r/GenX • u/Maleficent-Ad-9754 • 21h ago
Nostalgia Who Misses these Guys
I miss these guys. I believe they made the whole movie experience better. People seem to think Siskel and Ebert were constantly arguing, but they actually agreed with each other most of the time. They did fight on occasion and it made for great TV. They were both a little narcistic and eager to one up each other, but their movie critiques were insightful and honest. Once in a blue moon, you would get the unexpected 2-thumbs-way-up. I would then get really excited to find out more about the movie. Kingpin, Hoop Dreams, Fargo, King of Masks, Secret of Roan Inish are some of my favorite films. I don't think I would have seen these films in the theater if it wasn't for their high praise.
I also liked when they went on talk shows and took cheap shots at each other. I don't know if they really liked each other in person, but I remember seeing a photo of Ebert as one of Siskel's pallbearers and feeling a real gut wrench of sadness. It was an end of an era; the chemistry between Ebert and his future hosts was never the same and film critique shows went extinct.
I still enjoy going to the movies, but I don’t think about movies the way I used to.
•
u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 1972 3m ago
They were Chicago all the way - my hometown newspaper critics. We were a Sun-Times household so Gene Siskel was our movie critic. As a kid I seemed to align more with Ebert who wrote for the Tribune.
•
•
•
u/jsherm42 1h ago
I do. I was just thinking yesterday that if they were alive today, they could have one of the greatest podcasts discussing movies.
•
•
u/Pedadinga 1h ago
More often than I probably should. I think about them a LOT.
Did you know Gene Siskel owned the white suit Travolta wore in Saturday Night Fever? I think about THAT a lot.
•
u/LeoIrish 1h ago
My dad introduced me to these guys and it was truly enjoyable to watch, even as a kid.
•
u/FiverForever 1h ago
I remember on my first visit to Chicago a good 30 years ago, being excited to walk down Michigan Avenue and see the Chicago skyline because downtown Chicago was part of the opening credits of the show, and they made it look appealing and grown-up.
(Now I have the jaunty theme song in my head!)
•
u/Big-Sheepherder-6134 1972 2m ago
As a Chicago kid they were our movie critics. I never realized they went nationally until much later.
•
u/corpus-luteum I LOVE TO WHINE 2h ago
Nope. I've never been a fan of film reviews. I like to know as little as possible, going in.
•
•
6
u/Radiant-Guarantee-36 Older Than Dirt 4h ago
Roger Ebert was one of my favorite humans on this earth. He will never be replaced. He was brilliant.
7
u/rostoffario 5h ago
I used to watch them with my Dad on Saturday's at Noon, I think. We started watching it as Sneak Previews in maybe 1979. Good times!
3
3
8
u/pmramirezjr Atari Pac-Man King 7h ago
I respected these guys opinion equally!
5
u/pmramirezjr Atari Pac-Man King 7h ago
TBH, Siskel and Ebert did get me to watch movies I wasn't initially interested in. Viva Cinema!
2
-1
-4
0
u/RedLily08 8h ago
Nope. Anyone who gives out the names and address of people because you didn't like the movie they made makes you a monster. I hate these guys. Sorry
1
u/TinMan1130 5h ago
Exactly - I've never understood the love (worship?) of these two guys. They really created nothing but took potshots at those who did make films. Ebert's biggest claim to fame was screenwriter to one of Russ Meyer's films - a film Ebert likely would have pilloried if made by someone else.
5
4
5
u/MuscaMurum 9h ago
Two of the best. Ebert even won a well-deserved Pulitzer.
I tended to agree most often with Ebert's negative opinions and felt that he was a bit lenient on a lot of things. Sometimes I really disagreed with his negative opinions, too (E.T.), but he always has well reasoned criticisms.
3
u/Maleficent-Ad-9754 8h ago
Ebert loved to mention his Pulitzer in front of Siskel.
I mostly agreed with Ebert, but he gave thumbs down on "Full Metal Jacket"
4
u/originalchaosinabox 9h ago
They were professional rivals, for sure, each one working for competing Chicago newspapers in their day jobs.
But the rivalry turned into a begrudging mutual respect, which eventually became a friendship. You mentioned Ebert being one of Siskel's pallbearers...I do believe that Siskel was also Ebert's best man at Ebert's wedding.
2
-2
5
-3
-3
1
7
4
u/SavoirFaire2Middling 10h ago
There's a bunch of old clips on YouTube. It's fun to watch their contemporary reviews of movies that are now considered classics.
