In terms of film criticism, there’s no one more important than Roger Ebert. The journalist of the Chicago Sun-Times had the film critic gig from 1967 until he passed away in 2013, and for more than four decades he mastered the art of criticizing films, but he never lost the human touch that film scholars often lack. In 1975, Roger became the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. But as you read his reviews, you didn’t notice this about him. In fact, more than a few times Roger praised films that were anything but typical. What others saw as ugly, Roger saw as valuable.
His list of Great Movies is one of the best guides you could ever study in order to see the best of the best. Luckily for you, Netflix has compiled some of those films, and some others that Roger celebrated with four-star reviews. Here’s ten of those films that Roger Ebert loved, which you can stream right now on Netflix.
10 Psycho (1960)
- Release Date
- June 22, 1960
- Cast
- Anthony Perkins , Vera Miles , John Gavin , Martin Balsam , John McIntire , Simon Oakland
Psycho follows a fugitive named Marion Crane who decides to restart her life when she steals a whole lot of cash and escapes her town to run away with her lover. That same night, Marion is forced to stop at a rundown motel on the side of the road. Fortunately, there are available rooms and the manager even makes her dinner. However, there's a secret in the Bates Motel that will cost Marion more than she thought.
“It Connects Directly With Our Fears”
Alfred Hitchcock’s 1960 horror film was one of the few films that Ebert added to his Great Movies list. There’s no questioning the legacy of what’s essentially the most important rule-changer in mainstream horror. Ebert said the following about it:
“What makes
Psycho
immortal, when so many films are already half-forgotten as we leave the theater, is that it connects directly with our fears: Our fears that we might impulsively commit a crime, our fears of the police, our fears of becoming the victim of a madman, and of course our fears of disappointing our mothers.”
9 American Gangster (2007)
- Release Date
- November 2, 2007
American Gangster takes audiences to New York City in the 1960s, the world’s hub of mob organizations building empires based on crime. Frank Lucas “inherits” the drug dealing business and becomes a boss who Detective Richie Roberts starts focusing on. Eventually, the ambition of both men will make them clash in one of the most underrated mob films in history.
The Success Story of a Monster
Directed by Ridley Scott, American Gangster is one of his most underrated films. The performances by Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe are remarkable. In his four-star review of the film, Ebert said this:
“This is an engrossing story, told smoothly and well, and Russell Crowe’s contribution is enormous…The film ends not with a
Scarface
-style shootout, but with Frank and Richie sitting down for a long, intelligent conversation, written by Zaillian to show two smart men who both know the score.”
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8 Man on Wire (2008)
- Release Date
- July 25, 2008
- Cast
- Philippe Petit , Jean François Heckel , Jean-Louis Blondeau , Annie Allix , David Forman , Alan Welner
Man on Wire is a fascinating documentary that follows high-wire artist Philippe Petit, as he achieves the impossible. In 1974, Petit was able to go up the 110 floors of one of the Twin Towers and he did a high-wire walk with no harness from one tower to another. But he didn't just do it once. He went over eight times. While it’s a documentary, the narrative style goes beyond the formula and presents it as a crime thriller.
“A First-Rate Thriller”
The Academy Award winner for Best Documentary Feature in 2009 is a riveting chronicle that doesn’t ever attempt to mention the harrowing details associated with the Towers. Ebert gave the film four stars and said this:
“At first I thought this was a film of the clean-up after 9/11…The film shows the towers growing, huge steel beams being lifted, the puzzle being put together. As it happens, 9/11 is not even mentioned in the film, which is the right decision, I think.
Man on Wire
is about the vanquishing of the towers by bravery and joy, not by terrorism.”
7 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- Release Date
- March 19, 2004
In Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Joel and Clementine have gone separate ways. While Joel is still emotionally attached, Clementine has decided to literally erase him from her memory. Joel decides to do the same, and while the procedure appears to be effective. As he gets plugged in, we become the witnesses of what can only be described as the vanishing of memories.
The Quintessential Romance Classic
Michel Gondry’s modern romance classic won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. A well-earned recognition since the film is one of the most original pieces in modern cinema. Ebert was quick to add it to his Great Movies list and wrote the following:
“Why I respond so intensely to this material must involve my obsession with who we are and who we think we are. The secret of communicating with another person, I suspect, may be in communicating with who he thinks he is. Do that, and you can kid a great man and treat an insignificant one with deep respect. They’ll credit you with insight. The wisdom in
Eternal Sunshine
is how it illuminates the way memory interacts with love.”
6 Jaws (1975)
- Release Date
- June 18, 1975
Jaws is the story of residents on Amity Island as they face a monstrous threat. A great white shark has been responsible for a gruesome kill, forcing Chief Martin Brody to close off the beaches, contrary to the requirements of the town mayor. The problem is that a boy is eaten in front of everybody and, ultimately, the hunt for the gigantic shark ensues with Chief Brody in the lead.
“The Payoff Is One of the Most Effective Thrillers Ever Made”
Deemed the first Hollywood blockbuster, Jaws was Steven Spielberg’s introduction of his unique approach to commercial cinema. The film cleverly mixed adventure, thriller, and horror, in a spectacular movie that defined the art of summer cinema.
