Gene and me in the 1980s. Looking at this photograph by Chicago's Victor Skrebneski, Gene said, "Even our mothers don't think we look that good."
(Photo by Victor Skrebneski)
I was surprised how depressed I felt all day on July 21, when Richard and I announced we were leaving the "Ebert and Roeper" program. To be sure, our departures were voluntary. We hadn't been fired. And because of my health troubles, I hadn't appeared on the show for two years. But I advised on co-hosts, suggested movies, stayed in close communication with Don DuPree, our beloved producer-director. The show remained in my life. Now, after 33 years, it was gone--taken in a "new direction." And I was fully realizing what a large empty space it left behind.
* * * *
Members of the Ebert & Roeper team pose for a farewell photo after taping the last show. Left to right are producer David Plummer, audio engineer Jamie Wainwright (sitting), technical director Gregg Koch, associate producer Annie Porter, co-host Michael Phillips, executive producer and director Don DuPree, makeup artist Nancy Stanley, lighting director Jesus Ramos, editor Paul Bubinos, cameraman Terry Stegner, co-host Richard Roeper, floor director Rosa Lopez, cameraman Al Hilliard (sitting), cameraman Norm Ohlson (with cap). Not in the photo is engineer Dennis McGuire. Nancy Stanley is the longest-serving member of the S&E&R family, having joined the show shortly after Gene and I began at PBS in 1975. (Photo by Lia Papadopoulos). *Click photo to enlarge*
* * * *
Yes, we're planning to continue the traditional format in a new venue, and taking the thumbs along with us. I'm involved in that, and it will be a great consolation. But somehow I thought the show Gene Siskel and I began would roll on forever. How many other TV formats had survived so long?
I sat in my chair and day-dreamed. I remembered a Saturday afternoon, it must have been the winter of 1975-76, when Gene and I were eating hamburgers in Oxford's Pub on Lincoln Av. with Thea Flaum, a young woman who would produce the show for WTTW, the Chicago PBS station. You didn't read her name in the news coverage of our departures, but she was the real "creator" of the show, as TV uses that term.
She told us she would build a balcony for us, and sit us across the aisle from one another. She told us we couldn't wear suits and ties--no one wore them to the movies. She came up with the idea of Spot the Wonder Dog. The show was monthly at first. On Sunday afternoons before a taping, we would separately sit across her dining room table from her and rehearse our scripts. We had "discussion points" we tried to memorize.
We were bad at that. If one guy dropped a discussion point, the other guy got mad. "We can't remember these points," Gene said, "but we can talk to each other." During that first season (the show was called "Opening Soon at a Theater Near You"), the final format took shape. In the pub that day, Thea told us, "You boys have no idea how far this show is going to go. One day you'll be in national syndication. You'll be making real money. You wait and see."
Her prophecy came true. The day we fully realized it in our guts, I think, was the first time we were invited to appear with Johnny Carson. We were scared out of our minds. We'd been briefed on likely questions by one of the show's writers, but moments before airtime he popped his head into the dressing room and said, "Johnny may ask you for some of your favorite movies this year."
Gene and I stared at each other in horror. "What was one of your favorite movies this year?" he asked me. "Gone With the Wind," I said. The Doc Severinsen orchestra had started playing the famous "Tonight Show" theme. Neither one of us could think of a single movie. Gene called our office in Chicago. "Tell me some movies we liked this year," he said. This is a true story.
We began to catch on. Jack Nicholson told Gene, "Harry Dean Stanton called me and said there were a couple of guys discussing movies on TV and they didn't even look like they should be on TV." We didn't. Tall and thin, short and fat. Laurel and Hardy. We were parodied on SNL and by Bob Hope and Danny Thomas and, the ultimate honor, in the pages of Mad magazine.
One thing we never did, apart from an occasional special show, was depart from the format: Two critics debating the week's new movies. No "advance looks" at trailers for movies we hadn't even seen. No celebrity interviews. No red carpet sound bites. Just two guys talking about the movies. At one point, our show and two clones were on the air simultaneously. Then we were left alone again: The only show on TV that would actually tell you if we thought a movie was bad. There was one improvement; we retired Spot (and his successor, Aroma the Educated Skunk) to free up a segment for another review. I remember when we jumped to commercial syndication at Tribune Entertainment, and our new producer Joe Antelo, backed us in reviewing movies by Fassbinder, Truffaut, Herzog--"those guys. Where else they gonna hear about them?"
Did Gene and I hate each other? Yes. Did we love each other? Yes. Somehow an outtake from a promo session has found its way on YouTube, where in a single take you can see us bitterly sniping at one another and then happily joking together. It was like that. "You have the entire staff in terror of you," I told him. "That's funny," he said. "That's what they tell me about you." We were both terrible to work with. And great to work with.
We went to New Orleans for the national convention of syndicated TV. Tribune had been slow in renewing our contract. Leaving our hotel, we ran into Jamie Bennett, an executive Gene knew from Chicago. Jamie asked how we were doing. "Working without a contract," Gene said. "Let's have dinner," Jamie said, and on the spot he talked us into leaving Tribune and becoming the first program of the new Buena Vista syndication division.
Disney was great to work with. Everyone called everyone else by their first name, even the president, Michael Eisner. The wonderful Mary Kellogg was put in charge of our show, and was our cheerleader and den mother. Rich Frank was president of the Walt Disney Studio. When he gave a speech, he took along a reel of clips showing Gene and me trashing movies he had produced. Great jollity. Disney never once objected to our negative review of one of their pictures. Great class.
I began to notice that Gene, who had a laser-like intelligence, remembered every phone number he had ever heard and could do square roots in his head, started getting things out of order. Before a Jay Leno taping in Chicago, he closed himself in a dark room with a splitting headache. But he went to the Bulls game that night. I left the next day for the Cannes festival, where I got a phone call: Gene was sick, was in New York for treatment. He went through the agonies of hell during that final year, but he was heroic, and taped a show barely a week before his death. I missed him terribly. I still do.
We carried on, as I believe Gene would have wanted us to do. Many critics filled the other chair, some gifted, some strange. One guy, in introducing himself, couldn't remember where he worked. I agreed with all the staff members that Richard Roeper was our choice. People thought he was chosen because we both worked at the Sun-Times. That had nothing to do with it--it worked against him, in fact. When the time came that I had to be replaced, Michael Phillips of the Tribune and A. O. Scott of the New York Times were my suggestions.
Now the time has come to awake from my daydream. That's all history--treasured history, but past and gone, all the same. I remember what Gene said to me in that dressing room before the Carson Show: "Roger, we're a couple of kids from the Midwest. We don't belong here."
Thank you so much for sharing this. You and Gene changed how I think about films and you contributed to the development of film culture and appreciation while balancing between the blockbuster and the art house. I still look forward to your reviews and seeing what else you'll be doing.
Thanks for sharing these stories. Looking forward to your next project!
your show was a favourite of mine since i can remember. i still have yours and gene's review of roger rabbit on vhs somewhere. i will miss your show.
now it's time to go back to the source. hookup with PBS again and start a video podcast. it'll be big because we all miss seeing you on tv. i know i'll subscribe to it.
You'll be missed in the balcony. Your reviews are as great as ever here on your site and I am enjoying your journal contributions.
It sounds like Disney is making a mistake in hiring people who are not known for their criticism to take your places.
All good things must someday end, as must Sneak Previews, etc.
I wish you all the best in the future.
The best part about the show was that Gene and Roger both came across as guys. Despite your academic credintials you were able to relate to the normal moviegoer. I always enjoyed it when you both appreciated a good popcorn movie. Most critics have lost that, we don't always want to go and get challneged to redifine our view of manking and the universe. By building that crediblity you both were able to stretch the average guy into seeing something that he might not otherwise have seen because we trusted you. Thanks for that.
Thank you for sharing this touching remembrance.
Gorgeous story. I miss the show already.
Roger, thank you for this. It's very important to me as I'm sure it is to all of your viewers.
I just turned 33 myself, and I can safely say that over the course of my life, there has only been one TV show that I have always looked forward to seeing, no matter my age. Of course, I'm talking about your program. As a kid, seeing you and Gene on TV felt like a trip to the movies. It was special to me. As a teen, you informed me of films I probably never would have thought to check out. And as an adult, I have used the program alternately as a counterpoint to my own thinking or evidence that I have excellent taste, depending on the film in question.
I never realized how much I love the movies until sometime after college. I say realize because I always did - I just wasn't in touch with it. Suddenly, after two roommates took a film class senior year, I found myself reading their homework and going to screenings of Sidney Lumet pictures with them when I should have been working on Economics assignments. Now I blog about film when I find the time, both for my own enjoyment and to share my ideas with others. As I said, your show has always been there.
Last week, you brought up the "Movie of your life." I said that I was too young to really have one yet. I still believe that, though I have some ideas of which ones are in the running. But the TV program of my life may very well be Siskel and Ebert and Roeper and Whoever Continues to Carry the Torch in the Future (though The Simpsons would surely give you a run for the money). You have always been an honest, entertaining, and passionate supporter of the art form we love. That's all we can ask for.
Again, thanks for all you've done and continue to do in the name of film.
Wow, not only was that one of the saddest stories I've heard its one of the most well written.
How basic was Siskel & Ebert's format? Here in Mexico they tried a movie critic's TV show some years ago, which not only consisted of two guys discussing films across a balcony but one happened to be skinny and the other heavy. Too bad they stunk and didn't last very long (even though Siskel & Ebert were ordinary looking that doesn't mean just anybody can do what they did).
I think Disney is making a terrible mistake. The new show may or may not grab more viewers in the short run but they were dealing with the jewel of movie reviews show and should have never touched it. One day, this will look like one of the stupidest show-biz decisions ever.
It's been great watching the balcony; I'll miss it. :)
As a young lad of the tender age of 23, having grown up in a household where a love of movies was just a given, there has never been a point in my life where your show wasn't a part of the order of things. As the years have gone by you and Siskel, and eventually you and Roeper, have been central to my discovery of most of the great pieces of cinema that I have been privy to seeing. Over time, as I came to better understand the things that turned you off or turned you on better to movies I found myself able to watch what you had to say about movies and generally know whether or not I would like them (even if you gave them a resounding thumbs down). So, I also have to celebrate the hours of my life I've spent not watching bad movies thanks to your show. From an appreciative student, thanks for 20 some odd years of enlightening and enjoyable lessons (and it's too bad I wasn't around for the other 13)!
I remember seeing this show for the first time in Canada via our local, over-the-border PBS station (PBS has long courted Canadian subscriptions, it occurs to me) when I was just a kid. I was the sort of pre-teen who would stay up watching old black-and-white films on CBC late into the night, so of course I paid attention.
I recall that it was part of a whole "Sunday Matinee" format PBS used to run, where a classic film would be matched up with some old serials and cartoons, and somewhere in there was Ebert and Roeper.
Good memories.
I got a lump in my throat reading this and reminiscing right along with you. Thank God for the internet and the knowledge that I can always revisit some of the most classic bickering, along with some of the most insightful views on film ever placed in a commercial format.
I look forward to whatever you have planned for the future.
As one of the many fans who has watched the show from its nascent days on PBS, this news was also sad for us, although obviously not on the same level as what you and Richard must be experiencing. Along with music, film inspires life affirmation in me like no other medium, and I do not exaggerate when I credit you and Gene for helping to make that possible. That's because the two of you taught me each week why the movies were worth caring about, what the difference was between a good and bad movie, and, most of all, the importance of not being afraid to express passion for whatever it is that moves us and makes us feel alive. When this passion that you and Gene possessed caused the two of you to clash on the air, it also taught me that two people could argue civilly, then move on. This was especially important because, during the time that I watched the two of you, my parents had divorced after years of horrible fighting, which caused me afterwards to avoid confrontations and disagreements at all costs. For this and more, a simple "thank you" doesn't seem nearly enough, but it is all that I can offer. Whenever the new project that you and Richard have in the works begins, I will be there, ready to learn more about the films - and life.
Ever since I can remember, there were three shows that my family and I watched on Sundays: Tim Russert, Siskel & Ebert, and The Simpsons. I grew up watching your show and it cultivated my love of movies. Thank you for all the years of entertainment and education on the air. I will miss how Sundays used to be.
Roger,
At this juncture in your career, I just wanted to tell you what your work has meant to me over the years.
I'm a reader, not a watcher. The point is important because I have watched many movies only after reading your columns. Although I don't always agree with the verdicts, your reviews are so sincerely and persuasively written that I feel compelled to investigate. By convincing me to do something I normally wouldn't do, you have made my life richer, and I thank you.
Lori Sizemore
Roger, your journal entries are wonderful and this one particularly poignant. I'm 41 now and have been watching At the Movies since as long as I can remember. As a child, I watched (and read your reviews in the Sun-Times) because most times it was the closest I was ever going to get to seeing a movie. My life still restricts how many movies I'm able to get to (bit now its a matter of having a family vs. not having money) and I still watch the show and read your reviews religiously. Thank you for taking me to the movies when I can't always get there.
I've watched the show since I was a teenager and it was "Sneak Previews." You and Gene introduced me to "Fassbinder, Truffaut, Herzog -- those guys." You made my life a little better and a little happier. Thank you very much.
I've been watching since your PBS days. I'll be reading and watching you in other venues. But this piece was beautifully sad (sadly beautiful). From one Roger to another, best wishes.
One of my favorite S&E moments, albeit a scripted one, came at the very end of one of your anniversary specials, filmed before an audience at Disney-MGM Studios.
(paraphrased)
Ebert: "One question we always get asked is 'Do you two really hate each other?'"
(long pause)
Siskel: "Well, that wraps up this anniversary episode..."
Perhaps your greatest long-running tribute (2 years!) was the fact that the cartoon The Critic was a kind of parody of your format, and that you guys were willing to a) appear in cartoon form on the show and b) sing! That was, in fact, the show's best episode. Especially when you had Jay dress up as Gene.
Thanks for all the years of your program, thanks for your reviews online. My husband and I watched the program every week, looking for movies we might enjoy watching. We're in our early 70's, not a highly-desired demographic. We're the second hump in the curve of movie-goers, we went when we were young, slumped during child-rearing except for kids' movies, then, when we were alone together again, we looked for movies interesting to the mature. We don't enjoy car chases and relentless violence. We do like insightful movies. We appreciate your reviews of independent movies, of foreign movies. Thanks for the guidance of your reviews, may you keep going for many years to come!
It's a shame the show is being changed.
I, too, believed it would go on forever. There are always new movies, we always want to see people talk about them, therefore it just made sense.
Any news, Roger, about when the new show with the thumbs will arrive?
As I'm only 16, I feel robbed. I've missed out, I think. Roger's my role model. It's my dream to just treat him to lunch. And as sad as I feel about this departure, I'm also hopeful.
I hope one day soon, I can see Roger back in his chair, next to Richard, reviewing movies like old times. Hopefully, they can reach a compromise with a company that will cater to their needs without hesitation. Wishful thinking, yes. But what else can we hope for?
Best of wishes, Mr. Ebert.
I like to believe that I was at a young age when I first started watching your show. I believe I was around 10-12, which may or may not be that young but I can guarantee you I was the only young person in my small town of 700 to watch your show. I still remember when Gene died, and his last few shows as well. I even remember some of the guest host shows!
Anyways, everytime I write on this blog I tend to talk more about myself and less about your article.
First of all, I hope your new show does as well as it deserves to, indeed, it is wholly dissapointing that I should even have to say that. After 33 years of syndication, you have to wonder why anyone would want to mess with it.
I thought I should say it now, even if you may never read it, and even if I sound like a blubbering fool, and even though it has no bearings on this article, you have been one of the true inspirations of my life. I appreciate every review you write, even when I dissagree. I am going to school this fall and as silly as it may sound, your reviews and essays helped me to make my decision. I have decided to pursue my Master's of Fine Arts in Teaching, with a minors in Film Studies and Creative Writing.
Anyways Mr. Ebert, I hope my new direction in life takes me onward and upward, and I hope the same for you and Mr. Roeper!
You told the story in such a beautiful way, I think it touches anyone who reads it.
I felt sad when I read that you were ending the show (for now?). But it's nothing compared to what you feel, you who were the origin of it.
I'll be looking forward to your next project, and seeing you sit again in the balcony. And I hope you'll continue to put the clips online, because for me it's the only way I can watch them (living in europe and all...). Actually, wouldn't it be great if your new program wasn't broadcast on TV but only on the internet? Nowadays people spend much more time watching things on the internet than on the TV screen. I can't even remember the last time I turned on MY television. There are several shows broadcast through the internet, not only podcasts, even by amateurs on YouTube (like the "What the Buck" show).
Anyways, thank you for this wonderful post and all your hard work all these years!
I truly, along with the fine people who comment here, am sorry for the loss of this show, as it is the only show that I religiously watch. It was a sad day to learn of the end of the show for me, and you all shall be missed. Hopefully this new show that you plan to make will flourish to the top. I'm sure with your viewer-ship, it will.
Thank you for the years of great reviews, even if there were disagreements. This was the finest show on TV.
Savvy
Living in Europe, I have never had the chance to watch the show, although I was familiar with some of the parodies from an early age. I distinctly remember seeing an "Animaniacs" sketch in which two critics rated movies "toes up" or "toes down" when I was a child, long before I had any idea who Siskel or Ebert were.
In my early teens, I started to notice references to a "very important American film critic" in books and articles I was reading, and at around the same time I stumbled upon the reviews online - on the Sun-Times website, as rogerebert.com didn't exist yet - and I was hooked. I don't remember exactly at which point I realized that the critic whose every review I read on the website was the same guy who was referred to in all those different sources. But it's interesting that, because I fell in love with the writing before I knew of the author's reputation, I've always felt that the most famous critic in movie history was a personal discovery of mine.
I wish now as I did then that the show had been a part of my life. But I'm happy that I got to see several interviews on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien" and "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno", and to now have the clips that are available online and, most importantly of all, the writing.
I don't mean to sound bleak, but when I found out you would no longer be doing your show, it was as if a long loved one who had been in a coma had passed away. I'm still praying for your full recovery so that we can be enlivened by your voice, once more. Your words in print may forever be online, but I miss and will keep on missing your reassuring tone.
I can't help but quote a line from PATTON...
"For over a thousand years, Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of a triumph - a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters and musicians and strange animals from the conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conqueror rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children, robed in white, stood with him in the chariot, or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror, holding a golden crown, and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory ... is fleeting."
Thanks for sharing this. I was born in 1975 and grew up watching your show. Along with your books, it has meant more to me than you could know. You guys taught me how to think about the movies I was watching.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and feelings about the show which has been a big part of my life for many years.
I still remember my brother and I were flipping the TV dial back in 1981 when I was eight years old and coming across "Sneak Previews". My brother and I were always interested in the current horror films for which there were a lot of at the time. We hadn't actually seen any of these films, but I think we were fasinated by them because the older kids were flocking to them in droves.
On that show, which I remember aired on Thursday night at 8:30 on PBS, you and Gene reviewed "Halloween II" for which my brother and I cursed the both of you for giving it a negative review while you gave that "boring" film "My Dinner With Andre" a very positive review. After we calmed down, the opening titles of "This Old House" came on at 9:00 and we were sent to bed. Now that I'm older your reviews of these movies make perfect sense.
That nasty review for the beloved film we never even saw didn't stop us from tuning in every Thursday evening. Your show forever changed how I watched films and taught me, at a young age, how to distinguish good films from bad films without being pretentious or condescending. Sometimes a good junk film is still good!
While all of my friends religiously watched sitcoms and action shows, I continued to watch Siskel & Ebert which gave me a good vocabulary and a better understanding not only of the movies, but of the world around me as well.
I'm very sad to see this chapter of the show come to an end but I look forward to the new balcony opening soon!
Ebert: Ah, I think we both liked "Halloween." Gene said after he saw it at a midnight Chicago Film Festival screening, he had to take a taxi home. He lived only two blocks from the theater.
Roger, you are a class act on and off screen. I have missed seeing you on TV but continue to read your website any time I want to check out a new flick. It sucks that you've lost your voice--but thank GOD that you can write so well. It's good to get not just plot highlights and opinion, but also a good laugh or a deep insight into humanity now and then.
I say all that to say. . .best wishes in your new venture, and Long Live the Thumbs!
If I may use one of the worn-out movie cliches from your movie glossary...
[Roger starts walking away.]
Me: Roger.
[Roger turns around.]
Roger: Yeah?
Me: [slight pause] Thanks.
With regards to the wisdom of Disney's decision, time will tell.
It is interesting to examine not only the history of At the Movies, but also its impact on film criticism. There have been allegations over time that television shows in the style of At the Movies have had a deleterious effect on film criticism, which I don't believe is necessarily true. Perhaps they popularized the film review format over in-depth critical analysis, but outside of hardcore film buffs, I can't think of many people who enjoy the latter. And, had the former not been popularized in part by At the Movies, how many of today's film buffs would have never been?
Brief debate segments of just a few minutes each might not be the ideal format for film discussion. But who better to deliver the goods in a less than ideal format than a man with the split-second wit and intelligence of Gene Siskel, or with the encyclopedic film knowledge possessed by Roger Ebert?
God, what a lovely memoir. Thank you. I remember watching you both in the early days, in the late '70s. For a while, there were a couple of folks who said I looked like you. You know, chubby and with horn-rim glasses. I was honored.
I’m often reminded of why we, as a movie-watching audience, go to the movies. I believe it’s to escape reality or the monotony of our humdrum lives. Or it may simply be to get entertained, which regardless of where we come from, where we live or what we presume to believe, being entertained is something all of us share in common.
With that being said, I’m reminded why I loved watching your program every Sunday evening. It gave me, a novice movie buff, the opportunity to see which movies were given your famous “Thumbs Up” approval. I knew that once that happened, it was a movie worth watching, spending money to see and investing time into it.
To me, a film critic’s job is to recommend movies to the masses. You do this wonderful job by discussing plot elements, character buildup, story setup and the possible emotional impact a film may have on a person. I’m here to tell you, I don’t watch a movie blind. By that, I mean, I must either read your online review or see your weekly program before I watch a new film. This has also extended to classic films of yesteryear.
As the program goes into a new direction, I wish it Godspeed. As you continue to recover, I wish you happiness and health. For you, Mr. Ebert, are a national treasure.
Thank you for being a true professional at your craft and enhancing the passion I have for movies.
Respect and Integrity.
Just two of the many qualities that made watching you, Gene, and every version of Sneak Previews through Ebert & Roeper a "must" every week since 1975.
That and the fact you were one of the few people who also loved Joe vs the Volcano. Your opinions were, more often than not, similar to my own. Thanks for being my "validation" for loving movies others don't!
The show will be missed, but I'm glad you're still there for us!
Good luck with the future!
Thanks for the real education in cinema, besides the current reviews. Often referencing older or better versions of a story helped me find wonderful directors and films.
Dear Roger,
Your show was more important than I think will be realized for some time. So to you, and Gene, and Richard, and especially you,
We thank you
We miss you
We love you.
BTW, massive internet backlash against the "new" hosts:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/tag/ben_lyons_backlash
I started watching you guys in elementary school because I liked watching you argue. I'm starting law school in another couple of weeks, so I guess the love of a good argument stayed with me.
This is my first commment here, so I think I'll quickly take this opportunity to say that I've spent a lot of this summer reading parts of I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie and Your Movie Sucks out loud to my mother, who also thinks they're hilarious. She says she likes your reviews because you do a good and succicent job of stating why a movie was good or not, and you put things that she's thinking into words. I also got The Great Movies and The Great Movies II from the library and worked them into our Netflix list. I really appreciate that you put Victim in there - it's such a good movie and nobody knows about it!
I got in an argument over you with my boyfriend, who liked Death to Smoochy and Team America: World Police (but otherwise is a wonderful person), but he investigated your website and decided he likes you on the whole more than he thought he did. Anyway, just thought I'd let you know that I'm having a very Ebert-filled summer and that I'm honored when my mom says I write sort of like you (though this comment is probably not the best example of it).
I actually saw one of the most recent episodes of the show, just a few weeks ago. I remember thinking, wow, this is really strong! In retrospect, this was probably not the best sign for the show's future.
It is no easy thing to balance between high and popular culture. Yes, this is the nature of cinema, more than any other art. But it's a lot harder to -talk- about challenging culture and still maintain mass attention. It is the dream of everyone who cares about art, in whatever form. I would bet that your and Gene Siskel's accomplishment will not be rivaled anytime soon.
Silver Lining: you are still one of the country's strongest critical voices, and can marshal big names for a new show whenever it gets off the ground. Whatever happened to Elvis Mitchell?
I, too, was born in the early 1970s and the show has been a part of my entire life. Though saddened that this is in a sense the end of an era, it is exciting to think about the future and how your new project will develop. We're all being swept up in a sea of technology-prodded change, and it is inspiring to watch you continue to innovate and adapt.
Keep up the great work! Though I haven't heard you on TV for a while, your voice is crystal clear in my head when reading your reviews and posts.
Thank you for this remembrance and for the hours of education and entertainment.
Thank you for the memories. I no longer live in Chicago but continue to read the Sun-Times (online) and always check "what Ebert had to say" about this movie or that. Now, I would still sometimes go see a movie if I desired, but I would have to pause after your review. You and Siskel were (are) nationally revered and feared. We love you and treasure you, still.
I will miss your show very much although I still have not forgiven you or Gene for recommending "My Dinner with Andre". What a snorefest. Anyhow I shall have to be content with reading your reviews as I have great respect for your opinions.
