The Great Movies IV

At the time of his death in 2013, Roger Ebert was arguably the most influential writer about movies in the United States. He had been film critic for the Chicago "Sun-Times” for over 45 years, reviewing more movies than any other critic active during that time and pioneering in both television reporting and reviewing. In 1975 he was the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for criticism. Conceived in September, 1996 as a biweekly series, his "Great Movies” pieces ran until his death. They are the crème de la crème of Ebert’s writing--he demonstrated the critical acumen evident in his daily reviews, and the longer format allowed him to offer more reflective and wide-ranging considerations of the films chosen. Ebert saw the series as "a tour of the landmarks of the first century of cinema,” offering "a balance between titles most people have heard of...and those few readers may be familiar with.” In the 62 pieces collected in this fourth volume, Ebert continued that practice, offering illuminating essays on movies ranging from "The Big Lebowski” to "Viridiana.” Matt Zoller Seitz, the current editor-in-chief of the Ebert website, has provided an insightful Foreword, confirming the lasting value of his critical writing. "The Great Movies IV” is a fitting capstone to a great career.