QUESTION: Are there any films that you wanted to include in your Overlooked
Film Festival but which you have been unable (because a good print was not available, etc)? If so, what are those titles? -- Bill Garver, DeKalb, IL (34 yrs. old)
One that got away was Wit, by Mike Nichols, starring Emma Thompson. I put it in my best ten list, violating the informal rule that "cable movies" do
not qualify for such lists. Nichols told us he did not feel the movie was overlooked, and was technically true, because it played on HBO, but of course I have many definitions of overlooked, and one of them would argue that cable movies don't get the respect they deserve.
QUESTION: Mr. Ebert, the inclusion of Singin' In The Rain is a telling one. It is probably the most well known musical, but I agree with you that it is not seen very often. I had never seen a musical until Moulin Rouge, and since then only Chicago. I found that I enjoyed both very much. Do you think that musicals will ever be widely accepted and seen by broad audiences? Or are musicals destined to be overlooked, especially by male teenagers like myself for example? -- Scott Cassidy, Boston, MA (19 yrs. old)
I've gotten some static from those who argue that Singin' In The Rain: is far from overlooked. But in my experience many younger viewers are not very familiar with the movie musical as a genre, which is why we generally show a musically-oriented film on the closing Sunday. Also, the film is a good
fit this year because it is about the transition from silent film to talkies, and we have three silent programs in this year's festival.
QUESTION: Over the years, I've noticed that you are an animation fan, and not just of Disney, Pixar, and Warner brothers but Studio Ghibli and other foreign studios as well. I remember reading an interview with Hayao Miyazaki where he listed the most important animated movies (to him), and they were pretty much all movies from the old Soviet Union and Japan that I'd never even heard of (I didn't even know the Soviet Union had an animation studio). My question is that if, one year, you had to choose only animated features for your overlooked film festival, what would be some of the ones that you would choose? -- Kevin Johnson, Plattsmouth, NB (25 yrs. old)
Well, of course we have shown Grave of the Fireflies in the festival! Also the anime Metropolis (2002). I might show My Neighbor Totoro, Roujin-Z,
Yellow Submarine, The Iron Giant, The Wings of Honneamise, Waking Life, and some Disney classics, although none of them are overlooked.
QUESTION: In your opinion, what responsibilities do film critics have to the moviegoing public? Isn't the chief duty to provide them with an indication as to whether or not they will enjoy the film? If so, why does opinion vary so greatly between critics and the masses? -- Thom Stricklin, Mesa, AZ (21 yrs. old)
The perfect review should indeed allow a reader to determine whether he or she is likely to enjoy or appreciate a film--but that does not require the critic to agree with the reader. The critic who tries to reflect public taste casts himself in the role of the ventriloquist's dummy, with the public of course acting as the ventriloquist. Opinion often varies between critics and the public, if I may say so, because critics know more about film, have seen more films, have thought about them more, are more experienced at viewing them, and are looking for more than immediate escapism. Moviegoers who hope to become more evolved might well go to a site like Rotten Tomatoes, search for the best-reviewed films of the year, and make it a point to see (or rent) those they made it a point to avoid.
QUESTION: Hello, Mr. Ebert. I'm afraid that my question is a serious one. We are living in a very scary world right now. We are at war with Iraq, North Korea has nuclear weapons, and there are secret terrorist organizations all over the world who's only goal is to destroy us and destroy our way of life. It would seem that the movies are only a trivial thing at a time like this, but I think that they can actually be much more important. I was wondering what role you think films play in today's world, and if you think films really can change things for the better. -- Michael Guerena, Los Angeles, CA (18 yrs. old)
Movies are an empathy machine. Better than any other art form, they allow us the sensation of standing in somebody else's shoes. We are trapped in ourselves, in our own box of space and time, and to identity with movie characters is a way to get outside of that box. No one familiar with the recent Iranian cinema, for example, could take a monolithic "axis of evil"
view of that country. Good movies are civilizing, thoughtful, humanizing. Bad movies of course are another matter.
QUESTION: Can you solidify a review within hours or even minutes of viewing a film or do you need time to digest a film (like a day or two)? Also, what is the longest you've ever needed to turn a film over in your head before
deciding on it? And (of course) which film was that? -- Ellen, Northfield
As a working newspaperman, the timing of writing is often dictated by deadlines. Sometimes I need to see a movie twice (Vanilla Sky) and sometimes I wish I had (I did not realize the revenge was against the wrong man in Irreversible). Sometimes I write a review immediately after seeing a movie, and sometimes months pass (although then I try to see it a second time). I have struggled for years with Brazil, Blue Velvet and The City of Lost Children and still do not feel I have closure with them.
QUESTION: What film has left you completely emotionally devastated to the point that you would never want to experience it again? -- Susanna Curtis, Dallas, TX
A film that powerful, I would want to see it again. Do the Right Thing had a powerful impact on me, as did Ikiru and Grave of the Fireflies. I have seen all three many times.
By the way, my Overlooked Film Festival colleague, Nate Kohn, is a professor of film at the University of Georgia...
QUESTION: What do you think distinguishes a professional critic from a hobbyist? Do you think the Internet has democratized your profession or just "dumbed it down"? -- Johnathan, Moot Point (33 yrs. old) (ed. -- I'd
like to add a follow up question: What role has the Internet played in changing the content and nature of your film reviews?)
The Internet is the best thing that has ever happened to the practice of movie reviewing, both because it provides a forum open to everyone, and because through linking sites like RT, it allows readers everywhere to seek out critics they admire or enjoy. As for the second question, often I am writing my review before other reviews have appeared, but I can benefit
from the quick research capability of the Internet to check things and educate myself. Also, the Web have us the invaluable term "spoiler."
QUESTION: I've been writing film reviews for my college paper going on two years now with hopes that I might turn it into a career. My question is what do you consider to be the biggest challenges to the next generation of film critics my age who will start to emerge in the next several years? What do you think will be different about critics' relationship with the film industry? -- Scott Fairbanks, Williamson, NY (25 yrs. old)
The biggest challenge will be finding a paycheck. I do not know how many people actually support themselves full time as movie critics, but it cannot be more than... what? Five hundred? The industry will respect you in proportion to the importance of your outlet, irregardless of your taste. Your editors should welcome your opinion whether or not it mirrors public or box office responses, but many editors want their critics to follow, not lead, public opinion, and that may cause real problems for you.
QUESTION: You've decided that modern life is far too stressful and so you're packing so that you can spend the rest of your life on a desert island, the only problem is that you've bought too small a suitcase and you can only fit in one film, one CD, one book, and a lifetime's supply of only one kind of food. What would they be? -- "Spider J"
The old desert island wheeze. I would not bring a film or CD, because it would be a favorite and I would never want to grow sick of it. The book would be the works of Shakespeare, which I could never hope to get to the bottom of. Food? Since I would sicken of anything after awhile, maybe just a tofu-vegetable-fruit-grain mix I could ingest without thinking about it.
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