Two episodes on Sneak Previews that I will always remember (perhaps imperfectly):
1. You once gave a favorable review to a movie Gene hated. He thought the only reason you liked the movie was because you were smitten with one of the actresses. He said you should should ask her out on a date, but make your review tougher.
2. Gene thought the second half of Apocalypse Now didn't hold up. You went through your review of it, and it was clear you'd changed his mind right in front of us. "That's a good defense of the second half of the movie," he mumbled, maybe the closest he ever came to saying he was wrong.
Thanks for a wonderfully written post.
It may be a sad day that the show as we know it will no longer exist, but in just a few short months Roger Ebert's Journal has become the best blog on the Internet. How great is this?!! We can actually have conversations with the man we have admired on TV for years. I know that the show has become an icon, but this journal is probably the best thing I have found on the net since IMDb. Thank you Roger.
That was beautiful. As long as you have the desire and the intent, Roger, that balcony will never be closed on you and Gene. Not as long as you care to share your opinion with us all. Thank you so much for sharing this.
I'm a 16-year old suburban kid who hasn't missed an episode of your show since maybe two years ago, when I officially became in love with movies and movie criticism. My friends have sometimes made fun of me because I look deeper into movies than they do.
One of my friends said recently when I was trashing a movie, "But it's entertaining, and that's all that matters."
I said, "Aaron, if you think 'Deuce Bigalow 2' is entertainment, then leave my house. Now." We have arguments like this all the time, but they are friendly arguments.
Your show has inspired me in so many ways, although I can't claim to be a true long-time fan since I wasn't part of the whole Siskel phase. I have watched hundreds of reviews online of you two, and I think he and I may be the sole two people in the world that enjoyed "The Cable Guy."
I read your reviews all the time and, unlike most teens my age, I'll watch anything that garnered good reviews.
I wish the best of luck to you and your wife. Long live good movies.
God bless.
I cannot say how much I am going to miss your show. I am originally from Illinois, but moved to Florida (what a stupid move). When we first arrived here we did not know a soul, but on Sunday nights was your show. It was like knowing someone that you could count on. A friend in a strange place. I know everyone else has said this but I do believe Disney is making a terrible mistake.
I loved your show and will really miss it. Thank you for all those wonderful years and memories.
You have no idea how sad I am that the show is over. I've been watching "Ebert & Roeper" since I was 13 years old. You and Richard broke my heart, Roger.
(The show was always "Ebert & Roeper" to me since I only became aware it existed in about 2002. Allthough I was a reader of yours since before then.)
I was always holding out hope that you'd be able to come back to the show. I was always waiting for you to come back, even after the permament guest host was picked (it was funny to think that it was now Michael Phillip's show).
How sad that never came to pass.
LMAO!!! ROFLMAO!!! Those are the most hilarious and simultaneously touching videos on Youtube I've ever seen... Oh, darn I wish I developed commutable intelligence sooner in the 90s so I could've started watching the Siskel and Ebert show earlier - wow... I don't think anything has brought so much tears and laughter to my eyes generated from a digital screen since last weekend when I went see Chris Nolan's The Dark Knight... *sigh* so much for my dream of seeing my movies reviewed by Roger in on the show someday... oh well, there's always Roeper...
This is so sad, but I suppose it was inevitable. At least your absence from television has allowed your many fans to rediscover you as one of the finest non-fiction writers of our era. Please, don't ever stop.
You should also know that you have inspired movie-goers and budding film critics alike. The balcony may be closed, but even in small town Ontario the thumbs live on in a little monthly movie review column I started with another writer in our local paper. The pay sucks and we're limited to only a few column inches a month (yeah, you try composing an insightful critique in 170 words or less), but people love it, and hell - you can't beat being paid to watch movies and then write about them.
(and BTW, I made it clear from the very beginning: I'm Ebert - he's Roeper.)
I'm sure I'm not the only writer who has been inspired by your work both on and off the screen. We'll miss you on television, but we've been missing you there for a while. Your words are enough. Hope to see you at TIFF!
I first came across your show when I was eight years old. The only movie reviewed that I had heard of at that age was Dark Crystal. I don't recall if you and Mr. Siskel gave it the infamous thumbs down but I do know I was captivated. The two of you absolutely changed my life that day and helped shape and create what is my passion for movies. It took some searching to find the show over the years (my favorite: It aired at 10:30 p.m. on Sunday nights in my teen years and I loved wrapping up my weekend with the two of you.) I tried to catch all of your appearances on Carson/Leno, Letterman and Costas-the chemistry was amazing (my favorite story; I believe the two of you were of Letterman and Mr. Siskel explained that at the end of the show, after "the balcony is closed", he turned to you and said, "And blah and blah and blah" to give the appearance your conversation was continuing. Hilarious.) I felt such a large loss when Mr. Siskel passed and again when you stopped appearing on the show; it is amplified even more today.
I loved the show when it was briefly shown on the BBC in the late 80's/early 90's and was disappointed when it ended here. One of the great pleasures of the internet was being able to discover your writings and latterly your shows. I hope that you can continue do something you love and share it with us. It's not just in the USA that the show will be missed.
Roger,
Thank you for helping me enjoy the movies more than I ever thought I would. You've been missed on TV, and now the show you created will be missed. I am looking forward to watching the new show.
Thank you!
You and Gene changed the way I view movies. I now look for things that I never really thought about and it has made movie watching vastly more enjoyable.
I hated the way you criticized movies I liked and then I hated the fact that you were right all along. You will be sorely missed and I agree with many who say that the balcony is never truly closed; we're just waiting for the next great review.
Mr Ebert,
You have no idea the influence and the ways in which you and Mr. Siskel changed the way I see movies. Furthermore, I in turn have changed the way my friends see movies. I re-read your reviews whenever I'm in between books and looking for something good to read. I wish I could be as eloquent and verbose as others on this blog but I just want to say a simple thank you.
Hat's off to you Mr. Ebert. It's refreshing to read commentary from someone who is willing to share potentially embarassing videos.
I wonder, right now, exactly the percentage of my generally-hovers-at-90-to-100-items Netflix qeue arrived on that line thanks to reviews from you. It's a pretty fair chunk, I know that. And even those items not inspired by your reviews generally send me TO your review after viewing.
Movies interest me for themselves ... and I read your reviews for your writing, not because I tend to find myself in agreement. But there is a connection. There is always a connection. There is almost always a circle-back, too, to read you again. Some of your reviews? Again and again.
"It is an additional irony that humans have learned little from the insects, and the butterflies turn into the worms." --R. Ebert
Roger,
Your essay brought tears to my eyes. I remember when Gene died, I saw you at the Lyric Opera and I didn't want to intrude but just went up to you and told you I was sorry about Gene. You were very gracious.
I met you at a happier time at a book signing and you signed my laser disc copy of Valley of The Dolls.
Thank you for sharing your feelings today.
It was only recently that I found out that the old shows were available to view online, so for the last two weeks I've been having a great time watching them! One of the things I felt watching those shows again was a deep sense of gratitude. I am very lucky to have had you and Gene as my teachers.
(On a side note, I had such a good laugh yesterday at this Pearls Before Swine comic. It made me think of Gene.)
I've mentionned before how much I will miss the show. Your have been around so long that it feels like things will not be the same. Not since I heard that Gene had died did I get such a surprise that things were to be changed. I hope to still here from you and Richard. You have such an extensive knowledge of and such a great love of films that it is fantastic to listen to or read your reviews.
I enjoyed reading about how you and Gene started. Thank you for introducing me to Scorsese,Fassbinder, Herzog,and many other filmmakers that I might have passed by seeing in my youth. I love your books and especially look forward to buying the one on one of my favourite directors, Scorsese, in the fall.
Hope you and yours keep well.
All the best for the future.
Good Health
I can remember when you guys reviewed Star Wars. You guys were iconic in my childhood Chicago world. Things that you guys said would work their way into conversations with friends. The format would be lampooned a hundred different ways into various everyday situations. The way you guys did that show spun into 1000 other things that you never dreamed of, or maybe you did. Good luck man!
There is this guy on You Tube named Larry who goes by the username, Firstmagnitude. He posted his collection of At the Movies shows from 1983 to 1986 (with one exception being from 1982). It was very nice of him and I enjoyed seeing those shows again after two decades. However, it does not compare to how great it was to have seen the show as a kid.
I remember when my dad started watching Sneak Previews when I was around 5 or 6 years of age. That was about 1980 or 1981. Watching the show every week became a tradition and we did not miss an episode until after Gene's death. It is the best memory I have of my childhood.
It was a great idea to have A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips on the show. I think the show would be terrific if it was hosted by Scott and Phillips, and I doubt I am the only person who has thought of this. A show called At the Movies With A.O. Scott and Michael Phillips is something I would watch.
I miss you a great deal Roger, but it is wonderful to see that you continue to write.
Disney's stock just took a terrible hit as far as I'm concerned.
I'm praying for your full recovery, and looking forward to seeing you and your equally classy partner in another venue, sometime in the near future.
After a month long vacation, sans newspaper and tv, I returned to your blog to the sad news that "The Balcony is Closed". I've been a fan since almost the very beginning...tracking the show down as I moved around the various TV markets on the west coast...finally settling down in Western Washington and forcing myself to stay awake from 11:30pm - midnight every Sunday just to hear the wisdom from the balcony. My own tribute to you is found in my silly reviews in a blogging category I call, "I'm No Ebert". I hope to see your influence in the next incarnation. Take care and thank you!
What great memories and comments! My first memories of Siskel and Ebert would also watching you on PBS in the early 80s here in Canada. My Dad was a big fan and since he always was in control of the remote, I had no choice but to watch the show,but it wasn't long before I was hooked and this became our weekly show to watch together. The episode that sticks in my mind is your review of Raiders of the Lost Ark and just after you showed the clip with the rolling boulder, you said something like "Wow! and that was just in the first opening sequence!" Your (and Gene's) enthusiam for the movies was contagious and I couldn't wait to run out and watch the newest releases. I can't think of many shows that cause me to talk back to the TV set either with a hearty agreement or "you have got to be kidding Roger/Gene!". My 16 year old son has become a big fan of Ebert and Roeper and is crushed it is coming to an end (but hopefully not for long). Roger, I have followed your illness and have continued to believe that you (and the thumbs up) will return some day. God bless, and best wishes for your future endeavors.
Roger, you're a testament to true friendship. I miss him too. Heck, I miss you both. Can't wait to see what new things your cookin' up for us, your fans.
I started watching the show as a teenager, back in 1985, in our over-the-border local TV channels. Siskel and Ebert's opinions had a great deal to do in my defining my love for films. As these Southern California TV stations were not that consistent in keeping the syndicated show, I would have to keep fishing for it, even through different channels... My friends and cousins didn't watch the show, but knew I did and every time I expressed an opinion on a movie, they suspected I was quoting. Sometimes I was, many times I wasn't. My taste and my ability to analize was slowly taking shape. I even tried, at one time, to court a girl I liked, by inviting her to be my co-host in what I felt could be our local version of Siskel and Ebert (didn't work and neither did the idea for the show, though I was happy to learn that she also liked your show...). One particularly proud moment is when, after watching one of your specials on the industry where you and Gene discussed MPAA ratings and letterboxing, among other things, I explained my friends of the evils of pan-and-scan. One of my friends had this laser disc player, so we rented Amadeus on VHS and put two TVs together, one playing the "full format" tape and the other playing the letterboxed laser disc. My friends' eyes were wide open (and opened).
When Gene passed away, I thought the show would stop, and I would only have the option of reading your reviews online. I was happy to see you carried on, with guest hosts, but I must say I wasn't that thrilled on your choice of Roeper. For some reason Roeper's way of expressing his opinions didn't stuck with me. Still, I would watch whenever I caught the show. What has really done it for me all these years, actually, is keeping up with you through your online reviews and later through your site.
I still haven't gotten around to watch the library of shows online, but I keep convincing myself I will. And I know just how: I'll arrange my queue on "that internet movie rental service" to loosely follow some of the discussions, to enjoy them even more. It has worked for me before, making it possible to have my own south of the border overlooked film festival (while I get to the real one in Chicago).
Thank you so much, Roger, for your opinions, your writing and for sharing your experiences. I'll keep reading. And watching.
-Joel Meza
Mexicali, Mexico
I've always been obsessed with film. It's been something of an escape, an emotional catharsis, and a deep passion all rolled into one, for as long as I can remember. But for years I was unable to articulate why films filled me with such emotion and why certain films worked so powerfully for me. I knew that I loved them and I knew that they exhilarated me and restored my sense of hope whenever life got too overbearing. But I could never explain why. And so for a long time, films remained a hazy emotional enigma of profound power.
Siskel & Ebert was the first time, I had ever seen films analyzed in an intellectual way. It was the first time, two intellectuals put those powerful emotions I felt during films, into words. They explained how films worked and why. They articulated the exact things I felt and thought while watching a movie and they did it intelligently, beautifully and in an entertaining style. I was stunned. I felt like I'd discovered some profound secret. Roger Ebert's written reviews in particular, taught me how to analyze film, critique film and look at it as an academic study. I was a young teenager obsessed with film and this was the man that could explain all of its secrets and for years I admired Roger Ebert. My admiration grew with every review and over the years, I've come to idolize the man. I treated each of his reviews as a document of infinite wisdom and in many of them he would include personal anecdotes about his childhood or his memories, about lessons he'd learned or moral conclusions he'd reached. Loyal readers I think, come to realize that while trying to write about the movies, he writes about life. Sometimes heroes from youth fade as you get older, but Ebert remains a hero and a giant to me not only because of his brilliance and insight, which is obvious, but because of his humanity and his kindness. What lacks in the writing of many critics and what fills the pages of Ebert's prose is heart. An enormous heart and wisdom; and an extreme passion for film. It's comforting, when looking to read about films, to be able to turn to someone I can be sure loves film more then myself, which is rare. But it is exhilarating to walk away from a movie review with a life lesson. To walk away from a review a little bit wiser and a little bit more inspired to be a good human being. To read a last sentence of a review and sigh because the endings knocks you back with its profound meaning.
Ebert along with his show and his writings did something even greater for me though. As I looked up to Ebert over the years, I also aspired to many of the qualities which make him great and the one I would most often see him preach, when I read his reviews (during my high school years), was the importance of education. Here was a role model who was academically brilliant and as a result, school work and academia became a lot more important to me. Why? Because Ebert said it was important. I suppose he inspired me to study twice as hard. And I ended up getting into a great college. I of course, after looking up to Ebert for so long, wanted to pursue a career as a film critic. And when I finally met Ebert it was on the Ebert and Roeper Film Festival at Sea. I asked him, "what I could do that could make me a better film critic." He said, "Major in English. You have to be able to read books with an analytical eye and you have to be able to write very well. You must be able to express yourself at all times using words."
So I majored in English, against the counsel of school advisors, who told me to major in film. I majored in English because Ebert advised me to do so. Each year, I would return to the Ebert & Roeper Film Festival at Sea and Ebert was always gracious and kind. He always remembered me. And he would always ask me how I was doing in school. This of course, inspired me to work harder every year. My college GPA became high enough that come graduation time, I was graduating with honors. Another achievement that stems from inspiration I received from Ebert. In September, I will be starting my first year of law school, a height I certainly would not have reached had I not looked up to a role model that encouraged higher education. How many other film critics would regularly write in their reviews, "When kids ask me how to prepare for their futures, I tell them, 'get as much education as you can. You never know for sure where you will end up, so the more you prepare for the future, the better off you'll be when it comes.'"
The day will eventually come when I embark on the world with a higher education and if I emerge into an intelligent man or do something meaningful with my life, it will be because Roger Ebert was my childhood hero. He was my hero through my teenage years. And he'll be my hero through my adult years. And as for my education, I was only persistent enough to go after it because I had him as a role model.
The television show Siskel & Ebert introduced me to Ebert and brought me to his reviews. I've watched the show all my life. It's been my favorite show for as long as I've been interested in movies, which for me, goes as far back as my memory takes me. To hear the possibility that it will go off the air is an enormous loss for me because I have loved this show so much for so long. But, according to this blog and many other AP stories I have read, it will not end, but continue at another station. And I can only hope this format continues in some form or another on television for as long as television exists.
The last time I saw Ebert was at the last Ebert and Roeper Film Festival at Sea, which had to be over three years ago. I had been taking a class in journalism and the professor gave us an assignment to interview some figure that had influenced our lives and our writing. On the cruise, I asked Ebert if I could interview him as he had influenced me enormously. He smiled and said, "You bet. Meet me on the lido deck at 2:30." I remember the year before, I had asked one of his producers if I could interview him for my school paper. She said she would try to get ten minutes for me, as he was very busy. That interview never happened. This time, I had gotten an agreement directly from Ebert, so I was sure I'd get my fifteen minutes with him. I sat down with him, sifting through my notebook, nervously fidgeting with my recorder and with a shaky voice looked at my questions then looked up and said, "This might take longer then fifteen minutes." Ebert smiled and said, "Why don't we begin and we'll take it from there."
He sat with me for an hour and a half. Until I ran out of questions both in my notebook and off the top of my head. Until the recorder ran out of tape and I had to take notes by hand. Then he turned the tables and started asking me questions about my life. Because he's the kind of fine human being that loves people and loves learning about them. And I left that interview on a cloud. If somebody had asked me before that moment, the very standard question: "If you could meet, sit and talk with anybody dead or alive, who would it be?" I would be able to say I just had coffee with him.
Looking back on the interview, one of the questions I asked him was, "How much longer will Ebert & Roeper go on?" And he responded, "I think Ebert & Roeper is going to go on, until it goes off."
The day that happens will be a sad day, and I eagerly await the day the show begins on a new channel; with its thumbs restored in all their glory. As for Ebert, he's still a hero to me. He's an inspiration to me. And If I could meet, sit and talk with anybody in the world, dead or alive it would still be Ebert.
Roger thanks for the memories. I am a 65 year African American Woman living in Madison,WI. I started looking at you and Gene over 30 years ago. Although, I must say in the last few years I haven't watched, but my husband Marvin is a faithful viewer. The folks in Madison will miss you. Enjoy you life and be blessed.
p.s. I always agreed with you and not Gene.
It saddens me that Roger Ebert is leaving the show he and Gene Siskel began. The format was unique, the entertainment level was top notch and the show was informative. I believe the choice of Richard Roeper to replace the dearly departed Gene Siskel was outstanding. I have moved from Chicago to Memphis,TN but I still find ways to keep up with Roger Ebert's movie reviews. Roger Ebert is the movie critic closest to my personal taste and I will always value his critique of any film. Prayerfully, Roger and Richard will begin a new show on perhaps a cable station. If so, I'm confident they will embarrass the persons chosen to replace them on the show they and Gene Siskel built.
Roger, I've always loved your reviews for one reason - it's obvious you have a genuine love for cinema. Hell, you'd given thumbs up to movies I thought were terrible - just because you could find something in it that you truly enjoyed. It's that love that always made watching and reading your reviews feel more like a conversation between you and the audience. Your new blog? Bookmarked! Looking forward to continuing the conversation...
Dear Mr. Ebert;
Thank you so much for all your great insight and passion over the years.
God knows I've watched your show and read your collumn since I was in grade school, and though I'm not from your generation per say, your unique breakthrough styles and peculiar insights have etched themselves into my memory for some time now. As a result, you've inspired me to think a little harder, observe with a little more zest and moved me to love the world of storytelling.
As I continue on my personal path, I know I'll remember and recall your many great comments, insights and humor.
Underneath it all, despite your obvious guise as simply a movie knowledge guru, I'm positive that you're a loving, knowledgable person aching for discovery and willing to share and learn. And though we've never met, I think I can say that much.
Continue doing what you love to do and thanks again for sharing with all of us around the world. We know that you truly love the movies, and thats the best that anyone could have expected.
Please know that you get a huge thumbs up from me.
Roger -
What a wonderful piece. I have been a fan since the mid 1980's; watching on channel 11 from my parents home on the south side. You left me misty eyed today - hard to do; but done none the less. All the best to you. Take care.
Marty
It's still "Siskel & Ebert" to me, even though neither of you has been on there, and I still catch it when I can. Thanks, and keep on writin'.
Mr. Ebert,
I was very sad to learn that you would not be returning to "At the Movies." I am also 33, and I can't remember a time in my life when I couldn't find your show on Sunday night.
I remember telling a friend just recently that I always watch your show because (while I don't always agree with you) I respect you and Mr. Roeper's (and previously Mr. Siskel's) opinion whenever there is a movie that I am "on the fence" as to whether I think I will like it.
Also, you mentioned the parody of you and Mr. Siskel in Mad Magazine. I have to mention my favorite homage to you and Mr. Siskel, which was the episode of "The Critic" where you and Mr. Siskel briefly split up. It's still one of my all-time favorite TV moments.
Finally, as a unabashed "liberal," I have appreciated the way that you are not afraid to discuss your political leanings and how it affects your perspective of certain movies. At the same time, I never thought you were shoving your beliefs down anybody's throats and you even acknowledged and often praised those who might express a differing viewpoint in their films, so long as it was presented in an entertaining and insightful manner. I know we'll see you and Mr. Roeper on TV again (hopefully soon), but I want to use this opportunity to thank you for your dedication to the film medium.
Simply put...you guys were the reason I started watching more and more and more movies! It will never be the same again! I will always be partial to the original team!I love you Roger and your charismatic, beautiful wife too!
Wow, this sucks, Roger. Although I've disagreed with you on a few reviews - nobody agrees with somebody 100 percent, all the time - you're still, undoubtedly, in my opinion, the best movie critic to walk the Earth. Your show was a real blast and I'd been watching it ever since I was a little kid. I was always eager to hear what you and Gene had to say about upcoming movies and always loved it when you two would disagree. Anyhow, the show just won't be the same without you. But maybe I'll still watch.
Thanks Roger. It's been a pleasure. You and Gene were the best. Probably the only honest thing about TV. Don't ever stop. Wishing you many healthy years ahead.
I'm only nineteen, so I may not have a large capacity for nostalgia; still, I cannot help but miss this television show. Fortunately for me, Youtube seems to have just about every episode of everything ever aired on television, and I look forward to catching up on years of your wonderful wit and criticism. Thank you for providing viewers like me with intelligent entertainment.
As a 49 year old, I have literally watched your shows my entire adult life; from the PBS days onward. Thank you for all those years and all those movies.
Wishing you much health and happiness for many years to come.
Great stories Roger, thanks. I met Gene only once, at an opening night party for the OTB at State and Lake. I introduced myself, told him my favorite movie was "Lair of the White Worm" starring Amanda Donohue (she was very sexy in that movie!). He looks at me and says, "YOU are a very sick man." A cool guy. Thanks for the memories.
I read a comment like this in your review for STEP BROTHERS:
"Sometimes I think I am living in a nightmare. All about me, standards are collapsing, manners are evaporating, people show no respect for themselves. I am not a moralistic nut. I'm proud of the X-rated movie I once wrote. I like vulgarity if it's funny or serves a purpose. But what is going on here?"
... and I can only sympathize. What has happened to our culture, to our world? Who allowed the knuckleheads to steal it from us and molest it and disparage it until it devolved into a swamp of double-vanilla? I grew up in a culture where the idea of two average-looking guys with very smart and informed opinions about movies COULD in fact exist on TV. Could, in fact, become culty national treasures.
And now, the whole thing is washed away, replaced by dim-witted hackery... but you know what: Lyons and Mankiewicz may be just the guys this culture deserves as its most recognizable film critics (if the show takes off with them, which i doubt it will)... I actually tried to plead the case of Michael Mann's MIAMI VICE w/ Lyons once back at E!, and all he could say was that he thought it was gonna be a campy spoof, and why wasn't it that, and also that it was one of the worst movies he'd ever seen. Sigh. The girl who was with me, however, thought he was cute.
We're never taught this in school, the idea that all that is good and true can be hacked at and dismissed and eventually forced to concede the field to blandness, stupidity, absence of passion and degeneration of mind. If a culture like ours can have a shining hour (the 70s, for instance), it must also be possible for a culture to fall into disrepair: bedazzled children driving the bus, bloated "product" choking the tv screens and the theaters... and soul-to-soul communication, from the artist to the viewer (a sacred communication between strangers, the best kind of "soul talk" there can be) a thing of the past, a thing of derision.
The question is: can the culture come back? or be reborn into something equally true but modern? or is America doomed to live its dwindling days as a country of young buffoons, coddled suspended-adolescents, video-game philosophers?
I mean, I would say 99.99% of the people in the country would rather eat a memo pad than watch Bergman's WINTER LIGHT. And yet, with a country as soul-sick as this, that same 99% would be greatly benefited by a little Bergman. And yet they have no idea what that is, how that could be, what it could possibly mean to allow a stranger (the artist) to influence your life the way a therapist would, to speak to you on a level deeper than a lap full of popcorn, beyond mere escapsim... that entire option, of expanding one's horizons by experiencing the POV of DIFFERENT humans with sometimes smarter, better ideas... well, the 99% percent have never heard of that, and their lives will suffer in shadows for it and they'll never know why, because they sell cars and sex so hard to us that all we can do is
cower like monkeys.
This has little to do with my sadness over the final nail in the SISKEL & EBERT coffin... but then again, it has everything to do with it. Because once there was a time, in my relatively short life-span, where I could watch two smart guys talk passionately on TV about a movie about two guys talking passionately (MY DINNER WITH ANDRE)...
Do we ever really know when we're living in a golden age? or is that connotation only added in sad retrospect, as we wander the wasteland?
