r/ebert • u/strictcurlfiend • Jun 19 '24

Ebert 4 stars vs "great movie"

I noticed there are 4 star reviews without the "great movie" accolade. Is this on purpose?

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u/Ex_Hedgehog Jun 19 '24

Basically, he might write an initial 3.5 or 4 star review, and then after a few years had passed, if that movie has stayed with him across rewatches, or grown in estimation, he'd write a Great Movie review then.

The notion being that some time and reflection must pass to differentiate the Great from the extremely good. Not every 4 star movie survives almighty time. How many times have you thought you'd seen a masterpiece only to be disappointed seeing it a few years later. A Great movie is one that continues to speak to you in evolving ways.

Later on, when he knew the end of his life was closer, he'd sometimes wave the rules and write a Great Movie review then and there or after only a year or so. I don't begrudge him.

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u/strictcurlfiend Jun 21 '24

Thanks for the response, this actually explains it really well!