Roger Ebert Movies
The Pulitzer Prize-winning film critic for the Chicago Sun Times, Roger Ebert was best known for his long-time partnership with late critic Gene Siskel on their long-running TV show. He penned several books on cinema, including popular video guides. He also wrote a few screenplays for Russ Meyer, including the cult favorite Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi- 2007
Axel Schill's non-fiction work The Man Who Shot Chinatown: The Life and Work of John A. Alonzo joins Light Keeps Me Company, Tell Them Who You Are, and other recent documentaries in paying homage to one of the world's great cinematographers. Active from the early 1960s until just before his death in early 2001, Alonzo beat the odds as a young man by migrating to the U.S. as a Mexican farmer's son and then working his way up to ultimately qualify as one of the most revered cinematographers in the American film industry. Among other accomplishments, he lit a string of contemporary classics including Harold and Maude (1971), The Bad News Bears (1976), Scarface (1983), and Steel Magnolias (1989). Schill cuts together interviews with such Alonzo collaborators as Richard Dreyfuss, Sally Field, and Michael Crichton, and illustrates many of their observations with clips from the esteemed director of photography's finest work. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Sid Levin, Andy Sidaris, (more)
- 2005
- Add Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream to Queue Add Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream to top of Queue
Stuart Samuels's popular documentary Midnight Movies: From Margin to Mainstream grounds itself in the thesis that six revolutionary American motion pictures - Night of the Living Dead (1968), El Topo (1970), Pink Flamingoes (1972), The Harder they Come (1972), The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) and Eraserhead (1976) - invented the concept of "midnight movies" and thus permanently reshaped the American film industry per se and the composition of the average U.S. film audience, creating a new "brand" of viewer. Samuels and his team tell the story of this odd subgenre as it evolved, peaked in popularity, and then faded gradually from view. The bulk of the picture consists of a myriad of interviews with the directors of these films per se (John Waters, Alejandro Jodorowsky, David Lynch, Perry Henzel, George Romero - Jim Sharman appears in archive footage only), cast members, theater owners who found their business reinvigorated by this trend, critics such as Roger Ebert who reflect on the era, and of course the films' fans. The documentary also features extended clips from the movies and period news footage about the rise in popularity of the said titles. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- 2005
Filmmaker Nicholas Jarecki offers a celluloid portrait of a cinematic mastermind at work in this documentary shot over an eight month period and following director James Toback through each phase of production of his 2004 thriller When Will I be Loved. From pre-production to final cut, Jarecki follows the existential-minded director through the entire process of making a movie as Toback opens up to the camera to discuss a variety of deeply personal matters and explore just how they have manifested themselves in such films as Love and Money, The Big Bang, and Black and White. Candid interviews with such well-known Toback collaborators as Woody Allen, Robert Towne, Harvey Keitel, Roger Ebert, Brett Ratner, show just how much impact the well-respected filmmaker has had in Hollywood despite his stubborn refusal to fit into the commercialized mold so frequently associated with the showbiz mecca. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- 2004
- Add Sesame Street: A Celebration of Me, Grover to Queue Add Sesame Street: A Celebration of Me, Grover to top of Queue
Sony Wonder presents this collection of Sesame Street clips starring the furry blue monster Grover. Sesame Street: A Celebration of Me, Grover features Grover playing a wig salesman and Super Grover, a segment called "The Flyers' Roost honoring Grover," and an award-acceptance ceremony. ~ Matthew Tobey, Rovi
Directed by actress Rosanna Arquette, this candid documentary is not only about the iconoclastic and somewhat reclusive film star Debra Winger (who does not even appear onscreen until an hour into the film), but also about the trials and tribulations of actresses in Hollywood who have reached "that certain age." In the course of her "search," Arquette interviews several of her colleagues, among them Whoopi Goldberg, Diane Lane, Teri Garr, Holly Hunter, Vanessa Redgrave, Charlotte Rampling, Meg Ryan, and Sharon Stone, all of whom have their own personal horror stories about insensitive producers and casting directors who tend to think of over-40 (and sometimes over-30) actresses as being suitable only for mother, "other woman," and "hero's girlfriend" roles -- when they bother to cast these actresses at all. The women also discuss the difficulties in balancing a successful career and a private life. Test-marketed on the film festival circuit throughout 2002, Searching for Debra Winger received its largest audience when it aired over the Showtime cable channel on August 18, 2003. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Patricia Arquette, Rosanna Arquette, (more)
The Sundance Channel produced this guided tour through the world of independent films and filmmakers, tossing out the statistic that the movement has escalated from some 50 films in 1985, to 800 in 1997. Interview segments include Sundance fest director Geoffrey Gilmore, fest programmer Bob Hawk, writer-director Greg Mottola, producer Steven Soderbergh, critic Roger Ebert, and directors Sydney Pollack and Kevin Smith. Filmed in L.A., N.Y., and Park City, Utah, this hour-long documentary premiered on the Sundance Channel on January 15, 1997, the opening night of the 1997 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