Per Ebert’s essay when he added Jaws to his Great Movies list:
“In keeping the Great White offscreen, Spielberg was employing a strategy used by Alfred Hitchcock throughout his career. 'A bomb is under the table, and it explodes: That is surprise,' said Hitchcock. 'The bomb is under the table but it does not explode: That is suspense.' Spielberg leaves the shark under the table for most of the movie. And many of its manifestations in the later part of the film are at second hand: We don’t see the shark but the results of his actions. The payoff is one of the most effective thrillers ever made.”
5 Scarface (1983)
- Release Date
- December 9, 1983
Scarface takes viewers to 1980 as hundreds of Cubans arrive in Miami as refugees and they’re forced to begin their lives again in a whole new country. Tony Montana gets a green card after he commits a crime in favor of the country, and this is how his empire begins. Montana turns into an all-mighty drug lord, but his lack of control proves to be too dangerous for his business.
“An Example of Brian De Palma in Overdrive Mode”
Directed by Brian De Palma, the film was based on the 1932 gangster film, and writer Oliver Stone adapted the setting to 1980s Miami. The result was a classic with arguably Al Pacino’s best performance ever as Montana. Of course, it’s part of Roger’s Great Movies list:
“Montana is one of the seminal characters in modern American movies, a character who has inspired countless others. If the crime expert Jay Robert Nash is correct, and American gangsters learned how to talk and behave by studying early Hollywood crime movies, then
Scarface
may also have shaped personal styles.”
4 The Deer Hunter (1978)
- Release Date
- March 9, 1978
- Director
- Michael Cimino
In The Deer Hunter, three friends who work together in a steel mill leave for service to serve their country in Vietnam. The soldiers are captured by the Viet Cong and submitted to sick emotional torture, but they eventually escape. The problem is that the men who return aren’t exactly the same because of the psychological effects of war.
“What The Deer Hunter Insists Is That We Not Forget the War”
Often hailed as one of the best anti-war movies ever made, The Deer Hunter was critically acclaimed since its release, and it won five Oscars, with Best Picture and Best Director being among those. In his four-star review of the film, Ebert said:
“
The Deer Hunter
is said to be about many subjects: About male bonding, about mindless patriotism, about the dehumanizing effects of war, about Nixon’s ‘silent majority.’ It is about any of those things that you choose, if you choose, but more than anything else, it is a heartbreakingly effective fictional machine that evokes the agony of the Vietnam time.”
3 Boyz n the Hood (1991)
- Release Date
- July 12, 1991
- Cast
- Hudhail Al-Amir , Lloyd Avery II , Angela Bassett , Mia Bell , Lexie Bigham , Kenneth A. Brown
John Singleton’s Boyz n the Hood follows Tre, a 17-year-old student who’s sent to live with his father in the Crenshaw neighborhood of South Central Los Angeles. Tre reunites with some friends from the past, and he becomes a first-hand witness of gang culture and the crime associated with his new neighborhood.
“A Thoughtful, Realistic Look at a Young Man’s Coming of Age, and Also a Human Drama of Rare Power”
At 23, John Singleton became the youngest nominee at the Academy Awards, and also the first African-American person to be mentioned in the Best Director category. While it didn’t win, the legacy of Boyz n the Hood is undeniable, and Roger often celebrated it:
“
Boyz n the Hood
has maturity and emotional depth: There are no cheap shots, nothing is thrown in for effect, realism is placed ahead of easy dramatic payoffs, and the audience grows deeply involved. By the end of
Boyz N the Hood
, I realized I had seen not simply a brilliant directorial debut, but an American film of enormous importance.”
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2 Million Dollar Baby (2004)
- Release Date
- December 15, 2004
Million Dollar Baby is the story of Maggie Fitzgerald, a waitress who finds a passion for boxing late in her life. Maggie enters the Hit Pit and tries to convince Frankie Dunn to train her. But Frankie has no interest, until he recognizes the grit in Maggie’s boxing skills. He decides to take her under his wing, but the glory for both doesn’t last very long.
“A Masterpiece, Pure and Simple, Deep and True”
The film is Clint Eastwood’s last great film, both behind and in front of the camera, and it won Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actress for Hillary Swank. In terms of sports dramas, it doesn’t get any better than this one, and Roger seems to agree, as he says the following in his four-star review:
“Movies are so often made of effects and sensation these days. This one is made of three people and how their actions grow out of who they are and why. Nothing else. But isn’t that everything?”
1 Field of Dreams (1989)
Field of Dreams tells the story of Ray Kinsella, an Iowa farmer who lives with his family at their corn farm, but has an estranged relationship with his father, who’s obsessed with baseball. One day, Ray has a vision, one that will change his life: He hears a voice that tells him ‘If you build it, he will come,” and Ray sees a baseball diamond amid the cornfield. Ray decides to follow his dreams, and summons the late legends by building a baseball park in the middle of his crop.
“A Movie About Dreams”
It’s one of the best feel-good movies ever made, and it stars Kevin Costner in a very compelling performance. It was nominated for three Academy Awards, with Best Picture among those, and in 1989 it was instantly acclaimed by critics. Roger said this in his four-star review of the film:
“
Field of Dreams
will not appeal to grinches and grouches and realists. It is a delicate movie, a fragile construction of one goofy fantasy after another. But it has the courage to be about exactly what it promises. ‘If you build it, he will come.’ And he does.”
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