It is not a lionization, it is an exploration. Though based on Ebert's memoir, the film takes a turn and ends up following the final days of his battle with cancer.
James has done a wonderful job of telling a colorful life story.
| Rating: 3/4
It's never depressing for a second. Acclaimed director Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and executive producers Martin Scorsese (The Departed) and Steven Zaillian (Moneyball) present LIFE ITSELF, a documentary film that recounts the inspiring and entertaining life of world-renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert – a story that is by turns personal, funny, painful, and transcendent.
Iâm still a little emotional thinking about it.
A truly heartfelt and yet painstakingly honest look at one of the greatest, to me the greatest, film critics ever.
"Acclaimed director Steve James (Hoop Dreams) and executive producers Martin Scorsese (The Departed) and Steven Zaillian (Moneyball) present LIFE ITSELF, a documentary film that recounts the inspiring and entertaining life of world-renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert â a story that is by turns personal, funny, painful, and transcendent. By creating an account, you agree to the Copyright © Fandango.
| Rating: A Based on his bestselling memoir of the same name, LIFE ITSELF, explores the legacy of Roger Ebert's life, from his Pulitzer Prize-winning film criticism at the Chicago Sun-Times to becoming one of the most influential cultural voices in America.
""Intensely emotional. Based on his bestselling memoir of the same name, LIFE ITSELF, explores the legacy of Roger Ebertâs life, from his Pulitzer Prize-winning film criticism at the Chicago Sun-Times to becoming one of the most influential cultural voices in America.
""Profoundly moving.
""A GREAT DOCUMENTARY.
""A clear-eyed portrait of a complicated, Falstaffian figure.
| Rating: 4/5 Now heâs in one. | ""A REMARKABLY INTIMATE PORTRAIT OF A LIFE WELL LIVED.
Marlene Iglitzen-Siskel
It's the achievement of Steve James' wonderful, heartbreaking film to give us the whole man in all his personas, some graceful, some not-so-nice""DEEPLY ENTRALLING.
Roger would have loved this movie.
January 5, 2015
James cuts â as in all of his best work â straight to the human heart of the matter, celebrating both the writer and the man, the one inseparable from the other.
But most importantly I think it is a film that Roger would be proud of. An astute and sensitive account of a fully realized man and a life overflowing with abundance and achievement.
A man who, right until the end, displayed happiness and joy at every movie and the medium of cinema whilst battling cancer until his last breath.
Any biographical documentary demands onscreen star quality, and this one has a hero and a heroine worth rooting for. Life Itself is a fascinating documentary about Pulitzer Prize winning film critic Roger Ebert.
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James cuts â as in all of his best work â straight to the human heart of the matter, celebrating both the writer and the man, the one inseparable from the other. Anyone who cared about Roger Ebert will find it necessary viewing. Please click the link below to receive your verification email.
"Life Itself" seems like a very traditional nonfiction feature about a man's life.