Gene Siskel (January 26, 1946 – February 20, 1999) and Roger Ebert (June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013), collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were American film critics known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siskel's death in 1999.[1]
At the time two of the most well-known film critics writing for Chicago newspapers (Siskel for the Tribune, Ebert for the rival Sun-Times), the two were first paired up as the hosts of a monthly show called Opening Soon at a Theatre Near You, airing locally on PBS member station WTTW.[2] In 1978, the show — renamed Sneak Previews — was expanded to weekly episodes and aired on PBS affiliates all around the United States.[2] In 1982, the pair left Sneak Previews to create the syndicated show At the Movies.[2] Following a contract dispute with Tribune Media in 1986, Siskel and Ebert signed with Buena Vista Television, creating Siskel & Ebert & the Movies (later renamed Siskel & Ebert, and renamed again several times after Siskel's death).[2]
Known for their sharp and biting wit, intense professional rivalry, heated arguments, and their binary "Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down" summations, the duo became a sensation in American popular culture.[3][4] Siskel and Ebert remained partners until Siskel's death from a brain tumor in 1999.[1]
Early careers
Siskel started writing for the Chicago Tribune in 1969, becoming its film critic soon after. Ebert joined the Chicago Sun-Times in 1966, and started writing about film for the paper in 1967.[5] In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for criticism.[6]
Siskel and Ebert's reviewing style has been described as a form of midwestern populist criticism rather than the one formed through essays which other critics including Pauline Kael felt undermined and undervalued the profession of film criticism.[15] They were criticized for their ability to sensationalize film criticism in an easygoing, relatable way. Together, they are credited with forming contemporary film criticism. The New York Times described Ebert's reviews as a "critic for the common man".[16]
The pair were also known for their intense debate, often drawing sharp criticisms at each other.[17][18] Ebert reminisced about the experience saying:
Gene Siskel and I were like tuning forks, Strike one, and the other would pick up the same frequency. When we were in a group together, we were always intensely aware of one another. Sometimes this took the form of camaraderie, sometimes shared opinions, sometimes hostility. But we were aware. If something happened that we both thought was funny but weren't supposed to, God help us if one caught the other's eye. We almost always thought the same things were funny. That may be the best sign of intellectual communion.[19][20]
Siskel and Ebert's rivalry and dislike for each other was noted in Matt Singer's 2023 book Opposable Thumbs. According to a Tribune editor quoted in the book, when Siskel would scoop his rival in print, he'd exult: "Take that, Tubby, I got him again."[21]
In 1983, the critics defended the Star Wars films against critic John Simon in an episode of ABC NewsNightline. The film Return of the Jedi (1983) had hit theaters that summer and Simon was criticizing the film for "making children dumber than they need to be". Ebert responded saying:
I don't know what he did as a child, but I spent a lot of my Saturday matinees watching science fiction movies and serials and having a great time and being stimulated and having my imagination stimulated and having all sorts of visions take place in my mind that would help me to become an adult and to still stay young at heart. I wouldn’t say that I am childlike, but that [Simon] is old at heart.[22]
Preferences
Best films of the year
As critics, Siskel's first top ten list was in 1969; Ebert's had debuted in 1967. Over the life of their partnership, these were the two critics' #1 selections.[23]
Previously, Siskel and Ebert had separately agreed on Z and The Godfather before sharing the same opinion on Nashville, The Right Stuff, Do the Right Thing, GoodFellas, Schindler's List, Hoop Dreams, and Fargo.
Seven times, Siskel's #1 choice did not appear on Ebert's top ten list at all: Straight Time, Ragtime, Once Upon a Time in America, Shoah, The Last Temptation of Christ, Hearts of Darkness, and The Ice Storm. Eight times, Ebert's top selection did not appear on Siskel's; these films were Small Change, 3 Women, An Unmarried Woman, Apocalypse Now, Sophie's Choice, Mississippi Burning, Eve's Bayou, and Dark City. In 1985, Ebert declined to rank the Holocaust documentary Shoah as 1985's best film because he felt it was inappropriate to compare it to the rest of the year's candidates.[23]
While Apocalypse Now appeared as Ebert's choice for best film of 1979 but not anywhere on Siskel's list, the documentary of the making of the film, Hearts of Darkness, was Siskel's choice for the best film of 1991 while not appearing on Ebert's list.
In addition, neither critic's choice for the best film of 1988 (The Last Temptation of Christ for Siskel and Mississippi Burning for Ebert) appeared anywhere on the other critic's list, but both starred Willem Dafoe.
In 1990, they interviewed Scorsese, George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg on a special titled "The Future of the Movies", highlighting the importance of film preservation.[25] They later transcribed their interviews into a companion book of the same title, becoming the only book jointly written by them.[26]
Normally, Siskel and Ebert would refuse to guest-star in movies or television series, as they felt it would undermine their "responsibility to the public."[30] However, they both "could not resist" appearing on an episode of the animated television series The Critic, the title character of which was a film-critic who hosted a television show.[30] In the episode, entitled "Siskel & Ebert & Jay & Alice" (which aired in 1995), Siskel and Ebert split and each wants Jay Sherman, the eponymous film critic, as his new partner.[31] The episode is a parody of the film Sleepless in Seattle.[31]
They also appeared as themselves on Saturday Night Live three times, 1982, 1983, and 1985.[32][33] They appeared in the episode "Chevy Chase/Queen" (1982) where they reviewed sketches from the night's telecast.[34]
In popular culture
A reference to Siskel & Ebert can be heard in the 1989 film, Police Academy 6: City Under Siege. At one point during a high speed chase, Captain Harris shouts: "Look out for Gene and Roger's fruit stand!"[35] This was because Siskel and Ebert hated both the cliché of fruit stands being destroyed in movie car chases and the Police Academy film series.
In 1993, Siskel and Ebert were satirized on the popular Nickelodeon series Doug in the episode "Doug's Monster Movie" in which they appear in a dream sequence and vote two thumbs down on Doug's home movie.[36]
The 1993 episode of Animaniacs, "Critical Condition", featured a parody of Siskel & Ebert, with their names parodied as Lean Hisskill & Codger Eggbert. The characters were voiced by Maurice LaMarche and Chuck McCann (later Billy West), respectively.[37]
The 1998 film, Godzilla, featured characters based on the duo. The Mayor of New York City, Mayor Ebert, is portrayed by Michael Lerner, and Gene, the mayor's aide, is played by Lorry Goldman. During the film, Gene resigns from working for Mayor Ebert by giving him a 'thumbs down' gesture. Of the characters, Ebert pointed out in his review that the characters were producer Dean Devlin and director Roland Emmerich's jabs at his and Gene Siskel's negative reviews of Stargate and Independence Day. Gene Siskel particularly singled out this aspect, saying, "If you're going to go through the trouble of putting us in a monster movie, why don't you at least take the advantage of having the monster either eat or squash us?"[38] Ebert gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four.[39] Siskel placed the film on his list of the worst films of 1998.[40]
