Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever

I remember watching all the iterations of Siskel and Ebert’s movie review shows and enjoying every aspect – the reviews, the astute comments as well as the sparring and sniping, the film clips, the passion these guys had for the movies. This book provides the history of the show, from the initial concept through all the various versions. In addition, you’ll find a biography of both Siskel and Ebert, from childhoods through careers, and (sadly) their deaths.

One of the best parts for me were the (often humorous) quotes from both Siskel and Ebert at the beginning of each chapter. And of course the recreation throughout the book of their arguments, discussions, and opinions about EVERYTHING!! At the conclusion of the book author Matt show more Singer also included footnotes, an index, and an appendix of 25 movies which are each described in their own paragraph that Siskel and Ebert rated two thumbs up from 1978-1998. They’re from Siskel and Ebert’s “Buried Treasures” and the author lists them as a chance for some of their favorites to find a new audience.

I thought the book was overly long. The author didn’t leave anything out – and sometimes seemed to repeat facts. A few times I skimmed pages as some minutiae was sleep-inducing. And the author wasn't consistant about what he would call these men. On the same page he called them Gene and Roger, Siskel and Ebert, Gene Siskel, and Roger Ebert. For those reasons I'm rating it 3.5 stars.

Despite my criticism, this is an important volume as it documents the groundbreaking concept of honestly discussing and debating the movies, giving the show’s viewers a perspective of what makes a movie successful or a stinker (their term, and at one time accompanied during the show by a live skunk!). It’s also “a dual portrait of two big personalities at war with one another both as critics and as men,” says Mark Harris.

I really felt like I got to know each of these men who were so different, yet their personalities generated a unique chemistry that made their show wildly entertaining. show less

Both Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert would have left admirable legacies as film columnists at their respective Chicago newspapers even if they had never made the leap to television. But as clashing film critics on the popular PBS movie review program Sneak Previews, they became household names. Their onscreen chemistry and fierce rivalry created a whole that was greater than the sum of its two bickering parts.

In Opposable Thumbs, author Matt Singer tells the story of Siskel and Ebert's long-running partnership. The two critics were opposites in so many ways, but they both possessed sharp wits, wide-ranging intellects, and strong competitive drives. Ultimately, despite their rivalry, they were united by their love for movies. Both men also show more died sad, untimely deaths.

The narrative emphasizes Siskel's and Ebert's public careers over their private lives. I would have liked it had Singer struck more of a balance between the two. Moreover, the annotated list of Siskel's and Ebert's "buried treasures" at the end felt like unnecessary padding. Still, this book is a worthy tribute to two men who, together, left an indelible mark on popular culture. show less

I was a young adult living in Chicago when Siskel and Ebert began their famous movie reviewing partnership, first on public television and then in syndication. It was a never-miss show for me, as it was for Matt Singer, the author of this lively history of the partnership that lasted for decades, and only ended with Gene Siskel's death.

The book takes us through the history of the show known variously as "At the Movies," "Siskel and Ebert at the Movies," and a few other variations. When the show began, SIskel and Ebert fundamentally despised one another; whether this was only because they were competitors (Siskel was the movie critic for the Chicago Tribune, Ebert for the Chicago Sun-Times) or for some other reason isn't entirely clear, show more but their animosity certainly was. Over the years, though, their animosity turned to simply lively disagreement over movies, good and bad, and their ad libbed cross talk was the best part of the show.

The relationship changed in another way, too: the two men became friends, almost brothers. Singer does not do a great job explaining how this change came about, nor in illustrating the emotions each had and how they changed. I would have preferred a more complete exegesis on this evolution, but Singer sticks more with the cold, hard facts, letting the feelings in only around the edges.

I particularly enjoyed the appendix listing of movies Siskel and Ebert championed. These are movies that were not the best in their year, ultimately, but merely movies the two critics found excellent and under-appreciated. Even though I'm a tiny bit of a movie buff, I hadn't heard of most of these, and my "movies to see" list grew in the reading.

