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Roger Joseph Ebert was the all-time best-known, most successful movie critic in cinema history, when one thinks of his establishing a rapport with both serious cineastes and the movie-going public and reaching more movie fans via television and print than any other critic. He became the first and only movie critic to win a Pulitzer Prize (it would be 28 years before another film critic, Stephen Hunter, would win journalism's top tchotchke). His opinions likely were relied on by more movie-goers than any other critic in cinema history, making Roger Ebert the gold standard for film criticism.
Ebert was born in Urbana, Illinois, to Annabel (Stumm), a bookkeeper, and Walter Harry Ebert, an electrician. He was married to Chaz Ebert. Roger Ebert died on April 4, 2013, in Chicago, Illinois.Pulitzer prize winning film critic, author, TV personality- Actor
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- Cinematographer
Robert Osborne was the host on Turner Classic Movies from its inception in 1994, in large part due to his deep and abiding love and knowledge of film. Osborne got his start working for Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. The ever-perspicacious Ball suggested that Osborne combine his interest in classic film and training in journalism, and write instead of act. Osborne took this advice and produced "Academy Awards Illustrated" a book which then begat his years at The Hollywood Reporter. He also became the official historian of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. An elegant and unassuming man, Osborne combined a startling facility with movie names, dates, and facts with the gift to tell a good story and ability to be a gracious host.Turner Classics Movies host, film historian- Writer
- Producer
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Richard Schickel was born on 10 February 1933 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. He was a writer and producer, known for The Big Red One (1980), Minnelli on Minnelli: Liza Remembers Vincente (1987) and Watch the Skies!: Science Fiction, the 1950s and Us (2005). He was married to Carol Rubenstein and Julia Carroll Whedon. He died on 18 February 2017 in Los Angeles, California, USA.Film Historian, film critic, director-producer of documentaries about film- Director
- Additional Crew
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Rudy Behlmer was born and raised in San Francisco, California. He has had a strong interest in the history and evolution of motion pictures since childhood when he began filming his own miniature dramas. He served two years in the Naval Air Corps, then was a Theatre Arts major at Los Angeles City College and Pasadena Playhouse College. He began his career with KLAC-TV (now KCOP-TV) in Hollywood as a stage manager. Two years later he became a staff director there, leaving to direct network television shows. For twenty-one years he was a producer and vice-president for Leo Burnett U.S.A. Following 'Movies' Golden Age' (1961), a syndicated TV special he produced, directed and edited, Behlmer started researching and writing articles on various aspects of film history. One project - a career piece on producer David O. Selznick - led indirectly to his book Memo from David O. Selznick (1972), followed by nine other books as well as a great many magazine articles and booklets to accompany film music recordings. Behlmer has also contributed to a wide variety of documentaries, videos, DVDs, and laser discs about Hollywood's Golden Age. For many years he lectured weekly on film subjects at Cal State University, Northridge, and Art Center College of Design, Pasadena. Behlmer is a longtime member of the Directors Guild of America where he has guest-lectured on different occasions. He has also guest-lectured at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the University of Southern California, etc.Film Historian, author- Producer
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Martin Charles Scorsese was born on November 17, 1942 in Queens, New York City, to Catherine Scorsese (née Cappa) and Charles Scorsese, who both worked in Manhattan's garment district, and whose families both came from Palermo, Sicily. He was raised in the neighborhood of Little Italy, which later provided the inspiration for several of his films. Scorsese earned a B.S. degree in film communications in 1964, followed by an M.A. in the same field in 1966 at New York University's School of Film. During this time, he made numerous prize-winning short films including The Big Shave (1967), and directed his first feature film, Who's That Knocking at My Door (1967).
He served as assistant director and an editor of the documentary Woodstock (1970) and won critical and popular acclaim for Mean Streets (1973), which first paired him with actor and frequent collaborator Robert De Niro. In 1976, Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976), also starring De Niro, was awarded the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and he followed that film with New York, New York (1977) and The Last Waltz (1978). Scorsese directed De Niro to an Oscar-winning performance as boxer Jake LaMotta in Raging Bull (1980), which received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, and is hailed as one of the masterpieces of modern cinema. Scorsese went on to direct The Color of Money (1986), The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Goodfellas (1990), Cape Fear (1991), The Age of Innocence (1993), Casino (1995) and Kundun (1997), among other films. Commissioned by the British Film Institute to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of cinema, Scorsese completed the four-hour documentary, A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese Through American Movies (1995), co-directed by Michael Henry Wilson.