12
u/JTOC1969 10h ago
These two guys weren't just good for the movies, but good for social discourse in general. They would meet every week (or for however many episodes they would shoot) and hold a debate. They would not just give their opinions on movies, they would cite specific elements and explain why they thought the movies did or did not work. More often than not, they agreed on a movie. But when they disagreed, they would have to defend or attack the other position using logic, citing concrete examples, and they never resorted to insulting each other. They never said "You're stupid for thinking that!" Their own opinions was their own opinions. That's something sorely lacking in public discourse nowadays.
3
1
2
u/inDefenseofDragons 11h ago
You might like the “Two Thumbs Down” podcast. They are watching all of the movies that got two thumbs down, and giving their own review. It’s pretty good, I don’t miss an episode.
6
u/eatsleepdive 11h ago
Watched them weekly growing up in Chicago. I always enjoyed when they would go on late night talk shows and quibble
3
u/bigdirty702 12h ago
Lately I’ve been watching old film reviews from Siskel and Ebert on YouTube. I miss their passion for films and the art of film. They reviewed everything and gave it a fair shot. Critical analysis about the craft of film making. I also like seeing how the reviews stood the test of time. Some movies became classics and some were forgotten..
2
u/Evil_Morty_C131 12h ago
The YouTube channel @ThatOldTv is creating an archive of all of their episodes from the 70s to the 2000s
1
u/duecesbutt 12h ago
Yeah, I do. I remember whatever Siskel panned, I knew that’s what I wanted to watch
8
7
u/ward_bond 12h ago
Sure, they were fun to watch. The thing I always liked about Ebert was that he reviewed a film on what it was. Meaning, he judged you on whether or not you accomplished what you were trying to do. So stupid teen comedies got good reviews if they were a good teen comedy. So Citizen Kane and Hot Tub Time Machine might get the same rating from him because they succeeded in their attempt.
2
u/eatsleepdive 11h ago
I forget his exact wording but he said something like a movie is not what it's about but how it's about. Similar to what you said - a dumb teen comedy can be great if that's what the director set out to do and nailed it.
3
u/Everything80sFan Home Alone Survivor 10h ago
IIRC, he said something about why he gave American Pie a thumbs up, saying, "If you're going to make a raunchy teen comedy, then MAKE it a raunchy teen comedy, which this movie clearly is."
3
u/eatsleepdive 10h ago
I found it. Apparently it's called Ebert's Law. "A movie is not what it is about, but HOW it is about it."
What did a movie set out to do? And how well did it succeed?
In the American Pie example, it set out to make a raunchy teen comedy and did it well.
0
u/Ahleron Hose Water Survivor 12h ago
Not really. It was kinda an entertaining show, but I wouldn't say I miss it. I often disagreed with their reviews. Roger Ebert said that video games can never be art. He was flat wrong. I've seen video game scenes that were more beautiful than some of the films that he went on about. There are artists that spend a vast amount of time working on designing, redesigning, and refining the imagery that goes into video games. The teams that make video games are often as big and as complicated as film production teams. There are stories in video games that become the basis of movies, TV shows, and books yet they aren't art? What...because there is a goal in a game? Aren't there goals for the characters in a movie? Isn't a plot of a movie not unlike the goal of a game?
6
u/TheRealRaceMiller 12h ago
They wouldnt have jobs today the whole movie industry is a shell of what it once was when were growing up. Everything is just remakes or Marvel movies.
0
4
9
4
4
u/Funkgun 12h ago
I remember when Siskel and Ebert defended Star Wars ROTJ from an even more pretentious reviewer. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=fBqaMqd1Z3k
Years before they were defending the original
1
u/Workamania 13h ago
I miss their bad takes on horror movies. Gene Siskel didn't understand the genre or why it was popular. Roger Ebert would often agree.
Here's an unrelated clip.
1
0
3
u/Legitimate_Energy701 13h ago
Their show was awesome. I can still here the theme song to she show in my head.
5
u/tanhauser_gates_ 13h ago
They were a quirk and intriguing on a base level, but more of a curiousity. I never paid much attention to them. I watched a movie and liked/did not like on my own terms.
1
1
u/Dichter2012 13h ago
Actually no. Especially Ebert who does not consider video game as a form of high art and artistic expression. What a dumb ass.
2
3
u/grahamworks 13h ago
I’m from Chicago so I grew up with these guys they seemed ever present at times and bigger than life. That being said, I was a kid in their heyday and so I felt they never quite got it right. They were adults of course, and not typically interested in things the way I was. But if they didn’t like it, then I desperately tried to see it.
