The Arsenio Hall Show: Siskel & Ebert and Miranda Richardson

The Arsenio Hall Show: Siskel & Ebert and Miranda Richardson
Syndicated
March 26, 1993
Talk Show
VHS
B-

Arsenio gets boxing gloves for Gene and Roger since this is right after the spoiler debate about The Crying Game, which Miranda has an opinion on of course.

Siskel & Ebert: The Worst of '92 [fragment]

Siskel & Ebert: The Worst of '92 [fragment]

Sperm bank comedy

Syndicated

January 4, 1993

Movie Review

VHS

B

Stallone is tagged again for Stop or My Mom Will Shoot, while this time Goodman is tagged for The Babe and Long for Frozen Assets, which is both Gene and Roger's pick for worst of the year, but it was watching Roger crack up trying to describe Shining Through (a WW II drama with Melanie Griffith as a bilingual strudel-baking spy and Michael Douglas as the spy who fakes a throat injury to avoid speaking German) that pushed this up from B- to B.  I left out a couple of the movies when I taped this, but I should note that I liked Toys with Robin Williams when I saw it a few years later.

Siskel & Ebert: Enchanted April

Siskel & Ebert: Enchanted April
Syndicated
August 8, 1992
Movie Review
VHS
B

Gene and Roger fall under the enchantment of the movie, which I gave an A-: http://reviewingeverymovieiown.blogspot.com/2015/02/enchanted-april.html.

Siskel & Ebert: Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot

Siskel & Ebert: Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot
February 1992
Syndicated
Movie Review
VHS
B-

Roger and Gene review what they both consider one of the worst movies ever.  Includes shots of Stallone's naked butt that somehow made it onto TV.

Siskel & Ebert: Ernest Scared Stupid

Siskel & Ebert: Ernest Scared Stupid
Syndicated
October 1991
Movie Review
VHS
B-

Watching Gene and Roger explain how Jim Varney, Eartha Kitt, and trolls are not entertaining in combination is entertaining, if less than the 1989 commercial that follows this with the Pillsbury Doughboy playing classical music on a pie crust, with a "dramatization" disclaimer in the corner of the screen.  (But then, I'm not reviewing commercials.)

Siskel & Ebert: Guilty Pleasures [fragment]

Harley Davidson & the Marlboro Man

Siskel & Ebert: Guilty Pleasures [fragment]
Syndicated
May 2, 1992
Movie Review
VHS
B-

I omitted the horror movies the guys recommended.  Roseanne is tagged because Roger again recommends She-Devil.  And Emma Thompson is tagged for The Tall Guy, another Roger recommendation, which Gene can't fathom, nor Earth Girls Are Easy, but then he recommends Lambada!  This is the 900th B- I've given, but it is the default grade.

Siskel & Ebert: "Stella" and "Men Don't Leave"

Siskel & Ebert: "Stella" and "Men Don't Leave"
Syndicated
February 3, 1990
Movie Review
VHS
B

Sisbert reviewed other movies but these are the only ones I taped that week.  As they note, that Roger likes the former and Gene the latter highlights a lot of their differences.  For the record, I still haven't seen either movie.  This is the 2100th TV show I've reviewed, and we've barely started the '90s.

Siskel & Ebert: "You Blew It!"

Siskel & Ebert: "You Blew It!"
Syndicated
May 12, 1990
Movie Review
VHS
B-

While it's interesting to see what Roger and Gene thought the other was wrong about, or they both thought the audience was wrong about it, and why, I had to mark this down because none of the movies sound at all appealing.  Begley and Barr are tagged for She Devil, Murray for Scrooged.

Siskel & Ebert: The Worst of 1989

"Mood slime"

Siskel & Ebert*: The Worst of 1989
Syndicated
Early 1990
Movie Review
VHS
B-

Gene and Roger organize the movies into trends, although these overlap.  The movies that the tagged stars were in:

• Dan Aykroyd and Bill Murray for Ghostbusters II
• Tony Danza for She's Out of Control
• Shelley Long for Troop Beverly Hills 
• Richard Pryor for Harlem NIghts
• Burt Reynolds for Physical Evidence

*As near as I can tell "& the Movies" was dropped from the title by this time, maybe earlier, but this was the first I noticed.

