I've been watching a lot of Siskel & Ebert clips lately. I didn't even realize the show was ending soon when I started and the fact that it did made that marathon sadly appropriate. While I liked some of the other hosts, what I find most impressive about Siskel & Ebert compared to them was how much more passionate they were. It always seemed like they couldn't wait to start talking about a movie once the clips finished playing, always about to burst with enthusiasm, much like me when I'm excited about a movie, whether I love it or hate it.
By comparison, I feel a lot of the other hosts were way too casual about their job, especially Roeper, who would drag down Ebert by making the whole discussion too laid back. When Siskel was there, they both always came to fight, meaning they were always intent on having a spirited discussion no matter what. As this retrospective points out in talking about their review of "The Mask", sometimes they would intensely spar even when they agreed that a movie was good!
I thought A.O. Scott always came off as a bit of a pretentious snob, so I never really liked his presence on the show, but I liked the warmth and humour Phillips brought to it. Roeper and Scott being smug kept me from ever being as completely satisfied with any host combinations after Siskel & Ebert.
A great thing about Siskel was also how weird some of his reasons for disliking movies were...this is one reason why I still thought he was hilarious and endearing even though he panned some of my favourite movies ("Scarface", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "The Big Lebowski"). I loved his criticism of Elizabeth Berkeley in "Showgirls" for being 'too hard in the face' and of The Dude in "The Big Lebowski" for being too much of a 'dude type'.
My favourite reviews of theirs were the ones where they would get angry at a movie. Among the best examples are Siskel saying "She's Outta Control" "wasn't a movie...some sort of a strange concoction from someone who doesn't understand what movies are all about", their disgust at the product placement in "Leonard Part 6" ("boy, you're upset...AND YOU KNOW, I AM TOO!")
.
I also like that they approached every movie they reviewed seriously, intending to analyze in the most fair and professional manner possible. They never dismissed a movie right off the bat simply because it had a ridiculous premise or belonged to one of the less 'prestigious' genres like horror, comedy, or animation.
I never saw the movie or the series it was based on, but it irritated me that when reviewing "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie", Roeper basically said nothing more than, "the only people who would like this besides kids are people on drugs, and it's unnecessary because there are already so many episodes". Shut up and review the movie. Talk about the characters and the story. I don't care that it's a frivolous cartoon...Siskel would have taken the more mature route. Siskel & Ebert were so fun on talk shows too.
Some aforementioned favourite clips (and a few others) -
I can't stop laughing at this bit they did for David Letterman:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxD42FSRjXA&playnext=1&videos=rqS9Towrhdg[/yt]
"Leonard: Part 6" - "How highly, highly humorous."
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTpQvW46xS8[/yt]
"She's Out of Control" - "Less than nothing."
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pxWtt5DVGU&feature=related[/yt]
"Poltergeist III" - "Carol Anne, Carol Anne! Bruce! Bruce! Patricia! Patricia!"
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyO2zp9VXKU[/yt]
By comparison, I feel a lot of the other hosts were way too casual about their job, especially Roeper, who would drag down Ebert by making the whole discussion too laid back. When Siskel was there, they both always came to fight, meaning they were always intent on having a spirited discussion no matter what. As this retrospective points out in talking about their review of "The Mask", sometimes they would intensely spar even when they agreed that a movie was good!
I thought A.O. Scott always came off as a bit of a pretentious snob, so I never really liked his presence on the show, but I liked the warmth and humour Phillips brought to it. Roeper and Scott being smug kept me from ever being as completely satisfied with any host combinations after Siskel & Ebert.
A great thing about Siskel was also how weird some of his reasons for disliking movies were...this is one reason why I still thought he was hilarious and endearing even though he panned some of my favourite movies ("Scarface", "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "The Big Lebowski"). I loved his criticism of Elizabeth Berkeley in "Showgirls" for being 'too hard in the face' and of The Dude in "The Big Lebowski" for being too much of a 'dude type'.
My favourite reviews of theirs were the ones where they would get angry at a movie. Among the best examples are Siskel saying "She's Outta Control" "wasn't a movie...some sort of a strange concoction from someone who doesn't understand what movies are all about", their disgust at the product placement in "Leonard Part 6" ("boy, you're upset...AND YOU KNOW, I AM TOO!")
. I also like that they approached every movie they reviewed seriously, intending to analyze in the most fair and professional manner possible. They never dismissed a movie right off the bat simply because it had a ridiculous premise or belonged to one of the less 'prestigious' genres like horror, comedy, or animation.
I never saw the movie or the series it was based on, but it irritated me that when reviewing "The Spongebob Squarepants Movie", Roeper basically said nothing more than, "the only people who would like this besides kids are people on drugs, and it's unnecessary because there are already so many episodes". Shut up and review the movie. Talk about the characters and the story. I don't care that it's a frivolous cartoon...Siskel would have taken the more mature route. Siskel & Ebert were so fun on talk shows too.
Some aforementioned favourite clips (and a few others) -
I can't stop laughing at this bit they did for David Letterman:
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxD42FSRjXA&playnext=1&videos=rqS9Towrhdg[/yt]
"Leonard: Part 6" - "How highly, highly humorous."
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTpQvW46xS8[/yt]
"She's Out of Control" - "Less than nothing."
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7pxWtt5DVGU&feature=related[/yt]
"Poltergeist III" - "Carol Anne, Carol Anne! Bruce! Bruce! Patricia! Patricia!"
[yt]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyO2zp9VXKU[/yt]
He liked the love story and the dialogue? He thought all the actors were "strong"? Amazing!
