Roger Ebert has been writing film reviews for the Chicago Sun-Times for over forty years. In fact, no critic alive has reviewed more movies than he has. Yet his essential writings have never been collected in a single volume—until now. With Awake in the Dark, both fans and film buffs can finally bask in the best of Ebert’s work. The reviews, interviews, and essays collected here present a picture of his numerous contributions to the cinema and cinephilia. From The Godfather to GoodFellas, from Cries and Whispers to Crash, the reviews in Awake in the Dark span some of the most exceptional periods in film history.
In addition, the extraordinary interviews gathered in Awake in the Dark capture Ebert engaging not only some of the most influential directors of our time—Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Woody Allen, Robert Altman, Werner Herzog, and Ingmar Bergman—but also some of the silver screen’s most respected personalities, including actors as diverse as Robert Mitchum, James Stewart, Warren Beatty, and Meryl Streep.
America’s most celebrated film critic, Ebert is a writer whose exceptional intelligence and bursts of insight have shaped the way we think about the movies. Awake in the Dark will be a treasure trove not just for fans of this seminal critic but for anyone desiring a fascinating and compulsively readable chronicle of film since the late 1960s.
“As film criticism becomes more marginalized, Ebert may come to be seen as the last of a kind—the critic who actually has the power to influence a national audience.”—Booklist
“[Ebert's] writing is top-notch. In Awake in the Dark, Ebert has produced his most personal collection of reviews, essays, and interviews, providing insights into the man as much as the movies he loves. . . . This volume contains some of Ebert's most exciting writing.”—Gary Kramer, Filmbill
Foreword, by David Bordwell
Introduction
Prologue: Death of a Dream Palace
La Dolce Vita
Part 1
Interviews and Profiles
Introduction
Warren Beatty
James Stewart
Robert Mitchum
Mitch and Jimmy: Some Thoughts
Lee Marvin
Ingmar Bergman
Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader
Robert Altman
Werner Herzog
Meryl Streep
Woody Allen
Spike Lee
Tom Hanks
Errol Morris
Steven Spielberg
Part 2
The Best
Introduction
1967: Bonnie and Clyde
1968: The Battle of Algiers
1969: Z
1970: Five Easy Pieces
1971: The Last Picture Show
1972: The Godfather
1973: Cries and Whispers
1974: Scenes from a Marriage
1975: Nashville
1976: Small Change
1977: 3 Women
1978: An Unmarried Woman
1979: Apocalypse Now
1980: The Black Stallion
1981: My Dinner with Andre
1982: Sophie’s Choice
1983: The Right Stuff
1984: Amadeus
1985: The Color Purple
1986: Platoon
1987: House of Games
1988: Mississippi Burning
1989: Do the Right Thing
1990: GoodFellas
1991: JFK
1992: Malcolm X
1993: Schindler’s List
1994: Hoop Dreams
1995: Leaving Las Vegas
1996: Fargo
1997: Eve’s Bayou
1998: Dark City
1999: Being John Malkovich
2000: Almost Famous
2001: Monster’s Ball
2002: Minority Report
2003: Monster
2004: Million Dollar Baby
2005: Crash
Part 3
Foreign Films
Introduction
Tokyo Story
The Music Room
Au Hasard Balthazar
Belle de Jour
The Wild Child
Claire’s Knee
Last Tango in Paris
Fellini’s Roma
Stroszek
The Marriage of Maria Braun
Wings of Desire
Raise the Red Lantern
The Scent of Green Papaya
Spirited Away
City of God
Part 4
Documentaries
Introduction
Woodstock
Harlan County, U.S.A.
Gates of Heaven
Say Amen, Somebody
The "Up" Movies
28 Up
35 Up
42 Up
Shoah
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
Roger Ebert is the Pulitzer Prize–winning film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times and has cohosted a weekly movie review program on television since 1975, first with Gene Siskel and since 2000 with Richard Roeper. He is the author of numerous books on film, including The Great Movies, The Great Movies II, and Roger Ebert’s Movie Yearbook.
Imprint: University Of Chicago Press
Distributor: Chicago Distribution Center
Publication Date: 05-15-2008
Pages: 512
Measurements: 9.00in X 6.00in
