A review by litdreamer
The Great Movies III by Roger Ebert, David Bordwell

5.0

Amazing as it sounds, the writing in this volume is even better than that in the previous volumes, though lacking the movie stills that adorned them. Ebert had lost his voice by the time this volume came out, and particular reviews (like SANSHO THE BAILIFF) show the deeper wells of empathy he drew from once his only voice came from his writings.

Still intact are his ability to delve into details (his insights concerning one particular musical motif in AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS), comment on the entire oeuvre of a particular director (most helpful when dealing with less-famous directors, such as the recently departed Paul Cox), and describe the experience of a film so vividly that I wanted to immediately go out and see most of these films.

And yet, the secret to his writing talent is that he feeds both the head and the heart, with particular attention to the heart. And when he writes for the head, he writes like an intelligent man watching a movie, not like a professor lecturing on it.

If you love movies, pick up all three volumes, and lament that there isn't a THE GREAT MOVIES IV, though enough reviews exist on his website to make it a future reality.