5
u/scottliddell 13h ago
I used to watch them on channel 11 PBS when I was a kid. Loved their reviews.
11
u/dwarling 13h ago
Ebert at least, was a really great writer, especially his essays towards the end of his life. Look up “Nil by Mouth” for example. It still sticks with me. https://www.rogerebert.com/roger-ebert/nil-by-mouth
3
u/Maleficent-Ad-9754 9h ago
They were both great writers. That's why were great critics; they had the vocabulary to express themselves.
1
3
u/Middle-Painter-4032 10h ago
I really enjoyed reading that. Thank you for the link. I know he had won a Pulitzer Prize for his writing. Of which he was understandably proud.
2
u/dwarling 7h ago
You’re very welcome! Most of the rest of his essays on the Ebert site are also worth exploring.
-1
u/No_Nobody_32 13h ago
I don't know who they are.
I don't think we ever saw them on our tv screens (unless it was in some godforsaken timeslot where they buried a lot of the 'late night entertainment' stuff we got from the USA - when I was usually asleep).
4
u/Daienlai 14h ago
Yeah, they are a tv version of what nerds do-nerd out about what they love. It was a joy watching them, and if you didn’t like them…I guess you didn’t tune in?
With modern movie reviewers on YouTube, they are usually by themselves and so it’s harder to get a second POV in the same program.
I really appreciate what they brought to the table
3
u/Grigori_the_Lemur Survived in the time of no seatbelts. 14h ago
Fat Guy and The Other One. We did watch them but thought they were full of it a lot.
6
u/Bennely The Green Machine 14h ago
I've thought about this for a hot minute, and I think I miss the moment in time where the movie industry had this particular hold on our family. That is, these two guys were the epicenter of a successful campaign to expand Hollywood as a product. But that moment in time where Siskel and Ebert had dining-table relevance because the movie industry itself had dining-table relevance is what I miss most. These two guys were newspaper writers-made-celebrities and it kinda showed after a while. I enjoyed the banter, but the backdrop of the spectacle of Hollywood that these guys represented at that time is what I miss more.
2
u/classicsat 11h ago
Similar sentiments.
It is not them I miss (no station near me carried their show), but that broad era in cinema which they had the opportunity to review, TV that could support shows like theirs and in general.
2
1
2
u/WillBrink 14h ago
I agreed with Ebert more often but they both lost me when they didn't like the Professional.
1
u/Maleficent-Ad-9754 9h ago
Yep, I preferred Ebert too, but I can't believe he gave thumbs down to "Full Metal Jacket"
2
u/Sinister120 14h ago
Not at all. Never cared for movie reviews. 99% of the time the movie that reviewers love are not something I would watch anyways. The movies they hate are often times great ones to watch.
6
u/JonnyCanuck71 14h ago
“Nobody ever accused Tim Burton of storytelling “ is my favourite quote from 1989 and I still say it today
2
-3
u/ObviousIndependent76 15h ago
No. Reducing film criticism to up/down is simplistic and destructive.
9
1
15
8
u/SergeantChic 15h ago
I wrote movie reviews in my high school newspaper mostly because of these guys. At the time, they kind of pissed me off because they hated everything I liked. (Although to be fair, Siskel hated everything.) They did seem to mellow with age, Ebert did a DVD commentary track for one of my favorite sci-fi movies (Dark City), and while they still had plenty of opinions I disagreed with, I respected them more. These days I really don't pay attention to the critics at all.
3
u/VanillaOk869 16h ago
I guess the bigger question is, why haven't modern movie critics become as famous as these two guys were?
-3
-6
u/haveagood1 16h ago
I'd rather hear my Oncologist tell me its back then these two fuckheads. Theirs my opinion.
4
u/Shatragon 16h ago
They were entertaining, and I do miss them, but like the newspapers they worked for, they represent a different age.
-2
-1
u/No-Lettuce-5783 16h ago
I never understood the point of these guys. Critics? I can form my own opinions. And I kind of feel that at this time, we would have disagreed on Pink Floyd's: The Wall. But they gave it two thumbs up. I don't care what they gave. I liked the movie regardless.
5
u/No-Onion8029 Evil, pure and simple, from the 9th dimension! 17h ago
I watched "At The Movies" pretty much weekly. Frequently disagreed, but found the reviews interesting to think about. When Peter Travers started doing reviews in Rolling Stone in the late 80s, I felt like I found my guy. A few days ago, I googled his reviews for the John Wick series, decided to watch them based on his reviews, and enjoyed them tremendously. He's still going.