Thank you so much for changing the face(s) of film criticism forever. Your show remains to be a treasure. I'm sure Gene is somewhere quite happy with how you have more than lived up to the legacy, and the world is a poorer place for having lost a truly special bit of television programming. May you live a long, happy life yourself and continue to use your wit, precision, insight, and snark to keep film criticism alive as an art form unto itself. God Bless.
I was writing on my blog about the show going off the air but revised it after reading your blog entry. What a marvelous critic you are to so many. It's a cliche, yes, but your voice is not silenced -- your writing still breathes with vitality, and the future of film criticism isn't over for any of us.
It was particularly touching to read your comments on Mr. Siskel. I can remember those days in 1998 and 1999 when he appeared visibly sick on screen, but still valiantly delivered biting, generous film criticism. I hate to "advertise" but feel free to read my own memories of the show via the hyperlink I provided.
Thank you Roger (and Gene) for enlightening me that there was more to movies than just a Friday night's entertainment. The seed you planted all those years ago continues to enrich my life even today.
Mr. Ebert, I'm so sad to see the baton being passed. You and Mr. Siskel were the only people I ever trusted when it came to movie reviews. I didn't always agree with you, but I trusted your judgement--still do. Your reviews are like reading great literature.
We will miss you. I hope your health continues to improve.
I don't think I ever paid to see a movie that didn't get at least one thumbs-up.
As a Chicago native I've loved every minute of everyone of your shows.
Now, living in Arizona, I still follow through WGN and the Chicago newspapers.
Siskel & Ebert............the best ever!!!!!
Roger,
I hope you get a chance to read this. I can remember watching you on the local PBS station late Saturday afternoons. I never knew your actual schedule, (I was only 7) but was happy when I got to watch you. At the time I was just crazy about movies, (and still am). I also watched your clones but it didnt take long to see they were shilling for movie companies.
I gained major respect for you after seeing an interview where you explained how you never went on press junkets, and refused to let any studio pay for your travel, or any other expenses. Thats when I realized you were the reel deal (bad pun, I know).
I read your site now, and have gone through almost all of your reviews. I hope you continue to write and I look forward to hearing more from you.
Thanks for all the good advice.
A Fan.
Thank you so much for bringing your opinions to us for so many years. I loved your show with Mr. Siskel and got so much from the differing viewpoints each of you would offer. I was very resistant to Mr. Roeper at first, but eventually, I grew to accept him as well. I was also saddened by your absence, but glad that you remained active behind the scenes. You have set the standard for all movie critics. No other critics have come close to the educated, and insightful reviews you've offered through the years. Please do find some way to continue. I think I will not be willing to go to the movies without prior knowledge of a "thumbs up or down" from the opinions I respect the most.
Roger,
Thank you for your article, your show and the memories. I first came across "Sneak Previews," as it was called then, in 1979. One of the films reviewed that week was "Alien." I lived in NJ, but the NYC PBS station didn't carry your show at the time, so I had to watch a Long Island broadcast that came in snowy (these were the days before cable TV was everywhere.) Your show was a exactly what a young film fanatic like me was looking for! I enjoyed the "Dog of the week" segment. And more than anything, I loved your special shows. I believe you I remember one on guilty pleasures. And I particularly loved the shows on movies that fell between the cracks. That was where I was first introduced to "Aguirre," "Night Moves" and many others. Your show will be missed!
I've watched your show religiously since I was a kid. In one market I lived in, the show came on (inexplicably!) at 2 a.m. so I would tape it and watched it the next morning over breakfast. The two shows I never miss are yours and "Meet the Press." With Tim Russert's passing and your show soon to be gone, the world is a little less perfect.
Although I don't generally watch a lot of DVD "extras," one that I love is when they include your show's review of the movie. I watch the review you and Siskel did of Pulp Fiction almost every time I watch that movie!
I can't wait to hear about when and where the balcony will be "open" under a new format...
Be well!
I remember as a kid (1980) walking into the WTTW studios and walking in this huge warehouse like structure and seeing the sets. The one that stood out was Sneak Previews, because the bleacher like movie theatre seats were all flat and at the moment I realized it was NOT filmed in a movie theatre! I'll never forget that feeling.
Roger... Thank you.
I could always count on a good debate, and comments that I knew were honest and not bought. I agree with all the earlier sentiments that you've made a huge impression on all of us, and that the balcony will be missed.
Roger,
You and Gene were the ones that made movie critics believable. You never made me feel you were talking down to me in your reviews, and I always felt I was sitting "in the balcony" with the two of you, waiting for my turn to tell you what I thought of a particular movie. Thanks for all your great insight. Remember one thing: This is my happening and it freaks me out!!
Great video clips. Carson knew it, and so do you--If you make the crew laugh, you're halfway home.
Disney's got more money than god. They can afford a foolish mistake like this one. I don't wish the Ben&Ben show any harm, but I've seen Roger Ebert, and these guys are no Roger Ebert. Even if it succeeds it's hard to imagine what sort of critical territory these guys will stake out for themselves. Disney's never going to let them go European, for god's sake, so that lets them have a critical standing that goes back to....uh, Kael (they should live so long) and...oh yeah, Siskel and Ebert and Roeper.
Roeper, by the way, did a bang-up job. I think he could have been a reliever for either Gene or you, Roger, at any point, and the show would have been as good. And it's a good show.
Since you're off to produce some version of reviews for some medium, please check our Carina Chocano from the LA Times. I think she's out on maternity--or else Zell has fired her along with half the rest of the Times staff (most deservedly, her not so much). She writes very well. I don't know what she looks like, but (re: above video clips) that bar is not set too high.
Roger, have you ever read that late Thurber stuff, after his eyesight was failing and he devoted himself to reviews of radio serials? It's the most cutting, angry stuff imaginable, and man is it fun to read. So I say, as you head off into another project, man the torpedoes! Let Rex Reed be your guide to catty, nasty prose and cut 'em off at the knees! Christ, Roger, do something web-based and never turn the camera off. I'd watch stuff like those out-takes far more often than what leaks out of my TV.
Hi Roger,
Thank you for your eloquent essay and for sharing your vision, humor, honesty and clear eyed movie criticism for these many years.
I remember when Thea Flaum called Don Burhmeister's office where I was working, to ask us what movies were opening up in the next weeks. Was that really 33 years ago?
You and Gene were such a team, a sibling rivalry gone to the TV screen, with all the good, bad and well, all that really matters with true brothers.
Get well soon. Keep writing and reviewing as only you can do.
Bless you.
Mary
My husband and I taped all of your show in the 90's. They were our favorite part of the TV week. Though I may often disagree with your perspective, you have always been my critic of choice, one who will inform me well and do so integelligently and with enthusiasm.
Two sad times for us: when Gene died and when you (Roger) were ill and away. We look forward to your new show - you are welcome to email me when the information is available.
My husband recognized you at a food court in a Hawaii mall in 1997 (I believe). I went over and introduced myself to you, and we exchanged a few words. It was a special moment for me, one I will remember :o)
Sending warm wishes for a long and joy-filled life!!
P.S. I say "yes" to all the kind and wise words above. You are that and then some
Roger,
Thank you for moving on! No matter what...I want to see YOUR show, with whomever you recommend (because Scott, Phillips and Roeper) I thought were best to carry on the show as well..I want to see a production that YOU are a part of. Without Siskel, I could bear it but only barely...without Siskel and You...I don't even care and a void in my life it would be.
I only wish TIVO was around back in the days. I'd have every frickass between you two taped and archived. I wish you well can't imagine what your time away from the show does to you..what I do know, is that you're important to the industry. As a film buff, you've won my TRUST. So keep it up. We will wait patiently for whatever you can produce.
Mike-Bay Area Cali
Roger:
Thanks so much for the hundreds and hundreds of movies I've searched out over the years that I would never have even heard of if it wasn't for your show. I have always admired your eloquence and your passion for the movies. The show has always been the small oasis of sane, intellectual commentary in a desert of overblown pandering and hype that passes for movie reviewing elsewhere.
One of my biggest thrills ever was back in 1997 when after a book signing at the Harvard Coop in Cambridge you were nice enough to take a group of us from the old CompuServe forum out to lunch with you. I was enraptured by the stories you told and will always remember and treasure that hour and a half of my life.
Best wishes for your continued recovery and I hope we someday get to see you back on the air again.
Just for the record, Roger, you totally owned Gene Siskel in those clips. One hilarious one-up after another...he was scrambling to keep up. But of course, you probably already knew that.
Your show and reviews were/are the only reviews that I trust. The reviewers don't always agree but at least it is straight talk without a lot of artsy insider comments, over the top comments e.g. "you'll fall off your chair laughing", or commercial tie ins.
Best of luck in your new format and good health
Mr. Ebert
Greetings from La Isla del Encanto, Puerto Rico. I'm 44 years old and since I was a kid I'm not just a particular moviegoer; I am a movie lover. My profession is in Drama for the public school system 19 years ago. Here on the island I watch your program on PBS broadcast TV for the last 20 years. Each week I was thrilled to experience every program. I hope that someday you would be back soon, because your are not just simply a film critic; you are the best trustworthing friend. Your health condition as well as the departure of Gene Siskel was a real shock to me. But since then your been my teacher, learning about the world of filmaking. Thank you for those wonderful memories.
P.S.
I still read your reviews at your web site.
God bless you
Felix
Of all the programs and people I've ever watched on TV the only person that I've ever genuinely missed is Gene Siskel. As evidenced by watching to two clips, he was a great guy to be around.
The same goes for Roger although, thank goodness, he's still sharing his reviews with us. I like Richard Roeper and read him regularly as well as watch the show. But no one will ever replace Siskel and Ebert - nobody.
Roger, like everyone else here, I'm sad to see Ebert and Roeper At The Movies come to an end. I've watched you since the Sneak Preview days and there's nothing more fun than watching a couple of guys talk about movies the same way my wife and I might talk about them. The dialog between you and Gene and Richard was always accessible, never too academic.
But I also wanted to thank you for not being "above" talking to your audience. In the "early days of the consumer driven Internet", I was a member of Compuserve and you had an email address there that folks could write to. I wrote you one or two notes at the time, and I was thrilled that you actually responded.
I wish you the best with your new project and I for one want to see YOU back in the balcony, even if you have to use a "Stephen Hawking" like voice synthesizer. It's time for you to get back on the air!
Roger,
I, too, was depressed when I realized that you had left the show. For over 30 years, you have been the movie critic that I have trusted. Whether I agreed with you are not, I could tell by your review as to whether I would enjoy a movie. My background and college (U of Ill in Urbana) were similar and, over the years, my taste in movies became similar. I purchased your "Great Movies" Book and even gave it as a gift to my college-bound son who is about to major in Film Studies. Every Friday, I check your on-line movie reviews. You once wrote about how to 'choose' a film critic--learning to understand and appreciate their tastes in movies. I believe I completely understand your tastes, love your writing, and will truly miss your presence in the TV show. You cannot imagine how important you have been to, not just my movie going, but my life. So many important events have occurred around the movies I saw. I went to them and appreciated them because of you and your insights.
I will always be grateful. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I shall miss you on the TV show but hope that we will all have the blessing of your movie reviews for many more years to come.
Bob
FIN.
Ooops! Wrong title card.
INTERMISSSION.
Hi
I used to watch your show as it was transmitted for a series or so on the BBC in the early nineties and I watched almost every episode they showed. anyway i remembered your stuff and looked your reviews up on the net many years later and i still enjoy reading your reviews and commentary. Too bad like everything else at the moment the media is being given over to mindless indentikit stage school teens whos daddy owns a tv station or something instead of people who actually genuinely love film and have something constructive and intelligent to say!
all the best from the UK !
Roger,
Thank you for introducing me to so many of the world's great movies through your television show and your books. You're the best. My wife feels the same way.
Mr. Ebert,
Aside from learning a great deal about movies from your reviews, they are just so entertaining that I always find myself re-reading them.
I'm sure I speak for many viewers who look forward to following you and Mr. Roeper to a new program. When one balcony closes, another opens--probably in a much better theater! Go get 'em!
JR Deaver
My wife and I would either tape your show or view it live at 6:30 in Los Angeles every Sunday. Your comments and critiques on movies provided us with a list of movies to see. Sometimes we would even see the "Thumbs Down" movies and yes they were bad. Thank you again for many years of good movie criticism. You and your team of reviewers will be missed.
I was sad to hear that you and Richard Roeper had left the show. I have to confess though, that I stopped watching after Gene Siskel died, but found it more interesting to read your full reviews online.
My favorite parody of your show was a Claymation animation with both of you as dinosaurs.
Maybe someday I'll be able to make it to your film festival because you and Siskel opened up my world to smaller movies and foreign films.
This may sound somewhat maudlin and I apologize if it causes anyone's eyes to roll but I feel as if a small piece of myself has died along with the show since I've watched it ritualistically ever since I was very young when my love for cinema was beginning to bud. It's the only show during the history of things televised within my life span that I actively went out of my way to view on a basis of regularity. I continued to watch loyally even when Roger was on medical hiatus since summer of 2006 because I felt Richard continued to perfectly capture and preserve the spirit of the show from its S&E heyday even in the face of a revolving door of guest hosts which often jarred chemistry continuity. I just hope that the online review archive is kept up and running as I constantly find myself ferreting through past reviews to relive classic debates or catch up on discussed movies I may have missed on the rare occasions when I didn't see that particular airing. To me somebody's status as a lover of film should be held into question if they didn't look upon this show as a treasured and vital accompaniment within their lives. It certainly was a great run and you know what they say about the proverbial end with regard to all things good...
I was also very sad to hear that you are not returning to the show, Roger. You were a delight to watch and I love reading your books, especially the movie reviews (I can't wait for the 2009 Yearbook since there isn't one this year except the special one). Gene was also a delight to watch and in 1991 when he worked on Prodigy I sent him a message telling him that both he and you have really opened my eyes to the world of film and to look not only at mainstream stuff but small films as well. Richard Roeper is also a funny guy and I will miss him on the show too. I hope that you get your voice back soon and you and Richard and the thumbs return to the air in an even better show. I happened to look again last night at some of the shows you did in 2006 before you left and with subs and it saddened me to know that we are nearing the end of an era. Personally, I think Disney is making a big mistake and they will pay for it with the loss of many viewers. I will continue to read your reviews and can't wait to see the new ones in the next book. Oh, by the way, you've always said you don't do celebrity interviews on the show. That isn't exactly true. You did do that a few times, like with Jodie Foster and Bill Clinton. I guess you didn't consider that the same thing as the other shows were doing. Just wanted to bring that up. Take care.
Roger,
When I was young I used to tape "Siskel and Ebert" every week, because it would air at 1:35am on Sundays and I was too young to stay up that late. I was also too young to see most of the movies you talked about, but it was the discussions you and Gene had that I loved, and it taught me a lot about approaching movies with an educated and critical approach. I loved your shows, was sad when Gene passed on, and wish you all the best. Keep doing what you do so well, we here in Canada love you as well.
Roman
Roger,
I've watched you review films since SNEAK PREVIEWS! Weekends aren't the same for me.
But at least I can still read your reviews. I will always wish you well, Roger!
You're the best!
Hi Roger. The main reason we continued to watch the show is because it is about the only place where you can still watch actual film clips. Even the Oscars don't show them any more, preferring instead to simply air the same trailers you've already seen at the theaters and on TV commercials.
My guess is that the "new direction" will be more promotion, and less opinion, sort of like what passes for news programming these days.
Thank you, Roger, and you too, Gene, wherever you are for opening my eyes to movies I would have missed had it not been for your insigntful and "spot on" reviews. I watched your show religiously. Roger, you took me to many films through your comments and if I couldn't see that film I felt like I had. I was saddened to hear you would not be coming back to TV but thanks to the internet we can all enjoy your reviews and comments for many, many years to come. Sign me up for a lifetime of your commentary. Good luck and good health to you. You are loved.
Pat
Roger,
I'll always remember the time you and Gene Siskel appeared on Leno (maybe it was Letterman) after Gene had a long stay in the hospital. Gene said that from the moment he became sick you were there for him. That many people thought the famous Siskel & Ebert hated each other, but in reality you loved each other like brothers. Gene turned to you and said, "I love you, man" and you replied with the same. It was one of the most genuine moments I've ever seen on television and it was the first thing that came to mind when I learned you were leaving At the Movies.
I'll always remember the rainy Sunday afternoons spent watching your show, sometimes heading off to the theater afterwards to see a movie the two of you had recommended (and sometimes ones you didn't).
A big thanks to you, Mr. Ebert, and to Mr. Siskel, Mr. Roeper, and all of the wonderful guests hosts who populated the show over the years!
You've changed how I view films. Forever.
Sam
Roger, you and Gene were instrumental in making me the enthusiast I am today. For many, you were like another set of parents, dispelling wisdom on something we actually loved. I now work in the industry, in large part due to the appreciation your instiled within me. The balcony will never be forgotten.
http://wookified.typepad.com/amen/2008/07/rip.html
Movies were all over the place in my little town growing up. Theaters, TV, video store. But the passionate, aggressive love of movies could be found in just one place... the Siskel & Ebert show. Never missed it.
Funny, David Letterman once called the (seldom used) second guest chair on his set "The Gene Siskel Chair."
God bless you, Roger.
Roger, you and Gene were instrumental in making me the enthusiast I am today. For many, you were like another set of parents, dispelling wisdom on something we actually loved. I now work in the industry, in large part due to the appreciation you instilled within me. The balcony will never be forgotten.
http://wookified.typepad.com/amen/2008/07/rip.html
Dear Mr. Ebert:
It is with quite a heavy heart that I write this blog. Mere words cannot express the joy, insight, education that you and the much beloved and never to be forgotten Mr. Siskel,brought to my cinema viewing life.
In my book your program was and shall forever be the real "MUST SEE TV"
There's a quote that goes "Better to have loved and lost, than to never have loved at all" and as sadly as it is sometimes, good things
often do come to an end, the memories and the joy that was given to
me with your insights, the joy at your banter, that love will never fade.
I thank you, I thank you, I thank you,
Sincerely,
Mel
Roger, I started watching your show when I was in the seventh grade, and I can honestly say that the critiques and recommendations of you and Mr. Roeper have steered me towards a higher appreciation of film. I will always be thankful of you for that. I am now a finalist in a Film Contest sponsored by Dell. My film, upon completion, will be screened at the Telluride Film Festival along with the other two finalists, an honor which I hardly deserve. Whatever the outcome of the contest, I can trace my appreciation and passion for film back to a point during my childhood where I was steered away from the fodder fluff of the day and towards the artistic, the original, and the daring. I do not know if you shall be at Telluride this year, Mr. Ebert, but if you are, I would be honored to tell you this in person.
Thank you once again.
Sincerely,
Jeff Loveness
Thank you for putting his up; while I realized that my favorite movies were reviewed Up by Gene Siskel and I discovered I trusted him more than your choices; those were just my preferences. Bless you for putting this up; I'm so sorry the Balconey has closed; it's really a commentary how everything has a beginning and an end.
I remember when I found out that you got married, too.
Bless you Roger.
Oh, man, I'm so glad I got to see those videos. To see you two having so much vicious fun with one another makes it sadder that you will be retiring from the show. I bet you never had that kind of rapport with Roeper. You will be sorely missed by me. I used to catch you guys on WTTW channel 11 when I was a kid, and unlike many people I know, have learned to respect an informed review by withholding my hard earned money from studios trying to leech it out of there with the next big thing. You guys had a lot to do with that, and I'm glad to say that I have never seen "Meatballs 2" In closing, I love reading "Rotten Tomatoes" to get an overall consensus on a movie coming out, but you Roger are always the tipping point for me. Your review of "In the Bedroom" got me in the theater seat, and I enjoyed it for all the reasons you did. Your reviews are free of the bombast and catch phrases that most media critics reduce themselves to, and you seem to lure readers into your logic. I liked "Little Children" more than you did, but I saw your points clearly, they just didn't matter to that much.
Thanks for the decades of service and entertainment you've provided. I hope your health is better, and I will continue to check your website as my "tipping point" for movies that I am unsure of seeing.
Roger,
Thank you (and Gene and Richard) for three decades of wonderful and insightful television. The departure of the show leaves a void in the lives of so many of us who love the movies. We all hope that the new project will come to fruition soon--but in the meantime, we still have your great writing to keep us informed!
At the risk of seeming superficial, these two videos made me laugh more than any stand-up comedian I've seen in a very long time, and even while serving as my informal introduction to Gene Siskel, reveal more probably than would any obligatory skim-through of a Wikipedia page. Despite having only lived eighteen years, I find myself actively invested in your tradition of straightforward and illuminating criticism of movies, most of which I have not had the fortune of being able to witness in their actual historical contexts. There is something certainly effortless and engaging here that transcends generations. It is something very short of tragic to see you go.
Around 1998, I read your review(translated in Korean) in movie magazine when I was a high school student. It was very enthusiastic review of "Truman Show". Even though You warned readers not to read your review if they really want to have a great time with the movie, I read it and became curious about "Truman Show". Maybe I lost some fun for that, but I had a great time in the theater. At that time, we didn't have any multiplex theater; the screen was bigger than now.
At the same year, thankfully, they released 'Dark City' in December. Unfortunately, they cut some scenes for getting 15. (Our rating system is based on the age. : G(everyone), 12, 15, and 18(nobody under 18 absolutely not allowed and, for example, "Lust, Caution" and "Shoot 'em Up" got 18; learn this, MPAA!)) Nevertheless, I enjoyed dark, gloomy look of the city, and the sequence when characters arrived at "Shell Beach"(or is it?) is still effective now. When I read your article about your 10 movies of the year at that same magazine, I was very surprised to see that you chose that movie as No.1. Even though it was wonderful movie experience(I gave 3.5 out of 4), I was caught off guard. After 8 years, I watched the movie again after you selected it as the great movie, I found it was still terrific. Now, I recommend people around me this movie rather than Matrix trilogy, which was good but not so innovative.
During high school years, I learned English and how to use the internet. I got lots of knowledge from IMDB, and Leonard Maltin's capsule reviews(they're gone now) and your reviews were very helpful. I couldn't believe you gave "Hellraiser" and "Hellbound" negative review at the first time, but now, as the grown-up guy who despises "Torture porn", I can see they are just "Supernatural torture porn". Although I'm more generous than you to "Hellraiser" because of its creepy atmosphere, I don't think it's recommendable now. I like Clive Barker's novella, but its fascinating idea is translated not as good as "Candyman". (By the way, did you see little influence from "Hellraiser" in "Dark City"?)
During undergraduate and graduate course, I heard more about you from the internet. During the time when I know only about you and Mr. Maltin, Gene Siskel died and Richard Roeper replaced his place. Still, I couldn't watch your show, and didn't know much about how you and other two worked. I have read some of Mr. Roeper's reviews, but Mr. Siskel's reviews were hard to find Now, thanks to new website, I have watched lots of clips from "Ebert & Roeper" or "Siskel & Ebert", I have spent wonderful time watching you and Mr. Siskel (or Mr. Roeper) discuss about movies. Too bad Mr. Siskel had been dead for years when I heard about him. The arguments on "Blue Velvet"(I'm on Siskel's side, but Isabella Rossellini's story begins to disturb me) and "Full Metal Jacket"(I'm on Siskel's side, too, with some reservation) between him and you were memorable.
Now, I watch some clips from the show before 1986 on YouTube sometimes. The sound and video quality is from so-so to bad because they are probably from personal videotape sources. I especially enjoyed the harsh response from you and Mr. Siskel to "The Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter(Ha-Ha)". I could see that you and Mr. Siskel were great partners even at that time.(Don't worry, Mr. Roeper, maybe my colleagues jokingly call you "second wife", but you're also excellent) In the review clip of "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid", the show starts with the image of popcorn machines in movie theater. That scene confirmed me again important thing about the show; Mr. Ebert and Mr. Siskel(or Mr. Roeper) are just another movie-goers like me, with better knowledge about movies. And they advise how to spend my precious money on good movies.
While watching recent reviews from "Ebert & Roeper", I hoped you to come back to the show. I was happy to know that you began write again, but I really wanted to see you reviewing new movies with Mr. Roeper on TV again. Mr. Siskel died, and now you and Mr. Roeper left the show. I don't know how the show will be changed, and I will miss old show while watching the new one. Well, things change. When I was a teenager movie-goer, I learned lot's of things from you and Leonard Maltin, and was fascinated with "Fight Club". Now, I am now a 25-year-old graduate student at Biology Department, I read reviews of other critics as well as you and Mr. Maltin, and I feel disturbed about "Fight Club". (That does not mean that "Fight Club" will be my "La Dolce Vita" movie!!) Despite these all changes, I still regard you as the most important critic to me who has taught me about how to watch the movies and persuade others to watch them for years. Most of my friends still don't like the films that leave them with serious, unsolved question or something haunting, and they are pretty much passive toward blockbuster movies. Even though they think I'm some weird guy who like strange movies, I'm still trying to convince them these "incomprehensible movies" are too good to be missed. Without you, I would have just watched the movies alone. Because of you, I enjoyed watching good movies while talking about them to people around me. I'm deeply touched by "Crash" despite all meaningless whipping after 2006 Oscar ceremony, and it is one of the films I passionately recommend to my friends.
I'm very sad to hear that you left the show, but, at least, I still read your new reviews every Friday. I hope you will continue your journey without any health problems for more than ten years.
From "All About Eve": "There never was and there never will be another like you."
Seongyong Cho
I just find the mistake in my comment. It is "anybody under 18 is absolutely not allowed", not "Nobody under 18 absolutely not allowed". It is probably one of many mistakes in my comment.
Roger,
You've been a great resource for movie fans worldwide. I wish you good health, and am waiting anxiously for you to return to the air.
