Roger Ebert
Also Known As: Roger Joseph Ebert, Reinhold Timme
Biography: Roger Ebert was a Pulitzer Prize winning film critic, journalist, and screenwriter. Described by Forbes magazine as the "most powerful pundit in America", Ebert was the first film critic to be awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as well as a Pulitzer Prize. Ebert's began his criticizing career in 1967 as a critic for the Chicago Sun-Times and later gained national recognition co-hosting a number of shows with Gene Siskel in which they coined the 'thumbs up- thumbs down' style of reviewing. Following Siskel's 1999 death Ebert continued to host "And The Movies" with Richard Roeper until 2006 when he stopped appearing due to developing Thyroid cancer. Complications from the cancer ended up taking much of his tongue and jaw, forcing Ebert to undergo massive reconstruction surgery and speak with the help of a computer program (which was configured with his own voice due to the volume of recorded spoken language from Ebert's TV show). He continued to write reviews for his website later in life. On April 3rd, 2013 announced his cancer had returned and he would be taking a "leave of presence", lowering the amount he would be writing and only reviewing films he wanted to review. Ebert succumbed to his cancer the next day, April 4th, 2013. The balcony is closed.
Department: Acting
Place of Birth: Urbana, Illinois, USA
Birthday: June 18, 1942
Deathday: April 04, 2013
Adult: No
Gender: Male
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Known For:
Citizen Yuppie
Overview: Citizen Yuppie is a 1-minute long short film directed by noted film critic Roger Ebert, originally shown alongside his partner Gene Siskel's short film (A Confessional Documentary) on the 1987 broadcast of their annual Holiday Gift Guide program. It was shot entirely on a (then-new) Fisher Price PixelVision PXL2000 low-fidelity camcorder in monochrome on compact audio cassette, inspiring Richard Linklater to utilize the same technique in his 1991 feature SLACKER. The film recontextualizes Citizen Kane to provide some self-reflexive commentary on the filmmaker's status in the world.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1987-11-01
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Don't You Forget About Me
Overview: Throughout the ’80s John Hughes defined the teen movie genre and spoke not only to that generation’s teens, but every generation that has followed. Then in 1991 he hung up his director’s hat and disappeared into obscurity ala J.D Salinger. In 2008, a group of young Canadian filmmakers set out to complete a documentary about the man with what they hoped would culminate with an interview, which would be his first since 1999.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-07-13
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Biography - Humphrey Bogart
Overview: He was one of Hollywood's greatest tough guys. His charisma and electric on-screen presence propelled the success of classic films such as The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, and The Big Sleep.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-10-05
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Pitch
Overview: A Canadian documentary featuring two young filmmakers attending the Toronto Film Festival to pitch a film concept to various celebrities. Their film idea, titled "The Dawn", concerns a Mafia don who goes for a hernia operation but gets a sex change instead. During the 1996 Toronto Fest, they approach Roger Ebert, Norman Jewison (at a packed press conference), Eric Stoltz (leaving a limo), Al Pacino, and others without much success. On a roll, they leave Toronto for Hollywood, getting advice from Arthur Hiller and Neil Simon and finding an agent who expresses interest in their pitch.
Genres: Comedy Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1997-09-04
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For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism
Overview: The story of American film criticism.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-03-01
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Searching for Debra Winger
Overview: Rosanna Arquette talks to various actresses about the pressures they face as women working in the entertainment industry.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2002-07-13
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Mysteries of Love
Overview: Isabella Rossellini, Kyle MacLachlan, Dennis Hopper, Laura Dern, and producer Fred Caruso are interviewed for this 68-minute documentary about the making of David Lynch's Blue Velvet
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2002-06-04
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The Outsider
Overview: Nicholas Jarecki follows director James Toback on the 12-day shoot of his thriller, When Will I Be Loved -- a movie made without a script or distribution deal.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-12-04
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Doris Day: A Sentimental Journey
Overview: A retrospective documentary on the life and career of Ohio-born actress, singer and TV star Doris Day.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1991-11-16
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Life Itself
Overview: The surprising and entertaining life of renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert (1942-2013): his early days as a freewheeling bachelor and Pulitzer Prize winner, his famously contentious partnership with Gene Siskel, his life-altering marriage, and his brave and transcendent battle with cancer.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2014-07-04
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Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
Overview: Hungry for an A-list interview that could launch him into the gossip-page stratosphere, Jiminy Glick, a small-time journalist with big aspirations and an even bigger appetite, drags his wife and kids across the country to the star-studded Toronto Film Festival. But in between the nonstop parties and all-you-can-eat buffets, Glick soon finds himself in the middle of an outrageously scandalous mystery that becomes the celebrity scoop of the decade!