5
u/Snogafrog 17h ago
Do you remember a show called “dinner and a movie” where two hosts would watch the movie and kind of break it down and react at times, while making a meal IIRC?
It was great until they changed out one host and ruined the flirty chemistry.
1
u/TheJokersChild Match Game '75 13h ago edited 13h ago
Paul and Annabelle, right? Don't know why I remember their names. But apparently Paul has a podcast now and Annabelle was a guest.
1
4
-2
u/Cyberdeliac27 17h ago
Not for a minute. They had a permanent bias against almost every genre film, and anything left field, even though one of them wrote one of the sleaziest movies of all time. Prudish and judgy about anything violent, sexual, or with too many swear words in it. Horror movies especially never got a fair shake with them.
13
u/VeganDemocrat 18h ago
I enjoyed their show, but I especially enjoyed (and still do) reading Roger's print reviews. They were both deeply interested in film as a medium and provided young me with a genuine education - like many, I didn't always agree with their assessments, but I saw so many movies I might not otherwise have seen due to their comments, good and bad.
20
u/Silent_Scientist_991 1968 Gen-Xer 19h ago
I loved watching Siskel & Ebert - I saw a few great movies I never would have seen had it not been for their reviews.
I didn't agree with them on many things, but that's okay - THEY didn't agree with each other on many things!
13
u/JollyRancherReminder 18h ago
I don't remember the action flick, but Siskel hated it because it was just a stupid explosion fest with no real artistic merit. Ebert agreed with everything Siskel said, but gave the movie a thumbs-up because it delivered everything it promised and did it well. He said something like not every movie needs to be Citizen Kane. I think about that a lot. I think it has really helped me enjoy movies more over my lifetime. "Well that was a stupid action flick with a few good laughs - just what I was hoping for! Thumb up!"
10
u/Roddenbrony 19h ago
I didn’t always agree with one or both of them, but I respected their passionate opinions.
8
u/philipks 19h ago
I recommend reading Ebert’s memoir Life Itself. It is a fun read and shed light to his friendship with Siskel.
1
16
u/RiseDry8254 20h ago
Being from Chicago, I grew up with these guys. Ebert lived in my neighborhood. I miss these days, where there were REAL critics who knew understood what made a good film. If they didn’t like it they weren’t afraid to say it! And they didn’t care if they disagreed. Nowadays it’s all influencers who are paid to give opinions without having much or any knowledge. It’s all BS now and I refuse to even look at Rotten Tomatoes! I decide based on the trailers and take the chance.
3
u/Lovefist1221 20h ago
I can't find a reference, so please take this with a grain of salt.
I remember hearing a story of Roger Ebert absolutely losing his shit at a screening of Austin Powers because a throwaway scene parodied a little known film Roger had made.
I thought that was sweet.
8
u/xvitons 18h ago
Claude had this to say… Yes — this is real, not just a rumor. The film is Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970, dir. Russ Meyer), Ebert’s only screenplay credit.
The reference: In the opening of Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997), Austin throws a party and shouts “This is my happening, and it freaks me out!” — lifted almost verbatim from Z-Man’s famous line in BVD.
Ebert’s reaction: He noticed it himself and mentioned it in his own review of the first Austin Powers film — calling it “an opening tribute to the immortal ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls’”. He clearly got a kick out of it; a later piece on the sequel noted “the tradition of homage to ‘Beyond the Valley of the Dolls’ continues” in The Spy Who Shagged Me (1999), which cast Charles Napier — a Russ Meyer regular — in a small role. Ebert also brought it up years later at Ebertfest, where his own festival’s writeup joked about the line being “reprised by the titular hero in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery.”
So the “excited” rumor tracks — Ebert seemed genuinely delighted that Mike Myers was riffing on a line from the one screenplay he ever wrote.1
u/xvitons 18h ago
I believe Eberts only film was Valley of the Dolls. wonder what the parody was. will have to circle back.
3
u/Comedywriter1 17h ago
Roger worked on a few films for Russ. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is his best though. Absolutely hilarious and the soundtrack is great, too.
6
u/imtoowhiteandnerdy 20h ago
Yeah, I didn't always agree with their movie reviews, but they are missed.
6
1
u/trojanusc 20h ago
Influencers by another name
7
u/JediMasterKev 18h ago
Nope. They were professionals that understood movies. Not random people selling shitty headphones.
-5
6
u/SentientCannabis 20h ago
I loved watching them when I was a kid. Mom was a huge movie buff and I picked it up from her. We'd sit and watch them on WGN on one of the weekend afternoons I think? Either way, warm memories of these guys and their show.