Roger
When Sneak Previews first came on, I was going to school in Tennessee. My brother told me about this cool new show where you and "some guy from the Tribune" were talking about movies. I didn't think that sounded that great. But, when I got back to the land of civilization, otherwise known as Chicago, it was great. And we watched every week. And we have been watching every week since the mid-'70s. So you must have been doing something right.
A new movie comes out - I still punch it up at your website to find out what it's all about. I came here tonight to find out about Brideshead Revisited. I got sidetracked.
I'll miss the show but hopefully you and Rich will be back on the old stand, possibly in a new format, shortly. In the meantime, we'll be reading your columns ... and blogs.
Good luck in your further recovery.
Roger,
I remember meeting Mr. Siskel and you at Disney-M.G.M. Studios February 23, 1991. You were taping your annual Oscar pick show. You both were even kind enough to take a picture with me. I will never forget something you said after the taping, "Time to slip out of this cold tuxedo into a warm pizza." It WAS cold.
I wish you many years of good health. Bless you.
Chris.
Roger, I look forward avidly to learning what your next effort will be.
I began collecting your TV reviews many years ago, jotting plusses or minuses and exclamation points where appropriate opposite each film you and Gene reviewed. By December of 1994, my unruly collection of program summaries on envelope backs and pages torn from notebooks had become so scattered and ragged that my sweet wife decoupaged a heavy cardboard cover for a blank-paged spiral-bound sketchbook which to this day contains a summary of every program and review since. I have even jammed in the earlier reviews as they came to light in my other papers. We regularly consult the notebook for suggestions when we are renting DVD's or choosing a film to see in a theater.
All I can say is thank you. Thank you so very very much!
As my mother used to say, "Be well and strong and happy!"
I am in my late 40s, so I got to see the birth of Siskel and Ebert's show on national television. A grand institution of popular film criticism was born! I know Ben Mankeiwicz from cohosting with Cenk Uygur on The Young Turks, and I think he has the character and family heritage to be another great in this tradition. So, while I mourn the ending of one era, I am looking forward to having another show devoted to films for those of us that love them. That's awesome. I look forward to further contributions from Ebert too.
I love the YouTube outtake. In the span of about five minutes, the tone goes from hatred to love and back to hatred, with flourishes of Wildean wit thrown in for good measure. I'd recycle some of my favourite lines here, but I'd hazard a guess and say they'd be unsuitable, and, besides, if I've learned anything from Mr Ebert, it's never to give away a punchline.
I was never able to catch the show itself until bits and pieces of it started to become available on the net. About ten years ago, RealAudio clips started to appear on the official (?) site, and then friends and acquaintances from internet boards and newsgroups forwarded me short, digitised clips. Then YouTube came to the rescue, and now we have the entire catalogue, which I revisit more often than I really should. All good things, and all that, sure, but it's a winning formula, and I wish you all the best in the future with regards to the format.
Finally, I would like to echo fellow posters, on this item, and many others, that these reminiscences are a joy to read. They're frequent staples in your reviews, too, and all of them resonate. One of my favourites is how Gene Siskel once sat next to Neil Armstrong on a flight, and, realising that all anyone'd ever wanted to talk to him was the moon landing, decided to talk about other things. What a nice anecdote to pass on...
Hi Roger,
If there ever were a show which epitomized why I enjoyed watching and videotaping both you and Gene back in the early 1980s, I would have to say the review of Red Sonja back in 1985 says it all. You and Gene were having such a good time critiquing and laughing at that film that you couldn't say the name of the next film you two were going to review (Back to the Future).
It was the comradery and joy eminating from you and Gene that caught my attention to the point that I started videotaping your shows as much as possible. Over the years, I acquired quite a few tapes. Now I am posting many of your At The Movies shows on YouTube so other people can watch. Your shows are priceless, and I wanted everyone else to see your love and compassion for films over the decades. I hope you don't mine too much!
Dear Roger,
It saddens me to be cognizant of the end of the very influential and entertaining "Ebert and Roeper" program. But rather than bore you with my sympathy, I want to praise you for your determination and enthusiasm while the show lasted over thirty years. I was an avid "Ebert and Roeper" viewer. Also, I have watched hundreds of earlier reviews with the enhancements on the website of Gene and several other guest hosts. I don't want to sound cliche, melodramtic, or sentimental, but Mr. Ebert you are one of my heroes and one of my role models. You were and are the most reliable film critic in the industry. I admire the wit, charm, frankness, and sincerity you administer in your reviews. I too have a passion for film and I am pursuing my dreams accordingly. One dream I had was to direct a film that received a thumbs up from you during the program. Even simply a moderate thumbs up would be sufficient and rewarding. I just want to thank you for inspiring me through you sheer affection and passion for cinema to follow my dreams. I hope to one day craft a film to your liking and to shake the hand, or rather the thumb, of one of the most encouraging and influential figures in my life.
Thank you, Roger for everything.
Laron Chapman, 18, Oklahoma City, OK.
I watched Siskel & Ebert faithfully since 1990 (I was a kid then), and I'm sadden by Ebert's permanent departure from the show. Among all the film critics in journalism, I agreed with Ebert the most. He's taught me a lot about the movies. And I loved the commentaries he did for some DVDs (Citizen Kane and Dark City come to mind). If you disagreed with Ebert you better be prepared for a debate. Aside from his discourse with Siskel and Roeper, I remember reading a salvo Ebert had with filmmaker Vincent Gallo for (an earlier version of) Brown Bunny, which Ebert claimed was the worst film in the history of Cannes. Apparently, Gallo had some unflattering words for Ebert (he called him a fat pig, and said he put a curse on Ebert's colon), and, well, Ebert fought back: "I am not too worried. I had a colonoscopy once, and they let me watch it on TV. It was more entertaining than The Brown Bunny. It is true that I am fat... But one day I shall be thin, and he will still be the director of The Brown Bunny." Obviously, Ebert is a master rhetorician.
Watching Siskel & Ebert was like going through film school sometimes. One of my favorite shows they did was the appreciation and importance and history of black and white movies. I enjoyed their various interviews with Letterman and Leno, too. I wonder why Ebert liked poking fun of himself sometimes (is it more or does he like to be known as the "fat guy" critic? - and I once heard him call himself "ugly") in these interviews. Film criticism won't be the same without Ebert (please, keep the articles coming). In my opinion, he's the greatest living movie critic today.
Be well, sir.
Eddie
You and Gene got the ball rolling, Roger. You've made history. Now it's time for someone else to continue that history.
Just don't disappear from the realm of the written word,okay? I don't think anyone is ready for that.
As a fellow Chicagoan, I thank you for your contribution to our city and the nation. The world. You and Gene were quite a pair. Genuine. Gifted. Insightful. I was so depressed the day Gene died. And shocked and sadden to learn of your illness. You continue to give wonderful insightful critiques of today's films. And you are always right on. I'm sad that "the balcony is closed." But you and Gene created something special. A genre in its own right. My answer. Go back to PBS. You have the class of Charlie Rose, Tavis Smiley et al. Enough of TMZ and E! and Entertainment Tonight. We need a legitimate venue to really talk about film. Not just the commercial crap that Hollywood continues to pump out. But indie films. Foreign films. Short films and documentaries. And an intelligent exchange about them. Not hype or studio promotions. Good luck and my best, Mr Ebert. The main thing is you getting well. And I will continue to read your column. Thumbs up to you.
Roger,
I was 12 years old when I started watching Siskel & Ebert in 1986, and I have been watching ever since.
Although I recall many of the reviews from the show (they were often more entertaining than the actual movie)there are two moments that immediately come to mind and make me smile:
#1. Your positive review of Cop and a Half. As you were describing the film I was actually feeling a little sorry for you because I knew Gene was waiting to pounce. His reaction to your praise of the film was priceless: "Wow...where's your big red suit and beard Santa..."
#2. At the end of his critique of The Edge, Gene remarked that "it was a real toss up as to who gave a better performance in the movie, Baldwin or the Bear."
Thank you for teaching me to appreciate the great movies including three films that I have seen recently - Ikiru, The Passion of Joan of Ark, and Wild Strawberries. It is highly doubtful that I would had sought out these films if not for the education I received from you and Gene. I am forever grateful.
I look forward to the triumphant return of your show. You are the best.
Thanks for writing this, and for everything else. I grew up watching your show, first on PBS and then elsewhere. I can't at this point sort out all the different ways it influenced the way I think, about movies and a lot of other things (about principled disagreement, that's a big one). I know a lot has been written about the potentially pernicious effect of the thumbs up/thumbs down approach to art, but I always assume the people who complain never saw the show. It was about a lot more than thumbs up or down. It was about smart people teasing out the meaning of something they'd seen, and being thoughtful about weighing their own reactions to it. It seems to me the show was really about popularizing critical thinking, which lord knows we can use wherever we can get it. It was also hugely entertaining, because of you and Gene and the way you guys related to each other. In your own way you were a classic showbiz duo.
Thanks again, and best wishes.
Dear Mr. Ebert,
What a wonderful and loving tribute! I especially liked Jim's comments, "...your voice is crystal clear in my head when I'm reading your reviews." 'Tis so.
Roger Ebert, I love you! But the ultimate honor of parodies... You forgot to mention the MUPPETS!! I'm 27, and people my age knew those muppets before we knew you, and were fascinated and delighted when we discovered that THESE two muppets were real! (When I was growing up I also thought that Sam Donaldson and Dr. Spock were one and the same. But that's a different story.) I love you LOVE you! I've been responsible for bringing you several disciples, and one is fairly recent and he really really wants to be able to hear you. Please get better!
Roger, you have made a huge difference in many peoples' lives, including mine. Thank you so much for your wonderful and often sublime contributions to film critique - and a big thanks for doing a lot of it on television! It was exciting to see samples of the movies you raved and ranted about, and you've prompted me over the years to go see many great films I probably wouldn't have chosen on my own. It seems like you've been a part of my life forever, and your show will be missed more than you could ever know.
Take care.
Funny, I don't feel the balcony is closed. If Roger and Richard are going to keep the format on another show then I'm happy with that. Roger and Co. did a great job getting Richard on board after Gene's death. And Roger, Richard and Co. did a great job getting A.O. Scott and Wilonsky (Sorry, I don't know his first name) and others on board after Roger's illness. As long as the show goes on and great people continue being involved with it then to Eric Haynes, the balcony is open!
I love you Ebert and Gene wherever you are. I grew up on your show and have fond memories of being a child and not being able to sleep. Only to find your show on and in the dark gloom of my bedroom. A lone light shined on my 13inch TV set. It was two familiar faces staring back at me, keeping me company. Thanks so much for all the insight you gave me on movies. Thanks to Roeper as well. The show, but mostly you guys on the show I'll miss the most.
I'm very disappointed to see the show end. I greatly enjoyed the chemistry between Roeper and Phillips, and felt the show could go on another 30 years with them. It was a great third act just building steam, and it's unfortunate the show is over.
Thank you for what you, your colleagues and your team gave us, and here's to new horizons.
...and am I glad you're getting your thumbs back! How do you drink your tea, man?!
Best,
Steve
Mr. Ebert,
Part of what made the original show such compelling viewing was that tension between you guys. Each of you was so passionate about film that it actually looked like some of the most heated discussions might erupt into fistfights. I always felt you guys were kind of like the members of the Who--lots of internal squabbles, but a core solidarity and a shared aesthetic.
You don't get that now on the review shows. The critics are generally informed and seem reasonably interested in the films they're reviewing, but it's just not the same. They may be good critics, but they just don't seem as interesting as people.
The way you guys approached movies broadened my sensibilities, as it did for millions of others. And, as someone who makes a living writing, your work in print has had enormous impact on me: your economy of phrasing, your selective and powerful use of imagery, the way you try to approach each review individually and give it a unique flavor. Great lessons for anyone interested in writing.
2001 was a pretty bad year around my house--three different family members fighting illness, including my Mom, who lost a grueling 15-year battle with adnocystic fibroid cancer. And then the WTC coming down in New York--the same towers that my Mom had taken me to see during my first visit to NYC. Obviously, it was a tough year for a great many folks.
For me, one of the year's few bright spots was trading a couple of e-mails with you about one of your Great Movies reviews ("Sweet Smell of Success"). I still have print-outs of that correspondence with your "RE" at the bottom. I'm sure it sounds a little silly, but that really meant a lot to me, that someone of your stature would bother to actually respond.
It's an interesting phenomenon how "ordinary" people can feel as though they know the celebrities they see in the media, even though they, of course, don't. For example, I don't expect to ever meet Bob Dylan, but that's okay. Through his music, I do know him--to some extent, anyway. That's kind of the way I feel about you; despite being nothing more to me than a fleeting image on a TV screen or a collection of words in a movie review, you've been a real presence in my life.
With this recent news about the program, I started remembering back to when I first saw your program, back in the late 70s-early 80s. I used to watch your show in my room on a 7" black-and-white RCA set that had lousy sound but a strong antenna. The show came on late Saturday afternoons on our local PBS channel (right after "Soccer Made in Germany.") I can still see you in a sweater, Gene in a sports jacket, both of you brimming over with excitement as you reviewed films like "Apocalypse Now!" or "Raging Bull"--often quarreling, sometimes agreeing, always enlightening.
Then I hear Mom calling me to come downstairs for dinner--ribeye steak, crinkle-cut fries, iceberg-lettuce salad with french dressing. Dinner's on the table, the family's all here and healthy, and most of my future is still in front of me.
Yep, the balcony is definitely now closed...but it provided a helluva view. For all of us.
I had watched the show off and on for a few years and had always been intrigued by the foreign films that were reviewed on the show. We finally got a movie theater in Tulsa that would show these movies (unfortunately it's no longer there), so I finally got a chance to take in one of the movies recommended, "Bye Bye Brazil". For this 17 year old kid, it was a life changing experience. I never again looked forward to merely anticipating the latest blockbuster product from Hollywood.
Thank you, Roger (and Gene, and Richard).
Roger, I know that all of your movie reviews with Gene and Richard could always be enjoyed in themselves. All three of you are the reason to watch "Siskel and Ebert" and "Ebert and Roeper." On TV, you are sadly missed. Gene is really missed for a long time. I don't know how to say this, but how do you really feel about the new "At the Movies" coming out this fall. I know you want to show to go on, but everyone agrees that you, Gene, and Richard are all the real thing.
Roger, I know that all of your movie reviews with Gene and Richard could always be enjoyed in themselves. All three of you are the reason to watch "Siskel and Ebert" and "Ebert and Roeper." On TV, you are sadly missed. Gene is really missed for a long time. I don't know how to say this, but how do you really feel about the new "At the Movies" coming out this fall. I know you want to show to go on, but everyone agrees that you, Gene, and Richard are all the real thing.
I still can't believe you wrote "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls." I prefer to think of it as your digression, maybe like fellow Chicagoan (and North Carolinian) Michael Jordan's foray into pro baseball. Maybe that movie was your turn with the Birmingham Barons. But the rest of the time, you were hitting three-pointers at the buzzer -- as was Gene. See I call you by your first names, and even feel I have permission to do that. I continue to read your reviews every week, and hear your voice from the balcony narrating as I scan the words. I add my simple appreeciation for the way you've helped one more movie nut see movies clearer, deeper, in historical and social context. I just wish there were a "Siskel and Ebert" counterpart for wine, for fine art, for literature, for public speeches, even politics ... Thanks.
Thak you so much, for so much. I hope you realize what an important place you and Gene held and hold in the lives of us lovers of the movies. To this day, with due respect to Richard and Elvis and A.O. and Michael and the others, we still refer to watching Siskel and Ebert. Always was and always will be.
I am thankful to have you in print and this personal journal is a treasure. I am still counting on you to help me find my way in the dark (theater) and populate my Netflix list.
I went back and watched a lot of your reviews with Mr. Siskel when the At The Balcony archives opened up. I mostly watched the movies I remember going to as a child during the 90's, so I could have my nostalgia thrown out of whack. One of my favorites was "My Neighbor Totoro", when Gene basically panned it and it looked like you had taken a sucker punch to the gut, which was my reaction at least.
I remember how often my friends and I took you two for granted as we grew up. We knew you two were giants of your field, and your thumbs up would help us in some way, shape, or form decide what movie to watch. I remember too often being deflated when I was younger when a movie I was looking forward to didn't get the "two thumbs up". Now that I've grown up, I make it a note to read your reviews every week. It's bad though, since all my journalism teachers chide me for writing like you when I shouldn't.
To Daniel Quiles and everyone else looking for intelligent criticism of film:
Elvis has NOT left the building! Elevis Mitchell is alive and very well on Turner Classic Movies every Monday doing a half hour interview format called Elvis Mitchell Under the Influence. Think James Lipton without the blue cards and family histories. The premier show had the last interview with Sydney Pollack (make a back up and get that into the film archives immediatley). He followed with bill Murray and Lawrence Fishburne so far. The show is a wonderful conversation about the craft.
I will have to find myself a Thea Flaum. She sounds like a genius, and irresistable for it.
I repeat: I have been reading your reviews for a decade and have never seen your show. Gene Siskel could come back from the dead to commune with me and I wouldn't recognise him. I would just as soon take him for Joe Mcarthy.
Australia uses the format in its "The movie show", except with duo Maragaret Pomeranz and David Stratton. The gender contrast isn't a bad idea. Stratton wrote a book called "I peed on Fellini". Note to David Stratton: good anecdote, bad title. I refuse to read your book. And shave that Goddam beard.
I will resist my long felt desire to hurl abuse at Margaret Pomeranz and David Stratton. It is only irrational film critic hatred: they are good at what they do. I think we all feel this hatred from time to time, because film involves personal likes and dislikes, about which we feel passionately and irrationally. Critics themselves are, evidently, not immune to this absurdity. Why do we respond to a critics LOOKS? What does this have to do with their ability to critique a film?
I recall coming across a website by an entertaining young man who wrote things like "Fuck Roger Ebert. He will never recognise my site anyway. Fuck Roger Ebert." I can't find it - perhaps it no longer exists - but I remember it. I learn he is not the only one to use this kind of language towards Ebert. It is doubtful he has done anything serious enough in the scheme of things to warrant such abuse (he is, after all, an entertainer), but there we are, that is the human condition.
Oh to hell with it. Fuck Margaret Pomeranz. Fuck David Stratton. Fuck her and her elf ears. Fuck him and his pretensions and his beard.
I feel better already.
Warm regards,
Solomon
Wow I remember Friday nights coming home from the movies turning you guys on @ 1230am to see what you thought of a movie I just saw. You both were such a part of my movie going experience. As I got older, the show bounced from network to network in NY but I always found it and made a point of watching,,,,and I still do.
Your quick to mention here that the show began with the idea that it was just two guys talking movies but you were smart enough to include video picks later on because you knew for the most part people watch their majority of movies now on DVD or a few years ago heaven forbid VHS, ha.
I find myself now only going to the movies either for something my daughter would want to see, or for the "event" ala Dark Knight.....But the first thing I did this morning sir was click on your column and see what you thought of the XFILES and Step Brothers movie....You remain a huge part of my movie life to this day and good luck to you and Richard as you take the next step
Dan
The love/hate relationship you & Gene had is what made you two so great. S&E will forever be remembered as one of the great duos in history. The enjoyment of watching you two disagreeing violently, and then agreeing on a film either being great or horrible is something that will never be matched or forgotten. Your reminiscence of Gene during his final days was truly touching. Thanks for all the great years of television, sir. I will follow the new incarnation of the program wherever it goes out of loyalty and respect. You are truly an Icon. Keep writing and God Speed, Mr. Ebert. - Jim
Hello,
I have been a fan of Roger Ebert's for many many years. I was a very young girl when I began watching Siskel & Ebert and it changed my life. It is what inspired me to go into journalism. I wanted to be them. In eighth grade, when I was asked what I wanted to do when I grew up, I would say "I want to be a movie critic". To this day, my friends hate going to the movies with me because they know that I will critique it immediately, and loudly. :) I also wait to read Mr. Ebert's reviews until after I see a movie. I do that because I know that his opinion has a way of swaying mine, so I wait, only to find out that I totally agreed with him.
I am a fairly young African American professional woman and Siskel and Ebert will go down as one of the best television shows ever in my book. I enjoyed Ebert and Roeper very much. However, it was difficult for me to continue viewing it once Ebert became too sick to host. I cried when Gene Siskel died, so it was hard for me to watch the show knowing that neither one of them would physically be there.
I meet Mr. Ebert at a book signing for his book "Roger Ebert Great Movies II" and that is still one of the highlights of my life.
I will greatly miss the television show that displayed intelligence in a light comparable to none.
Thank You,
Wendy
Gene and Roger, Roger and Gene...got me interested in movies, in "film" not as a serious Pauline Kael/NYU lecture topic but for everyman...I had the fortune of meeting you both at a lecture you gave our class at Medill circa 1091...we were on the same floor as WTTW at the time...to this day, I have to read the Ebert review before and after I see a movie, then a week later, because what you write seems to resonate differently as time passes...then I read the review a year, maybe 5 years later...amazing...remember after Gene's passing, when I came across a Sport Illustrated centerfold of the Bulls and Michael Jordan and as you scanned the crowd in the photo, the guys in courtside seats, there was the face of Gene Siskel, contorted, yelling something, into the game, frozen in time...time moves on...good luck with your health and thanks for making me think...
I am originally from Illinois, and had moved to Florida. We did not know anyone here. Every Sunday night we would watch your show, it was like a friend, someone we knew. I will really miss your show, and I think Disney is making a big mistake. Thank you for all these years, I feel like I know you and that you are a friend. Will truly miss your show.
I am originally from Illinois, and had moved to Florida. We did not know anyone here. Every Sunday night we would watch your show, it was like a friend, someone we knew. I will really miss your show, and I think Disney is making a big mistake. Thank you for all these years, I feel like I know you and that you are a friend. Will truly miss your show.
Roger,
This show was my movie go-to choice from when I was 11 or 12 years old. The breadth of the movies you covered was remarkable and opened up a world of film that I would never have understood even existed otherwise. The show led me to the Movie Yearbook and your remarkable writing, and that has been at least as great (or even greater) a gift.
I like that you showed the clip that got YouTube fame, funny and touching at the same time. Gene was an original, and on your show, despite the fact that neither of you talked down to the audience at all, it felt to me that Gene was the "everyman" and you were more the "film person". It is hard to articulate, sort of approaching film criticism from different directions, although you often arrived at the same place, a top-down vs bottoms up approach I suppose. When Richard came in, he was a natural fit, and I can't imagine the level of professionalism and excellence that Richard has displayed in the last couple of years, holding the show to its high standard of excellence in understandably shifting circumstances.
I guess the best way to salute you and the show is to paraphrase a bit from your review of Star Wars (not sure if it was the 1977 review or the 1997 one). Your show spawned a ton of imitators, not just in film criticism, but even a show like "Pardon the Interruption" on ESPN, the two guys discussing things format. That there are pale imitators does not take away from the originality and quality of the original.
I hope for your continued improving health, and hope you and Richard and the thumbs can make a triumphant return. The culture needs you more than ever.
P.S. My favorite moment was when you, Gene and David Letterman were roofing that NJ resident's house.
It's odd but heartening how to see how many readers here were, like me, watchers of the show since they were kids. Me? I got hooked in the early 80s, and I even remember staying up late to watch the SNL Film Festival special on which you and Gene were guest critics.
Siskel & Ebert not only reinforced my love of movies, but also made me appreciate the experience of watching them. Through you I learned the importance of the widescreen "letterbox" format, about Laserdiscs and then later DVDs, about the vast possibilities when it came to customizing one's own home theater. Your Christmas Gify Guide specials were a early highlight, and I felt a little bit emptier if I happened to miss one.
Thanks, Roger. I know you will keep the thumbs alive elsewhere, but your years at Disney were wonderful and will be remembered fondly.
That second clip made me laugh 'til it hurt.
I adore your writing, Roger. Thanks for kindling my love of movies :)
Roger,
I can't remember exactly when I first started watching you and Gene, but it must have been around 1990. I know signed up for CompuServe in 1992 just so I could read your reviews. One afternoon I was on the CompuServe forum when I got an instant message from you. I had never used that feature, and by the time I figured out how to respond you had already logged off. Arrgghhh!
For several years the station on which I watched your show in North Carolina would move it around the schedule without any notification. I'd go to watch it on Sunday night only to find it had come on an hour eariler or sometimes even a day earlier. Every time that happened I would call up the programming director and complain. Finally the show stayed put. She must have gotten tired of hearing from me!
A lot of people have been saying they are going to miss the show. Not me, because I don't believe it's gone. Whatever you and Richard come up with, it will have the pure essence that has made the show a favorite for years: two guys passionately talking, not about what somebody wore to a premire or what some Hollywood actor said about the President, but about the art form we all love.
I miss watching you and Gene Siskel... and the movies. I never knew the time or day of the week your show was scheduled. Instead, I'd just find it by accident while looking for something else, catch you two halfway through a review and I always ended up watching longer than I intended- to the end of the credits.
Two amazing brains battling it out over so many films. Just a fantastic concept for a show, and one that rewarded intelligence and thought.
I want to offer you congratulations on how long it lasted there in the "vast wasteland." Compelling TV made up of talk. What a concept.
Dear Roger,
There are only 3 people who influenced my movie watching decisions: my mother who loved movies for entertainment and to open new worlds,. Stan Brakhage who taught History of Film at the Art Institute, and Roger Ebert.