In this Canadian documentary, two young filmmakers attend the Toronto Film Festival and pitch a film concept to various celebrities. Their film idea, titled The Dawn, concerns a Mafia don who goes for a hernia operation but gets a sex change instead. During the 1996 Toronto fest, they approach Roger Ebert, Norman Jewison (at a packed press conference), Eric Stoltz (leaving a limo), Al Pacino, and others without much success. On a roll, they leave Toronto for Hollywood, getting advice from Arthur Hiller and Neil Simon and finding an agent who expresses interest. Shown at the 1997 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi
- 1979
Like most of cult director Russ Meyer's later films, his final ode to the superhuman bosom largely dispenses with plot in favor of episodic sexual sight-gags. The ostensible storyline, narrated by Stuart Lancaster in hilarious deadpan style, deals with the bedroom hijinx of small-town America -- in this case the fictitious community of Rio Dio, Texas. Junkyard worker Lamar Shedd (Ken Kerr) is in trouble with his sexually ravenous wife Lavonia (Francesca "Kitten" Natividad) because he can only achieve satisfaction through unconventional openings. While Lavonia proceeds to bed down the local garbageman (Pat Wright) and others with more standard tastes, Lamar is put through a series of increasingly silly "cures," including a visit to a chainsaw-wielding gay dentist (Robert Pearson). Eventually, a radio faith-healer with enormous breasts (Anne Marie) gets him back on the right track. The amazing June Mack, who looks like she stepped straight out of a Robert Crumb cartoon, is the film's highlight as Kerr's insatiable black employer, Junk Yard Sal. The usual comic fight scenes are augmented here with different colors of blood for each character, but the high-voltage action of many earlier Meyer films is absent, as he was obviously trying to keep up with the booming porn market by including as many naughty close-ups as possible. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi
- Starring:
- Francesca 'Kitten' Natividad, Ann Marie, (more)
- 1976
Nobody is what they seem to be in this dizzying Russ Meyer feature, and everyone is a suspect. The reclusive Adolf Schwartz (Edward Schaaf) pays for weird pansexual pleasures performed by an interracial group of prostitutes. Later, Schwartz (who bears more than a passing resemblance to a more infamous Adolf) is found murdered in his bath, the victim of a hungry piranha. That same morning, Margo Winchester (Raven de la Croix) is jogging on a mountain pass when she's abducted and raped by a local boy. She defends herself and ends up breaking her assailant's neck, an act that is witnessed by state trooper Homer Johnson (Monty Bane). He offers to falsify his report in return for Margo's abundant body, and she enthusiastically accepts. Margo and Homer shack up in his mountain cabin, and he gets her a job at Alice's Cafe, a small-town greasy spoon run by Alice (Janet Wood) and her husband, Paul (Robert McLane). Suddenly business is booming (thanks to Margo's seductive swagger and Mae West impressions) and the trio decide to open a nightclub. Opening night is a smash, until a drunk lumberjack goes ape after witnessing Margo's sultry dance routine. The resulting fracas ends with an axe in Homer's chest and a wild moonlit chainsaw fight. But who murdered Adolf Schwartz? That mystery is solved in not one, but three epilogues which concern the identities of Eva Braun Jr., an undercover police officer and a closet white supremacist, who all fight to the death with a pistol, a dildo, and kung-fu. The action is explained and commented upon by the buxom, perpetually nude Greek Chorus (Francesca 'Kitten' Natividad), who quotes Shakespeare and attempts to raise the story to the level of classic farce. ~ Fred Beldin, Rovi
- Starring:
- Edward Schaaf, Mary Gavin, (more)
- 1970
- NC17
After nearly a decade as one of America's most successful independent filmmakers, legendary sexploitation auteur Russ Meyer first reached out for the brass ring of major studio success with this frantic cult favorite, once described by Meyer and screenwriter Roger Ebert as "the first exploitation-horror-camp-musical." Kelly McNamara (Dolly Read), Casey Anderson (Cynthia Myers), and Petronella Danforth (Marcia McBroom) are the three members of an all-girl rock band called "the Kelly Affair" who pull up stakes for Hollywood in search of stardom; they're accompanied by their manager, Harris Allsworth (David Gurian), who also happens to be Kelly's boyfriend. Kelly has an aunt in Hollywood, fashion mogul Susan Lake (Phyllis Davis), who takes Kelly under her wing and informs her she's entitled to a share of a recent family inheritance, much to the chagrin of Susan's lawyer, the shifty Porter Hall (Duncan McLeod). Susan arranges for Kelly and her bandmates to attend a wild party thrown by Ronnie "Z-Man" Barzell (John La Zar), a flamboyant and very successful record producer; Z-Man renames the band "the Carrie Nations," signs them to a record deal, and they're one of the biggest acts in America practically overnight. However, Harris is pushed out of the picture as the band's manager by Z-Man, and as Kelly's boyfriend by actor and gigolo Lance Rocke (Michael Blodgett), sending Harris into a deep depression even after he becomes the new boy-toy of adult film star Ashley St. Ives (Edy Williams). Meanwhile, Petronella finds love with law student Emerson Thorne (Harrison Page) until her head is turned by heavyweight boxing champion Randy Black (Jim Iglehart), and Casey explores her sexual boundaries with Roxanne (Erica Gavin), a beautiful lesbian designer. This nonstop train of decadence, drugs, and betrayal finally comes off the rails during a drug-fueled orgy at Z-Man's mansion, which erupts into violence when the rock mogul's darkest secret is revealed. Featuring one-hit wonders the Strawberry Alarm Clock, supporting performances by Meyer regulars Charles Napier and Haji, and a bit part from future blaxploitation icon Pam Grier, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls proved to be Meyer's biggest box-office success, though after his next film (The Seven Minutes) bombed at the box office, he returned to independent production in 1973. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, (more)
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