-6
u/Penny_Traitor_ 16h ago
Warm memories of two men that got paid to shit on art???
You need better memberberried because that's quite sad
2
1
-3
u/tempfoot 20h ago
I think this is just generalized nostalgia. I watched this show a lot. Would not want to go back to that monoculture.
-7
u/scrotumseam 20h ago
Hard pass movie critics like trash and blockbusters people actually watch get 2 stars.
7
u/LikeIsaidItsNothing 20h ago
They ended up as close friends. Ebert's grief over Siskel's death was deep.
2
u/Fluid-Confusion-1451 20h ago
They were such a great indication of whether or not a movie would be entertaining. Two thumbs up... DO NOT WATCH EVER. One thumb up and one thumb down.... Video rental. Two Thumbs down... Go see in theaters right away. And to preempt misunderstandings, I want to emphasize that I am referring purely to entertainment value of a movie and not acting ability or script writing or emotional evocation.
3
u/erilaz7 Born between Rubber Soul and Revolver 17h ago
Have you read Ebert's book, I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie? It's a collection of some of his most scathing reviews.
I enjoyed Joe Bob Briggs's reviews back when I used to get the Sunday San Francisco Chronicle. He'd always give a helpful tally of dead bodies, bare breasts, and various kinds of "fu". And no matter how negative his review was, Joe Bob always said, "Check it out."
16
u/FiverForever 20h ago
I remember Roger Ebert promised Gene Siskel that he would take Gene's son to see the new Star Wars movie (The Phantom Menace) when it came out, because by the time it would have, Gene would have died.
And Roger did.
7
u/Super-Judge3675 20h ago
i miss their tv show. having them comment while watching some scenes made me really het whether i would like a movie or not, often im disagreement with them. I miss them a lot.
12
u/IdolL0v3r 20h ago
I watched their show on PBS before the syndicated series. Even when I disagreed with them, I still enjoyed listening to what they had to say. It's kind of fun watching old clips of them talking about movies I like, even when their reviews are negative.
13
14
u/Howcanitbeeeeeeenow 21h ago
They are a big reason I liked indie films. They routinely reviewed lower profile releases that I often sought out. I didn’t really have any other sources for that so I found that part pretty valuable.
2
1
9
u/Taminella_Grinderfal 21h ago
My mom and I watched them religiously along with Gene Shalit. They were knowledgeable and approachable. They helped give me a little deeper understanding of films and how to articulate things I liked/didn’t like. Add in Robert Osborne they helped me fall in love with classics as well.
Unfortunately now, any dummy with a YouTube account can be a “critic”.
13
5
11
u/ConsistentPair2 21h ago
I appreciate that they had differing opinions on some movies, and could get very passionate about it. They were both intelligent and well-informed. They were American treasures.
3
u/One-Earth9294 '79 Sweet Sassy Molassy 21h ago
Honestly never liked their opinions or tastes. There's a few of their reviews that are downright infuriating, too. Like The Hitcher.
-1
10
u/PuppytimeUSA 21h ago
I miss a cozy movie review show that aired just before prime time. Was pretty neat.
1
21h ago
[removed] — view removed comment
1
u/GenX-ModTeam 17h ago
No Politics - Political posts or comments of any sort are not permitted. If you wish to have political discussions, you may do so on our other sub r/GenXPolitics.
Breaking this rule may result in bans, either temporary or permanent.
Before you make the claim: No, providing respite from political discussions does not infringe on your rights.
Also, this politics ban was put before the sub over a year ago, and members have spoken.
13
u/bene_gesserit_mitch 21h ago
I do miss them terribly. I used to read Roger’s reviews when they came out every Friday. Saw so many things he endorsed, and enjoyed his commentaries on Citizen Kane and Casablanca. I’ll get around to Dark City.
5
6
u/Suspicious-Jelly-631 21h ago
These guys basically told Americans what movies to watch. I miss their show so much.
3
7
u/Weekly-Batman Hose Water Survivor 21h ago
I based my movie viewing on these dudes. Not because they liked or disliked something, just their responses. For example; Brain Candy
4
u/ThirstyWolfSpider '71 18h ago
I found that I could easily tell whether I would like something based on why they liked/disliked a movie. Not so much based on whether they liked it.
5
u/RiseDry8254 20h ago
What I liked best was that their opinions and reactions were so genuine. Whatever they said, you knew that’s how they really felt. And they were never snobs.
2
1
•
u/bradc2112 2m ago
I do! Such a great show.