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2005-05-08
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Sam Peckinpah's West: Legacy of a Hollywood Renegade
Overview: An account of the life and work of American film director Sam Peckinpah (1925-84), a tortured artist whose genius and inner demons changed the Western genre forever.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-07-25
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Burden
Overview: A probing portrait of Chris Burden, an artist who took creative expression to the limits and risked his life in the name of art.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2016-04-16
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You Can't Do That! The Making of 'A Hard Day's Night'
Overview: Thirty years after A Hard Day's Night, its producer, director, writer and others describe its making. United Artists Records came to Walter Shenson, asking him to produce a movie so UA could issue a soundtrack album. Shenson signed Lester to direct, and they got the Beatles to agree to star. Shenson sent Owen to Dublin to spend time with the Fab Four; from this came a script built around their being prisoners of their own success. Phil Collins, himself an extra on A Hard Day's Night, hosts this examination of a seminal film: what was ad-libbed, why was it a hit, what was its influence on other movies, and how did it define the way the public viewed each Beatle for years to come?
Genres: Music Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1995-01-01
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Waking Sleeping Beauty
Overview: By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2009-09-05
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Howard
Overview: Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.
Genres: Documentary Music
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2018-04-22
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It Conquered Hollywood! The Story of American International Pictures
Overview: A 60-minute salute to American International Pictures. Entertainment lawyer Samuel Z. Arkoff founded AIP (then called American Releasing Corporation) on a $3000 loan in 1954 with his partner, James H. Nicholson, a former West Coast exhibitor and distributor. The company made its mark by targeting teenagers with quickly produced films that exploited subjects mainstream films were reluctant to tackle.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2001-05-01
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Reflecting Thought: Stan Brakhage
Overview: Stan Brakhage is a film maker whose work is shown mainly at film festivals. His work has been likened to poetry. Brakhage explains his techniques and his motivation.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1985-01-01
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Independent's Day
Overview: Filmmakers at the Sundance Film Festival discuss what it is like to be an independent filmmaker, and what Sundance has done for them.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1998-01-15
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Chicago Filmmakers on the Chicago River
Overview: A documentary feature that reveals the creative process of Chicago moviemakers. Using the city's famous river as a location, directors are placed in a variety of boats and share stories of how Chicago has influenced their careers.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-04-01
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Television: The First Fifty Years
Overview: Trace the history of television and its impact on American culture with clips, newsreels, and exclusive interviews from television greats like Walter Cronkite, Carol Burnett, and Jay Leno.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1999-01-01
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Faye
Overview: Through honest reflection, complemented by insight from colleagues and friends, Faye Dunaway contextualizes her life and filmography, laying bare her struggles with mental health while confronting the double standards she was subjected to as a woman in Hollywood.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2024-05-15
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Welcome to Hollywood
Overview: A film director decides to chart the course of a young actor as he tries to make it in Hollywood...
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1998-10-01
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Best Sellers or: Peter Sellers and 'Dr. Strangelove'
Overview: Documentary about actor Peter Sellers and one of his most memorable film roles.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-10-28
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Abby Singer
Overview: Chronicles the life of Curtis Clemins, who is torn between the love of his life and accomplishing his dream. When hitting rock bottom during the Sundance Film Festival, Clemins' calls upon his old college chum, Kevin Prouse, giving the now drunken acting instructor in the throes of a divorce, the only clue that will salvage Clemins' rapidly deteriorating life.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-10-28
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Above, Beneath and Beyond the Valley: The Making of a Musical-Horror-Sex-Comedy
Overview: Retrospective documentary about the making of the 1970 cult film "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls."
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-06-30
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Vision of a Future Passed: The Prophecy of 2001
Overview: This documentary about "2001: A Space Odyssey" looks at some of the things that seemed fanciful in 1968, which don't seem quite as much anymore.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-10-23
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Princess Mononoke in the U.S.A.
Overview: This short documentary follows director Hayao Miyazaki and producer Toshio Suzuki as they attend two film festivals showing the film Princess Mononoke and answer questions. Miyazaki discusses his experience in LA before founding Studio Ghibli.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: ja
Release Date: 2001-11-21
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Sex at 24 Frames Per Second
Overview: Directed by Kevin Burns, this documentary from Playboy Home Video examines the oftentimes tense relationship between sex, women, and popular Hollywood culture. With a particular focus given to Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Jean Harlow, and Sharon Stone, Sex at 24 Frames Per Second studies the role of female sexuality in film throughout the years. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
Genres: Documentary History
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2003-09-23
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No Fighting in the War Room Or: 'Dr Strangelove' and the Nuclear Threat
Overview: A documentary exploring the historical concept of the narrative of Stanley Kubrick's 1964 film "Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love The Bomb." This short documentary compares the film with the actual events concerning the Cold War and the Cuban Missle Crisis.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-10-28
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Cannes: All Access
Overview: From its simple beginnings in 1939 in a sleepy beach town in the south of France, the prestigious Cannes Film Festival has become the must-attend red carpet event of the year. Filmmaker Richard Schickel's fascinating documentary captures the glitz and glamour of the festival's incredible 60-year run with archival footage and unforgettable moments. Hollywood's biggest names including Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Sharon Stone and Harvey Weinstein talk about the politics, madness, and thrills of competing for one of the industry's highest honors - the coveted Palme d'Or - and what it's like to be at the most fabulous festival by the sea.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2007-10-27
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Ballyhoo: The Hollywood Sideshow!