Tonight Show: Siskel & Ebert

Three years later, with a set upgrade

Tonight Show: Siskel & Ebert
NBC
Mid-February 1989
Talk Show
VHS
B-

Jay Leno interviews Gene and Roger on the eve of the Oscar nominations announcement, with Sandy Duncan and Paula Poundstone further down the couch.

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies
Syndicated
January 7, 1989
Movie Review
VHS
B

A sometimes laugh-out-loud look back at Gene and Roger's bottom-of-the-list movies.  Willow makes Gene's list, although unlike Pauline Kael, he and Roger don't mention the character named after them (Sisbert of course). Hanks and Field's Punchline is on both lists.

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Hail, Hail, Black & White

Exhibit A

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Hail, Hail, Black & White
Syndicated
May 20, 1989
Movie Review
VHS
B-

Gene and Roger discuss the beauty and power of black & white films.

Siskel & Ebert 500th Anniversary Special

Siskel & Ebert 500th Anniversary Special

Rough beginnings

Syndicated

June 3, 1989

Movie Review

VHS

B-

While it's undeniably interesting to take a look at fourteen years of Sisbert's teamwork (it's their 500th episode, obviously not 500 years), I'm not sure how well this all holds together, especially in front of a live audience.  My favorite part is probably the segment on their experiences growing up at the movies, particularly now that I've read Ebert's biography.  And there's a different sort of poignancy to Roger asking Gene in all earnestness "if we really hate each other or really like each other."  Gene teasingly promises to answer next special, but we know, especially now, that they loved each other like brothers.

Of particular note in retrospect are their comments on not having any influence on the issues of changing the ratings system and letterboxing.  They thought in the '80s that they had lost, but NC-17 came along in 1990, and the shift from VHS to DVD (and later Blu-Ray) helped make letterboxing more acceptable.  Danny Thomas and Bob Hope appear in one of the many parodies sprinkled throughout the show, while the other three men I've tagged are from late night talk show appearances.

Siskel & Ebert & The Movies: Oscar Nomination Surprises for 1987

Siskel & Ebert & The Movies: Oscar Nomination Surprises for 1987
Syndicated
February 20, 1988
Movie Review
VHS
B-

What it says on the tin.  I'm tagging Barbra because they show a clip of her in Nuts, although they don't think she deserved a nomination but they thought she might get one.

Siskel & Ebert & The Movies: The Films of Robin Williams

Siskel & Ebert & The Movies: The Films of Robin Williams
Syndicated
1988
Movie Review
VHS
B-

From Popeye to Good Morning, Vietnam, Gene and Roger review Robin's career, analyzing what worked and what didn't.

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Worst of 1987

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Worst of 1987
Syndicated
January 9, 1988
Movie Review
VHS
B-

Yes, Ishtar is at the bottom of heap, with Leonard Part 6.  I'm tagging Morris for the clip from the Richard Pryor movie Critical Condition, and Fox for The Secret of My Succe$s.  (I may have to retroactively tag others later.)

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Colorization (updated)

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: Colorization (updated)
Syndicated
1987
Movie Review
VHS
B

Roger and Gene discuss their objections to film colorization, primarily the ineptness of the process (particularly at that time) and the ransacking of the cultural heritage that black & white movies represent.  This episode originally aired in '86, but in the following year an update was included in the end, mentioning Representative Richard Gephardt's sponsorship of the National Film Preservation Act (passed in '88).  If I have a quibble, it's that S & E don't acknowledge the degree that color films (and by that I mean films originally made in color, not ones with color added on top of black & white) are also part of our cultural heritage.  Still, the episode is worth watching, especially the examples, like Frank Sinatra with brown eyes.

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: "Back to the Beach" review

I miss you guys!

Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: "Back to the Beach" review
Syndicated
Early August 1987
Movie Review
VHS
B

I started grinning as soon as I saw the credits.  Siskel & Ebert (usually ampersanded, sometimes abbreviated to Sisbert) were a wonderful team and some of their reviews have stayed with me for years.  (A few minutes ago, I watched the 1985 review of Red Sonja on Youtube, and it's just as I remembered it, "Buddha going to the bathroom" and all.)  I was tempted to go B+ just out of affection for Gene and Roger, and for that matter for Frankie & Annette.  But I'll just say that, fun as it is to see S & E argue, or both bash a flick, it's also fun to see their surprise and delight over a sweet, likable movie like BttB.