10 Movies Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert Disagreed On – ryan

Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert are two of the greatest critics who ever lived, but they were smart enough not to engage in senseless feuds to prove who between them was better. Instead, they were friends who opted to host several review shows together. Siskel worked for the Chicago Tribune while Ebert worked for the Chicago Sun-Times. Over the years, they hosted Sneak Previews, At the Movies, and Siskel & Ebert & the Movies.

Despite their friendship, Siskel and Ebert didn’t agree on everything. The two were known for heated arguments and their binary “Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down” summations. Thus, they reviewed a few popular movies differently, both on their TV shows and in their respective columns. Despite their differing opinions, the two critics could always be counted on to be objective.

Full Metal Jacket

Release Date

July 10, 1987

Runtime

116 minutes

Director

Stanley Kubrick

Writers

Gustav Hasford, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr

Producers

Jan Harlan

Cast

  • Matthew Modine

    Pvt. Joker

  • Adam Baldwin

    Animal Mother

Hailed for being one of the most engrossing military boot camp movies, Full Metal Jacket first takes us to the USMC training base on Paris Island, where the gluttonous Private “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence (Vincent D’Onforio) constantly gets targeted by his overbearing drill sergeant, Hartman (Lee R Emery). The second half then shifts to the harsh grounds of Vietnam.

One of Stanley Kubrick’s Best Efforts

D’Onofrio and Emery play off each other perfectly, evoking the tension and frustration of being on opposite ends of authority. The former is especially formidable, playing Gomer Pyle as psychotic, taciturn, reclusive, and almost immune to Hartman’s efforts to infuse discipline in him. The film was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars yet Ebert felt it was “strangely shapeless,” claiming it didn’t match up to other Vietnam-themed war movies like Platoon and The Deer Hunter. Ebert’s review angered Siskel. On their television show At the Movies, he called Ebert “crazy for liking Benji the Hunted more than Full Metal Jacket.”

9

‘The Big Lebowski’ (1998)


The Big Lebowski

Release Date

March 6, 1998

Runtime

117 Minutes

Director

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Writers

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Cast

In The Big Lebowski, slacker Jeff” The Dude’ Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) gets mistaken for a millionaire of the same name by thugs who rough him up. Angry that his precious rug was peed on, he seeks compensation from his namesake. He is then offered a job as a bagman, and pulls his pals along for the ride.

Another Coen Brothers Hit

There were mixed reactions to The Big Lebowski when it first came out, but it’s now considered a cult classic. Bridges, in an ambitious turn away from confident-guy roles, plays The Dude with conviction and a carefree attitude, especially at the character’s funniest moments, delivering one of the finest performances of his career. In line with the mixed reactions of the time, Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, describing it as “weirdly engaging,” whereas Siskel felt the comedy was “uninspiring.”

8

‘Blue Velvet’ (1986)

Blue Velvet

Release Date

January 1, 1986

Runtime

120 minutes

Director

David Lynch

Writers

David Lynch

Cast

Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) from Blue Velvet goes into full investigative mode when he finds a severed human ear near his family home. Upon learning that it is linked to a nightclub singer named Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini), he meets her and soon finds himself struggling to juggle his feelings and dealing with the man tormenting Dorothy.

No Lynching for Lynch

Blue Velvet benefits from great cinematography, great dialogue, and Jeffrey’s chaotic run-ins with an odd bevy of fringe types. The film earned David Lynch his second Oscar nomination for Best Director, though many commentators decried the explicit content for not adding value to the artistic quality. Ebert, who was actually a big fan of Lynch, felt there was a lack of coherence, claiming “the movie is pulled so violently in opposite directions that it pulls itself apart.” On the other hand, Gene Siskel included Blue Velvet on his list of the best films of 1986.

Related

10 Action Movies Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert Both Loved

Siskel and Ebert didn’t always agree on action movies, but when they did they were right on the money.

