Roger Ebert Quotes
We are put on this planet only once, and to limit ourselves to the familiar is a crime against our minds.
Because of the rush of human knowledge, because of the digital revolution, I have a voice, and I do not need to scream.
The film argues to the young that the old were young once, too, and contain within them all that the young know, and more.
Anyone who reads advice books about romance has one problem to begin with: bad taste in literature.
Sometimes miraculous films come into being, made by people you've never heard of, starring unknown faces, blindsiding you with creative genius.
It's a good question, because a movie isn't good or bad based on its politics. It's usually good or bad for other reasons, though you might agree or disagree with its politics.
Many thrillers follow such reliable formulas that you can look at what's happening and guess how much longer a film has to run.
The movie "Ed Wood," about the worst director of all time, was made to prepare us for "Stargate."
The movie cheerfully offends all civilized notions of taste, decorum, manners and hygiene... The movie is vulgar? Vulgarity is when we don't laugh. When we laugh, it's merely human nature.
When I had been a film critic for ten minutes, I treated Doris Day as a target for cheap shots. I have learned enough to say today that the woman was remarkably gifted.
Someone once said the fundamental reason we get married is because have a universal human need for a witness.
I do suspect my star ratings average too high. But, of course, star ratings are ridiculous. I'm stuck with them.
In my reviews, I feel it's good to make it clear that I'm not proposing objective truth, but subjective reactions; a review should reflect the immediate experience.
It's strange: We leave the movie having enjoyed its conclusion so much that we almost forgot our earlier reservations. But they were there, and they were real.
I believe that if, at the end, according to our abilities, we have done something to make others a little happier, and something to make ourselves a little happier, that is about the best we can do.
I know as a critic I'm required to have a well-armored heart. I must be a cynical wise guy to show my great sophistication. No pushover, me.
Teaching prejudice to a child is itself a form of bullying. You've got to be taught to hate.
I am grateful for the gifts of intelligence, love, wonder and laughter. You can't say it wasn't interesting.
James Cameron's films have always been distinguished by ground-breaking technical excellence.
I'll tell you, I think that the Internet has provided an enormous boost to film criticism by giving people an opportunity to self publish or to find sites that are friendly.
Open-heart surgery is now part of a typical life experience for many people. Folks talk casually about 'having a stent put in,' as if they had their tires rotated.
Sometimes you only need to have a few words with a person to know you would like to have many more.
We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try.
An actress should never, ever, be asked to run beside a van in red disco boots for more than about half a block, and then only if her child is being kidnapped.
There are two things you can't argue in film: comedy and eroticism. If something doesn't make you laugh, no one can tell you why it's funny, and it's difficult to reason someone out of an erection.
As I swim through the summer tide of vulgarity, I find that's what I'm looking for: Movies that at least feel affection for their characters. Raunchy is OK. Cruel is not.
Of all the arts, movies are the most powerful aid to empathy, and good ones make us into better people.
Dogs remember every favor you ever do for them and store those events in a memory bank titled Why My Human Is A God.
Film has become a marketed commodity, and the opportunities and audiences for art cinema have grown smaller. There is a general downturn in cultural literacy, perhaps because of television.
One sign of a great actor is when he can be alone by himself on the screen, doing almost nothing, and producing one of a film's defining moments.
A corner is important. It provides privacy and an anchor and lets you exist independently of the room.
Sometimes two people will regard each other over a gulf too wide to ever be bridged, and know immediately what could have happened, and that it never will.
A depressing number of people seem to process everything literally. They are to wit as a blind man is to a forest, able to find every tree, but each one coming as a surprise.
If your religion doesn't respect the rights of other religions, it is lacking something.
Well, you know what, I'm 60 years old, and I've been interested in politics since I was on my daddy's knee. During the 1948 election, we were praying for Truman. I know a lot about politics.
A lot of people just go to movies that feed into their preexisting and not so noble needs and desires: They just go to action pictures, and things like that.
