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Praise without merit is more harmful than unearned criticism.

Roger Ebert

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Roger Ebert
Age: 70 †
Born: 1942
Born: June 18
Died: 2013
Died: April 4
Film Critic
Journalist
Presenter
Reporter
Screenwriter
Writer
Urbana
Illinois
Roger Joseph Ebert
Praise
Without
Unearned
Harmful
Merit
Criticism

More quotes by Roger Ebert

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I was born inside the movie of my life. The visuals were before me, the audio surrounded me, the plot unfolded inevitably but not necessarily. I don't remember how I got into the movie, but it continues to entertain me.
Roger Ebert
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Nothing ever seems straightforward in Venice, least of all its romances.
Roger Ebert
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Beguiled by George S. Bush's easy smile and casual indifference to the details, we are on the brink of electing him to office. This isn't choosing a president, it's casting the lead in a sitcom about the presidency.
Roger Ebert
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A movie isn't good or bad based on its politics. It's usually good or bad for other reasons, though you might agree or disagree with its politics.
Roger Ebert
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A film is a terrible thing to waste.
Roger Ebert
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The movie cheerfully offends all civilized notions of taste, decorum, manners and hygiene... The movie is vulgar? Vulgarity is when we don't laugh. When we laugh, it's merely human nature.
Roger Ebert
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'Marley' does what is probably the best possible job of documenting an important life.
Roger Ebert
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Because of the rush of human knowledge, because of the digital revolution, I have a voice, and I do not need to scream.
Roger Ebert
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There's something depressing about a young couple helplessly in love. Their state is so perfect, it must be doomed. They project such qualities on their lover that only disappointment can follow.
Roger Ebert
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Horror fans are a particular breed. They analyze films with such detail and expertise that I am reminded of the Canadian literary critic Northrup Frye, who approached literature with similar archetypal analysis.
Roger Ebert
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There must be a better reason to have a baby than to provide a plot point in a rom-com. Don't you think?
Roger Ebert
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A corner is important. It provides privacy and an anchor and lets you exist independently of the room.
Roger Ebert
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Kindness’ covers all of my political beliefs.
Roger Ebert
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While I am usually in despair when a movie abandons its plot for a third act given over entirely to action, I have no problem with the way Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets ends, because it has been pointing toward this ending, hinting about it, preparing us for it, all the way through. What a glorious movie.
Roger Ebert
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Art is the closest we can come to understanding how a stranger really feels.
Roger Ebert
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The time in between my clapping is ma. If you just have non-stop action with no breathing space at all, it's just busyness, But if you take a moment, then the tension building in the film can grow into a wider dimension. If you just have constant tension at 80 degrees all the time you just get numb.
Roger Ebert
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Here's a notion: Peace in the Middle East would come about more easily if the region were governed by women.
Roger Ebert
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Teenagers used to go to the movies to see adults having sex. Today adults go to the movies to see teenagers having sex.
Roger Ebert
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Who was the real Hitchcock? I interviewed him once and haven't a clue.
Roger Ebert
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Movies are like a machine that generates empathy.
Roger Ebert