Roger Ebert's Cancer Surgery Won't Delay His New Movie Reviews

Movie reviews take courage to write. No matter how nicely they are written, they are bound to infuriate anyone who disagrees with them. Also, no matter how incisively they are written, their writers are saddled with the continual burden of gaining a wide-readership. Roger Ebert, more than possibly any movie reviewer of his generation, resolves this problem with ease. Week after week, with his Chicago Sun Times reviews, he shares with his readers a sheer love of the movies.

Up until 2006, he also appeared regularly on a nationwide program "At the Movies with Ebert & Roper," until he lost his voice after cancer-related surgery. Ebert had appeared on this program for over 20 years, originally alongside his friend/enemy Gene Siskel. (The two were famous for their childlike squabbles as they pitted their opionins against each other; arguing with intense passion about whether a movie like Robocop 2 was better or worse than the original Robocop.) While Ebert has not spoken to his viewers for nearly a year, he continues to influence a generation of movie-goers to not simply watch movies for their entertainment value but also to evaluate them for their strengths and weakness.

On Thursday, January 28th, 2008, Ebert underwent cancer surgery in Houston, Texas. Since 2002, when he was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, Ebert has been forced to undergo multiple cancer surgeries, due to complications. Rarely seen in public in the last year, Ebert has nevertheless related news of his treatments with uncommon candor. Additionally, in April he was even able to attend his Ninth Annual Overlooked Film Festival, a gratifying event for his fans.