Overview: This documentary celebrates the ridiculous stunts used by Hollywood over the years to market its worst movies. These include the ’50s drive-in where moviegoers could drop off their dirty laundry and pick it up after the show, horror filmmaker William Castle’s vibrating seats and producer Sam Arkoff’s offer to pay for the funeral of anyone scared to death by his film. Amusing interviews with critic Roger Ebert and director John Waters, creator of Smell-O-Vision, enliven a program that has one central failing: host Frankie Avalon, who remains as schlocky as ever.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1996-08-13
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Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betweens - A Life in Animation
Overview: This biography, shown on American television as part of the PBS "Great Performances" series, examines the life works of one of Hollywood's most celebrated animators, Chuck (Charles M.) Jones. He is best known for Warner Brothers cartoons featuring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Elmer Fudd, Porky Pig, Road Runner, Wile E. Coyote, and Pepe LePew. Included are plenty of behind-the-scenes descriptions of how an animated film is made, and (best of all) many clips from Chuck's cartoons.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2000-11-08
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AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #3: SEQUELITIS
Overview: Unleashed from the video vaults of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #3: SEQUELITIS is a brand new compilation of the most electrifying found footage mayhem that you’ll see this week. For our third tape, we’re diving into the most controversial, hotly debated topic of all time: HORROR SEQUELS! Thank you for your generous support during these difficult times. And remember: “This makes Guns N’ Roses look like THE BRADY BUNCH.”
Genres: Horror Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2020-05-06
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Kubrick by Kubrick
Overview: A rare and transcendent journey into the life and films of the legendary Stanley Kubrick like we've never seen before, featuring a treasure trove of unearthed interview recordings from the master himself.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2020-10-22
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Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream
Overview: From 1970-1977, six low budget films shown at midnight transformed the way we make and watch films.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-06-20
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All the Love You Cannes!
Overview: Known for what must be the cheapest and cheesiest of the indie film world, Troma films takes on Cannes with gallons of fake blood, the Tronettes, and numerous hijinks by an uncontrollable group of volunteer Troma fans, costumed, naked, and did I mention covered with blood? While any publicity is good publicity, the low budget Troma films must wonder what this will do to their reputation. And I think they're thinking, woohoo!
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2002-05-16
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Dead Teenager Movie
Overview: DEAD TEENAGER MOVIE is a short-format documentary examining a specific sub-genre of teen slasher films; namely the Dead Teenager Movie - a term coined by movie critic, Roger Ebert. Through the use of interviews with cultural professors, film historians, directors, writers, producers and film critics, and with visual aids from movie clips of several dead teen horror films, the documentary explores the origins of these stories from their beginnings in urban legends to their jump to the big screen in the late 70s to their modern incarnations (like FINAL DESTINATION 3 and its two predecessors). It look sat what clichés and stereotypes define the sub-genre, and how they have developed in cinema over time, particularly finding a home at New Line Cinema.
Genres: Documentary Horror
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2006-07-25
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The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo
Overview: Cinematographer John A. Alonzo was one of the driving creative forces in the resurgence of expressionistic American movies of the late 1960s and '70s. Director Axel Schill's documentary explores Alonzo's work on key films of that era and beyond. Clips from Chinatown, Scarface, Internal Affairs and other movies accompany interviews with stars such as Richard Dreyfuss, Sally Field and contemporary cinematographer Haskell Wexler.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2007-01-01
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Junket Whore
Overview: A documentary film that explores the relationship between publicists and journalists in Hollywood.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 1998-10-12
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Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
Overview: For decades, Freddy Krueger has slashed his way through the dreams of countless youngsters, scaring up over half a billion dollars at the box office across eight terrifying, spectacular films.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2010-05-04
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Sesame Street: A Celebration of Me, Grover
Overview: He's furry, he's blue, and he's everyone's adorable, old pal, Grover, in his very own special! Come to the Flyers' Club Roost where everyone on Sesame Street has gathered to celebrate the many sides of Grover.
Genres: Family Comedy
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-08-31
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