Scorsese by Ebert

Roger Ebert and Martin Scorsese have had a curious, career-long association. As Ebert notes in his introduction to this volume, they were both raised Catholic, a fact that has informed their work and worldviews. And Ebert wrote the first published review of a Scorsese film (a rave for Who’s That Knocking at My Door, which played in an early version at the Chicago International Film Festival). Since then, Scorsese’s films have always engaged Ebert’s mind as vigorously as any living filmmaker (save, maybe, Werner Herzog). Scorsese’s films also have occasioned some of the critic’s most thought-provoking reviews (read Ebert on Raging Bull or Goodfellas).

Given their career-long back-and-forth, this collection makes perfect sense. It’s a project Ebert has talked about for years, and during his recent recovery from surgery, he finally made it a reality. Ebert has collected all of his original reviews of Scorsese’s films, along with interviews and essays on the director. That would be a great thing on its own, but the real strength of this book comes from his new essays about a number of the films. These afford readers a wonderful opportunity to see how someone approaches the same work of art over decades.

This mix of old and new writing underscores the way some things about Ebert remain constant—his fondness for repetitive sentence structure using the verb “to be”—while other things change. When Ebert revisits a movie, he can see his own reactions in a new light (he struggles mightily with his indifference to The King of Comedy, as if it were a character flaw). And, best of all, in these reconsiderations, Ebert invites us into his thought processes, letting us see not just what he thinks, but how he forms his opinions. Ebert’s insights into Scorsese are terrific, but this book offers the bonus of further insights into Ebert himself.

Read about Ebert's thoughts on his new book, plus his relationship with his wife in "Roger and Chaz."

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