Review of Life Itself (2014) by Ratedrex — 07 Jan 2016

Roger Ebert was the first columnist I read as a kid. I read him from 1967 until his death. While in college, in the mid 70s, I created the Film Society at UIC. I wanted to start out with a bang, so I called Ebert to see if he would honor our inaugural screening by introducing "Citizen Kane".

I was expecting to get the receptionist, but to my surprise Ebert answered the phone. I was a little nervous, but before long he and I were engaged in a pleasant conversation. He took me up on my offer.

And though we disagreed completely on "Citizen Kane", he came back the following year and introduced "Nashville". There is a little part of me that still holds dearly to Ebert's influence.

I was always impressed by his passion for the cinema, and his passion for life itself. This is a good, heartwarming documentary. It is a love story of the highest order. It is a shame that it wasn't nominated for Best Documentary.

I still miss him.