Roger Ebert, one of the most celebrated film critics of our time, finally succumbed to cancer at the age of 70 on April 4, 2013, as the New York Times reported. He is justly appreciated for his analysis of film, both in his newspaper column and on his long running show on PBS that he shared with the late Gene Siskel. Ebert reviewed countless films, not the least of which were three iconic movies that took place in space,
He wrote of “2001: A Space Odyssey” that it “--fails on the human level but succeeds magnificently on a cosmic scale.” It was a fair evaluation of one of the iconic movies of the 20th Century, which concentrated on eliciting awe with its visions of space exploration and contact with mysterious, all powerful aliens. Human beings, even the ones placed in deadly peril, were just along for the ride.
“Star Wars,” he wrote, was “--a fairy tale, a fantasy, a legend, finding its roots in some of our most popular fictions. He cited how the movie, one of the most fun and exciting ever made, had its roots in “The Wizard of Oz,” “Flash Gordon,” and every western and war movie ever made. The narrative, in this case, which consisted of the journey of young Luke Skywalker to the status of hero was served by the special effects and the fantastic setting in that galaxy far, far away and not the other way around.
Ebert found “Apollo 13” a source of melancholy, even as he celebrated the attention to detail and the inherent excitement of telling true story of a mission to the moon that went horribly wrong and how the heroic efforts of not only the astronauts but the men of Mission Control saved the day. “he buried message is: When we dialed down the space program, we lost something crucial to our vision. When I was a kid, they used to predict that by the year 2000, you'd be able to go to the moon. Nobody ever thought to predict that you'd be able to, but nobody would bother.” While Ebert would all too often inject his liberal politics in his reviews, in this case, the message was entirely appropriate and heart-felt.
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