7

‘Scarface’ (1983)

Scarface

Release Date

December 9, 1983

Runtime

170 minutes

Director

Brian De Palma

Writers

Oliver Stone, Howard Hawks, Ben Hecht

Cast

Borrowing its title from the 1930s Howard Hawks gangster film, Brian de Palma’s Scarface concerns the rise and fall of Cuban immigrant, Tony Montana (Al Pacino). He gets a green card for assassinating a Cuban government official. Once he is in America, he rises to the top of Miami’s underworld, only to shoot himself in the foot.

Violence Over Substance?

Great movies have many iconic scenes, and Scarface has plenty, notably, Tony’s “Say hello to my little friend” moment. Brian de Palma handles the violence and the cinematography exquisitely, and so intriguing is Tony Montana that he has been constantly referenced in movies and music. Surprisingly, Siskel labeled Tony “one of cinema’s most boring characters,” arguing that without the violence, the movie would be nothing. Ebert disagreed, calling the Brian de Palma picture authentic. He wrote: “We aren’t watching crime-movie clichés, we’re watching people who are criminals.”

6

‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991)

The Making of ‘The Silence of the Lambs’

Release Date

August 20, 1991

Runtime

8 minutes

Cast

Jailed cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) is willing to talk, and, despite the man’s terrifying reputation, the FBI academy’s newest star, Clarice Starling (Jodie Forster), cannot resist the lure of the scoop. But she has no idea how badly he will manipulate her. Will she survive till the end of The Silence of the Lambs?

The Fifth-Highest-Grossing Film of 1991

Like Hitchcock, director Jonathan Demme masterfully builds suspense around the question of character — is Lecter an attention-deprived killer? — with an ending that will please even the most fastidious of audiences. Today, it remains the only horror film to win Best Picture. Roger Ebert praised the “terrifying qualities” of Hannibal Lecter and added the horror flick to his list of The Great Movies. Contrarily, writing for the Chicago Tribune, Siskel was displeased by the fact that “Foster’s character, who is appealing, is dwarfed by the monsters she is after,” adding that he’d “rather see her work on another case.”

5

‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979)

Apocalypse Now

Release Date

August 15, 1979

Runtime

147 minutes

Director

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers

Joseph Conrad, John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Herr

Cast

Francis Ford Coppola was on fire in the 1970s, and he wrapped up the decade in the best way possible, with the Vietnam War movie, Apocalypse Now. In it, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is tasked with assassinating Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a Special Forces officer gone rogue.

Another Fun Brando-Coppola Collaboration

Despite the numerous behind-the-scenes issues, Apocalypse Now is a major triumph, visually, something the Academy recognized. Coppola romances the calm, lush Vietnamese countryside, using natural sounds, prolonged shots, and a roaming camera. At 153 minutes, this deliberately sluggish, contemplative picture won’t please all, but patient souls will be rewarded.

Ebert crowned it the best film of 1979, claiming that “it achieves greatness not by analyzing our ‘experience in Vietnam’, but by re-creating, in characters and images, something of that experience.” Siskel wasn’t thrilled, claiming that the war drama “dissolves into gibberish” in its final 25 minutes.

4

‘Unforgiven’ (1992)

Unforgiven

Release Date

August 7, 1992

Runtime

130 Mins

Director

Clint Eastwood

Writers

David Webb Peoples

Cast

  • Clint Eastwood

    Bill Munny

  • Gene Hackman

    Little Bill Daggett

Named one of the greatest Westerns by the African Film Institute, Unforgiven sees aging gunslinger William Munny (Clint Eastwood) getting yanked out of retirement to help a tight-knit group of sex workers exert revenge on an outlaw who disfigured one of their own. Helping Munny is his old partner, Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman).

