The Great Movies III

There are so many movies out there on DVD... how to know which ones are worth the time of watching? The answer: The Great Movies series by Roger Ebert. Having read, and then chosen, movies based on Ebert's reviews in The Great Movies I & II, it was natural for me to order and now be watching movies based on the reviews of The Great Movies III.Ebert doesn't believe in "listing" movies, as in "The Ten Best Adventure Movies of All Time." He realizes that people have taste in movies like they have taste in other art forms, so my "best movie" may not be appreciated by you at all. What Ebert does is review movies that display the best in what makes movies an art form... story, filming techniques, acting, and originality.I read every one of his reviews with relish, because Ebert is both a great writer and an insightful life philosopher. His reviews open my mind to think about life, not just about the movies that reflect life. I probably only watch half of the movies he writes about... his reviews let me know if its a movie I would find worth watching or not. I know that because of his reviews I have watched hundreds of movies I would never even have known existed, and am glad for it.I love movies. I suspect you do to, or you wouldn't be reading this. There are lots of reviewers out there, but I have found that the most insightful and balanced of them all is Roger Ebert. I wish he was still with us to write The Great Movies IV, V, and VI at least, but we lost Ebert to cancer at age 70 in April, 2013.His words two days before his death, "So on this day of reflection I say again, thank you for going on this journey with me. I'll see you at the movies."

The third and last in a series, and the least engaging. Ebert wrote this on borrowed time, and the list strikes me as more of an afterthought, a very lengthy postscript. It's likely the man decided to take stock of all those movies that made an impression on him all these years (and there must have been so many), but this time, he very consciously chose the non-mainstream movies. Note that he's very honest in his reviews: he did not necessarily enjoy some of the movies on the list. Instead he sings praises to a movie's particular style, a director's audacity, or an actor's maverick performance. Which explains why, among all three books, this one has the most oddballs and curiosities. It gets three stars because of his conversational, between-you-and me style of writing, and the added trivia I always look forward to in an Ebert book.

I have the other 2 books in this series. As with the others, Ebert's writing is accessible and measured. His tone is never patronizing or unfair to the creators or viewers of film selections that he claims are worthy of attention. These books are a fitting tribute to the ife and career of the author.It was so sad to witness Roger's health decline so dramatically and yet, what a courageous man he was! He continued to work and inspire after most of us would have given in to despair.

Without Roger Ebert's advice on Great Movies, it's fair to say that I would have never seen many, many, wonderfully entertaining and thought-provoking films that deserve to be called Great.Roger continues where he left off in Great Movies I and II with another batch of 100 great films and fantastic commentary on the basics of what the film is about and why it is so great. Because of Roger's Great Movies books, I have discovered the films of Kieslowski, Bergman, Renoir, Powell-Pressburger, Herzog, Kurosawa, Jodorowski, and so many other foreign film-makers that do not fit into the Hollywood mold. Roger has taught me to view films as a high art form, not just low entertainment, and for that, I thank him.

Terrific in depth reviews of classic films by the best critic. Ebert and his great work is very sorely missed.

Another great review from the friends and family of the Great Roger Ebert.I am proud to have known him and learned journalism at the foot of his office chair

I still likes Ebert's writing but there were too many movies in this volume that I hadn't seen so it was less interesting to me. Also this volume does not have the still photos which I liked.

I'm an Ebert fan. I have and enjoy using Great Movies I & II, wanted to have III. It has a higher percentage of movies that I haven't seen--I'm interested to learn about them.

The third in an excellent series of four collections of first class reviews. Highly recommended

No image, only essays/critics. Perhaps I would have like to see a bit more modern movies.

Roger EvertのGreat Movie1，2は、映画愛好者の必読書だ。彼の映画に対する愛情が満ち溢れている。昔シカゴで彼と会って話したことがあるが、黒沢清のことを褒めていた。この3は彼が最も偉大と考える映画の評を体系的に編集した'1、2に比べると、これはやや雑多のあ映画評の寄せ集めで、面白みに欠ける。