His long-cherished project, Gangs of New York (2002), earned numerous critical honors, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Director; the Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator (2004) won five Academy Awards, in addition to the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for Best Picture. Scorsese won his first Academy Award for Best Director for The Departed (2006), which was also honored with the Director's Guild of America, Golden Globe, New York Film Critics, National Board of Review and Critic's Choice awards for Best Director, in addition to four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. Scorsese's documentary of the Rolling Stones in concert, Shine a Light (2008), followed, with the successful thriller Shutter Island (2010) two years later. Scorsese received his seventh Academy Award nomination for Best Director, as well as a Golden Globe Award, for Hugo (2011), which went on to win five Academy Awards.
Scorsese also serves as executive producer on the HBO series Boardwalk Empire (2010) for which he directed the pilot episode. Scorsese's additional awards and honors include the Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival (1995), the AFI Life Achievement Award (1997), the Honoree at the Film Society of Lincoln Center's 25th Gala Tribute (1998), the DGA Lifetime Achievement Award (2003), The Kennedy Center Honors (2007) and the HFPA Cecil B. DeMille Award (2010). Scorsese and actor Leonardo DiCaprio have worked together on five separate occasions: Gangs of New York (2002), The Aviator (2004), The Departed (2006), Shutter Island (2010) and The Wolf of Wall Street (2013).Filmmaker, film expert- Writer
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Eddie Muller is known for Mau Mau Sex Sex (2001), The Grand Inquisitor (2008) and Twelve Chimes It's Midnight Podcast (2017).Film noir expert, author- Producer
- Writer
- Actor
Quentin Jerome Tarantino was born in Knoxville, Tennessee. His father, Tony Tarantino, is an Italian-American actor and musician from New York, and his mother, Connie (McHugh), is a nurse from Tennessee. Quentin moved with his mother to Torrance, California, when he was four years old.
In January of 1992, first-time writer-director Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs (1992) appeared at the Sundance Film Festival. The film garnered critical acclaim and the director became a legend immediately. Two years later, he followed up Dogs success with Pulp Fiction (1994) which premiered at the Cannes film festival, winning the coveted Palme D'Or Award. At the 1995 Academy Awards, it was nominated for the best picture, best director and best original screenplay. Tarantino and writing partner Roger Avary came away with the award only for best original screenplay. In 1995, Tarantino directed one fourth of the anthology Four Rooms (1995) with friends and fellow auteurs Alexandre Rockwell, Robert Rodriguez and Allison Anders. The film opened December 25 in the United States to very weak reviews. Tarantino's next film was From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), a vampire/crime story which he wrote and co-starred with George Clooney. The film did fairly well theatrically.
Since then, Tarantino has helmed several critically and financially successful films, including Jackie Brown (1997), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004), Inglourious Basterds (2009), Django Unchained (2012) and The Hateful Eight (2015).Filmmaker, film expert- Pauline Kael was born in Petaluma, CA, in 1919, and attended the University of California at Berkeley in the 1930s. She tried and failed to work as a playwright in her 20s, and began writing film reviews as a freelance writer for film journals in the 1950s. After success with national magazines in the 1960s and publishing her first book, "I Lost It At the Movies,", she became a film critic for The New Yorker in 1968, and wrote for that magazine until 1991. She published 13 books of her essays and criticism, and won the National Book Award in 1974, and wielded power and influence, even after retiring. She passed away on September 3, 2001.Film critic
- Andrew Sarris was born on 31 October 1928 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was a writer, known for Billy Baxter Presents Diary of the Cannes Film Festival with Rex Reed (1980). He was married to Molly Haskell. He died on 20 June 2012 in Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA.Film critic
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Gene Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He partnered with fellow critic Roger Ebert to present a series of television shows which centered on film reviews. Their partnership lasted from 1975 to Siskel's death in 1999. Siskel became famous for his heated arguments with Ebert, as they frequently disagreed on the merits of particular films. Siskel had brain surgery in 1998. He died in 1999, due to complications from the surgery.
