally, battery gives enough juice to start engine just a second before killer gets the would-be victim. Obviously, the battery was just kidding. (p. 104)
Radio Pictures. A character's dialogue describes what we can clearly see happening on the screen. Critic Rich Elias tags an all-time classic when he observes that Jack, in Titanic, says, "Let's get out of here! This place is flooded!" (p. 163).
March 5, 2013
Very funny and quite interesting glossary of cliches, stereotypes, and hackneyed formulas used over and over in both good and bad movies. Many are original to Ebert, who also collected many from Gene Siskel, other critics, and viewers/readers of Ebert's movie reviews.
Fruit Cart Rule: In any chase scene at an exotic locale, a fruit cart will be overturned.
Talking Killer: A killer who has the upper hand/gun, talks a lot about how psychotic they are, until the cavalry arrives to save the day.
Non-answering Pet: If someone calls their pet more than once without a response, that pet is dead!
In a Dead Teenager Movie, the girl who exposes the least skin is inevitably the only survivor.
Clint Howard scene: A token part always appears for Ron Howard's brother in any movie that Ron directs.
Universal Movie Computer Operating Laws: All computers have digital speech and/or a personality. All teenage computer users are hackers who own a modem.
Fruit Cart Rule: In any chase scene at an exotic locale, a fruit cart will be overturned.
Talking Killer: A killer who has the upper hand/gun, talks a lot about how psychotic they are, until the cavalry arrives to save the day.
Non-answering Pet: If someone calls their pet more than once without a response, that pet is dead!
In a Dead Teenager Movie, the girl who exposes the least skin is inevitably the only survivor.
Clint Howard scene: A token part always appears for Ron Howard's brother in any movie that Ron directs.
Universal Movie Computer Operating Laws: All computers have digital speech and/or a personality. All teenage computer users are hackers who own a modem.
July 11, 2014
This is the funniest book I've ever read--as in tears-running-down-my-face/finding-it-hard-to-catch-my-breath kind of funny. Many of these cliches are so spot-on that you laugh from simple recognition--knowing that you're not the only one who's spotted these howlers. It takes you back to simpler times when moviemakers and TV producers cut every corner imaginable to meet tight deadlines and even tighter budgets.
This should be on the shelf of every screenwriter in the business worth his or her salt--as a guidebook and a cautionary tale.
Read and enjoy the memories.
This should be on the shelf of every screenwriter in the business worth his or her salt--as a guidebook and a cautionary tale.
Read and enjoy the memories.
May 24, 2017
A mildly humorous coffee table/bathroom read. Certainly needs an update as movie tropes, cliches, and stereo-types have changed drastically, oftentimes in response to the ones found in this book (published in 1994). Some of the "hackneyed formulas" may even arguably be the opposite to what the book observes in films today, although equally hackneyed and formulaic. Still, a fun, harmless, and easy read, especially for those who are familiar with film in the 90's and prior.
September 18, 2013
This is a big glossary of movie tropes, like "meet cute" (romantic comedy first meetings) and "fruit cart" (noting that action movie sequences in marketplaces always overturn a fruit cart).
Probably a very innovative idea when he first wrote the book in 1994. But today, tvtropes.org does it better. Gave up in the I's.
Probably a very innovative idea when he first wrote the book in 1994. But today, tvtropes.org does it better. Gave up in the I's.
April 14, 2023
This is a 'cute' little read that's a compilations of tropes, stereotypes, and common stretches of the imagination that movie critics and fans have noticed through the years. Part of the movie experience requires a suspension of belief called The Idiot Plot which requires that people on screen seldom act with intelligence.
June 26, 2010
For years, film critic extraordinaire Roger Ebert and his fans have been defining movie cliches in an ironic tone that reminds me of Ambrose Bierce's Devil's Dictionary.
Some of the best and most contributions come from fans Dawson Rambo, Merwyn Grote, and Andy Ihnatko.
Some of the best and most contributions come from fans Dawson Rambo, Merwyn Grote, and Andy Ihnatko.
June 27, 2011
An entertaining alphabetical compilation of contributed movie cliches.
Indirectly insightful about the mediocrity we ignore while consuming our mass entertainment.
A spritely introduction to an ultimately serious topic.
Indirectly insightful about the mediocrity we ignore while consuming our mass entertainment.
A spritely introduction to an ultimately serious topic.
September 18, 2016
somewhat dated even though it was only published in 1994. maybe about 30% of these were genuinely funny or insightful but that might be part of the point since they're such cliches and hackneyed formulas by this point.
sequel: a filmed deal
sequel: a filmed deal
March 20, 2010
Fun, humorous glossary of words and phrases submitted by readers and by Ebert himself to describe cliches and conventions in movies.
December 22, 2010
This was really funny!
Read
August 9, 2011All the movie cliches that you never realized were driving you crazy, now in one handy guide!
September 2, 2011
I've skimmed this, and it's worth reading so to learn more about movie cliches. I revisit it every now and then.
September 18, 2013
The book is a list of movie cliches, and there are lots of them. It's required reading not just for movie fans but also for anyone who writes stories.
March 2, 2014
Manure car!
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews