Respect for S+E

This is a really unexpectedly touching documentary. I knew of Ebert's health battles and of course Siskel's death back in '99, but I wasn't expecting this documentary about a writer/film critic to be so emotional.

The film took me back to 1979, when I was 16 and a sophomore in high school. My family only recently had gotten cable TV, and one day as I surfed through the channels, my attention was caught by an image on the PBS station. Two silhouettes were sitting in the balcony of a movie theater. On the screen was the very creepy-looking, bald, pointy-eared vampire Nosferatu, played by actor Klaus Kinski in the film of the same name. I stopped and watched, repulsed and fascinated by Kinski's performance. Then I got hooked listening to these two guys talking about the movie. From that moment on I became a faithful viewer of "Sneak Previews".

S&E were largely responsible for teaching me the art of movies and film criticism. They, along with a few of my high school and college teachers, formed and molded my love of movies.

Watching this documentary drove home how important S&E had became over the past 35 years. Ebert, obviously a great writer, newspaperman, critic, and internet pioneer, was also a huge influence on the careers of such film luminaries as Martin Scorcese, Errol Morris, Werner Herzog, and the very director of this documentary, Steve James.

A wonderful, funny, and very touching film.

"Push the button, Max!"