Legends We Lost Last Year | Blue Notebook

Roger Ebert - Film Critic - One of the most revered film reviewer of all time, Ebert was the first critic to receive a star at Hollywood Walk Of Fame. He popularized the art of film reviewing and inspired a whole generation of film bloggers.

Peter O'Toole - Actor - Shakespearean actor Peter was a known name in theatre circles before he came to cinema and adopted it with great finesse. Eight Oscar nominations spanning over five decades speaks volumes about his body of work.

Rituparno Ghosh - Director/Actor - Rituparno, one of the finest Bengali directors, will be remembered for his open thoughts, compassion for Rabindranath Tagore's craft and sensitive filmmaking. Awarded with National Award 12 times, he died fairly young leaving behind a thought - may be his best was yet to come.

Joan Fontaine - Actress - Joan will be remembered for her charm and acting skills. She is the only actor who got an Academy Award for a part in Alfred Hitchcock film. Only sad note will be uneasy relationship with her sister, an equally accomplished Olivia de Havilland.

Farooq Sheikh - Actor - One of the most underrated actor of post Golden era in Hindi cinema when mainstream and Parallel cinema parted and later came together. He played roles in exceptional films like Garam Hawa, Shatrannj Ke Khiladi and Chashme Buddoor.

Roger Ebert – Two Thumbs Up & effect on pop film culture| Statesmen

Being a movie buff you must have thought at some point, ”Who is the most renowned critic in cinema today.”  Atleast I had this question in my mind 2 years ago.  Researches lead me to the legendary Roger Ebert. I realized his influence on pop culture soon.

For example, if you are familiar with noted Indian Film Critic, Rajeev Masand, you must have noticed in his verdicts, “3 out of 5 and a thumbs up” or “3.5 out of 5 and two thumbs up” or “1 out of 5 and two thumbs down.”  Ever wondered where did this, thumbs up / thumbs down came into being? This is a direct reference to the show “Siskel and Ebert and The Movies”. In the show, Roger Ebert and his co-critic Gene Siskel used to give ratings in thumbs up or thumbs down. If both of them liked it was two thumbs up, If only one liked it was rated as one thumbs up.

Again if you have seen the show, Chicks on Flicks, they rate movies as double catch it or double trash it. This format is also directly from the show “Siskel and Ebert and The Movies”.

Interestingly, when the phrase started ‘Two thumbs up’ started becoming popular, Ebert and Siskel looked up literature history to see if this phrase was used before them. Sure enough, they realized they had coined the phrase . Two Thumbs Up® is a registered trademark of the show.

His contribution to cinema has been that more than reviewing big movies, he laid emphasis on small independent movies. He always brought to his show movies that he thought MUST be seen by movie buffs. Many Indie films have benefitted from his recommendations. Today’s generation of film directors and critics have grown up watching him and have been influenced by him. Therefore even as he does not have many film credits but by influence he has changed today’s cinema.

PS- I intended this piece to be an introduction of Roger Ebert. I may write more on him in later editions.

Written By- Ali Naqvi