It’s hard to talk about film, especially when you’re in the business of film criticism, without acknowledging the demise of Roger Ebert’s long-running television show “Siskel and Ebert & the Movies,” known as “At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper” after the tragic passing of Gene Siskel in 1999. The untimely death of Siskel took a toll on the show that would leave a permanent void. While I commend Richard Roeper for doing what he could to fill Siskel’s shoes after his passing, the dynamic relationship between the two original critics was lost forever — a relationship, mind you, that was captured most wonderfully in their cameo appearances on the short-lived animated show, The Critic (and yes, Ebert really did like Benji the Hunted and Siskel, sadly, liked Carnosaur).*
Despite the absence of Siskel the show could, and did, go on with Ebert. But now, it’s hard to argue that with the complications following Roger Ebert’s battle with cancer that, among other things, resulted in the loss of his voice, the show has reached the end of its 33-year run. There remain some positives to pull out of this. For one, the mere fact that the show lasted 33 years is a testament to the success of what Roger Ebert refers to as a formula based on simplicity. It was a show lacking in unnecessary adornments or photogenic stars (Ebert and Siskel could be best described as humble in appearance); their one novel design being the implementation of the patented “Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down” system of analysis, a system so deviously simple that its ubiquity in film criticism seemed almost inevitable.
Beyond that, it’s good to see that despite his hardships, Ebert continues to do what he loves after an extended hiatus. I grew up listening to and reading Roger Ebert’s analysis. Some disparaged him for being too commercial, but for a critic playing to a mainstream audience, his insights were never watered-down. Even when he made judgments that I did not share in, he still managed to find some semblance of sanity and logic in his opinions that made even the most outrageous claims seem perfectly valid. Here’s hoping that even if his television show passes on, his voice remains prominent in the world of film.
*In the interest of full disclosure, I feel it necessary to point out that their tumultous relationship did also produce moments such as this. We all have our bad days, right?
Tags: Benji the Hunted, Carnosaur?, Gene Siskel, Richard Roeper, Roger Ebert, Television, The Critic