A Deserving Best Picture Winner

The bleak, tense, slow-burning, revisionist Old Man Western features Gene Hackman in one of his chilliest roles, playing a heartless sheriff who doesn’t want any bounty hunters roaming around in his town. Ebert was awed, writing: “The implacable moral balance, in which good eventually silences evil, is at the heart of the Western, and Eastwood is not shy about saying so.” In contrast, Siskel gave it a thumbs down, criticizing it for being “too long with pointless eccentric characters.”

3

‘Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives’ (1986)

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

Release Date

August 1, 1986

Runtime

86 Minutes

Director

Tom McLoughlin

Writers

Tom McLoughlin

Prequel(s)

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter, Friday the 13th Part III, Friday the 13th Part 2, Friday the 13th

Cast

Sequel(s)

Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday, Freddy vs. Jason, Jason X

Franchise(s)

Friday the 13th

Mental health, the supernatural, and avenging fate converge in the sixth installment of the Friday the 13th franchise. Years after killing the hockey-masked murderer Jason Voorhees (C.J. Graham), Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews) is now institutionalized, unable to cope with the trauma. Eager to free himself from the voices in his head, he goes to the graveyard where Jason is buried, hoping to dig up the killer’s body and cremate it. But his plans won’t go so easily in Jason Lives.

Jason, Like We’ve Never Seen Him Before

Jason had already cemented a place for himself as one of the greatest slasher villains when this movie came out, but the choice to turn him into an undead, superhuman character made him even cooler. This characterization would be maintained in future films. The use of meta humor, action elements, and Gothic horror also made this one of the franchise’s best installments. Ebert said the film was “a whole lot of fun.” Siskel praised the self-referential humor but was irked that the newest release had “the same story as the previous five.”

Related

6 Movies Roger Ebert Hated So Much He Walked Out

Roger Ebert was very patient, but some movies frustrated him so much that he either pressed the stop button or walked out of the theater.

2

‘Die Hard’ (1988)

Die Hard

Release Date

July 15, 1988

Runtime

132 minutes

Director

John McTiernan

Writers

Roderick Thorp, Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza

Cast

Christmas Eve doesn’t go according to plan for NYPD Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) in Die Hard. He is in Los Angeles, hoping to woo his estranged wife at an office party, but as soon as he enters the building, terrorists, led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) take over. They want $640 million in untraceable bearer bonds, but McClane won’t let them have their way.

A Christmastime Essential

McClane’s wisecracking moments and barefoot runs are head-turning highlights. Still, it’s the film’s climax, a harrowing confrontation between the lawman and the terrorist, that turns this ‘80s actioner into a bona fide classic. Surprisingly, Ebert wasn’t satisfied. He singled out the police captain (portrayed by Paul Gleason) for criticism, describing the character as a “willfully useless and dumb” obstruction that wasted screen time and weakened the plot. Siskel expressed a more favorable opinion, noting that Bruce Willis “really good in the film.”

1

‘Out of Sight’ (1998)

Out of Sight

Release Date

June 26, 1998

Runtime

123 minutes

Director

Steven Soderbergh

Writers

Elmore Leonard, Scott Frank

Cast

Jack Foley (George Clooney) is America’s most notorious bank robber. At some point, he gets pinched, and upon getting out, he falls for the siren, Karen Sisco’s (Jennifer Lopez). But she is a Federal Marshal. How will that go? Watch Out of Sight.

Out of Comprehension

Ought of Sight is best remembered for establishing continuity with Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, since both films feature the same character played by Michael Keaton. Beyond that, it remains one of the unique and imaginative caper films, connecting the dots between crime and romance. Ebert praised Clooney’s performance, stating that the actor “has never been better,” and that his transition from TV to the big screen had been smoother than expected. Siskel says he tried hard but “couldn’t understand what the movie was about.”

Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert are two of the greatest critics who ever lived, but they were smart enough not to engage in senseless feuds to prove who between them was better. Instead, they were friends who opted to host several review shows together. Siskel worked for the Chicago Tribune while Ebert worked for the Chicago Sun-Times. Over the years, they hosted Sneak Previews, At the Movies, and Siskel & Ebert & the Movies.