In 1946, Siskel was born in Chicago. His parents were Nathan William Siskel and his wife Ida Kalis, first-generation Russian-Jewish immigrants. Both of his parents had died by 1955, when Siskel was 9-years-old. He was primarily raised by his uncle and aunt. Siskel was educated at the Culver Academies, a college preparatory boarding school which was located in Culver, Indiana.
Siskel received his college education at Yale University. He graduated with a degree in philosophy in 1967. He was interested in a writing career, and studied writing under the famous journalist John Hersey (1914-1993). Hershey provided the recommendation which allowed Siskel to be hired by the Chicago Tribune.
Following his college graduation, Siskel joined the United States Army Reserve. He served as a military journalist, and as a public affairs officer for the Defense Information School. In 1969, he was hired by the Chicago Tribune as a journalist. Shortly after, Siskel was appointed as the newspaper's new film critic. He would continue working for this newspaper for 30 years.
In 1975, Siskel and Ebert started presenting a film review show for WTTW, the local Chicago PBS station. The original title for the show was "Opening Soon at a Theater Near You". In 1977, it was renamed to "Sneak Previews". At this point, it became available to the PBS program system. In 1978, the show started airing biweekly on PBS, where it gained a national audience. In 1980, the show started airing weekly on over 180 stations. It reportedly became "the highest rated weekly entertainment series in the history of public broadcasting".
In 1982, Siskel and Ebert were offered a new contract by WTTW. The duo found the contract's terms to be unfavorable to them and they chose to resign instead. They were replaced by new hosts for the show, Neal Gabler and Jeffrey Lyons. Ratings soon declined, and the new hosts were ridiculed in press reviews as inferior to Siskel and Ebert. Meanwhile, Siskel and Ebert were offered their own syndicated television show by Tribune Broadcasting, the parent company of the Chicago Tribune. They took the offer, and became the original hosts of "At the Movies" (1982-1990).
In 1986, Siskel and Ebert were offered a new contract by Buena Vista Entertainment, the television division of the Walt Disney Company. They launched their new show under the title "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies" (1986-1999). At about this time, the Chicago Tribune chose to demote Siskel. He was no longer the newspaper's full-time film critic, but a freelance contract writer. Siskel chose not to protest his demotion, though Ebert publicly criticized the mistreatment of his partner.
In May 1998, Siskel was hospitalized for treatment of a brain tumor. He underwent brain surgery. For weeks, he only participated in his show through comments delivered by phone. When he resumed work at the studio, Siskel seemed to be more lethargic and mellow than usual.
Siskel published his last newspaper review on January 29, 1999. He praised the young actress Rachael Leigh Cook, and commented that he hoped to see her next film. With signs that his health was declining again, Siskel had to seek further medical treatment. On February 3, 1999, he announced that he was taking a leave of absence from his television show. He appeared optimistic that he would be able to recover within a few months. He died on February 20 of the same year, due to complications from his surgery. He was 53-years-old at the time of his death. His funeral was held at the "North Suburban Synagogue Beth El", located in Highland Park, Illinois. Siskel was buried at Westlawn Cemetery, located in Norridge, Illinois.
Following Siskel's death, his television show was renamed to "Roger Ebert & the Movies". A series of guest critics served as temporary replacements for Siskel, until a more permanent solution could be found. In 2000, Siskel was finally replaced by the new host Richard Roeper. Ebert was also diagnosed with cancer in 2002. As Ebert's health declined, the show lost much of its viewership. It was canceled in 2010. Siskel is still fondly recalled by the viewers of his shows, who found that their favorite host was irreplaceable.Film critic, TV personality
we miss you Gene- Writer
- Actor
Richard Roeper was born on 17 October 1959 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. He is a writer and actor, known for Something to Live For, Siskel & Ebert (1986) and Entourage (2004).Film critic, TV personality- Molly Haskell was born on 29 September 1939 in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA. She is a writer, known for Billy Baxter Presents Diary of the Cannes Film Festival with Rex Reed (1980) and For the Love of Movies: The Story of American Film Criticism (2009). She was previously married to Andrew Sarris.Film critic, author
- Producer
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Elvis Mitchell was born in 1958 in Detroit, Michigan, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Is That Black Enough for You?!? (2022), Black Lightning (2018) and The Black List: Volume One (2008).Film critic