title: The Great Movies II
author:  Roger Ebert 
description: At times, Ebert's second collection of 100 essays on great (but not, he's careful to point out, the greatest) movies reads like an anthology of recycled reviews from his <i>Chicago Sun-Times</i> column, especially when he gets talking about the bonus features on DVDs. But anyone looking for a crash course in cinema viewingregardless of whether they've been through Ebert's first Great Movies collection (published in 2002)will find plenty of rewards here. Some of the selections may be obvious (<i>12 Angry Men</i>; <i>West Side Story</i>), but Ebert constantly surprises, not just in the foreign film selections but in the elevation of cult favorites such as the "bizarre masterpiece" <i>Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia</i>. In praising older films, Ebert often takes the opportunity to criticize modern Hollywood, and his attacks can get snarky (for example, is it really unthinkable that <i>Annie Hall</i> would beat out <i>Star Wars</i> for an Oscar if they came out today?). Given Ebert's preferences, it's not surprising that fewer than a dozen American movies from the last two decades make the cut. Some of his choices are sure to spark debate; two Japanese cartoons, for example, may strike some as excessive, especially since the treatment of live-action Japanese directors barely extends past Kurosawa. Then again, it's hard to imagine a better purpose for such an anthology than getting people talking aboutand watchingmovies. 100 b&amp;w photos. <i>(Feb. 1)</i> <br />Copyright  Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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  Other Books by Roger Ebert
  
  
  
  
  
  An Illini Century
  
  
  
  
  
  A Kiss Is Still a Kiss
  
  
  
  
  
  Two Weeks in the Midday Sun: A Cannes Notebook
  
  
  
  
  
  Behind the Phantom’s Mask
  
  
  
  
  
  Roger Ebert’s Little Movie Glossary
  
  
  
  
  
  Roger Ebert’s Movie Home Companion annually 1986–1993
  
  
  
  
  
  Roger Ebert’s Video Companion annually 1994–1998
  
  
  
  
  
  Roger Ebert’s Movie Yearbook annually 1999–
  
  
  
  
  
  Questions for the Movie Answer Man
  
  
  
  
  
  Roger Ebert’s Book of Film: An Anthology
  
  
  
  
  
  Ebert’s Bigger Little Movie Glossary
  
  
  
  
  
  I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie
  
  
  
  
  
  The Great Movies
  
  
  
  
  
  The Great Movies II
  
  
  
  
  
  With Daniel Curley
  
  
  The Perfect London Walk
  
  
  
  
  
  With Gene Siskel
  
  
  The Future of the Movies: Interviews with Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg,
  and George Lucas
  
  
  
  
  
  DVD Commentary Tracks
  
  
  Beyond the Valley of the Dolls
  
  
  Citizen Kane
  
  
  Dark City
  
  
  Casablanca
  
  
  Floating Weeds
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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  This book i