While I thoroughly enjoyed Gene Siskel on the show, I found that after seeing a movie, your reviews fit my movie watching personality more than Gene's. What was a night "at the Balcony" without the bickering and jabs between the two of you? So entertaining, so thought provoking, and so darn funny.
You both taught us to take chances on seeing films that were not heavily advertised, to open up to foreign films and independent films, to go back into the archives and see older films. Listening to the banter between the two of you taught us to make up our own minds! Thanks for those years.. Luckily, I'm from Chicago, so I'll catch you in the paper . Stick around, stay healthy and see you up in stadium seating.
Laurie
I can trace back memories of watching "Siskel & Ebert" with moments in my own life. Funny how even the most innocuous reviews stand out in my memory, like when Gene and Roger reviewed "License to Drive" or when Gene gave a positive review to "Lambada" or when they argued, probably their biggest argument, about "Full Metal Jacket."
Honestly, I think the balcony closed when Gene passed away in 1999. Has it been that long? How time passes. I think the whos became a carbon copy after that, just another one of the review show clones that "Siskel & Ebert" inspired. I've also found Roger's own interjection of his political views in recent years to be quite offputting. There was only one show and that was the show with Gene and Roger. Together they were magic, alone, Roger looked adrift - like has missing his right arm. I think all of us loyal viewers have felt that way since Gene passed away.
But "Siskel & Ebert" was an important part of my life, and it really shaped the way I look at movies, and the way I, as a writer, tell stories I cherish Ebert's books, his reviews, and most of all I cherish the memories of watching Gene and Roger every weekend talking about the new movies. Goodbye.
Thanks Roger for all your great work over the years. And thank you for saving me from seeing the really bad movies that you were forced to sit through.
I am looking forward to seeing your future projects
Best of luck to you.
Roger, I have watched the show(s) since its incarnation. In the ever increasing wasteland of electronic culture, Gene, you, Rich and Mike Philips (not to mention the fill-ins) have always offered intelligent discussion, integrity and most of all, respecting your audience's intelligence.
I do have a question- will Buena Vista retain the right to your database, or will that asset be considered as "Intellectual Property"?
All the best to your health, to your family and to the future.
Thank you.
Roger, I am a grown man in my mid-50's, but I could not help a tear in my eye when I read your editorial. I will continue to read your reviews, but I will always miss your voice and your show.
I am 33 years old and have watched your show and read your reviews since I was 10. You have shaped the way I view movies. The one thing you have imparted to me is your view that it's not what a movie is about, but how it is about it. That has opened my mind and made me a better movie-goer. I am so glad I had the opportunity to go on your film cruise in 2005. Roger, you are a national treasure. Thank you.
How fitting that this post - and the videos - had the same magical effect on me that I continually seek at the movies: I'm laughing and crying at the same time!
Your show helped pop culture nerds like me to feel able & proud to simultaneously love 'Babe, Pig in the City' & 'Ponette' & 'Rear Window' & 'Three Kings' & 'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' & 'Mulholland Drive' & 'The Shawshank Redemption'... Looking back, I see that watching the show as I was growing up - my parents didn't understand but I always watched - taught me a lot about how to have respectful disagreements, the concept of differing opinions all allowed to be "right," and the value of plain old joy.
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
Nothing against Roeper, but At The Movies with Gene and Roger was clearly represented the very pinacle of the genre. I watched the show regularly back when it was on Channel 11 and never stopped watching. My allegiance switched back and forth between Gene and Roger on a regular basis over the years, but I always appreciated the universe of knowledge and sound reasoning behind each of their opinions. Chicago was extremely lucky to have had two giants in this subfield of journalism practicing their art at the same time, both in print and on television - a circumstance not likely to be repeated, here or elsewhere. Thanks, Roger, for sharing your memories and for your decades of great work.
Roger:
You are, bar none, the best reviewer it has been my privilege to read in my 55-plus years of reading. You are funny, trenchant, literate, insightful, profound and, best of all, well written. I am so glad you continue to see movies and write about them in spite of your recent travails. Thanks so much for increasing my appreciation of movies, and for being such a great read as well. Be well, and keep on reviewing.
Dear Mr. Ebert,
Thank you so much for sharing your passion for movies with us over the years, I have been a regular viewer of the show since I was 13! As a movie buff my palate has blossomed to include the blockbuster and the small indie film, due to your influence. You are the movie critic I trusted the most, the "Ebert standard" if you will, because you would/will be intelligent and fair in your review.
Last year, I did a public access show with a friend from church, part of it was a movie review show. When my friend was explaining the show concept he mentioned Siskel and Ebert as an example! I earned an appreciation that day of just how much work went into the show, from promo shot to finished product. It was a load of fun and perhaps I will get an opportunity to do it again.
The last two years I have found it difficult to watch the show, it just not the same with both you and Siskel not there. No offense to the current group of critics, they do a good job but there nothing like the original.
I wanted to offer my prayers to you for continual recovery and good health. Best wishes to your family and career!
My father who just pass away in April was a writer-producer for WILL-TV and fondly remembered meeting you on several occassions while you were still a student at the U of I. I have watched you since the beginning, I have and will miss your weekly presence on my DVR. I always put a lot of faith in your reviews having been raised and educated in Champaign-Urbana. Thank you for your film festival, it means a lot to that little state outside Chicago.
It bears repeating over and over again what a novelty it was to see two movie critics on TV honestly expressing a dislike of a movie under review. Tremendous. What a pleasure it was to watch your show for so many years. I remember being inspired by your enthusiasm for movies and (before the existence of the internet and databases) pouring over my grandparents’ old issues of the Chicago Sun-Times from the late 1960’s (moon landing) and avidly reading Roger’s movie reviews. Great fun. Keep writing!
It bears repeating over and over again what a novelty it was to see two movie critics on TV honestly expressing a dislike of a movie under review. Tremendous. What a pleasure it was to watch your show for so many years. I remember being inspired by your enthusiasm for movies and (before the existence of the internet and databases) pouring over my grandparents’ old issues of the Chicago Sun-Times from the late 1960’s (moon landing) and avidly reading Roger’s movie reviews. Great fun. Keep writing!
Well 168 commenters here have probably said it all but I'd like to just add that I have been watching and loving Sneak Previews and At the Movies from the time you began on public television until you left due to your illness. Regardless of what pops up to fill the tremendous void that has been created by yours and Gene's absence on the air (as much as I like Richard he and nobody else never even came close to the magic of the connection between you and Gene)I'll always feel like something is missing. I hope that the archived videos of all your reviews stays up and accessible on the Disney website. I've spent hours upon hours browing those old reviews reliving memories of the movies and your reviews while doing so. At least this isn't goodbye, as I will continue to follow your written reviews and of course whtever you decide to do with the golden thumbs in the near or far future. Good luck with whatever you decide.
I also echo everyone's comments and was so sad to hear that the show as I have known it all these years is ending. Thank you for posting this article. What a great story! I remember watching you and Gene from about the time I was 12 on WTTW in Chicago and still today I credit you both with inspiring my love of the movies. You opened up new worlds for me and I will always be thankful for that and everything I have learned from you. Roger, you have been a regular touch point in my life for thirty years now! Every Friday I log in to pull up your latest reviews and see what's out there. I don't know what I'd do without that. Looking forward to whatever is next, and I wish you continued progress in your recovery.
Since I'm 19, I obviously haven't been watching since the beginning and it was my love of movies that brought me to your show in the first place. As a developing screenwriter, I believe that it's one of the things that helped me understand what constitutes a memorable film. It doesn't come on until 1AM on Sunday morning where I live and I always go to bed after watching it. Best of luck on the new program, which I'm now looking forward to.
Roger,
Your career on TV spanned my lifetime, as I was born in 1975. Like many, I would have gladly made a life out of film criticism, and was lucky enough to catch some critic's screenings, while I was a student at the University of Chicago, in the same theaters you have frequented for years. It's true that your show was an event and a monument to film appreciation, but in my opinion, it was really only a vehicle to bring more and more people to be in the audience for two men who were, I am fairly sure, two of the most honest and enlightening individuals ever to grace the small screen. I am deeply grateful for the show for that reason: it exposed so many to you and Gene Siskel, who have been some of the few real public intellectuals, and humanists, we have left among us. Please continue writing on all of the important topics of the day - we will all profit from your insight. And keep exercising that thumb.
Roger,
Your career on TV spanned my lifetime, as I was born in 1975. Like many, I would have gladly made a life out of film criticism, and was lucky enough to catch some critic's screenings, while I was a student at the University of Chicago, in the same theaters you have frequented for years. It's true that your show was an event and a monument to film appreciation, but in my opinion, it was really only a vehicle to bring more and more people to be in the audience for two men who were, I am fairly sure, two of the most honest and enlightening individuals ever to grace the small screen. I am deeply grateful for the show for that reason: it exposed so many to you and Gene Siskel, who have been some of the few real public intellectuals, and humanists, we have left among us. Please continue writing on all of the important topics of the day - we will all profit from your insight. And keep exercising that thumb.
I grew up loving film, because I grew up reading your reviews and watching you and gene (and co.). I owe you the biggest dream and the greatest gift of my life, the cinema.
I have been watching your show since I was a teenager when it was on PBS. One of the most memorable reviews that I can recall was that of I Spit on Your Grave in which you said the filmmakers should be ashamed of themselves. Because you introduced me to foriegn films and directors such as Kurasawa and Herzog, I enjoy foreign movies today through local arthouse theaters and Netflix. Sorry to see that it has come to an end.
Roger, you know how sometimes you feel somethings last forever, like your parents or friends? That's how I feel about your show. The show started coming on when I was 15. And since that I time, I have watched the show and then checked the newspaper and then with Internet checked your website for every new movie. I read your article with tears thinking of Gene and your friendship and how we missed him on the show. You will be missed. I hope you do something that will allow us once again to see you on TV. Blessings!
As another kid from the Midwest, thanks for your show.
I grew up in downstate IL (my little brother went to U of I, about an hour away, in the 90's) and your show was an eye-opener for me. Our town had a one-screen theater and in the pre-internet days there was no access for me to the kinds of movies you regularly discussed on your show.
I ate up those art film clips like a starving person. What's more, your discussions on the show taught me how to think about film, to digest what I was watching and not merely receive it.
I'll continue to follow your criticism, wherever it may be.
Roger, Gene was a great match for you, and you marched on after he passed, but the show just hasn't been the same without you. Your writing and criticism (with the possible exception of some action movies) have been uniformly astute, insightful, witty and adult. I'll be reading this blog for my movie fix in the future.
A comment on your "redemption" entry: I think the ability to transcend internal and/or external conflict or pain (and learn from that) is what makes any person, not just any film character, compelling. The most fascinating and dynamic among us are those that are curious, generous in spirit, and honest desipte the chaos of daily living. This definition seems to describe a certain film critic...
Sir, I'll dare to be blunt, partly because it must be said but mostly because it's highly unlikely you'll read every post.
So here goes: the show was over the minute you fell ill and underwent treatment.
It's amazing the program survived after Mr. Siskel's death, which is a great credit to your talent and will. Nevertheless, half of the magic was gone and debating who was the better half is futile (It was you!), because the void still exists. Roeper was a good replacement, true, but Siskel's shadow was just too big to fill.
And two years ago, we lost the second half. No sports pun intended.
I believe all your fans we're glad to see you back, thrilled to read your reviews again and happy to know you were still there behind the scenes, but you were unseen and unheard. Thus the void doubled, the principles of business and vacuum-abhorring nature set in and now all any of us can do is reminisce and move on.
Please, don't interpret me as cruel. It has been an honor to know you for nearly all my life and I’m glad we still have you in written form, where you are and always will be Solomon. I was just taught to be honest with the people you love and respect.
Maybe one day our paths will cross. In the meantime I will miss seeing your face on TV. Your voice, thankfully, echoes in my head every Friday when I read your columns.
In any case, I doubt you'll ever read this. Which means I'm writing this not for you, but for me.
I'm not prone to posting comments to the famous. In fact the only time that comes to mind was in the early days of www when there were so few web-connected souls that you still had your personal e-mail address posted. I wrote you — you wrote back the next day.
This time it is to thank you for this lovely piece of writing. I didn't always agree with either yours or Gene's reviews, but I always watched because seldom did one get to see two people so dedicated and in love with their chosen profession. Thanks.
Having watched the show since 1981 the idea of two adults speaking intelligently about film was nothing short of revolutionary. There is no way I would have heard about My Dinner With Andre of other smaller films without your show. The reviews are always there and speaking in the first person is the best way to write. Movies take on different meaning like in your classic review on La Dolce Vita. Not many film critics enjoy movies but your worth represents the best of film criticism, print journalism and excellence. To paraphrase Gene siskel, I would rather watch a program with the new critics eating lunch wondering why they have to rip off Entertainment Tonight instead of giving honest opinions.
You could set our clocks over all these years by the time we would have our family gather and watch your show. There was nothing else like it on television. You really got us thinking about film thanks to the intelligent way your beautiful team handled the Sunday nite reviews. The only other time I responded to a program being cancelled was back when Wall Street Week with Louis Rukeyser left the scene. Thank you for your style and world-class contribution ...We will be following your blog and remaining devoted fans. What a tremendous void there will be on Sundays and always without you to look forward to to educate us about film.
Thank you for your journal...and no, you have not left the balcony! We will still check your reviews first! The best to you in health and happiness and to Richard.
Dear Roger,
Change can bring out feelings of nostalgia and sadness, but remember that in order to grasp something new you have to let go of something old. And don't forget that you have done so very much to change what it means to be a critic. You've also changed the national (and obvious from these postings, international) film discourse. We have all been enriched by your work and your passion. All of these posts stand as a testament to your continuing legacy. Be proud.
Some favorite memories of your old show:
1) You liked Ferris Bueller's Day Off. Gene hated it and was outraged that the kids didn't sit in the cheap bleacher seats. You (paraphrase): "Sometimes a film critic is the worst person to watch a good movie because he ca't see the forest through the trees." Also, Gene panned Full Metal Jacket because he thought Kubrick was capable of making better movies. From these I deduced that you were the smart one up there in that balcony.
2) In a (1994) Oscar special, you insisted that the Lion King song, "Hakuna Mattata" is now a popular catch-phrase. Gene called you, in so many words, an idiot. He may have been right, but I will never get that phrase out of my head, but only because you insisted I wouldn't. How's that for influence?
3) In an old "tech review" section of your show, you both set out to make a short film with a cheap Fisher Price b&w camera that shot on magnetic audio tape. You did an elaborate Citizen Kane parody that ended on a Ferrari (yours?) speeding off with a Rosebud license plate. Gene's film was just a poster of you with a hole around your mouth. From behind, one could see Gene's mouth and he pretended to be you extolling his virtues. Hilarious. Even more hilarious was Gene's insitence that his was the better film!
I also fondly recall your appearance on Carson when Chevy Chase was plugging the Three Amigos. At the end of the show, Carson asked you and Gene for your picks of the worst movie of the year. You said the Three Amigos and all hell broke lose. Even I cringed from the sofa. Bravo!
Also, once on Carson, Howard Stern tore Gene a new one, pointing out that he criticizes movies without ever trying to do it, but he gave you props to you for writing your "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" masterpiece. Kudos.
Anyway, we all love you Roger. You are the best. Have you ever thought about producing your own show? Maybe even doing a segment with a voice liberator, a la Stephen Hawking? When the Thumbs are back in action, we will all be there with you. We've never left.
* * *
Ebert: Ah, that was Gene who liked "Full Metal Jacket" more than I did, and also Gene who thought "Hakuna Matada" would become a national catch-phrase. And it wasn't a Ferrari but a 300-range BMW. But I'm *amazed* you remember all this stuff at all! The Carson moment: I felt like a rabbit caught in the headlights.
Thanks so much for this. I've loved watching your show since back when I was 15 in the mid-nineties. And I've liked Richard. But honestly, nothing matches the interplay between you and Gene. You guys were very passionate, and funny, too.
I remember when you guys were on “the Critic.” That was my favorite episode of that show (I believe you can track that down on Youtube as well. I also caught a clip of Gene on Larry Sanders).
Anyway, thanks a million. I miss Gene. And I miss seeing you on TV, too. You are a true inspiration. I've seen over the years your passion for art. And now it's apparent how passionate you are for life.
Regardless of whether I agree or disagree with you, your reviews are always welcome and greeted with two thumbs way up.
Roger:
Seeing the outtakes from youtube and culling through the many years of memories of your show (which are scattered to say the least) I cannot say that I truly "liked" you gentlemen. From various comments that I remember, I don't think I agree with any political or social commentary I ever heard. I remember getting angry when my favorite movies at the time (either Breakin' 2 Electric Bugaloo or Commando) were ripped apart.
But I admired you both for your candor. I felt that I could trust your reviews to be impartial, and you knowledge of movies educated my primitive mind to look beyond the sheer escapism of the movies and search for the art. I began to look at motion pictures as art to a degree.
Now, as I approach my mid-30's, I look upon Siskel & Ebert with much the same fondness of Mr. Rogers and Sesame Street - essential to my youth. Luckily for me, my love of Big Bird and Mr. McFeeley has waned, but my respect and admiration for your amazing career endures.
Thank you for sharing your memories and emotions.
I was born in 1935 and have loved the movies from as early as I can remember. I have so appreciated your reviews and the fact that I can count on you to encourage us all to enjoy the movies, just because it's a movie. I struggle with reviewers who are so caught up with their own importance that they forget the fact that, "It's a movie!" I never wanted to know about the reviewer, but found I began to relish getting to know your intellect, personality and good humor through your reviews. Imagine my delight when I was able to attend the Overlooked Film Festival in Champaign, IL. Just my good fortune to live just a few miles away. I have purchased many of those indy films and shared them with my friends. This year's selection, HOUSEKEEPING has been such fun. It took a little digging to come up with a used VHS copy from Amazon. Keep up the good work, Roger, we who love films need you.
Hi all,
Just wanted to say that in the town I grew up in, there was never any such thing as Siskel and Ebert, as we did not pick up any TV stations that broadcast it. Nonetheless, S&E are still cultural icons. Rather amazing, that. When Gene passed away, my girlfriend at the time spent the day crying. (I found out that he had been active in a chat-room that she hung out in)
The passing of the reins can be sad, but good luck in all your future endeavours, sir! May they be just as successful as your last!
I remember watching "Sneak Previews" back in the day with my parents, and how disappointed we all were when you & Gene left PBS since we could not get cable at our house. Thanks for some good times and it's hilarious to see Gene dropping the F bomb in the video.
Arriving in the film world with a unique perspective on favorite films and a fervent support of underground and independent film, I learned to always honor your critiques, although I don't always subscribe to them.
I will always remember you and Mr. Siskel's foray into obscure film (my favorite) and will always refer to you when recommending "Once Were Warriors" or "Santa Sangre."
But my favorite shows of all were your nods to unique film - John Waters early work, Romero's fetish with zombies (and the carbon-copy movies in this genre) and on and on.
Thank u for providing me with a template of creative criticism - as long as you are reviewing, I'll be reading and looking forward to the next obscure film.
I was born in 1975, and this is one of the first shows I remember watching. Also the McGlaughlin Group. I guess my parents were into shows on public television featuring people arguing. I didn't know what they were talking about most of the time on either show, but it was fun to see them go at each other.
Sad to see the show go through the changes with the hosts over the years. It would be impossible to replace Siskel, but Roeper was a dreadful choice. His knowledge of and taste in movies is pathetic. The guy has no place critiquing movies. I always respected Siskel and Ebert, even when I disagreed with them - not so with Roeper. Michael Phillips was a great addition towards the end, but his intellect was not enough to save the show from Roeper.
Regardless of the future of the show, its cool to see the format they created thriving in other venues - 2 ugly know it alls arguing about topics they are passionate about, whether its sports with Wilbon and Kornheiser on PTI, or music with Kot and Derogatis on Sound Opinions.
Good luck to you Ebert. Two big thumbs up!
Two friends I'd like to have, speaking from the heart about art and entertainment. It can't get any better than that. Thanks for the all-too-rare honesty and all the memories. And thanks too for your future contributions. I can't wait.
What I loved most about your show was how you both talked at the same time; tried to drown each other out, get in the last word. It was so real, and it was so obvious that you both really loved movies, and loved talking about them. Your reviews always have that same spirit, and I've learned an enormous amount about movies, directors, life itself, from reading them. Rest assured - wherever The Thumbs go, your millions of devoted fans will go too!
What is there to say? I know I owe the show and yourself in particular, a great deal of gratitude. I would not have been exposed to a fraction of the films I have exposed to today without your border line infallible advice. Striving to watch the best movies out there, whether it be a human drama or crude comedy, will have an effect on your sensibilities. It may sound like a little much but I know I owe part of who I am today to “Siskel and Ebert.”
Just watched again my most memorable show and found it even more poignant 9+ years later. It was Gene's rave review of The Thin Red Line. What a gift that so close to his passing, he could find a film that "never lost his attention" during its nearly 3 hour run, and I am sure gave him pleasure thinking and talking afterward, when he needed that kind of relief the most. In fact,he called it his all time favorite contemporary war movie. So cool. This says something about the transcendent power,the palliative potential of the film experience,which I simply lack the words to adequately express. Just watch this review from the archives and you'll see what I mean.
To brighten my mood a bit, I, by chance, reran the original Batman(1989) show and blissfully watched the dynamic duo of critic-dom duke it out again in their mutual primes...had forgotten Roger down thumbed that Year's #1 box office hit.
Finally I surely hope the archived shows remain available somewhere.
Thank you for years of entertainment and insight. I recall the first time I realized there was more happening on the screen than just someone telling a story - the movie was Touch of Evil and I was 12 at the time. Being 12 I missed most of the undercurrents, but I did know I was watching something more stimulating than The Lone Ranger and the Lost City of Gold. From that day forward the movies became more than a diversion. We share a "love" of La Dolce Vita, a film I first saw at 15 and watch repeatedly. Like you my understanding of the film and Marcello's character has changed with my age, but it always moves me and I find greatness in every viewing and from every viewpoint.
You and Gene Siskel were responsible for me discovering my favorite film "Once Upon of Time in America" (yes the unedited version). I "found" your show on PBS early on as I have always actively searched for any fresh insights into film and it was the Bijou lead-in that attracted me.
Initially, like many others I suspect I enjoyed the jibes and apparent animosity as much as the critique of various films. Mostly though, I was just happy to find two individuals that shared my passion for the movies. I rarely missed a show and once the VCR age began, I never missed a show. To me though the best shows occurred after you and Gene had been on the air for several years. At some point something changed. You both still argued and sniped, or agreed reluctantly, but there also came a true respect for the other's opinion. There were a handful of movies that one of you truly cared about while the other saw nothing of note. This wasn't the marginal thumbs up or thumbs down movies, this was a cinema experience where one of you was truly moved. Those were the best moments on your shows; where you tried to convince the other to revisit and find the greatness you had discovered.
That has never been quiet repeated with any other guest host or co host and certainly never with several of the clone review shows that came and went almost unnoticed. Sometimes when we lose a friend, we regret the fact that we never expressed our thanks to them for the friendship or feelings over the year. We've never met and yet I consider you a friend for all the insight and sharings we’ve had over the years.
Thank you
Roger,
The first time I saw the show, I was in 5th grade, all the way back in 1995. Having studied the novel A Little Princess the year before, I must've seen in my TV Guide -- I used to read those, cover to cover -- that you would be reviewing the film that week. Perhaps against my better judgment, I stuck around until 12:05 AM to catch your review at its ungodly airtime on Canadian syndication.
I remember feeling, even at ten years old, that I'd stumbled across some hidden treasure: people talking about movies, getting excited about something they both enjoyed and took very seriously. It never occurred to me before then that I was not strange for wanting to talk about them myself. Ten year olds love secret routines, and mine, every Sunday (shall we call it Monday?) at midnight after that, was to watch you and Gene laugh and argue in my living room on channel 4, my volume set to about 3, lest anyone notice I was up.
That first week, you had also reviewed Gordie, which Wikipedia helpfully describes (should you need a refresher) as "a feature film about a young pig." "See the princess," one of you said, "but skip the pig," and I did, renting Cuaron's film as soon as it came out on video. (It was a limited enough theatrical release that it never came to my mid-sized city's theatre.)
Since then, you, Alfonso Cuaron, and I have all come a long way. To this day, as I study filmmakers like Cuaron at the graduate level, I have credited that chance viewing of your show with helping me realize that speaking intelligently and passionately about art could mean something -- that somewhere, someone might be inspired to speak up, or even just to listen, and let something unexpected into his or her life.
I have devotedly read you in print and online ever since, and, with Gene's passing, felt I'd lost a kind of spiritual godfather I'd never met. Thank you for opening the balcony to me all those years ago, and good luck to both you and your thumbs in your future endeavors in your new venue, whatever it turns out to be.
Angelo
Mr. Roger Ebert,
I've watched you and Siskel for 30 years I can not find the words to truly write how meaningful your show has been to me and I must write to you quickly and unedited to express this to you.
One of my biggest dreams is to have you review a film of mine and this has always motivated me. Whether it be thumb up or down. Time waits for no man.
I've always felt that I'm your longest and most loyal fan, and I would stay up late on school nights as a junior higher, even after the Benny Hill show to watch you and Siskel. I would keep the both of your reviews deep within my heart.
As I matured, I found myself occasionally disagreeing with you and as time passed, noticeably the last 5 years or so, I've dissagreed probably abut 30 percent of the time.
But, your writing and never swayed from an unmistakable elegance. I cut my teeth on Siskel and Ebert, and eventually from your online column.
