On Sat, Apr 6, 2013 at 2:56 PM, Rick Beckrich <rbeckrich@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> He was a really nice guy, too. I was lucky enough to meet him when I worked
> for the Sun-Times in 1971. Told some great and funny stories in the company
> cafeteria.
>
While I never had the opportunity to meet him, I just got the feeling he
was nice. He was definitely in a league of his own as a critic - the
majority of critics, be they theatre, food, music or movies, seem to have
an axe to grind. You get the feeling that they failed at what they wanted
to do, so instead, they were just going to tear down those who did
succeed. Either that, or they suffer from poor self-esteem and need to put
forth the attitude that they are wayyyy smarter than you are, and if you
don't think that this unknown garage punk band from Keokuk, Iowa is the
most significant development in music since prehistoric times, well then
you're just not smart enough and don't deserve nice things. Either that,
or when they say a mainstream, widely-beloved move sucks, and if you happen
to like it, then you're just a moron with no taste.
I never, ever got that feeling from Ebert. He seemed to be a guy who
genuinely was passionate about movies, to his core. He studied, watched,
learned, understood. He could draw valid comparisons to literature,
history, other films. I didn't always agree with him, but I always got the
feeling that he'd be OK with that as well. To me, when he criticized a
film, it felt like constructive criticism, like he was trying to help
improve the art. He actually wrote two screenplays.
And he was a consummate journalist. I know there are quite a few writers
out there today who hold him up as the gold standard that they compare
their own work with.
I usually ignore film critics and make my own choices. But I often felt
that I could trust Ebert and perhaps spend my movie money more wisely on a
different film. He was one-of-a-kind.
--
Paul Braun
Music Junkie
"Music washes from the soul the dust of everyday life." -- Harlan Howard
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