Life Itself

R

Released Jul 4, 2014

2 hr. 0 min.

Documentary

List

98%

204 Reviews

Tomatometer

88%

10,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

Filmmaker Steve James chronicles the life of film critic Roger Ebert, especially his career highlights, his battle with alcohol, and his sometimes ruthless rivalry with fellow critic Gene Siskel.

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Critics Consensus

Rich in detail and warmly affectionate, Life Itself offers a joyful yet poignant tribute to a critical cinematic legacy.

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Jeff M

This is without a doubt the most personal film on my best of its decade list. Roger Ebert was the most important person in my life when it came to my love for film. We were both from Central Illinois, we both battled weight issues, we had similar tastes in film - usually. He even corresponded with me a time or two. A tribute I wrote about him upon the 5th anniversary of his death was chosen to be included in a retrospective on rogerebert.com and remains one of the most significant moments of my life. So apart from being a wonderful documentary, this is one of the few films about which being objective is almost impossible. I think of him every time I write a review, and even though we never met, I will always consider him a cinematic brother. And after watching this informative and heartbreaking motion picture, I felt closer to him than ever before.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

02/04/24

Full Review

Rory M

Awful what Roger went through in the end. One for the people who know his story very well. Slightly niche content. Would have liked to get more into his reviews and thoughts on cinema, which I really like.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/24/24

Full Review

Alec B

The frankness about Ebert's personality, illness, and death are the film's strongest assets as they keep the narrative from straying too far into sentimentality. I found myself wishing the whole thing was longer with some additional anecdotes and interviews to give the man's legacy a little more definition, but it's still a moving tribute.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/10/23

Full Review

Bailey G

Life Itself is a terrific documentary film that was released in 2014 and it chronicles the life of the most famous if not the most famous, one of the most famous professional film critics of all time, Roger Joseph Ebert. Who wrote movie reviews professionally for The Chicago SunTimes and was the only major film critic at the time to ever win and receive a Pulitzer Prize award. I found this movie to be very insightful and it taught me not only more about Roger Ebert's life, but about how important film criticism is in general. It's very interesting to see in this documentary movie about how times were different before the internet and social media. One of the things that this movie taught me is that back in the 1950s-1990s time frame and such the average movie goer and the film buffs had no outlet to voice their opinions and have themselves heard. But now a days with the internet and social media everyone has multiple outlets on different website platforms and social media sites, which has changed the film and tv industries in huge ways. I also felt like this documentary made me go through all sorts of emotions, happy, funny, sad and surprised. Which is what a lot of movies in different genres are supposed to do with the audiences and viewers who are watching. This movie is worth checking out, especially if you're a movie buff and you have a strong passion and interest in films. This is easily in my top 10 list of the best documentary movies ever made. Some documentaries are absolutely boring and unwatchable, but this one is amazing, and it should've won more awards, like best documentary or something like that. I love how Martin Scorsese makes an appearance in the documentary since he was on the tv Show that Roger Ebert did back in the day. I highly recommend this one for all movie buffs and movie lovers alike. This is definitely a documentary movie that is not to be missed. Written by Bailey Giannini (Movie buff and amateur film critic)

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

07/28/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Now before you rip my review apart I like Roger ebert. He's an icon and his tv show with gene siskel is amazing. The actual documentary isn't the best and it does celebrate his life but it feels like it was done by a museum and not a movie one, more like a New York jazz fancy museum. If you're a fan like a super fan then you'll like this. For me I got bored after awhile and wanted it to be more about him and gene siskel. That would've been so much better. Anyway in the end I'm still a fan but this could've been better with a modern documentarian.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

02/19/23

Full Review

Fra B

"Life itself" is something close (not nearly enough, to be critical) to what the title suggest.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/05/22

Full Review

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Steve James

Director

Roger Ebert

Self

Ava DuVernay

Self

Chaz Ebert

Self

Zak Piper

Producer

Steve James

Producer

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Michael Jones

Shadow and Act

Unlike many of the films Mr. Ebert reviewed in his latter years, I never once felt manipulated.

Rated: 3.5/5

Sep 15, 2022

Full Review

Jason Bailey

Flavorwire

No film in the festival is as critic-friendly; watching it, I finally understood how football players must feel about 'Brian's Song'.

Jun 18, 2016

Full Review

David Stratton

The Australian

This is a sometimes painful but always inspiring tribute to one of the great members of our profession.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 5, 2015

Full Review

Keith Garlington

Keith & the Movies

...it leaves you with a lump in your throat and an even greater appreciation for a man who meant so much to movies and the art of film criticism.

Rated: 4/5

Aug 23, 2022

Full Review

Brian Eggert

Deep Focus Review

A moving epitaph of Ebert’s career and a sharp, but affectionate, examination of the man.

Rated: 3.5/4

Aug 5, 2022

Full Review

Michael J. Casey

Boulder Weekly

Two thumbs up.

Rated: 4/5

Jun 14, 2021

Full Review

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Synopsis

Filmmaker Steve James chronicles the life of film critic Roger Ebert, especially his career highlights, his battle with alcohol, and his sometimes ruthless rivalry with fellow critic Gene Siskel.

Director: Steve James
Executive Producer: Martin Scorsese, Steven Zaillian, Michael W. Ferro Jr., Gordon Quinn, Justine Nagan, Kat White, Mark Mitten, Vinnie Malhotra
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Kartemquin Films, Film Rites
Rating: R (Language|Brief Sexual Images/Nudity)
Genre: Documentary
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 4, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Feb 17, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $809.7K

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