Awake In the Dark: The Best of Roger Ebert – Forty Years of Reviews, Essays and Interviews

Four of Five Stars

It’s difficult to review a book such as this. In the world of movie criticism, the late Roger Ebert loomed large, as have many others, like the late Pauline Kael. Whether you find Awake In the Dark: The Best of Roger Ebert – Forty Years of Reviews, Essays and Interviews interesting or not, I suppose, depends on whether or not you value Ebert’s opinion. When it comes to the writing, Ebert was more than competent, writing reviews in a reader-friendly way, accessible to all.

Awake In the Dark is broken down into several sections, including one featuring interviews and profiles he conducted, along with essays and ‘think’ pieces regarding films and filmmakers, and essays on film criticism. Along with all of that, we’re treated to Ebert’s reviews of what he considers the best films from 1967 to 2005; a look at memorable foreign films and documentaries, and my favorite section, films Ebert, as a critic, felt were overlooked and underrated (this to me, always gives you an interesting insight into the reviewers tastes).

One aspect in reading Awake In the Dark that I did take away, is that despite unexpectedly falling into the job of film critic (there is a brief autobiographical introduction on Ebert’s life), Ebert embraced his fate and did all he could to learn about film, it’s history and technique, so that in presenting his views, he was doing so from a position of authority and appreciation. What you get from these interviews, reviews and essays is a love of the cinema and the art of movie making that the man developed and shared with us for decades.

Awake In the Dark, as it doesn't require you to follow a specific narrative, is one of those books you can pick up and read, put down for a while and get back to, without losing anything. It is also a book that will prompt you to seek out movies you haven’t seen, that are featured, or re-watch those you have, based on Ebert’s perspective. Either way, you’ll benefit and have a great time doing so.

I personally worked as an entertainment writer for almost three decades, and while I had no problem with the interview and profile piece, I must admit, I never felt I developed a true voice for the writing of movie reviews, so take it from me, what you’re reading is not something that was thrown together and easy to do, but writing that required thought, analysis and perspective to pull off properly; Roger Ebert mastered that, and as such, Awake In the Dark is worth adding to the book shelf of anyone who even slightly considers themselves a cinephile.