Despite their friendship, Siskel and Ebert didn’t agree on everything. The two were known for heated arguments and their binary “Thumbs Up or Thumbs Down” summations. Thus, they reviewed a few popular movies differently, both on their TV shows and in their respective columns. Despite their differing opinions, the two critics could always be counted on to be objective.

Full Metal Jacket

Release Date

July 10, 1987

Runtime

116 minutes

Director

Stanley Kubrick

Writers

Gustav Hasford, Stanley Kubrick, Michael Herr

Producers

Jan Harlan

Cast

  • Matthew Modine

    Pvt. Joker

  • Adam Baldwin

    Animal Mother

Hailed for being one of the most engrossing military boot camp movies, Full Metal Jacket first takes us to the USMC training base on Paris Island, where the gluttonous Private “Gomer Pyle” Lawrence (Vincent D’Onforio) constantly gets targeted by his overbearing drill sergeant, Hartman (Lee R Emery). The second half then shifts to the harsh grounds of Vietnam.

One of Stanley Kubrick’s Best Efforts

D’Onofrio and Emery play off each other perfectly, evoking the tension and frustration of being on opposite ends of authority. The former is especially formidable, playing Gomer Pyle as psychotic, taciturn, reclusive, and almost immune to Hartman’s efforts to infuse discipline in him. The film was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars yet Ebert felt it was “strangely shapeless,” claiming it didn’t match up to other Vietnam-themed war movies like Platoon and The Deer Hunter. Ebert’s review angered Siskel. On their television show At the Movies, he called Ebert “crazy for liking Benji the Hunted more than Full Metal Jacket.”

9

‘The Big Lebowski’ (1998)


The Big Lebowski

Release Date

March 6, 1998

Runtime

117 Minutes

Director

Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Writers

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Cast

In The Big Lebowski, slacker Jeff” The Dude’ Lebowski (Jeff Bridges) gets mistaken for a millionaire of the same name by thugs who rough him up. Angry that his precious rug was peed on, he seeks compensation from his namesake. He is then offered a job as a bagman, and pulls his pals along for the ride.

Another Coen Brothers Hit

There were mixed reactions to The Big Lebowski when it first came out, but it’s now considered a cult classic. Bridges, in an ambitious turn away from confident-guy roles, plays The Dude with conviction and a carefree attitude, especially at the character’s funniest moments, delivering one of the finest performances of his career. In line with the mixed reactions of the time, Ebert gave the film three stars out of four, describing it as “weirdly engaging,” whereas Siskel felt the comedy was “uninspiring.”

8

‘Blue Velvet’ (1986)

Blue Velvet

Release Date

January 1, 1986

Runtime

120 minutes

Director

David Lynch

Writers

David Lynch

Cast

Jeffrey (Kyle MacLachlan) from Blue Velvet goes into full investigative mode when he finds a severed human ear near his family home. Upon learning that it is linked to a nightclub singer named Dorothy (Isabella Rossellini), he meets her and soon finds himself struggling to juggle his feelings and dealing with the man tormenting Dorothy.

No Lynching for Lynch

Blue Velvet benefits from great cinematography, great dialogue, and Jeffrey’s chaotic run-ins with an odd bevy of fringe types. The film earned David Lynch his second Oscar nomination for Best Director, though many commentators decried the explicit content for not adding value to the artistic quality. Ebert, who was actually a big fan of Lynch, felt there was a lack of coherence, claiming “the movie is pulled so violently in opposite directions that it pulls itself apart.” On the other hand, Gene Siskel included Blue Velvet on his list of the best films of 1986.

Related

10 Action Movies Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert Both Loved

Siskel and Ebert didn’t always agree on action movies, but when they did they were right on the money.

