‘Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter’ is without a doubt the best film we are ever likely to see on the subject – unless there is a sequel, which is unlikely, because at the end, the Lincolns are on their way to the theater. – Roger Ebert
From a dramatic viewpoint, there are few professions that grant their members entry into other lives, high among them cops, doctors, clergymen, journalists and prostitutes. Perhaps that explains why they figure in so much television and cinema. Their lives are lived in the midst of human drama. – Roger Ebert
Parents and schools should place great emphasis on the idea that it is all right to be different. Racism and all the other ‘isms’ grow from primitive tribalism, the instinctive hostility against those of another tribe, race, religion, nationality, class or whatever. You are a lucky child if your parents taught you to accept diversity. – Roger Ebert
It’s the same the world over. A Hollywood production comes to town, and the locals all turn movie crazy. – Roger Ebert
You can have a movie with hardly any cuts, or very few cuts, that is fascinating, you can’t take your eyes away from it… Look at some of the long takes in Citizen Kane. – Roger Ebert
Sometimes miraculous films come into being, made by people you’ve never heard of, starring unknown faces, blindsiding you with creative genius. – Roger Ebert
Why has Scandinavia been producing such good thrillers? Maybe because their filmmakers can’t afford millions for CGI and must rely on cheaper elements like, you know, stories and characters. – Roger Ebert
It is quite possible for the vulgar to be funny, but to succeed, it must rise to a certain genius. – Roger Ebert
Clouds do not really look like camels or sailing ships or castles in the sky. They are simply a natural process at work. So too, perhaps, are our lives. – Roger Ebert
Catholic theology believes that God gave man free will, and you can’t give somebody free will and then send in a play from the sidelines. – Roger Ebert
If a movie is really working, you forget for two hours your Social Security number and where your car is parked. You are having a vicarious experience. You are identifying, in one way or another, with the people on the screen. – Roger Ebert
By going to the movies, and because of other things, too, going to college, making a wide variety of friends, moving around traveling, I became a lot more open-minded than the heritage I was born into might have suggested. – Roger Ebert
It is universally agreed that Jean Renoir was one of the greatest of all directors, and he was also one of the warmest and most entertaining. – Roger Ebert
I believe that young people wearing hoods, unless they are very young, can be frightening. What are they hiding? Why don’t they want to come out into the light with the rest of us? They may be perfectly nice, but the hoods send an uncertain statement. – Roger Ebert
It does seem true that a lot of people will do anything, however humiliating, for fame. – Roger Ebert
What a terrible thing it would be to be the Pope! What unthinkable responsibilities to fall on your shoulders at an advanced age! No privacy. No seclusion. No sin. – Roger Ebert
All over the web there are some very good critics and it’s become for people who are interested. It’s become a very good way to get to reviews and involve yourself in discussions. – Roger Ebert
What happens in a fantasy can be more involving than what happens in life, and thank goodness for that. – Roger Ebert
If Hollywood stars speak out, so do all sorts of other people. Now Hollywood stars can get a better hearing. – Roger Ebert
When we’re discussing who to invite to a dinner party, my wife Chaz and I sometimes use the shorthand, ‘good value for money,’ which indicates guests expected to be entertaining. – Roger Ebert