Life Itself

Director Steve James' life and career were changed by film critic Roger Ebert's promotion of his 1994 indie documentary "Hoop Dreams," so the filmmaker returns the favor with a tribute inspired by "Mr. Thumbs Up and Thumbs Down's" memoir, also titled "Life Itself."

A Normal, Illinois, native, only child Ebert went to his local university at Urbana-Champaign, where he became editor of its Daily Illini newspaper, thoughtfully writing about JFK's assassination and other "adult situations."

Rather than go for a Ph.D. at Harvard, Ebert went to work for the Chicago Sun-Times soon after graduation, becoming the youngest film critic in America and eventually winning a Pulitzer for his work, rare for the field.

He also drank to excess, spending time at 4 a.m. North Avenue bars with fellow journalists until he finally entered AA in 1979, where he met his wife Chaz. Local public television station WTTW paired him with Chicago Tribune film critic Gene Siskel for the review show "At the Movies," and their often adversarial, yet astute and intellectual, banter elevated them to the most powerful voices in American cinema with frequent national talk show appearances, both writers respected and feared for their reviews' effect on sales.

Many of the filmmakers Ebert championed are interviewed in the documentary, including Errol Morris, Ava DuVernay ("Selma"), and Martin Scorsese, who also produced this piece. Werner Herzog shares that he made his only film dedication to Ebert.

Ebert lost his jaw and ability to speak to cancer, but continued to share his voice in a blog begun in April 2008, which became "my outlook, a flood of memories and relief." In his 46 years at the Sun-Times, he saw around 6,000 movies, a scope spanning at least "half the history of feature films."

"Movies are a machine that generates empathy," said Ebert in his memoir and this film. "You learn about different hopes, dreams, aspirations and fears, you identify with the people who are sharing this journey with us."

Special features include deleted scenes, a Sundance tribute, and an interview with James. The doc reminds viewers of Ebert's lasting importance to American cinema, even as his sage dissections pass into the "blink of a lifetime."

"Life Itself"
Blu-ray
$20.99
http://www.ebertmovie.com