7

‘Scarface’ (1983)

Scarface

Release Date

December 9, 1983

Runtime

170 minutes

Director

Brian De Palma

Writers

Oliver Stone, Howard Hawks, Ben Hecht

Cast

Borrowing its title from the 1930s Howard Hawks gangster film, Brian de Palma’s Scarface concerns the rise and fall of Cuban immigrant, Tony Montana (Al Pacino). He gets a green card for assassinating a Cuban government official. Once he is in America, he rises to the top of Miami’s underworld, only to shoot himself in the foot.

Violence Over Substance?

Great movies have many iconic scenes, and Scarface has plenty, notably, Tony’s “Say hello to my little friend” moment. Brian de Palma handles the violence and the cinematography exquisitely, and so intriguing is Tony Montana that he has been constantly referenced in movies and music. Surprisingly, Siskel labeled Tony “one of cinema’s most boring characters,” arguing that without the violence, the movie would be nothing. Ebert disagreed, calling the Brian de Palma picture authentic. He wrote: “We aren’t watching crime-movie clichés, we’re watching people who are criminals.”

6

‘The Silence of the Lambs’ (1991)

The Making of ‘The Silence of the Lambs’

Release Date

August 20, 1991

Runtime

8 minutes

Cast

Jailed cannibalistic serial killer Dr. Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins) is willing to talk, and, despite the man’s terrifying reputation, the FBI academy’s newest star, Clarice Starling (Jodie Forster), cannot resist the lure of the scoop. But she has no idea how badly he will manipulate her. Will she survive till the end of The Silence of the Lambs?

The Fifth-Highest-Grossing Film of 1991

Like Hitchcock, director Jonathan Demme masterfully builds suspense around the question of character — is Lecter an attention-deprived killer? — with an ending that will please even the most fastidious of audiences. Today, it remains the only horror film to win Best Picture. Roger Ebert praised the “terrifying qualities” of Hannibal Lecter and added the horror flick to his list of The Great Movies. Contrarily, writing for the Chicago Tribune, Siskel was displeased by the fact that “Foster’s character, who is appealing, is dwarfed by the monsters she is after,” adding that he’d “rather see her work on another case.”

5

‘Apocalypse Now’ (1979)

Apocalypse Now

Release Date

August 15, 1979

Runtime

147 minutes

Director

Francis Ford Coppola

Writers

Joseph Conrad, John Milius, Francis Ford Coppola, Michael Herr

Cast

Francis Ford Coppola was on fire in the 1970s, and he wrapped up the decade in the best way possible, with the Vietnam War movie, Apocalypse Now. In it, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) is tasked with assassinating Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a Special Forces officer gone rogue.

Another Fun Brando-Coppola Collaboration

Despite the numerous behind-the-scenes issues, Apocalypse Now is a major triumph, visually, something the Academy recognized. Coppola romances the calm, lush Vietnamese countryside, using natural sounds, prolonged shots, and a roaming camera. At 153 minutes, this deliberately sluggish, contemplative picture won’t please all, but patient souls will be rewarded.

Ebert crowned it the best film of 1979, claiming that “it achieves greatness not by analyzing our ‘experience in Vietnam’, but by re-creating, in characters and images, something of that experience.” Siskel wasn’t thrilled, claiming that the war drama “dissolves into gibberish” in its final 25 minutes.

4

‘Unforgiven’ (1992)

Unforgiven

Release Date

August 7, 1992

Runtime

130 Mins

Director

Clint Eastwood

Writers

David Webb Peoples

Cast

  • Clint Eastwood

    Bill Munny

  • Gene Hackman

    Little Bill Daggett

Named one of the greatest Westerns by the African Film Institute, Unforgiven sees aging gunslinger William Munny (Clint Eastwood) getting yanked out of retirement to help a tight-knit group of sex workers exert revenge on an outlaw who disfigured one of their own. Helping Munny is his old partner, Ned Logan (Morgan Freeman).