At times your writing seems to elevate beyond what I had thought film criticism was intended to do. Beyond inspiring, when you were inspired and moved, your words take on transcendence. One example I quickly recall is your review of "Time Regained."
And long before I could articulate as a 11 year old, my disdain for stereotyped black characters, or express why "something about this film bothered me," and found the words to why, your dead on criticism of canned, lazy hollywood archetypes that saw blacks as second bananas and or impotent nothings used to advanced a plot, brought the discussion to a level of understood elegance that, especially from your white perspective, I applaud and love you for.
Mr. Ebert, I love you and your career, and God help it to carry on, is a significant beautiful thing to me.
God willing, that I release a film that is worthy of your review, I am deeply moved to follow and be rewarded by your career.
Best moment ever...Like many guys my age, I was into horror in the early '80s, and I went to see Halloween 3-Season of the Witch on opening night. I loathed it. The following night, it was reviewed on your show and Gene gave it a positive review. You looked him straight in the eye and said "I am never going to let you forget that you liked this movie". Classic. From then on, I gave your opinions a slight edge over Gene's. Thanks for that and countless other memories.
I can honestly say that I have grown up with you, Gene, and Richard. I remember sitting down with my father and watching your show on PBS. We enjoyed the honest and informative discussions. The discussions expanded our appreciation of movies we had seen and brought new experiences in movies we had yet to see. I have waited until your show was on, set the VCR to record shows I wasn't home to see, read your reviews online, and watched recorded episodes on PVR. The world has changed, but thankfully you did not. You, Gene, and Richard have brought a lot of rich entertainment to my life and you have increased my appreciation of movies. Your love became my love and my life was better for it. Thank you Gene. Thank you Richard. Thank you Roger.
To Jeffrey Horowtiz: Your first two or three paragraphs just perfectly summed up how I felt when I discovered "my boys", as my mom jokingly called them. Thanks for your eloquent post. And thanks for sharing your experiences of meeting Roger in person---I love to hear that he's just as cool in person.
I'm 37 years old and I have been watching your show for as long as I've been watching television. The aspect of your show that I've grown to admire the most is your committment to reviewing independent, smaller movies. You'd been doing that long before everyone jumped on the independent movie bandwagon. I have seen countless independent movies that I love and appreciate and probably would have missed had it not been for your show.
Thank You
In your great movies intro you say something like "see where these movies take you." Well, great movies usually have admirers that are great. Those people, such as yourself, who love the movies tend to love other arts as well that can take you on great journeys to different realms of art, some of which you may never have experienced.
When a movie is good, all movie lovers pretty much unanimously are in agreement, even if they may disagree on their fundamental viewpoints of what is the best cinema. To whatever degree, we know it is good. Here in america, your show is the only one that gives smaller movies or foreign/European etc. recognition that they might not get--so, I love when you are involved in the television venues, and love reading the reviews.
Smaller films need to find an audience. Bigger films need one too. Thanks for those Roger. We know where you stand, and that helps us know where we stand.
This is my first blog attempt, so don't know why the one I just sent was refused because "there were too many from me recently". Surely one doesn't count as soo many.
Just wanted to say to you, roger that I would like to add my appreciation for your many years of astute and helpful comments. You say you don't like lists, but your comments are making my list at Netflix longer. Won't clog your blog with more. Just thanks again,
This was one of the best shows on television for a long time, I first saw Siskel & Ebert around mid 90's and tried hard not to miss the show (VCR and Tivo are your friend's), will definitely miss your show. Good luck with your health and thank you for such a insightful/intelligent show.
I really dig you, Roger Ebert. You are the only reviewer I read.
It's natural that you feel depressed at this passage. Just go into it, and you'll come out the other side. I hope you realize how many people's lives you enrich with your work. But even if that weren't the case, what really counts is to be true to yourself and to listen to the Divine within and without, which I have witnessed you doing for the years that I've partaken of the fruits of your labor. So keep on a' keepin' on and see you in the balcony. The great thing about it is, the Balcony never closes.
I think I miss Gene more than you do. For me, the show was more interesting for your chemistry, if that's the word for it, than for the reviews themselves. I'm glad to hear that you're continuing the spirit of the show elsewhere.
Dear Roger Ebert, I hope you are feeling well and that you're not sad anymore about your program. I've been reading you for years and years -- and I think you are a GREAT writer. My sister and daughter think so too, and they actually read your reviews WHILE they are watching the movies. (Sometimes I do that too). FYI, I believe I almost went out on a blind date with you about 35 years ago but I'm not sure. It was after I broke up with my boyfriend and my sister's friend Larky had some guy call me but we never actually met. That's all I remember about it. Was that you? Take care Roger & keep writing!
From Dee
I have loved the show for years and watched it only a few days ago with my kids. Ebert's Sun Times website was one of the first sites added to my favorites. I also own several of Ebert's yearly review books which I refer to often. I have been inspired to watch many excellent film that I never would have been introduced to without Ebert. So, Thank You Roger Ebert for many hours of enjoyment and many to come!
I've watched your show from practically the start. My best friend John and I were, and still are, huge movie buffs. I used to live in Rockford and we would always watch your show every week on WTTW. You were John's favorite and Gene was mine. Without fail, if Gene liked a movie you didn't, I sided with Gene...he was my guy. John was the same way. Then Gene passed away and I felt a great loss. I stopped watching the show, and it wasn't until years later, when I had to write an essay in a College English course on "Dr Strangelove," that I was really introduced to your film essays. I got to see a whole different side of you and thought your essays were brilliant. These days, I don't "side" with any critic, but you are my favorite. I don't always agree with you, but you always give me something to think about.
A big fan,
Rudy
Roger,
There has never been, and I doubt there ever will be, a pair like you and Gene. Not just the banter, not just the opinions, but mostly the insight. All due respect to Roeper and all the others, the great gift you and Gene shared was an ability to provide insight into why a movie was good or bad. Everyone has an opinion, you have the ability to take us inside the movies. I miss that show so much.
But, it's exciting for me, and I'm sure for you, to see the large number of young people who are fans of your show and of your writing. You have a whole new generation to educate, and I think the web may just be the perfect place for you to do that.
Thanks for everything,
Scott (Portland OR)
Just two guys talking about the movies... Yep, that says it all. Smart, intelligent, funny -- you loved movies like we all did -- with passion. Thank you, thank you, thank you for letting us sit in on your discussions all these years. I too felt sadness when the announcement that the show "would be going in a different direction" was made. It felt, it feels like an end of an era.
But what we have lost with the show's ending we gain with this blog and the new "At the Movies Web site (http://bventertainment.go.com/tv/buenavista/ebertandroeper/) that let's us relive some great reviews and funny moments. Just don't stop writing your movie reviews!
yes, one writer here is right! PBS needs you!
send roeper there! i have not missed a show since 1980 with SNEAK PREVIEWS. i hope to add more later. very sad to see EBERT AND ROEPER go. don;t like ben lyons
i won't watch it
Roger,
That was a great column in today's ST. I was a fan of both you and Gene well before the ch11 days. I remember long ago, listening to Steve and Garry, Steve said it was time for Chicagoans to get over old media icons Kup and Wally and start playing up some new folks like Gene and Roger.
Sadly, in this town, some great media types left us far to soon, Wiegel, Royko, and of course Siskel. You have been silenced but your writing continues, I don't know if you will get your voice back, but you are proving that the keyboard is mightier than the microphone, Here is to your good health, I look forward to many more years of insightful reviews
Greg Cameron
Hanover Pk
This is a sad day. You and Gene loved film and brought that love to alot of us. You and Roper continued the tradition, but you guys did not hammer each other that much. Thank you for all you did on TV, and please recover soon.
During our first year of marriage in 1979, my husband an avid "movie buff" discovered Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert on PBS. For the next 29 years we followed your programs and reviews religiously. Barry copied down everything you both said into notebooks for the next 15 years until he could run reviews off on the computer. We still have those original notebooks today!
We will miss you, Roger and all that you have so generously shared with us over the years. Your reviews are very often a literary work of art and we have thoroughly enjoyed your insights and thoughts about movies. Thank you for all that you have added to our theatre going experience. Best wishes for a return to good health and much happiness in the future!
Roger, thanks for such a moving remembrance. I first saw SNEAK PREVIEWS when I was six years old and living in Minnesota, and the first movie I remember you reviewing was ANIMAL HOUSE--a movie I was dying to see, but which for obvious reasons I wasn't allowed to view just yet. From that moment on I was hooked; I grew up watching you and Gene on television, and when my family moved to Illinois when I was still in grade school I began reading you both in print. My views on film (and many other subjects) were shaped by you and Gene, and in the age before the internet and the easy accessibility of DVDs you guys were the one source I had for information on Herzog, the Coens, and other filmmakers you championed who made me want to make movies. I'm now a working filmmaker, and my first movie was as influenced by your writings on HALLOWEEN and LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT as by any film; I still remember you and Gene talking about HALLOWEEN on your show, and the infectious excitement you generated. Your show gave me a lifelong love of movies, and by extension a career, and I will miss it desperately.
Dear Roger,
I'm a sap most of the time anyhow but really this about did me in. There are a lot of things to get weepy over these days, so I kind of relish crying over the passing of a truly historic tv show. You and Gene Siskel shaped the way I watch movies, how I look at the world. I felt like this when my college professors died.
But you're absolutely not gone the way they are. You must, please, find a way to talk movies with us. Till then I'll keep reading your reviews.
Thank you for Princess Monoke, Fanny & Alexander, and all the others.
I've been a die-hard movie fan (and I don't mean the Mel Gibson/Danny Glover series, either), for most of my adult life. I even studied filmmaking at Syracuse University. I've have been a loyal fan of the show ever since I discovered "At The Movies" so many years ago with you and Gene. I've always considered you my "baromoeter" for movies, and have built an extensive list of "movies to see" over the years based on many of your 3 and 4-star reviews. Of course, I haven't always agreed with you after seeing some of the films, but you've been "right-on" most of the time. I also applaud you for having brought so many of the great foreign classic films to the attention of the audience.
I've also enjoyed watching you with Richard, and when I found out you were sick, I felt it was like somebody in my family was sick.
I'm sorry to see the show go, but you had a fantastic run in a business that loves eating its children. Besides, I enjoy reading your more in-depth column reviews much more than a 2 minute video clip.
Thank you for your insight and candor. Here's wishing you continued good health and success.
Sincerely,
Gary K.
Bethlehem, PA
I ALMOST PEED IN MY PANTS WATCHING THOSE VIDEOS! Who knew you CUSSED like that (great stuff). I will miss my Saturday night date with you guys. I sooo look forward to what you have planned next. Thank you Mr. Ebert for so many wonderful memories.
What will I do without you Roger??? I read your reviews online only on two occasions---either before I see a movie, to see if it's worthwhile, or after, to see if you agree with my analysis or vice-versa. I most recently took my girls to see Kitt Kittredge based on your review and we weren't disappointed. In a world full of mediocre reviewers, my family looks to you for intelligent thought and believe me, you save us a lot of precious time when we read one of your negative reviews---we simply skip that film. Please get well---- for yourself and keep writing your reviews-----for all of us. Thank you. (.......and thank you, Gene, for all of the times we listened to your thoughtful reviews.......Please look down and encourage Roger to keep writing!)
My brother and I always emulated you and Gene Siskel. Our tastes for movies were so very different. We looked forward to your unique movie insight every weekend. I'm going to miss the show. Though you'll be looking at starting another venture in the future, it just won't be the same. Thank you for bringing me many great movies that I enjoyed over the years. I will continue to follow your reviews through your website. Good luck and god bless!
Every Wednesday night I stayed up till 1:00am to watch you and Gene talk about the movies. I piled dirty laundry up against my bedroom door so that my parents couldn't see the light from the television pouring into the hallway. I'm sure my parents wondered why I was so difficult on the Thursday mornings of my middle school years. Thank You, Roger (and Gene).
Roger, I always believed YOUR reviews because I believed that we "full figured" guys had to stick together. And after all, Siskel gave four stars to "Looking to Get Out." Remember that dog?
One of my favorite Siskel/Ebert moments was you guys arguing about Barbara Hershey in some flick ("The Entity," I think). He told you that if you liked looking at her so much, you should ask her out. You really blew a cog.
I've been reading your books of bad reviews and have been guffawing at your great put-downs, even for movies I've never seen. You are the man!
Roger, as someone who has been with you and Gene from almost the very beginning (I still remember staying up 'til 11:30 every Thursday night to watch your show on the local PBS affiliate), I'd just like to say, "Thanks for the ride. It's been a wonderful 30+ years. Here's to a few more. Cheers."
Dear Roger:
I'm sorry to hear that your officially leaving "At The Movies". You've hosted your show longer then Carson hosted his. I can't imagine you NOT being on TV.
That said, I really like Richard Roper and Michael Phillips. I hope you don't mind me saying this, but I think in a way they bring back some of the tension that you and Gene had, maybe because they're from rival papers.
At any rate, I'll continue to read your reviews on line, as I have for years now. Keep writing your "Great Movies" article, and keep on trucking.
-Nathan
Roger, your and Siskel's willingness to disagree with each other and call each other's b.s. was entertaining and admirable (I laughed and laughed at that second YouTube clip where you "discuss" each others McD ordering styles)! I'll miss that show, but I love reading your print reviews just as much, and look forward to more of your blog entries and whatever the future holds! Keep on keepin' on, as someone, somewhere, once said.
I was lucky to see over 100 films with Gene and Roger back in
1994 - 1995 when I lived in Chicago. It's true, neither of them knew what each other thought about a film until their review of it aired on the show. Thanks for letting me be a part of watching films with you
Mr. Ebert. You were also a great teach of John Houston's films when I took your film critic course in early 1994. I remember saying Hi to ya back stage at The Tonight Show too in 1995.
cheers,
geoff
I started watching the show when it was on channel 11,and continued until Gene stopped doing the show.You two were the best at what you did.I always went to a movie after seeing your reviews on it,and sometimes did not go see a movie if you guys made it thumbs down.I pretty much stopped watching after Gene passed,no one could replace him,you two worked so well together,Hopefully Roger,you'll be back on tv soon,good luck.
Roger, I like many others are indebted to you not only for sharing these wonderful memories but for enhancing my knowledge and appreciation of cinema for over half of my 53 years of living. When I was a young child through my teenage years, I thought of myself as a movie buff, because I was rarely interested in "popular" films but immersed myself in film noir, old classics, and even foreign films (the later of which was difficult before the advent of VHS and DVD). But my interest and knowledge flourished with "Siskel & Ebert," first on PBS and then later in various syndications. Not a week goes by that I do not pull up one of your old reviews for a film I have just seen. I have often thought you had the perfect job for someone who loves both movies and writing, as I also do. I can honestly say that your work has forever enhanced my love of film, and will continue to do so as long as you write reviews.
One of my many fond memories of you and Gene...your debate over David Lynch's "Blue Velvet." I remember being blown away by the movie, and couldn't believe it when you and Gene differed so much about it (Gene thought it was one of the best films of the year, and you gave it, I believe, only one star). I remember you writing that Isabella Rossellini was put through demeaning moments in a film that did not justify the trauma she went through as an actress. Some years later, I viewed "Blue Velvet" again and when the scene appeared with Ms. Rossellini totally nude (in more ways than just physically) on the lawn running to Kyle MacLaughlin, I felt embarrassed to watch her. I then remembered your review and thought, Roger really did have a point that I missed the first time around.
Thank you again for being a beacon into the great world of film for all of us.
Just want to say thank you for the years of reviews. Have watched you since '79, I believe. Both Gene an yourself were and are a joy to watch/read. Looking back I remember being thrilled, as a child, by movies such as Wizard of Oz, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. The first film to really leave a impression on me in the theatre was Jaws back in '75. I was 9 and forever changed. As a lover of film I started clipping the movie ads from the local papers and saving them in, eventually, two scrapbooks. I had every major release saved from '80 to like '86. I no longer have them and would sell my soul to have them back.
I'm sure I had a one of a kind collection there and truly miss them.
Anyway, thanks again sir for your informative reviews and am looking forward to your future endeavors. Peace and good health to you and yours.
John
I remember watching you and Gene on Sneak Previews back in the seventies. Hard to believe so much has time has passed or how things have changed.
You're one helluva writer, Mr. Ebert. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and feelings about the end of the show -- or your involvement in it. It was nice to ride the wayback machine and see how it began.
I hope you keep on writing your column. This site is on my favorites list.
Chuck
I always thought these guys were a bunch of snobs. Always pompous and arrogant their reviews were only fit for each other. Most of what they said was unintelligible, uninformative and just plain boring. They were only movies guys, and movies aren't art. No matter how many leather patches those guys had on their tweed coats, they were just impossible to watch or take seriously. By the way Roeper fits right in.
Sunday nights at the movies with Siskel & Ebert and later Ebert & Roeper. As far back as I can remember. Thank you for introducing me to the movies, Roger. I'm forever grateful.
Thanks for the reflection upon your career thus far. I appreciate Richard's input on the show -- he has a viable and intelligent "pop culture" attitude toward the films that I like -- but, like you, I miss Gene.
Reading this article brought to mind -- and I would have loved to hear you reference it -- the episode of the animated series "The Critic" you did, the episode in which you and Gene separated and looked for new associates. Considering some of the comments you have made regarding your relationship, it seems to me that this episode reflects, to a large degree, your own relationship.
Roger,
Don't give this movie review program up. Find a new sponsor. The program will keep you sane and focused. We need an honest critique of the movies. It's not the money I spend going to the theater, it's my time that is not wasted.
You are a class act that is irreplaceable. I was appalled at Disney’s behaviour. I am angry that they have behaved in such a crassly manner towards you and Richard Roeper. I have always watched your show and followed your remarks as I relied on them to help me choose the movies. You see, usually I listen to critics but make my own mind. But in all honesty, it turned out that I had the same likes and dislikes to movies as you, Mr. Siskel (may he rest in peace) and Mr. Roeper. It was uncanny how your critiques made me realize what I had disliked in a movie that I already saw, so I started following your show religiously. As an independent filmmaker from Canada, I wish I had the honour of meeting you and still hope to do so at some point. I have no interest in watching the new show that Disney will be doing but I will follow you to whatever station you go to. Please know that as myself, you and Mr. Roeper have fans that will always respect, admire and follow you to wherever you go. Thank you for everything you have always done, and for what you are about to do.
You've been a regular part of my life since the beginning of your original syndication. I just want to tell you that I've thought of you (and of Gene and of Richard) nearly every time I've seen a movie and talked about it with friends. Thanks so much for everything you've done, Roger. Very best wishes to you.
/I won't be watching "Nepotism at the Movies" at all. It's the end of an era.
Roger:
Ditto to all the wonderful comments and compliments...
Being Chicagoans, my husband and I began watching you and Gene when we were dating. It didn't take long for us to come up with a way to abbreviate the name of whichever show (and title) you were currently doing... it was and will always be "SisBert."
God Bless you,
Dolo
Dear Roger --
Like some others here, I stumbled upon you and Gene about thirty years ago on PBS. I was a teenager, and I enjoyed movies -- even those made decades before my birth -- but had never thought about the need to articulate what made one better, more powerful, or more worthy of my time than another. Seeing you and Gene discuss film opened my eyes to the importance of good criticism.
Even today, too many people think of criticism as a hostile act, when of course it stems from love: love of excellence, love of the work and the passion that go into creating any work of art, or even of the craftsmanship and attention to detail that separate an admirable commercial film from the lesser kind written by a committee as if from some kind of corporate Mad Libs. Yet even when you "hate, hate, hate" a film, your criticism always comes across as pointed and fair, not merely snarky.
Roger, you guided me to films I never would have seen or even been aware of. You steered me away from films that (I could tell from your reviews) I wouldn't like. That doesn't mean I'd always take your word about a film (I'm still surprised you gave The Usual Suspects a one-and-a-half-star review), but you articulated your reasons so well that I could tell if I would like a film you did not, or vice versa. And on occasion, your opinion of a film helped change my own, which is always a good thing (I must know more now, right?).
You had a more profound effect on my life, as well, which I only realized much later. By the time I was in college, I found that virtually all my friends were fans of you and Gene (and while you both had partisans, I and the majority were firmly in the Ebert camp). Our conversations about movies -- but also books, politics, sports, and anything else -- naturally took on an "in the balcony" feel. We had learned to argue and debate productively by watching you.
I earned my first degree in history and political science, but by the time I went back for my master's and doctorate, I had switched to English. Now I teach people about Keats and Eliot and Dickinson and Fitzgerald and Calvino and many others, trying to show them what it is in their works that is worthy of their attention and their admiration, and even of their love. And I realize that in trying to convey my passion for these works, I model much of what I do on what you have done so well from the balcony, and in your Great Movies reviews, which are my favorite. Occasionally I even teach by using a film (Ran when we are reading King Lear, Olivier's and Branagh's Henry V for contrast, even a Chaplin and a Keaton for a writing assignment), and 80-90% of what I know about film I've learned from you.
As Polonius says, "This is too long" when what I most mean to say is "thank you." It is often said that teachers never know how far their influence reaches. Please know that I mean this as the highest compliment: you are one of the great teachers in my life, and in many others'.
I await your next project. Until then, your books and on-line essays will have to do.
Warmest regards,
Richard Nanian
For the past 15 years, it has been my ritual to end each week watching Roger, Gene, and Richard at 11:30 every Sunday night. My wife thinks I'm nuts, and even in this age of TiVo, I religiously turn on the show Sunday at 11:30, when it airs here.
What will I do now???
Thank you, thank you, thank you for the great show!
Roger . . . one of my fondest memories is watching "Siskel & Ebert" on weekend afternoons with my dad. Even at that early age, you and Gene were an institution that I never thought would ever go away. Years later when I read your glowing review of my favorite film of all time, the original 'Dawn of the Dead', you immediately became one of my favorite and most respected critics! I've sure missed you on TV, and I still look forward to reading your reviews when I can.
Will your new show involve Richard or Michael Phillips at all? I've grown accustomed to their presence on Ebert&Roeper
Sir, I'll dare to be blunt, partly because it must be said but mostly because it's highly unlikely you'll read every post.
So here goes: the show was over the minute you fell ill and underwent treatment.
It's amazing the program survived after Mr. Siskel's death, which is a great credit to your talent and will. Nevertheless, half of the magic was gone and debating who was the better half is futile (It was you!), because the void still exists. Roeper was a good replacement, true, but Siskel's shadow was just too big to fill.
And two years ago, we lost the second half. No sports pun intended.
I believe all your fans were glad to see you back, thrilled to read your reviews again and happy to know you were still there behind the scenes. Nevertheless, you were unseen. In your own TV show. Thus the void doubled, the principles of business and vacuum-abhorring nature set in and now all any of us can do is reminisce and move on.
Please, don't interpret me as cruel. It has been an honor to know you for nearly all my life and I’m glad we still have you in written form, where you are and always will be Solomon. I was just taught to be honest with the people you love and respect.
Maybe one day our paths will cross. In the meantime I will miss seeing your face on the tube. Your voice, thankfully, echoes in my head every Friday when I read your columns.
In any case, I doubt you'll ever read this. Which means I'm writing this not for you, but for me.
This news so saddens me!! I tried my best to never miss an episode of Siskel and Ebert, as I still call it. I especially loved that you reviewed the independent and foreign films--causing me to see and appreciate films such as Impromptu, Heavenly Creatures, Ju Dou, and so many many others. I will be watching and waiting to find out where we can see you next, and continue to be entertained and informed. Disney has sure made a big mistake with this decision.
Hello Mr. Ebert,
I'm sorry to hear your movie review show is coming to an end. My husband and I enjoyed you and Gene Siskel years ago and continued to enjoy the show with Mr. Roeper. My teenage son and I particularly enjoyed two television experiences together: Ebert and Roeper At the Movies and Meet the Press. These shows gave me the opportunity to connect with my son (not always an easy thing, between mother and son!) and provided many topics for discussion over the years. Now with the passing of Tim Russert, and the end of your show, I'm feeling a little blue. Oh well, things change, sons head off to college, we must adapt.
Just wanted to say thank you, and wish you the best possible health. I'll be looking forward to your next project!
Denise
Madison, Wisconsin
Like so many, I grew up watching your show. I've always appreciated the intelligence and coherence that suffuses your reviews and your writing. You've never seemed star-struck or taken in by any hype, but give us in the audience your clearest guidance. From what I've seen on other television shows and from other movie reviewers this is virtually non existent (entertainment shows seem to forget that we do not all go to movies just to see celebrities and bright shiny explosions). I'll miss watching the show each week, but look forward to your new ventures. Thanks for all the great years.
Thank you for a very touching piece. The show may go on, but you two will never be replaceable.
Thank you for a very touching piece. The show may go on, but you two will never be replaceable.
Thanks for the memories past, present and future!
I will admit, I never got to see the beginning of Siskel and Ebert when it was a program on PBS, and I got to see very few reviews with the late Mr. Gene Siskel in them. The first viewing I got to see of the show was a review of Space Jam back in 1996- 1997 (I was only about 6 or 7 at the time)
I've caught the show since 2003, and have been watching as often as I can for the past few years. However, it saddens me to see a show with such pizazz and clever, well endowed speakers, have their show taken off the air.
I hope this does not discourage you or Mr. Richard Roeper from movies. I, as well as many, will continue to read your reviews, but we would all love to see you on Television again.
Thank you. Thanks for everything.
Sincerely,
Paul A. Gaddis
i stared watching the show about nine years ago, and it was one of the best things ive ever done. ive now seen movies i would have never heard about otherwise. Thank You
Sad to read this Roger. For two decades I've seldom gone to a movie without first getting your take (along with Gene's and later Richard's) on it. Wherever you go, I'll follow. Thanks for the memories.
