Customer Reviews

Awake in the Dark: The Best of Roger Ebert

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When you think of Roger Ebert you think of "movie critic". However, this book introduces us to the depth of this man's love of the cinema and his ability to understand it. The book covers forty years of reviews, essays and interviews. For the film lover it will be an exciting journey back to the darken theaters of yesterday, and to the present blockbusters. His engaging style of interviewing is tops. A great reference book..... highly recommended!

You know, there's a very good reason Roger Ebert won a Pulitzer. The man is an amazing writer. If you enjoy the pure pleasure of reading, and have a passion for the movies, you would be hard-pressed to find a better book than this to read.

The book is mostly a collection of writings by Ebert over the last several decades. There's some interviews with famous film folk, a collection of essays on subjects such as colorization, digital vs film, the need for a viable "adults only" rating, a few movie reviews, a discussion on the past, present and future of film review, and, most importantly, a serious love of the movies that comes through on every page.

I confess I am somewhat biased. Until I began reading Roger Ebert's fine website, I'd never heard of films such as M - Criterion Collection (Special Edition), Nosferatu, The Third Man - Criterion Collection (2-Disc Edition), or The Grapes of Wrath (I knew about the novel, of course). I'd also never had any real interst in, or appreciation for, movies such as Dark City (New Line Platinum Series), "The Bride of Frankenstein", Citizen Kane, or The Adventures of Robin Hood (Two-Disc Special Edition).

Fool that I was.

Now thanks largely to Roger Ebert I've began to really develop a love and passion for movies in ways I never thought that I would. Just looking over my recent purchases on Amazon, I see things like Babette's Feast, Russian Ark: The Masterworks Edition, All About Eve, All Quiet on the Western Front (Universal Cinema Classics), the "Godfather" films, and many others. Roger Ebert really opened my eyes to the glory of film, and helped me to understand why something like "Sunrise", is a glorious movie and something like "White Chicks" is not (hint: the abscence of anyone named Wayans helps).

I cannot recommend this book enough. If you like movies, buy it. If you like reading good writing, buy it. If you even think you might like this book, buy it! You'll be doing yourself a favor.

Roger Ebert loves movies, and he is a wonderful writer. He can reveal the essence of a movie with a poet;s touch, and he can point out some elements of the great mystery that draws us to an actor we might love, but not know why (thinking of his piece on Tom Hanks).

In one of the last reviewed movies in the book, "Crash" his writing helped me understand why a movie that seemed to rely so much on the most unlikely of fates, really deserved to be seen as a great movie. In the review of "Million Dollar Baby" which precedes "Crash", he shines a light on the heart of a movie that touched my heart, and does so with such simple and elegant precision.

It is easy to think of Mr. Ebert giving a thumbs up sign, doing battle with one of his guest hosts, or trying to find some way to indicate how much better than that a movie might be by using a series of adjectives or modifiers. Sometimes this has seemed silly, and inaccurate. For my wife and I, an unmodified "Two thumbs up" these days is as likely to reveal a mild stinker as something worthwhile and entertaining. Yet, I appreciate that he even writes an essay about another writer who decries such kinds of "criticisms and rating systems", doing so elegantly and non-defensively.

Yet when you read these reviews and interviews and let yourself be touched by them you can feel the author's joy and appreciation of the movies as well as his great understanding of this art form. That he is able to do this with a complete lack of pretense allowed me to fully appreciate the stand he has carved for himself as falling between the critic's movie critic and the people's movie critic.

If this were the last major work that Mr. Ebert creates in his life, he has performed a great service to those of us fortunate to pick this book up and read it. Thank you Roger Ebert. Two Thumbs pointing to the stars!

Not only does Ebert thoughtfully review movies, he writes so well that each essay is a pleasure to read whether we saw or will see the movie or not. These are reviews of his "best" movies for almost thirty years, as well as an explanation of how he came to be exclusively a movie reviewer. Funny, literate, and informative.

Nice to have a comprehensive retrospective of Ebert's work in a variety of topics and formats. I have enjoyed his reviews, especially in the inclusion of sociological, anthropological, and philosophical observations. Ebert embodies the tradition of great literature as "Lies we tell about those who never existed, in order that we may learn the truth about ourselves." Ebert is worthy reading for many more than even the broadest categories of film enthusiasts would encompass.

Roger Ebert has been my favorite film reviewer for years not just because I often agree with his tastes in movies but because of his witty readable writing style. AWAKE IN THE DARK contains examples of his best writing from 1967 - 2005. The book is divided into seven parts. The first part is entitled interviews and profiles and features nine different articles on prominent movie business personalities. Part Two is entitled "The Best" and includes his reviews of his movie of the year picks from 1967 - 2005. Interestingly Ebert says that these were just his initial picks and some he would now change after the passage of time. Part three features an article each on fifteen foreign films. Part four focuses on ten well known documentaries including the four "Up" films. Ebert chooses ten "overlooked and underrated" movies to discuss in part five. Part six is entitled "Essays and Think Pieces" and in the included pieces Ebert speaks out against film colorization, memorializes Pauline Kael plus eight additional topics. And he concludes with some thoughtful musings on film criticism. The appendix includes lists of Ebert's top ten films from '67 - '05. The book also has a thorough index. AWAKE IN THE DARK is a must for Ebert fans or anyone who wants to learn more about film criticism. Ebert is a great teacher as he is very knowledgeable about film and his enthusiasm is infectious.

This book reflects the skill and humor that make Roger Ebert my most trusted movie critic. He loves movies and so do I, so it seems like this book was written for little old me!
The mix of essays and interviews is exceptionally well done.

Finished the book in just under two days - he's my favorite author on cinema and this one didn't disappoint!

just got the book for my husband for christmas. Have not read it yet. I am sure it is wonderful