A Deserving Best Picture Winner

The bleak, tense, slow-burning, revisionist Old Man Western features Gene Hackman in one of his chilliest roles, playing a heartless sheriff who doesn’t want any bounty hunters roaming around in his town. Ebert was awed, writing: “The implacable moral balance, in which good eventually silences evil, is at the heart of the Western, and Eastwood is not shy about saying so.” In contrast, Siskel gave it a thumbs down, criticizing it for being “too long with pointless eccentric characters.”

3

‘Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives’ (1986)

Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

Release Date

August 1, 1986

Runtime

86 Minutes

Director

Tom McLoughlin

Writers

Tom McLoughlin

Prequel(s)

Friday the 13th: A New Beginning, Friday The 13th: The Final Chapter, Friday the 13th Part III, Friday the 13th Part 2, Friday the 13th

Cast

Sequel(s)

Friday The 13th Part VII: The New Blood, Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan, Jason Goes To Hell: The Final Friday, Freddy vs. Jason, Jason X

Franchise(s)

Friday the 13th

Mental health, the supernatural, and avenging fate converge in the sixth installment of the Friday the 13th franchise. Years after killing the hockey-masked murderer Jason Voorhees (C.J. Graham), Tommy Jarvis (Thom Mathews) is now institutionalized, unable to cope with the trauma. Eager to free himself from the voices in his head, he goes to the graveyard where Jason is buried, hoping to dig up the killer’s body and cremate it. But his plans won’t go so easily in Jason Lives.

Jason, Like We’ve Never Seen Him Before

Jason had already cemented a place for himself as one of the greatest slasher villains when this movie came out, but the choice to turn him into an undead, superhuman character made him even cooler. This characterization would be maintained in future films. The use of meta humor, action elements, and Gothic horror also made this one of the franchise’s best installments. Ebert said the film was “a whole lot of fun.” Siskel praised the self-referential humor but was irked that the newest release had “the same story as the previous five.”

Related

6 Movies Roger Ebert Hated So Much He Walked Out

Roger Ebert was very patient, but some movies frustrated him so much that he either pressed the stop button or walked out of the theater.

2

‘Die Hard’ (1988)

Die Hard

Release Date

July 15, 1988

Runtime

132 minutes

Director

John McTiernan

Writers

Roderick Thorp, Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza

Cast

Christmas Eve doesn’t go according to plan for NYPD Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) in Die Hard. He is in Los Angeles, hoping to woo his estranged wife at an office party, but as soon as he enters the building, terrorists, led by Hans Gruber (Alan Rickman) take over. They want $640 million in untraceable bearer bonds, but McClane won’t let them have their way.

A Christmastime Essential

McClane’s wisecracking moments and barefoot runs are head-turning highlights. Still, it’s the film’s climax, a harrowing confrontation between the lawman and the terrorist, that turns this ‘80s actioner into a bona fide classic. Surprisingly, Ebert wasn’t satisfied. He singled out the police captain (portrayed by Paul Gleason) for criticism, describing the character as a “willfully useless and dumb” obstruction that wasted screen time and weakened the plot. Siskel expressed a more favorable opinion, noting that Bruce Willis “really good in the film.”

1

‘Out of Sight’ (1998)

Out of Sight

Release Date

June 26, 1998

Runtime

123 minutes

Director

Steven Soderbergh

Writers

Elmore Leonard, Scott Frank

Cast

Jack Foley (George Clooney) is America’s most notorious bank robber. At some point, he gets pinched, and upon getting out, he falls for the siren, Karen Sisco’s (Jennifer Lopez). But she is a Federal Marshal. How will that go? Watch Out of Sight.

Out of Comprehension

Ought of Sight is best remembered for establishing continuity with Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown, since both films feature the same character played by Michael Keaton. Beyond that, it remains one of the unique and imaginative caper films, connecting the dots between crime and romance. Ebert praised Clooney’s performance, stating that the actor “has never been better,” and that his transition from TV to the big screen had been smoother than expected. Siskel says he tried hard but “couldn’t understand what the movie was about.”

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