My late movie friend Dennis McCaskill and I were movie freaks. We obsessively watched movies, collected movies, and endlessly talked about movies. So naturally we were called McCaskill and Siebert a few times. The names Siskel and Ebert were synonymous with the movies.
Everyone knew who they were, regardless of whether they watched the Siskel and Ebert show. The trademark thumbs up adorned many movie posters. Gene and Roger were popular talk show guests. Their shtick was parodied and imitated.
I remember the first time I saw them. Late seventies, I was switching some channels, and I settled on two dweebs discussing Dawn of the Dead. I had seen Night, of course, and I was hot to see Dawn. The two guys liked Dawn of the Dead.
You could say I was a Siskel and Ebert fan from the start.
I watched the show when I could. By the nineties, which was the time of my biggest and most obsessive movie compulsion, I never missed an episode.
Two regular guys who weren't particularly good looking or suave. Not TV personality types, but they had magnetic charisma. Siskel and Ebert were smart, quick on their feet, funny, and often cuttingly acerbic.
Matt Singer has given us a long-overdue biography of the most famous odd couple in movie reviewing history. It's informative, well-written, and appreciative. Singer describes some of the unpleasant sides of their personalities, but he doesn't dwell on them.
Opposable Thumbs is a quick read. Almost too quick; I could have read another couple hundred pages about Gene and Rog.
Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert went up against the most powerful movie Gods in Hollywood. And won. They steadfastly refused to compromise their ethics. Pure, unadulterated honesty, no bullshit. At one point Twentieth Century Fox tried to ban them from press screenings. That lasted a few weeks. Gene and Roger were too big. The two thumbs up brand was a powerful marketing tool for promotion. The two critics were ready and willing to walk away from it all before they relented to studio pressure.
Siskel and Ebert argued like cats and dogs, but there was deep affection. Like any long term relationship, there were struggles and frustrations. They began as rival writers for different Chicago newspapers. They vehemently disagreed with each other often. It almost seemed as if they would come to blows sometimes, but together they were warriors in the battle for intelligent movies.
I sneered at Siskel and Ebert at times. Especially about their disdain for exploitation movies. I laughed at their clever remarks. I fiercely nodded agreement when they lambasted the colorization process, or when they championed small independent pictures. They challenged me and entertained me.
I'd like to see how they would feel about today's cinematic wasteland.
Opposable Thumbs also makes me realize how much influence Siskel and Ebert had on me and my writing. They found inferior movies to be an affront to their dignity. When filmmakers sold their audiences, and themselves, short, they deserved harsh reviews. Even ridicule.
I learned to be completely honest. Otherwise I'd have no integrity.
I've known a few highfalutin horror academics who claim that their stand on literature was not opinion. Of course that's hogwash. Siskel and Ebert, two educated, intelligent, knowledgeable men often had exact opposite opinions on movies.
This book, which I loved, made me realize how much I miss Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. It makes me yearn for the days of true criticism, as opposed to studio asskissing and illiterate social media influencers.
Opposable Thumbs also makes me miss real filmmaking. Digital photography, greenscreen, superheroes, heavy-handed message movies. We desperately need a revolution, but what hope do we have without Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert?
Written by Mark Sieber
Everyone knew who they were, regardless of whether they watched the Siskel and Ebert show. The trademark thumbs up adorned many movie posters. Gene and Roger were popular talk show guests. Their shtick was parodied and imitated.
I remember the first time I saw them. Late seventies, I was switching some channels, and I settled on two dweebs discussing Dawn of the Dead. I had seen Night, of course, and I was hot to see Dawn. The two guys liked Dawn of the Dead.
You could say I was a Siskel and Ebert fan from the start.I watched the show when I could. By the nineties, which was the time of my biggest and most obsessive movie compulsion, I never missed an episode.
Two regular guys who weren't particularly good looking or suave. Not TV personality types, but they had magnetic charisma. Siskel and Ebert were smart, quick on their feet, funny, and often cuttingly acerbic.
Matt Singer has given us a long-overdue biography of the most famous odd couple in movie reviewing history. It's informative, well-written, and appreciative. Singer describes some of the unpleasant sides of their personalities, but he doesn't dwell on them.
Opposable Thumbs is a quick read. Almost too quick; I could have read another couple hundred pages about Gene and Rog.
Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert went up against the most powerful movie Gods in Hollywood. And won. They steadfastly refused to compromise their ethics. Pure, unadulterated honesty, no bullshit. At one point Twentieth Century Fox tried to ban them from press screenings. That lasted a few weeks. Gene and Roger were too big. The two thumbs up brand was a powerful marketing tool for promotion. The two critics were ready and willing to walk away from it all before they relented to studio pressure.
Siskel and Ebert argued like cats and dogs, but there was deep affection. Like any long term relationship, there were struggles and frustrations. They began as rival writers for different Chicago newspapers. They vehemently disagreed with each other often. It almost seemed as if they would come to blows sometimes, but together they were warriors in the battle for intelligent movies.
I sneered at Siskel and Ebert at times. Especially about their disdain for exploitation movies. I laughed at their clever remarks. I fiercely nodded agreement when they lambasted the colorization process, or when they championed small independent pictures. They challenged me and entertained me.
I'd like to see how they would feel about today's cinematic wasteland.
Opposable Thumbs also makes me realize how much influence Siskel and Ebert had on me and my writing. They found inferior movies to be an affront to their dignity. When filmmakers sold their audiences, and themselves, short, they deserved harsh reviews. Even ridicule.
I learned to be completely honest. Otherwise I'd have no integrity.
I've known a few highfalutin horror academics who claim that their stand on literature was not opinion. Of course that's hogwash. Siskel and Ebert, two educated, intelligent, knowledgeable men often had exact opposite opinions on movies.
This book, which I loved, made me realize how much I miss Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. It makes me yearn for the days of true criticism, as opposed to studio asskissing and illiterate social media influencers.
Opposable Thumbs also makes me miss real filmmaking. Digital photography, greenscreen, superheroes, heavy-handed message movies. We desperately need a revolution, but what hope do we have without Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert?
Written by Mark Sieber
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