All thumbs,
M. Freidig
Petaluma, CA
Dear Mr. Ebert,
I had the honor of briefly meeting you sometime in the late 1990's at a book signing in Madison, WI. There was just no way for me to tell you all that I had wished to say without sounding like a babbling fool as well as wasting the time of yourself and all of the other patrons waiting to meet you. After reading this latest post from you, I felt compelled to write in and try to express what you and your work has meant to me all of these years.
I grew up in Chicago and I first began watching "Sneak Previews" in 1977, when I was 8 years old. I stumbled upon the show as my parents were flipping channels, landed on channel 11 for a brief moment and I saw an image of "Star Wars" on the screen and begged them to leave the channel where it was. It was then that I saw you and Gene Siskel for the very first time and I have been watching your program ever since.
I adore film! "Star Wars" was the movie that truly opened my eyes to the magic of movies and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" solidified it. After a time, I began to watch nearly anything just to get a handle on this medium I loved so much. I was an English major and a Communication Arts major in college (with an emphasis in film) and in my younger years, deep in my wildest dreams, I envisioned myself as a filmmaker…and sometimes I still do. Currently, I am a preschool teacher in Madison. I’m also married, proud “parent” to two cats and cockatiel, bogged down with all matters of adult life and I still make time to race out and see whatever I am able to see in the movie theaters always waiting for Friday to read your reviews and for Sunday evenings to watch your show.
While I have loved, studied and became lost in film and followed the works of my favorite filmmakers, watching what they did and how they told stories, what you and Gene Siskel accomplished was paramount for me. The opinions expressed on the program never struck me as originating from two experts arrogantly bestowing knowledge from on high to the peons below. I felt that you and Siskel created a welcoming and inclusive forum that wanted the viewer to learn about and embrace good movies just as much as you loved them. It was a simple formula that always aimed high. It taught the qualities of good and bad filmmaking, placed the spotlight on films I would have otherwise never had heard about (“Diva” was the first one of those films for me) and I could not wait for the weekend when I could read the written reviews and watch the program. And I have to say that when I would write scripts, I would often ask myself, "What would Siskel and Ebert think about this? Would they find it clichéd? Honest enough? Is this the "Idiot Plot" in the making? Is this dialogue as interesting as an overheard real-life conversation?"
The work you and Siskel accomplished also led me to the writings of other prominent film critics, like Pauline Kael for example, and it helped me to discover what makes a good critic. While I sometimes vehemently disagree with your opinions (I'm still confused with your reviews of "Fast Times At Ridgemont High" and "Fight Club" for instance), I feel that you are the prime example of what a critic should be and it is your opinion I trust the most. The passion and love you have for film is obvious and your work has never been treated as a “job.” You have always presented yourself as if you have the greatest occupation in the world. When I walk out of the theater after having seen a terrific movie (most recently, “The Visitor,” “Wall-E” and yes, “The Dark Knight”), I feel it has been a gift to me after a long work week. Thank you for gift you continue to give to all of us through your writings, your program and now through your more personal writing in this blog.
I truly feel a hole with the announcement of you and Richard Roeper leaving the show. I hate the thought of something so pure being re-tooled and ultimately, dumbed down. I am looking forward to what you do come up with next and my only request is that you keep aiming high for all of us.
Thank you Mr. Ebert for everything you have done to include us with a personal passion. I truly believe the world of film is so much better for having people like Gene Siskel, Richard Roeper, A.O. Scott, Janet Maslin, Pauline Kael, Elvis Mitchell, Michael Phillips, Christie Lamiere, and you as a part of it. I wish you continued good health, most importantly for yourself and family, but also so you may be a part of the film world for many more years to come.
Very sincerely,
Scott Collins
P.S. Thank you also for including the behind the scenes footage. It was funnier than most comedies I’ve seen in a long while and it was a treat to see the both of you again.
Patrick Goldstein's piece--Ebert's return to full-time writing is a blessing-- (http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-bigpicture24-2008jul24,0,7988680.story-- in the L.A.Times, Thursday, is incredibly right on with regard to the TV show and in particular, his high regard and obvious admiration of a truly great writer. Hang in there, Rog.
I hope that your health continues to improve as you continue providing insightful and relevant reviews, as I tend to take them in consideration for the movies I watch.
Congratulations on your long and interesting career, which will continue on thanks to your ability to write your reviews.
I moved to LA from Chicago in 1979 and have been looking forward to seeing your program every week over the years. It has made me more interested in the movies and DVDs and saves me time filtering out the garbage. I was shocked and feel a terrible loss. I am sure millions of people will feel the same as the news sets in. Please keep up the good work and let me know what projects you will be working on.
Your opinions have been greatly appreciated throughout the years, my friend.. As I have missed Gene.. I will now miss you. Hate to see you go, but such is life. Best wishes in your future endeavors. Vaya con dios...
Thanks for being a friend to film and to each of us through your wit and honesty. I so love when you stop a review, as you did with "Step Brothers" this week, and speak to us as fellow human beings, not just consumers of your opinions (you aren't the only one bemoaning the end of civilization in movies now and then). It's in sharing your passions for film and life as a fellow traveler (not tourist, as Bertolucci shared in "The Sweletering Sky", nor a vaunted expert) that has made your opinions valued in my house and elsewhere. When you share about your personal joys and struggles, and the pains that you, as we, have suffered over thirty years - we're just grateful to have been alongside your mind and heart on this journey. Well done - and continued best to you.
Mr. Ebert, I have watched your show as far back as I can remeber, movies have always been my passion, I would look foward each week to see what the both of you thought. I never felt like one or the other of you had a closer taste in movies to my own, but I knew that if you both agreed on a movie, either way good or bad, I would most likely follow suit. With the advent of tivo (DVR) one of the first things I put on season pass was Ebert and Roeper. I now work in the film industry and I can say without a doubt that one of the reason I got here was because of your show, two guys who cared about movies as much as I did, there were other people out there like me! It made it easier to keep following the dream. Changing the format of the show is a huge mistake and I will miss it greatly (As I have missed you on the show the past two years and Mr. Siskel since his passing). Keep up the good work on this site and in the paper and I look foward to seeing where your future lies in tv. Thank you from the bottom of a film lovers heart.
Roger,
The first movie I saw based on a thumbs-up from yourself and Gene was "Diva". Not only did I enjoy the movie, that positive experience turned me into a loyal thumb watcher.
I also enjoyed the not too often mentioned Siskel & Ebert Holiday Specials. I laugh everytime I think about you, Gene, and Lionel train set. In fact, I always hoped I would run into you somewhere. I would whisper "IRREGULAR HEARTBEAT", or rather, pass you a sheet of paper that said "- R R - - - - - R - - - R - - - - -" with the hope it would make you laugh as much as that memory does for me.
Robert
I have been watching your show ever since I was a 11-year-old boy. Your show was a benchmark for which movies I wanted to see. Like you, I always thought that this program would last forever, even if you were not around anymore. I'm saddened to learn that it has come to and end. Thank you for all your film reviews all these years on the show. I will certainly miss it although I still read your reviews from your website. Double "thumbs up" to you for all the great memories!
Dear Mr. Ebert:
Your show has brought much enjoyment to my life. I grew up watching your program, and it has inspired me to learn more about the history of American film. Throughout the years it has been wonderful to listen to a voice of reason where films are concerned. Many "critics" voice how they feel about such and such movie while you, on the other hand, bring a wondeful scholarly quality to the discussions you present. Thank you, thank you, and another thank you to you. I shall look forward to continue to read your thoughts on films via your websites. You simply are the best.
Most sincere wishes to you and your own.
Mr. Ebert-
Thank you for this farewell letter on the show.
More than that, thank you for helping a couple of generations of viewers deveop more critical movie watching habits and for pointing the way towards films that would have easily been overlooked. You two were the only reason there was at least one middle school student in Baltimore who knew what MY DINNER WITH ANDRE was. The list of other such films is too long to list here.
I always had to find out what your takes on any given film was. It mattered if you both agreed it was good or both agreed it was bad. And if you disagreed, there was even more information on the table. Many times I could listen to you two argue and know whether I would enjoy a film or not. (And my agreement didn't hold any loyalties. But the level of debate told us everything.)
We mourned when Gene passed away and are so fortunate to still have you at the keyboard. You provide an insight and passion that is lacking in so many critics today.
The ending of this version of the show makes me feel like a large chunk of my life is passing, too. It's a connective tissue that links me directly back to childhood, watching you guys on my grandmother's clunky TV. I'm stunned that it's gone simply because it's always been there.
Thank you for your work, sir. Thank you for sharing your passions with all of us. Things come and things go. You're still here and for now that means everything.
Mr. Ebert,
While I'm sad to see the show come to an end, I'm happy that it never became a shameless entertainment magazine, that it ends as classy as it began.
Your show gave me an invaluable education on film. I grew up in an East Texas town of 1,200 people. I've been a film fanatic for as long as I can remember and through your program and your books (I read the covers off of most of them) I found a friend to talk to about film.
I'm 26 years old now, I've been watching your show for almost all of my life. I wish you the best and thank you very much for everything you've done for the world of film.
Oh, and I'm working as a film critic at the moment for a small television station near the town where I grew up. I'm not sure you would totally appreciate my style of reviews, but that doesn't matter.
I appreciate yours.
Thanks,
Dax
Count me as yet another person who traces his love of movies to watching you and Gene on WTTW when I was in junior high. I think it was Spot the Wonder Dog that first got me interested; nobody could cut a bad movie to ribbons with more flair than the two of you. (So glad to see the tradition carried on with "I Hated Hated Hated..." and "Your Movie Sucks"). From there, I began to learn and appreciate more about the craft of cinema, then to especially look forward to the small jewels you'd so often unearth, even knowing they'd never make it to my local one-screen theater.
And now, happily, we live in the age of video and the Internet, where both those small movies and your written reviews are readily available, and even more happily, you're healthy and back at your keyboard. Looking forward to the next balcony -- the balcony didn't close when you jumped to Tribune and Disney, and it won't close now either. Good health and Godspeed.
When I was a little kid, my folks would watch Siskel & Ebert on the weekends, and I didn't understand it. I couldn't figure out why my dad enjoyed watching this show where two guys sat and argued for half an hour -- as often as not, it seemed like, I couldn't even tell what you were saying, because you were always talking over each other.
Of course, it made more sense as I got older. Your show, I'm pretty sure, was my first exposure to any kind of serious media criticism. It was intelligent and sincere in a way that not a lot else on TV has ever been. When I think back, I can't recall ever watching the show and feeling like I was getting anything less than a completely honest opinion.
After I got out of school, I wound up in the same kind of business, and I learned just how valuable -- and rare -- an honest opinion can be. I appreciate being able to hear yours for so many years.
I used to imagine a hack film producer somewhere yelling to a minion "Bring me the thumbs of Siskel and Ebert!"
Thank you for all those great shows with your late friend Gene. My brothers and I would, as young kids, look forward to each week's episode back in the early years.
I'm looking forward to seeing where the thumbs go from here. I've been a fan for a long time. It would just be wrong to not have thumbs up or thumbs down with movies.
I'm so sorry you guys have to go;I was only just getting to like Roeper! I always trust your reviews and will be looking for them in other places.
Best of luck--you're a true American Pioneer!
Mr. Ebert,
A lot of bad movies are out there, the balcony really need to be re-opened. I think Gene once said something like (paraphasing here) "Just when they think they can make bad movies, here I am". I will look forward to supporting your next project. God bless you and take care of your health.
It's a sad day, there's no arguing that. Siskel & Ebert and then Ebert & Roeper; one the few programs I tried never to miss. I frequenly disagreed with the reviews but I always wanted to know what you thought. I cannot wait until you and your thumb are back. Thirty years isn't enough, I can hardly wait for the next episode, whenever that might be. Most importantly, I'm glad you're well and at your desk. The next stop, is in front of the camera. One day very soon, I hope.
This is gold...make this into a DVD special features thing and I'll buy it...better yet, post more for FREE.
I agreed with Gene more, but you, Mr. Ebert, were by far the better writer. I've learned so much about movies and thinking about stuff in general...my favorites being your Kids and Taxi Driver reviews.
Best of luck and I hope to see more of your work across the various forms of media.
Here’s what I know: The show was unique in that it took the art of film seriously while the rest of television was only interested in just the numbers. It was a place where I could hear about films that I might never have heard about before, small films, independent film, documentaries. You guys were honest. You never pandered to anyone to follow audience reaction, to make a performer or a director happy. If you had an opinion about a film, you stuck to it. You guys had integrity, your comments came from the heart, from a deep passion about filmmaking and that’s why you were on the air so long.
Some say that the best moments were the arguments but for me the best moments are the ones where you and Gene and Richard not only agreed but you had found a film that was really special. From you guys I got excited about seeing Goodfellas and Schindler’s List and Ruby in Paradise and Hoop Dreams and dozens more. You guys are passionate about film, you love the medium when it is done right it was exciting to watch you enraptured about it. That’s what appealed to me about Siskel and Ebert and it’s incarnations, you two knew what you were talking about and if you didn’t you sure made it sound as if you did.
I was a graduate student in Bloomington, Indiana in the mid-70s -- living in a crappy little place whose best feature was the cable TV that my landlord had sprung for. For some reason (maybe it was the nearest one?), we got the Chicago PBS station. I remember stumbling across you and Gene one Sunday night -- probably nearly at the very beginning of your run. And I've been watching you ever since -- drawn to the simplicity and honesty of the show, learning how to tell from your reviews whether I'd love or hate those movies, coming to see films in a different way. I love your written reviews too, but there's something about what's evolved from that funny little TV show. Thanks for these memories and for all the years in my living room.
Even though I am from Singapore and never had the opportunity to watch your programme on broadcast television, the moment I found out that it was on the internet, I was immediately hooked and made every effort to watch both the show of the week, as well as reviews of movies from years before. I have no hesitation in crediting you, Gene Siskel and Richard Roeper for introducing me to a vast collection of good films and expanding my cinematic horizons. I wish you the best of health and deeply thank you and your colleagues for providing me the opportunity to become a better film lover.
Those clips are outstanding.
Imagine if we had that kind of insight into the people who have affected our art, craft, and industry a generation or two prior! Imagine watching Charlie Chaplin have those kinds of conversations with his brother, or watching him direct Paulette Goddard. Imagine watching Bergman actually work with Liv Ullman...
i remember watching siskel & ebert on pbs when i was 12. now i am 40, married w/ a 4 year old kid. few programs do i remember that actually influenced me to be who i am. the simpsons, the x-files, 20-20, 60 minutes, & siskel & ebert. When i stummbled across siskel & ebert while flicking around my tiny black & white tv in my small bedroom i believed i stumbled onto something no one else knew about... i was able to catch a sneal peak at movies not yet playing. How exciting. I felt like i had this wonderful secret, that nobody else new about. And as i watched, something happened, it wasn't about the sneak previews anymore. It was watching these 2 fascinating, (albeit extraordinarily ordinary looking men) engage in verbal battle over these films. They made movies exciting, challenging film makers & viewers alike. My world would change forever. The way i think & respond to films. I used to think films were "escapist entertinment", but because of roger & gene, i learned that film is a part of our culture, a part of ourselves, & that film is not only a true & meaningful art form, it is part our souls. Gene & Roger have such passion for film, something they instilled in me. I knew they were on to something big. After watching them on PBS for about a year, i got my family into them, mom, dad, sisters... even my friends. i shared this with everyone. Religiously we watched (my family & i) the program. When Gene died, a part me died. It was like losing a very special uncle. And I cried. when the academy awards paid tribute to gene & Whoopie Goldberg gave him a final "thumbs up," i cried. Roger is also my uncle, invited into my home every week for the last 30 years. i love them both & they are part of my family. An end to an era- maybe so, But an end to my memories & millions of others- never. God bless Roger, Gene, & their families & those who made at the movies the phenomenon that it was, is & always shall be, & a part of my collective consciousness. sincerely, joseph blackburn
I was so depressed when I heard the news. I'm 38 and I grew up with the show. As far back as I can remember, you and Gene influenced what I saw at the movies. And while we did not always agree on what made a good or a bad movie, I could tell by the WAY that you reviewed it if I would go and see it or not. And even outside the reviews themselves, the show was always entertaining.
I have missed Gene as well since his passing. I so looked forward every week to seeing the sparring match between the two of you. But as long as the show was around it always seemed like he was always there in spirit. The last two years that you have not been on the show have been a lot like losing touch with an old friend. Maybe more like losing touch with that ecentric guy who lived a couple of doors down from you for 30 years and then he moves a few streets away. You bump into him a the grocery store occassionally but it's not the same.
Ok...I lost the point there somewhere. :) I am already missing the show terribly. Television (and the movies) will just not be the same without you. Maybe you'll do more live chats at some point?
I really don't have any words. It's the end of something important to me--something I didn't even realize was important, like finding a rip in wallpaper or a hole in the floor. I hope there is another show. I was quite young when I started watching the first show with Siskel, and I agreed with him (I thought you were quite harsh and rather snippy). As time went on, though, I grew up to a point where I could see some of the films you were discussing and I started comparing my reaction to the them to yours. I found myself appreciating your "take" more than Siskel's, but I still enjoyed the banter and the sniping. The Muppet parody of you two was genius.
Then I received a book of your movie reviews and never looked back--I read them sometimes just for the prose. Those books have inspired me to see more films than I would have. I'd love for you to do a book (or a show) on some of the old b & w films that are so dearly loved (if not deemed "classics" or "important to the industry or art") and that used to air every night on WGN at 10:30pm. That's where and when I "went to the movies". The Fred and Ginger films, the old Ealing studios films like Kind Hearts and Coronets, Father O'Malley pictures, the Road pics, heck, even Gidget or Frankie and Annette movies--I'd love to read your reviews of those.
But in terms of what to see today, I looked to that show for opinions. I like Roeper, and the quality of information was still there but the chemistry is missing. C'est la vie.
Remember the review of "Lost World: Jurassic Park" in the summer of 1997?
Gene:"I will NOT buy my kids a dinosaur as a pet!"
We'll always have FRUIT CART!
Almost everybody's talking like something died! Although I'm going to cherish the old clips forever, I have the overall feeling that since the "Siskel & Ebert" brand exists, at some point, it's going to continue on. It's like that line, "One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains it's original dimensions". The idea of really getting into a movie's thinking and to hash it out deeply on it's own merits is one that a certain audience is going to crave for as long as movies keep being made. "Siskel & Ebert" is now the Godfather of all the rest that follow, it's a standard bearer, so I don't think it'll be long before we see something, in some form, that holds high standards. And what with podcasts and cable channels without commercials, that opens up possibilities with this brand now to not only review movies but to get into more "specialty" shows on specific themes in movies and retrospectives.
"Siskel & Ebert" was awesome, and I grew because of it. You can't really say that about most of the stuff you see on tv. I remember finally breaking away from the peer pressure in high school where everybody would pile into the theatre on Friday night and see the same old crap. I started getting bored with the same old crap; it was like, yeah, I love cholocate bars, but not at every meal! In the small town I lived in, "JFK" opened later into the new year, and on our two-screener that weekend, it was either that or "Stop!or My Mom Will Shoot". I was about year from being the age required to see "JFK" so I simply was escorted into the theatre by two adults I'd asked to help me out before we went in. I loved current events and politics, and the "S & E" review had been so good. Everything changed after that. It was like I kind of got this idea about myself as an individual which had not occured to me before.
And it just keeps growing. I'm fortunate to live in Toronto, and right now you can look at the press releases that come out every week featuring news on new films coming to the Film Festival this September. And with every passing year, I recognize more and more of the directors I like, so many of which were introduced to me from the "Siskel & Ebert & Roeper" shows. I found Spike Lee, Ken Loach, John Sayles, Mike Leigh, Stephen Frears, Paul Cox, Werner Herzog and Patrice Leconte all because of the show. Was a complete ignoramous about black & white until they did that one show in b&w, and Gene kind of rose up in his chair and admitted that looking at himself in b&w on the prompter just gave him the feeling of wanting to sit up straight. I got it after that show.
The memory of those few minutes before midnight on Sunday waiting for "Siskel & Ebert" to come one were awesome because it was never a re-run. It always existed in the now. I miss that, but I also feel like adding a little cheer to this thread.
One of my favorite reviews? Punch in "Cop" to find the review of "Cop and a Half". This movie got universally panned, but I really like. Roger introduced the movie, I think the clips are very funny, and when it comes to Gene's turn to respond, I think it's one of his best zingers. It's one of the funniest review segments I can remember, and it seems like every few months I go back to have a good laugh from it.
Roger, I really miss seeing you on TV, so I hope that your health improves enough to get you back on the air one day. Meanwhile, I'll keep reading your excellent written reviews. As for Richard, I'm happy to see he's walking away from Disney, and can't wait to see the newfangled version of your wonderful movie review show. (When, when? Where, where?) Those darn suits - they shouldn't have played Mickey Mouse with your contracts....
Roger-
I will always remember attending an entertainment trade show in Chicago as a college student (probably in 1990), somehow mustering the courage to stand and ask a question of you after your speech, and the sense of absolute shock and horror I felt as you proceeded to berate me (so it seemed at the time) for questioning the validity of Michael Moore's "Roger & Me" as a true documentary, as it had recently come to light that he'd presented certain events out of chronological sequence for dramatic purposes.
Well, I survived the mortification somehow, filed the event away as an occasionally appropriate story to tell in certain circles, and have continued to enjoy and admire your honest (and excellent) writing, reviews, activism and overall dedication to the simple and the complex pleasures that come with a love of film and its trappings. My wife and I especially (and regularly) enjoy your Citizen Kane DVD commentary.
I thank you for past pleasures and express my sincere desire that you continue to offer your thoughts to the public at large. And of course, my wife & I wish you good health and great happiness. And by the way, I still think Moore pulled a fast one with those re-sequenced scenes. Thanks Mr. Ebert.
Your take on one of the Friday the 13th movies forever changed my appreciation of horror films. Thank you for showing me that there's a whole lot more to appreciating movies than to say, "I liked it." My thanks for everything.
Back in the 1980's I was still pre-teen, and we didn't have cable. I had to watch "Siskel and Ebert" via TV antenna, and for some reason the only TV in the house that would pick up a remote Pittsburgh station's very fuzzy broadcast of the show was this little black and white 10-inch set we had in the kitchen. Another problem was that the station decided to broadcast it at 1:30AM on Sunday night (Monday morning) - a school night!
I have this oddly nostalgic memory of me as a 11 or 12 year old kid, setting my alarm for 1:25AM, getting up and huddling in the corner of the kitchen to watch the sometimes barely distinguishable image of you and Gene debating and discussing movies. At least I always got the audio.
I remember really looking forward to your reviews of the latest "big movies," but also always staying up through the whole show to catch your reviews of lesser-known independent and foreign films - movies that I'm sure none of my friends at school the next day had ever even heard of. You guys made me want to see those films - and many times I did.
Sometimes I agreed with your critiques. Sometimes I didn't. But more importantly, at that young age I was already considering aspects of film much deeper than most of my peers. More than anything else in my life, you and Gene and your TV show helped develop in me one of the passions that I still have today: my love of the movies!
So Mr. Ebert, thank you from one movie fan who you helped to create. Please keep up your excellent and entertaining work, whatever form it may take in the future! And more importantly, stay healthy and keep enjoying the movies!
Roger,
I started watching you and Gene Siskel when I was 13 years old. I'm 28 years now and I'm still a faithful reader of your column and watch the show whenever I can. Regardless of what happens with the tv show, please keep writing your columns. I look forward to your reviews each weekend!
Thank you
Thanks to the great people at The Walt Disney Company, we have been robbed of the best critics on television.
Roger, I wish you good health and good luck in the new ventures. I'll be waiting for the REAL balcony to open once again.
I've been watching AT THE MOVIES, for over 15 years, and I just want to say thank you. Your program really has changed my life. Not only would I have missed out on so many great films. But I also don't know what I would be doing with myself right now if I had not learned so early on in life that movies could be art and not just entertainment.
So Thank you Mr.Ebert. I wish you the best.
I recall at 18 or so I remember thinking that Ebert had demonstrated that whatever profession I might choose, there was the potential to do great and meaningful work. It didn't make me want to become a film critic but it certainly influenced my writing style and attitudes. Perhaps I could have gotten into advertising (Fitzgerald was in advertising), enjoyed the creative process, kept a pointed and almost right-wing approach to the subject and found time to write that novel I always intended to write.
That is, I wonder at the parallel life I might have lead where I am not a law student. I wonder at that doppelganger who might have been, and, who was so close to being that he seems to loiter about me a little. I don't feel fragmented so much as intimately connected to the alternative worlds I might have created, a little like Bruce Lee in the hall of mirrors.
I wonder, too, at the parallel lives Ebert may have lived. I think he could have been a fine novelist, screen-writer, journalist, Senator (this thought occurred to me independently of "The Godfather" but I now see the idea is the same). Perhaps the process of writing non-fiction destroys the ability to write fiction itself, makes of you an observer rather than protagonist. I find in my own fiction that commentary and criticism often interfere with the process.
I have seen "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls" and enjoyed it, much like Austin Powers before it was camp, but to my knowledge this is his only fictional output. Whilst it has the humour of much of his work and the same ethic, it doesn't have the same depth and seriousness which characterises his best work (I am not saying it should, only that it doesn't).
