Siskel and Ebert

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 started their professional collaboration on the local Chicago PBS station WTTW with a show entitled Opening Soon at a Theatre Near You (1975-1977), before it was renamed two years later when the show was syndicated nationally to Sneak Previews (1977-1982).[2] The show was later distributed by Tribune Broadcasting and changed to At the Movies (1982-1986), and final iteration of the show was when it was produced by The Walt Disney Company with Siskel & Ebert & the Movies (1986-1999).[2] During its largely successful run with Siskel and Ebert as hosts, the series was nominated for various awards including for Daytime Emmy Awards as well as seven Primetime Emmy Awards including for Outstanding Information Series.[7] Siskel died of a terminal brain cancer in 1999.[8][9] Ebert continued with the series with rotating guest hosts[10] which included Martin Scorsese,[11] Janet Maslin, Peter Bogdanovich, Todd McCarthy, Lisa Schwarzbaum, Kenneth Turan, Elvis Mitchell, and the eventual replacement for Siskel, Richard Roeper.[12][13]

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.[14] They were criticized for their ability to sensationalize film criticism in an easygoing, relatable way. Together they are credited with forming modern day film criticism. The New York Times described Ebert's reviews as a “critic for the common man".[15]

The pair were also known for their intense debate, often drawing sharp criticisms at each other.[16][17] 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.[18][19]

Siskel and Ebert's rivalry and dislike for each other was noted in Matt Singer's 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.” [20]

In 1983, the critics defended Star Wars films against critic John Simon in an episode of ABC News Nightline. 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.[21]

The pair also advocated for up-and-coming filmmakers including Martin Scorsese, Spike Lee, Steve James, Quentin Tarantino, Jane Campion, Michael Moore and Werner Herzog.

They especially decried the lack of an Academy Award for Best Picture for Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989), and James' Hoop Dreams (1994).[23][24]

Siskel and Ebert were known for their many appearances on late night talk shows including appearing on The Late Show with David Letterman sixteen times and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson fifteen times. They also appeared together on The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Arsenio Hall Show, Howard Stern, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and Late Night with Conan O'Brien.

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."[25] 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.[25] 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.[26] The episode is a parody of the film Sleepless in Seattle.[26]

They also appeared as themselves on Saturday Night Live three times, 1982, 1983, and 1985.[27][28] They appeared in the episode "Chevy Chase/Queen" (1982) where they reviewed sketches from the night's telecast.[29]

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!”[30] 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.[31]

The 1995 episode of Animaniacs, "Critical Condition", featured a parody of Siskel & Ebert, with their names being changed to Lene Hisskill & Codger Eggbert. The characters were voiced by Maurice LaMarche and Chuck McCann, respectively.[32]

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?"[33] Ebert gave the film one-and-a-half stars out of four. Siskel placed the film on his list of the worst films of 1998.

Siskel and Ebert received a Chicago Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Program in 1979.[7] They also received seven Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Informational Series.[7] They also received three Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Series from 1989 to 1991.[7]

• Singer, Matt (2023). Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever. Penguin. ISBN 978-0-59354-015-2.

• At the Movies at IMDb