In short, this is a perfectly competent history of the partnership and the changes it wrought on movies and criticism., well worth reading. It's a special delight, of course, if the reader was a fan of the show, and even more if that fan lived in Chicago in those days. Even though it is occasionally dry, and perhaps a bit slow, I am really glad I read it. show less

“It’s going to take a lot of good pictures to knock this off my best of the year list.” - Gene Siskel.
Since it isn’t the beginning of the year I can’t reword this quote and say it’s going to take a lot of good books to knock Opposable Thumbs off my best of the year list. But since the year is almost over I can say it's definitely on that list and maybe at its top.

Author Matt Singer is a movie critic himself and credits Siskel & Ebert with sparking his love of film. To anyone who remembers seeing Gene and Roger on TV it’s clear he's captured the prickly bond between the two that made their show so popular. And to anyone too young to be that lucky he offers a fascinating history of their era and an insider’s view of their show more continuing influence on movies and media today. show less

Road trip audiobook!

I loved watching Siskel and Ebert talk about movies on their various TV shows over the years and appreciate this chance to indulge in some nostalgia.

Singer gives a pretty complete history of their bickering partnership and a behind-the-scenes look at their business maneuvers as they moved from PBS to syndication. Some of the chapters get a little dry at times, and Singer tends toward hagiography and hyperbole, he admires the duo so much, but his narration held my interest as I drove and helped the miles fly by.

I'm interested in reading Ebert's autobiography how and want to pick a few movies to watch from the appendix of obscure movies that Siskel and Ebert gave two enthusiastic thumbs up.

FOR REFERENCE:

Contents: show more Introduction. Coming Attractions -- Chapter One. Ebert Before Siskel -- Chapter Two. Siskel Before Ebert -- Chapter Three. Opening Soon at a Theater Near You -- Chapter Four. The First-take Show -- Chapter Five. Rompin' Stompin' Film Criticism -- Chapter Six. Two Thumbs Up -- Chapter Seven. Across the Aisle -- Chapter Eight. Hooray for Hollywood -- Chapter Nine. Get to the Crosstalk -- Chapter Ten. The Future of the Movies -- Chapter Eleven. The Balcony Is Closed -- Chapter Twelve. Ebert & Roeper & Lyons & Mankiewicz & Phillips & Scott & Lemire & Vishnevetsky -- Epilogue. Until Next Time, We'll See You at the Movies -- Appendix: Buried Treasures That Siskel and Ebert Loved -- Acknowledgments -- Notes -- Photo Credits -- Index show less

Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel were newspaper critics from competing Chicago newspapers brought together to discuss and debate the latest movies on a weekly TV. At first awkward, the two men's commitment to film as an artform, and their often contentious opinions on what that meant for determining the worth of a film, lead to their show becoming very popular. First on PBS and later in syndication, Siskel and Ebert grew to be the most famous and influential movie critics in America.

I loved watching Siskel and Ebert in their various iterations growing up. In fact I wrote about them last year in a TV Draft on the PowerPop blog. I still refer to reviews on Roger Ebert's website when I watch and review movies he previously wrote about. Despite show more knowing a lot about the two critics and the history of their show, I enjoyed reading Singer's dual biography which describes the duo's lasting effect on popular culture. I think he does a great job except that he spends too much time on the efforts to continue the show after Siskel's death and Ebert's illness. The book concludes well, though, with the description of 25 movies that Singer considers buried treasures despite getting "two thumbs up" at the time of their release. show less

Before Rotten Tomatoes, Tik Tok, and YouTube, movie reviews primarily appeared in newspapers and magazines. Gene Siskel and Robert Ebert, rival movie critics at Chicago newspapers, shook up the industry in the 1970s-1990s by hosting a TV show in which they usually vigorously disagreed about the merits of each movie they reviewed. Audiences tuned in to Sneak Previews to see the hosts squabble about blockbusters, art films, foreign films, and even B-movies. Somewhere along the line, they added the now ubiquitous Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down to each review. Sadly, Siskel died in 1999. Ebert soldiered on with a new partner, but the magic was gone, and by the time of his death in 2013 online movie clips and reviews were readily available, rendering show more the Sneak Previews format obsolete.

Opposable Thumbs is a breezy, enjoyable look back at Siskel & Ebert's heyday. There's no dirt or revelations of long-held secrets, and the author repeats himself occasionally as he tries to stretch the material over 200 pages. I appreciated it for the nostalgia factor. YMMV if you get all of your reviews from Tik Tok or Instagram and can't imagine why the opinions of two white men mattered so much. show less