There is a barely glimpsed element of Ebert's work that has long fascinated me and I can describe it best as an attempt at raising consciousness to a higher level, at breaking out of set patterns and finding some true independent thought. This has very little to do with the smiling Ebert with two thumbs up (this is perhaps simply an opening: a hook on a line) but it is there at the heart of his writing. An example: when he writes of the "extraordinary scene" in "Any Given Sunday" where the footballer begins to weep and says "All my life people have been telling me what to do." That is a moment where a person has a revelation of the forces that have shaped him. Another is his review of "A.I." in which (to my mind) he responds so deeply and strongly the material that he declares the film has not "solved" it. There is more to be said. The film is about the birth of consciousness.
These ideas are almost subversive in a political way, but for the fact that it seems most often to operate to dismantle political constraints. On the other hand there is a strong surface ethic that is pro-celebrity, pro-pop and pro-entertainment. It is the substrata that challenges, frees, opens up new worlds; the surface reassures, lingers over the centres of power (Hollywood itself is a centre of power) and understands the necessitates of making a living, the demands of the market, of tradition and managing life's disappointments. I see - if only occasionally - almost Jamesian complexity below the smile and the usual trappings of entertainment. It is as if to say: I'll give you a hint, but only a hint, because I want you to resolve it for yourself.
But I think perhaps that underlying desire to free up the creative drive in others, of necessity, has such power that it requires creative restraint in its exercise. It could easily slip into an agenda but in so doing would defeat its own purpose: hence the generosity and apolitical quality of the writing, suggesting saintliness without possessing its moralising faults. The purpose of the process isn't to sway or convert or to impose artistic or aesthetic concepts on to another but to encourage, in so far as it is possible to do so, the free, informed and self-determined creativity (or simply appreciation) of another human being. As such I think the role of critic is total, and, requires sacrifice. The missing element in the critic is made whole temporarily in the viewing of the art - the art is like a muse, for whom we create something other than art (but just as worthwhile).
The beautiful, reciprocal relationship between someone with the epic creativity of Herzog and Ebert is like the union of two opposite but attracting forces. I can imagine parallel lives but in each I suspect there is a level of exclusivity: you are one, or the other. It is this missing element, temporarily satiated, that perpetually seeks out art of greater quality and depth, guiding and encouraging its birth and life. That is why I think he will never stop watching films.
Of myself I am less certain. I find myself drawn to classic and foreign films not for sustenance but almost as if to destroy the power the medium holds over me by trying to find the best that is out there. There is still a world of cinema for me to explore and it is unlikely I will soon reach any kind of "end point", and yet, I am most attracted to films which are destructive to the medium and the system like I detect in "The dark knight" and even more so in "I'm not there". I am a dangerous person to have in the audience because I require great lengths to be satisfied by the medium, and, though I may buy my lot at the moment (as if I were paying my taxes; the culture of cinema and television runs that deep) I could just as soon vanish, stop paying my dues, and you're left without an audience - and then what would you do for a living? The industry seems to be restructuring itself to a rapidly changing environment, seeking a more stable and conventionally pleased audience. I hope it finds it because there is something disquietening about the violence and strangeness that characterises modern film and which seems eager to break out into something more extreme.
What I say I want and what I buy are too different things - and isn't it the point to try and search inside a person and find that spot that is ever predictable? Doesn't this, in effect, amount to a search for and perpetuation of pathology, or at least, set patterns of behaviour?
It is in this world that Ebert's dualism of pattern-reinforcement and pattern-subversion is so crucial.
I agree with much of what's been said. I actually discovered your print reviews before I found out about your TV work; although your presence on the show is gone, you are still one of the finest print critics that America has had.
Roger,
For someone from land of Bollywood, coming to USA for higher studies and working......your show was like a fresh breath for me and i came to know a lot about movies and the whole experience of movie watching has changed for me.
Thank you for this.
Roger,
Growing up, "Siskel & Ebert" was a staple in my house. We loved the Oscar prediction shows where you would say your choice for worst nominee, then tell who should have gotten the slot. To this day, if my mom or I disagree with a nomination (or slight), we have to back it up with a "should have" or "shouldn't have". My mother cried when Gene passed away. I still remember the photos of him in People magazine wearing Travolta's Saturday Night Fever jumpsuit; it spoke volumes about how much the two of you truly loved movies. Your respect and admiration for each other was also apparent.
Your contribution to American pop culture is far greater than most people will ever appreciate, but for those of us that do appreciate it, thank you.
Roger-
I wrote some fan mail to you guys in the early '80s...actually it was to Spot, The Wonder Dog on behalf of my German Shepherd.
He wrote back and said you guys were great to work with. None of us ever thought the skunk would work out.
Thanks for all the good years!
Siskel and Ebert was probably one of the greatest shows ever to grace the small screen. I spent this weekend catching up on some old episodes on youtube and really enjoyed the time. There are some incredibly insightful comments there. The take on Blue Velvet still convicts me, though I love David Lynch. I can understand the reasons for critiqing this very intruiging movie. I do have to disagree on Happy Gilmore though, that movie was a landmark in my formative years. I know it's stupid, but it's brilliant.
Thanks for the wonderful program. Some of my first introductions to currently playing movies of the time were through your PBS reviews. I used to look forward to you and Gene, week after week.
My family wasn't too into movies, so this was my way to get a glimpse of what was out there. I would get excited about the clips you played and your description and would imagine how the story played out, since there was little chance I would be able to go see it.
Years later, I love movies just as much as I did back then. Thanks for the great memories and your influence on my movie interests and all you’ve done for the movie industry.
Good luck in your next venture. I look forward to seeing it.
Scott
I've agreed and disagreed with your opinions on films over the years, but I always knew that you were giving your honest opinion. I always felt as if you and Gene (and Richard) were just guys who loved movies and fell into the wonderful job of being paid to tell us what you thought.
Many critics turn me off because I get the impression they think they know more than I do, or that they're over-thinking the process of what it means to go to the theater and watch a show.
This is truly the end of an era, and I am sad.
There was something special about the love/hate chemistry that you and Gene Siskel had together. Although I think Richard Roeper is an excellent film critic, when Gene passed away the show was never really the same. Then when you yourself left the show it was definitely the end of an era. You and Gene just had something that Lyons/Medved and Reed/Harris just couldn't copy.
You offered insightful film commentary and although I didn't always agree with you I rarely missed the show. I always enjoyed the battle of wits between you and Gene and the way the two of you played off one another. Although you praised many films I especially enjoyed when you bashed crummy films; movies made by studios that refused to give the audience any credit for having any intelligence.
I don't know if movies have gotten better or worse since the conception of your show, however, I love movies and I'm a more analytical film viewer because of your show.
Thanks for the memories.
Roger,
Thanks so much for sharing this. It was very touching, and while I know that you are moving in a new direction, I am still saddened by this news. I've grown up reading your reviews and watching your show. I hate to see it go. I am so thankful that you archived all of the old reviews, and I am looking forward to whatever it is that you have planned for the future. I hope that all is well.
I miss Ebert & Roeper already :(
I always liked your reviews, even if I agreed with them or not. You guys always came up with good points on both sides.
Thank you so much for sharing your memories, Mr. Ebert. I was a fan of yourself, Mr. Roeper and the late friend, Mr. Siskel. I was a devoted fan for over 25 of my 39 years.
I had the pleasure of meeting you about two and half years ago in New York at a book signing at Barnes and Noble. I had a front row seat and I was able to verbally fill in those all-too-rare synapses you had had in your memory regarding old films during your inspiring speech about the state of films today.
I interjected quite a few times and I was worried that you would bless me out (righfully so) for interrupting you...but instead you were so nice to praise me, a relatively young African-American male in his mid-thirties from the Bronx ghetto(and, yes, I'm aware of the irony, that your lovely wife, is African-American, as well) being so knowledgeble about quality films. You not only allowed me to take a picture of you, my favorite film critic, but you signed my book with a "thumb's up" inside (a souvenir that I will always treasure). Here's to your continuing recovery and let "Ebert-fest" continue to reign!
Man, I'm gonna miss this show. It's sad day, so thank you for everything. You guys helped build my appreciation of movies beyond the regular watching just to be entertained.
Consider this another well-wish from an old fan. Thanks very much for this touching recollection.
Sorry to hear that it has been made official, but, when you have a TV show that made it 33 years, that puts you in the same class as cultural institutions of broadcasting like Meet The Press. We sure will miss those thoughtful and fun TV reviews, where a movie that was stupid but entertaining fun could rank just as high as the serious but stultifying films that used pass for most art house movies. Thanks for changing the way we think about films, particularly the small independents that are so different than the mega-house blockbusters that are 300 special effects looking for a plot.
Having said that, don't ever stop reviewing and enjoying films. Just because the balconey is closed doesn't mean we can't see the film from the main auditorium. See you at the movies! ("You wear a necktie so I'll know ya.")
As far as I can remember, the very first time that I ever watched anything with Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert was way back between 1979 and 1981. What I do remember was that it was a special edition of your show, then called "Sneak Previews", which focussed on favorite horror films. I remember vaguely remember seeing brief clips from such varied films as "Halloween", "Psycho", "The Omen" as well as classics like "The Blob" and "Day of the Triffids". Given that I was a fan of horror films since my early youth, I enjoyed the special and remembered the way you presented your opinions. Ever since then, I was a devoted fan who both enjoyed the battles that the two of you had and was saddened at Mr. Siskel's death. Whatever comes, I know that the two of you presented a new way of discussing movies which these last two decades have proven influential. May you always enjoy the fruits of your hard work.
As far as I can remember, the very first time that I ever watched anything with Gene Siskel & Roger Ebert was way back between 1979 and 1981. What I do remember was that it was a special edition of your show, then called "Sneak Previews", which focussed on favorite horror films. I remember vaguely remember seeing brief clips from such varied films as "Halloween", "Psycho", "The Omen" as well as classics like "The Blob" and "Day of the Triffids". Given that I was a fan of horror films since my early youth, I enjoyed the special and remembered the way you presented your opinions. Ever since then, I was a devoted fan who both enjoyed the battles that the two of you had and was saddened at Mr. Siskel's death. Whatever comes, I know that the two of you presented a new way of discussing movies which these last two decades have proven influential. May you always enjoy the fruits of your hard work.
First, I am enjoying these letters (I have another post somewhere way up there) but I certainly hope this is not an end-of-career testimonial. I would like to add one other note -- I have enjoyed reading your reviews; they are some of the most brilliant of their type, but what stands out right now is your testimonial to folksinger Bob Gibson shortly after his death. I was pleased to read a testimonial from someone who really knew and understood his music; I know you have quoted from him at least twice in your reviews. Being an admirer of folk music can be a lonely business sometimes, and it was very pleasant (despite the sadness of the occasion) to read an appreciation from a kindred spirit.
Roger, I really enjoyed reading about the origins of the show, which has touched so many people, including myself.
I've been watching, loyally, since I was ten years old, and though now I have my own career in film production in NYC and am a "film geek," I still use your opinions and the opinions of Richard Roeper and the other recent guest hosts to help decide which movies I'm going to see.
In an age when a movie ticket is $12 and popcorn and soda is another $10 and so many movies are horrible, I continue to rely on you to tell me what's worth my hard-earned pay and what can wait for its release on Netflix. We didn't always agree, Roger, but your opinion was just as valid as mine was and I always enjoyed listening to you go at it with Gene.
Thank you for teaching me that it's okay to just plain hate a movie as long as I can talk about it intelligently.
...Oh, Roger. What am I going to watch on Sundays at 6:30? Please bring back the thumbs, quick!
i was 16 years old when you aired that robocop review, and i remember how excited i was to go see it even more after that review, and my father took me to the see it at yorktown cinemas (now amc), and i was happy (but my father pretty much had his hand on his mouth lol)
your reviews way way back on wgn actually had me think of all the elements that went into film making, and sadly how that has changed now being 37,
alot of the discussion now is only online and rhetorical, in emotion,
quite different than the way you guys actually made people think about film through two view points, and visualizing that from watching your program,
will miss what you guys had, but the bright side:
i get two put two cool clips of you guys "hanging on the train for dear life" on you tube!! :)
Hi Roger,
While I always enjoyed the show, it is your written reviews that resonate the most with me. I am most grateful that you are well enough to write, and was very happy when you got back to it.
Stay well.
By the way, I knew a guy named Jack Taylor, in the advertising business, who said he went to school with you and knew you well at one point. In one of our many conversations, I told him I was a fan of yours. He passed away last year. Funny - he even gave me your phone number at one point, but obviously I never called.
Best of luck going forward.
Jeff G. in Atlanta
I grew up in the middle of nowhere. I was lucky if I got to see two movies in an actual theater per year, but I never missed Siskel and Ebert. I watched movies by proxy, through you guys. Occasionally I'll think I've seen a movie from the seventies and then remember I'm just recalling a clip I saw on your show.
I've always remembered a special show you two did. It was a debate: Who was the greater filmmaker, Woody Allen or Mel Brooks? I remember feeling very sorry for poor Gene Siskel for thinking Manhattan was a better movie than High Anxiety. But I was twelve at the time...some people (ahem!) didn't have that excuse.
Thanks for the show!
To Mr. Ebert,
I discovered "Siskel and Ebert" when I was about 12 years old. It was on Sunday mornings, and to my parents dismay, I began regularly skipping church to watch it.
I started watching in the early 1990s, right when that boom of independent film started coming, and if it weren't for your show telling me about them, I probably would have ignored a lot of films that I now count among my favouties.
I remember watching you on Tom Snyder as the 1990s drew to a close, and a caller asked you your advice on how to become a film critic. Your advice was to just constantly practice writing. You elaborated by calling the new-to-pop-culture Internet a fabulous tool for those aspiring film critics, as now, just about anyone could write a review and put it online.
Well, my dreams of being a writer have fallen by the wayside, but I still keep a blog, and I still manage to jot down a review when I come home from the movies.
You inspired me and you helped broaden my horizons. And for that, I will always be grateful.
I have sooo many fond memories of watching "S&E". What joy to have first discovered this show on PBS....following it through name changes, time changes, network changes, etc. Even when our local station moved it to 5am I taped each episode to watch at a later time. I"ll never forget the tag line before "The Critic" aired: "He's balder than Siskel, and fatter than Ebert!' Or the fun you guys would make about every movie chase scene involving the destruction of a fruit cart, which I believe was parodied in a "Police Academy" film later on. I taped each recap of the "Best of" and "Worst of" end-of-year shows just so I could go back and see if I agreed with the both of you. And I finish with just 3 words that my girlfriend & I repeat to this day when we argue about a particular movie: "Benji; the Hunted"! G-d Bless You!!
Your post of July 24 was engaging, entertaining, touching -- all those things we have come to expect of you.
Reaction to your post of July 24 was, and continues to be, astonishing.
Talk about having a way with words. Siskel & Ebert clearly attracted some of the most thoughtful, insightful, appreciative and blessedly articulate viewers in the history of television, and your skills as print reviewers and media communicators clearly contributed to that.
Has anyone ever received such remarkable fan mail?
I doubt it,
Well deserved, Mr. E. And well-earned.
Sometimes we make our own memories, but I believe I remember watching you and Mr. Siskel when it was on PBS. Baring vacations or a football game running long so you were preempted, I have watched you every week since then. I remember Mr Siskel congradulating you when you got married. I prayed for Mr Siskel when he became ill, and sent my condolences when he died. I prayed for you when you became ill. I started listening to Mr. Roeper. You became family.
Two men, intelligently talking about the movies, who wouldn't want to watch that? It was simple, it was informative, and it was entertaining. It was no wonder it lasted as long as it did. I don't know any other entertainment program that lasted as long as it did. Maybe it is just me, but I don't mourn the lost of the show as much as I celebrate that it happened. It helped promote film appreciation for me and many others. It is a good thing it happened.
Hi Roger,
Back in the 1980s, I was sitting around the house early one Saturday evening with my brothers watching TV when your show came on. That week you and Gene reviewed the film ENEMY MINE, which had just come out. While I forget what your specific opinion of the film was, I do know that one of you really liked it and one of you really hated. As sometimes happened back the, the two of you got into a furious argument about it. My brothers and I were riveted and as soon as the show was over, we got up, jumped in the car and drove to a nearby theater to see the film. We had had no interest in seeing it prior to the show, but we were all so impressed by the passion both of you displayed that we felt compelled to see just what it was that inspired such intense emotion. And that was always what was so great about your show -- you and Gene loved movies and it was apparent in every review and I know that, in our house at least, you were beloved for it. We miss Gene and have missed you since you've been off. It's a shame that the show has to end, but we wish you the best in your future endeavors. Thanks to you and to Gene for loving film.
For 20 years or more my wife and I have made a passionate ritual of sitting down every week to watch the show, sip our martinis (or beers or wines), scrawl notes on movies to see (or rent or Netflix), and laugh our heads off at the zingers--whether aimed at a flick or at the other critic. Thanks for all those great times. And we look forward to your new venture with Richard and Michael. Please don't go on cable, we don't get it. Take it to PBS, where the most possible people can see it. In a pinch, we'd watch it on the computer. But it wouldn't be quite the same huddling around the Mac clutching martinis and nibbling cheese.
It's the end of an era. I have been a long-time fan, having watched the show since I was 12 years old. My favorite reviews weren't the positive ones, they were the negative ones! To this day, I look forward to the Worst Movies of the Year countdowns with gleeful anticipation. My second favorite reviews were the ones where the Gene or Roger would disagree, yell and berate each other and finally... agree to disagree.
I miss Gene terribly to this day, and Roger's absence has left a void on the show that can never be filled. However, through the show I have become a fan of Richard Roeper. In fact, even though I'm a New Yorker, I read his column in the Sun Times faithfully.
I look forward to the newewst incarnation of the new show, and can't wait for thumbs up/thumbs down to make a triumphant return!
Dear Mr. Ebert,
Like everybody else here end of the show is very very sad.
I'm from Germany and a fan of movies since I can remember.
Since the later 80's I came every year to the US visiting
friends in Chicago and other places over the years. Every
time I watched you show then and believe me that I know a
ton of my friends did too.
Thumps up for all what smart and entertaining movie reviews
you made happen.
We will miss you
Best wishes and thank you and Gene for sharing the wonderful
world of movies with us
Dear mister Ebert,
Becaus of you I hardly work! Since I've discovered the balcony archive on the net, I keep returning to this site, a digital treasure room, while I should type up my own pieces. Some reviews tickly the brain, some a simply fun. But what I like, comming from Europe, is that you and Mr. Sisker and Mr. Roepper don't put up a fence between art and entertainment. The big question you seem to ask yourself is 'Do I recommend this movies?' Sickening commercialism will be punished if needed, but you've never been to kind on artsy fartsy antics as well. In Europe there used to be a more snobistisch attitude. But I also love the fact that you pay attention to foreign films on your show. And art-movies (I'm European enough to be a snob as well...). I even saw some reviews of Dutch movies, like 'Character' (I've you think the movie is worth a thumbs up, read the book by Bordewijk, i'ts translated in English)... I saw you show in Holland years ago, through cable television, and rediscoverd it later when I visited America for the first time in 2001. I noticed that Mr. Siksel was replaced and was kind of shocked when I heard the reason why. Your show was only available in Holland for a very short period, but Gene Siskel is such a rare TV-personality, like a librarian who tells you all about the books you want to take home. I know your books and sometimes read reviews on the internet, but I admired your guts to be part of a critical couple. It's great to see two critis who disagree with each other.That kind of makes it easier to swallow for the audience to disagree with a reviewer.
I don't know if this makes you any happier, but someone in Amsterdam loves to diagree with you...
All the best including a good health.
Roger, I am extremely impressed by the intelligence of the persons commenting above. You must be gratified to know how you have influenced generations of movie lovers. I am old enough to be the parent of most of the above writers. I think they have very good taste. I remember the old show with you and Gene fondly and am glad so many younger viewers have had a chance to view it. I once read that your mother was waiting for you to get over the movie reviewing stage of your career and write THE NOVEL. Having read your reviews over the years, I'm glad she didn't get her wish. Wishing you the best for the future.
Roger,
What a lovely tribute to the memory of Gene Siskel and to a show I've viewed, in its various incarnations, over the last 30 years. My local station aired "Ebert and Roeper" at 11:35 p.m. Sunday nights, and it was the one show of the week I looked forward to. Obviously no one could ever replace Mr. Siskel, but you and Richard had a great chemistry and a great love for movies. And while I've missed you in the balcony, I still enjoyed watching Richard and Michael Philips debate movies, and it was always great when Richard had news about you and your recovery and improving health. Good luck to you in your future projects, and good health to you as well.
Oh my goodness I read this and was stunned! Its all over? I was unexpectedly moved by the news that the balcony was closing for good.
Then I realized that this older woman of 47 was all that was left of that 14 year old and how young we ALL looked when that show was new. And just 3 years before, I had experienced "CHINATOWN" and developed this huge crush on cinema, a guilty sorta in the dark by myself pleasure. Head over heels kinda love it is. And the both of you had it bad too. Times have changed. Movies were so unsophisticated in comparison to how the business is run now. But they seemed warmer somehow - maybe its the lighting.
Thank you so much for changing the movie review to LEVELS of quality and not just the movie critic who says catty uninformative things. You and Gene both actually reviewed the MOVIE and not so much of the personal lives of the participants. You dared to disagree and snapped and snarled at each other sometimes like littermates over a beloved toy. But as a fan, you watched the discord and never missed that there was a deep, affection and respect for each other, even if you both thought the other had horrid taste in films. It was refreshing and I learned HOW to watch foreign movies from your show, especially from you. Watching your show made me feel better about loving movies so much. Its not just me sitting there in dark waiting to be swept away, waiting for the magic.
I am surprised at my sense of loss.
Be well Roger. Goodnight Gene.
Roger:
While I am sad that the balcony must close I still want you to know that I am sincerely overjoyed that the worst of your medical problems are behind you. Please remember it is your keen mind and large heart that made us all love you so much. I plan on following your film reviews in whatever format the future holds. The show that you and Gene Siskel started was (in my opinion) the best. Whereas I am sure some will try to imitate it, At The Movies will never be surpassed. I had the pleasure of meeting you and Gene Siskel in the lobby of the Norfolk Waterside Hotel when you both were in Norfolk, Virginia speaking before a group from the National Education Association in the mid nineties. I didn't get to hear you or Gene speak (I had to work) but meeting you both is a memory I will cherish for the rest of my life. I told you that day that I was your (and Gene's) biggest fan but after reading the comments here today it seems that I am just one of many. Thank you for opening so many peoples eyes, minds and hearts with your thought provoking movie reviews. I wish you the very best and I will remain humbly your number one fan.
Roger,
I think the best compliment anyone could give you is that you are a closest thing to a filmmaker as any film critic could be.
You have made movies, as a film critic, through your reviews. You've inspired better movies, reinvented the way we look at the plots of movies, inspired writers and directors to think along with you, and avoid the mistakes that you always point out with such wit and perceptiveness.
You are a filmmaker.
Every incarnation of your show has been part of my weekly viewing. I can't begin to recall the movies I watched because you or Gene gave it a thumbs up. I also recall yelling at the screen when one of you gave a thumbs down to a film I liked.
I'm going to miss you and can't wait until you return with something else.
Bless you, Roger! We'll always remember you, Gene.
Dear Roger Ebert,
I had only heard that you were ending your ties with "Ebert & Roeper." I watched "Sneak Previews" in the early days, with you and Gene Siskel, with Spot, the Wonder Dog showing up.
And, then, you were gone. But, I found you on "At The Movies with Siskel and Ebert." a few months later. And, I watched this until you disappeared. But, then you reappeared in "Siskel & Ebert and the Movies." Life was good until Gene Siskel died.
I felt the loss of a friend. Someone who I never met, but almost like a pen-pal, who shared with me his impressions of our mutual passion. Then, Richard Roeper joined you. We welcomed a new person to our circle. We listened to him because our friend Roger listened to him, agreeing, disagreeing, but discussing intelligently, showing more respect than some movies deserved. A respect for the possibilities that the medium can demonstrate, the emotions that it can illicit.
So, I thank you for telling me about "Secret Honor," "Android," and "Ed Wood," which I went out that night (Saturday) and caught a sneak at Midnight. Here is a toast to you and Gene missing the boat on your initial review of "Blade Runner," which you thought was too dark, but had respect for it. And, here is a "put the crack-pipe down" for your positive endorsements of "Beavis and Butt-head Do America."
You have been a friend to cinema and to motion picture lovers like me for a very long time. Good luck in your new ventures, as well as our new friend Richard Roeper.
And, I hope that in a short time your voice will be as good as ever, and I will find you reviewing movies again, with someone across the aisle, in the balcony, over the concession counter, or at the local coffee shop, letting me know that there are good movies and we can share them with others, even friends that we have never met.
Good luck and good health to you. And, thank you.
1. Too bad it has to end, but I can't think of better timing than to end it while Werner Herzog dedicates a film to you in his credits. I skimmed through the 'Encounters at the End of the World' forum on IMDB & some people are extremely touched by this gesture. I recall one poster said "it hit me like a ton of bricks".
2. I very much hope that the Siskel & Ebert review archives (at atthemoviestv.com) remain online for many years to come. When I'm depressed, watching you guys gleefully trash 'Jaws: The Revenge' or 'The Killing Time' manages to raise my spirits a tad.
This program has been a big part of my life since 1979, when Gene and Roger were on PBS reviewing "The Electric Horseman" and "The Black Hole." I'm 40 now. I'll never forget their review of "Hangar 18." I think it was Gene who thought the aliens looked like Telly Savalas with cat eyes. When I got a VCR in '85, I was taping Gene and Roger often before cable came to my