Great Movies: The
First 100
BY ROGER EBERT
Every other week I visit a film classic from the past
and write about it.[mh1] My "Great Movies" series began in the
autumn of 1996 and now reaches a landmark of 100 titles with today's review of
Federico Fellini's "8
1/2," which is, appropriately[mh2] , a film about a film director. I love my job, and
this is the part I love the most.
We have completed the first century of film. Too many moviegoers are stuck in
the present and recent past. When people tell me that "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" or "Total Recall" are
their favorite films, I wonder: Have they tasted the joys of Welles[mh3] , Bunuel[mh4] , Ford[mh5] , Murnau[mh6] *,
Keaton[mh7] , Hitchcock[mh8] , Wilder[mh9] or Kurosawa[mh10] ? If they
like Ferris Bueller, what would they think of Jacques
Tati's "Mr. Hulot's
I ask not because I am a film snob. I like to sit in the dark and enjoy movies.
I think of old films as a resource of treasures. Movies have been made for 100 years, in
color and black and white, in sound and silence, in wide-screen and the classic
frame, in English and every other language.[mh13] To limit
yourself to popular hits and recent years is like being Ferris Bueller[mh14] but
staying home all day.
I believe
we are born with our minds open to wonderful experiences, and only slowly learn
to limit ourselves to narrow tastes. We are taught to lose our curiosity by the
bludgeon-blows of mass marketing, which brainwash us to see "hits,"
and discourage exploration[mh15] .
I know that many people dislike subtitled films, and that few people reading
this article will have ever seen a film from
"Anyone
who can read at the third-grade level can read these subtitles,"[mh17] I told the
audience of 1,000 kids and some parents. "If you can't, it's OK for your
parents or older kids to read them aloud--just not too loudly."
The lights went down and the movie began. I expected a lot of reading aloud. There was
none. Not all of the kids were old enough to read, but apparently they were
picking up the story just by watching and using their intelligence.[mh18] The
audience was spellbound. No noise, restlessness, punching, kicking, running
down the aisles. Just eyes lifted up to a fascinating story. Afterward, we
asked kids up on the stage to ask questions or talk about the film. What they
said indicated how involved they had become.
Kids. And yet most adults will not go to a movie from
[mh19]
I don't know. What I do know is that if you [mh20] love horror
movies, your life as a filmgoer is not complete until you see "Nosferatu." I know that once you see Orson Welles
appear in the doorway in "The Third Man," you will never forget his
curious little smile. And that the life and death of the old man in "Ikiru" will be an inspiration every time you remember
it.
I have
not written any of the 100 Great Movies reviews from memory.[mh21] Every film
has been seen fresh, right before writing. When I'm at home, I often watch them
on Sunday mornings. It's a form of prayer: The greatest films are meditations
on why we are here. When I'm on the road, there's no telling where I'll see
them. I saw "Written on the Wind" on a cold January night at the
Everyman Cinema in Hampstead, north of
When people asked me where they should begin in looking at classic films, I
never knew what to say. Now I can say, "Plunge into these Great Movies,
and go where they lead you."
There's a next step. If you're really serious about the movies, get together
with two or three friends who care as much as you do. Watch the film all the
way through on video. Then start again at the top. Whenever anyone sees
anything they want to comment on, freeze the frame. Talk about what you're
looking at. The story, the performances, the sets, the locations. The camera
movement, the lighting, the composition, the special effects. The color, the
shadows, the sound, the music. The themes, the tone, the mood, the style.
There are no right answers. The questions are the point. They make you an
active movie watcher, not a passive one. You should not be a witness at a
movie, but a collaborator. Directors cannot make the film without you. Together,
you can accomplish amazing things.[mh22] The more
you learn, the quicker you'll know when the director is not doing his share of
the job. That's the whole key to being a great moviegoer. There's nothing else
to it.
[mh1]Talk about this opening sentence. How does Ebert choose to open his essay? What technique does he use? What does he depend on/expect from you? What follows?
[mh2]How so “appropriately”?
[mh3]Citizen
Kane (1941) is the most listed, but see
also Touch of Evil
(1958).
[mh5]Stagecoach (1939), though you probably have seen The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
[mh6]Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror, released 5th March 1922) [Click on asterisk next to name to see trailer.]
[mh7]The General (1927)
[mh10]I can’t choose. Try, at least, Seven Samurai, Rashomon, and Ran.
[mh11]See if you can find the Moroder soundtrack version.
[mh12]Thesis?
[mh13]Interesting sentence. See how he uses the short phrases to expand his idea?
[mh14]I like this comment. It’s cute, symmetric, works the Ferris factor back on itself, and makes its point. That’s the casual-style effectiveness of professional writing. Anyone can do it.
[mh15]Agree? This is a direct challenge to most Americans. Read the next paragraph.
[mh16]Notice the use of real-life examples? Real SDT! And we know that he is not just talking about a specific movie, Children of Heaven, he’s using it as an example of all nontraditional movies.
[mh17]Quotes! (SDT!)
[mh18]Notice that he doesn’t just tell a story, but also comments and leads the reader to what he wants us to know. He does the thinking for us (We can always make up our minds later).
[mh19]Questions are good. They make what could be dull reading interactive. They lead us to his conclusions.
[mh20]Avoid the use of “you” in academica writing. Ebert’s not writing academically here. He’s identified a different audience.
[mh21]How does this paragraph tie into the thesis.
[mh22]Leave your reader with something to do, somewhere to go, a direction. That’s an effective way to keep your reader interacting, and your reader will appreciate that you have not wasted his time. He knows what to do.