Buzz
1986 was a landmark year for cinema, featuring blockbusters like Top Gun, Platoon, Back to School, Aliens, and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off. However, it was an even more significant year for film criticism. On September 13, 1986, Siskel and Ebert and the Movies, later rebranded as Siskel and Ebert At the Movies, premiered on television, elevating film debates to a cultural phenomenon.
1. GENE SISKEL AND ROGER EBERT HAD A HISTORY OF DISAGREEING ABOUT FILMS ON TV.
Over the years, the show that became At the Movies underwent several name changes. While it debuted on September 13, 1986, as Siskel and Ebert and the Movies, this wasn’t the duo’s first TV collaboration. From 1975 to 1982, they co-hosted the PBS series Sneak Previews, where their spirited disagreements over films became a hallmark of their partnership.
2. A COIN FLIP DECIDED WHOSE NAME WOULD APPEAR FIRST IN THE SHOW'S TITLE.
As reported by the Archive of American Television, Siskel and Ebert settled the question of whose name would lead in the show's title through a simple yet fair method: a coin toss.
3. THEIR SHOW ONCE FEATURED A DOG CO-HOST, FOLLOWED BY A SKUNK.
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Despite their sharp critiques of films, Siskel and Ebert occasionally embraced playful elements, a tradition dating back to their Sneak Previews days. Their first mascot was Spot the Wonder Dog, who helped them highlight the week’s worst film, dubbed the “dog.” Ebert once explained to The Washington Post, "Spot was let go by PBS due to his high salary demands—he earned $40 a week." Later, other dogs and even Aroma the skunk joined the show, introducing the infamous Stinker-of-the-Week segment.
4. THEY LEGALLY PROTECTED THE PHRASE “TWO THUMBS UP.”
Siskel and Ebert revolutionized film criticism with their thumbs up/thumbs down rating system, where “two thumbs up” became the ultimate honor for filmmakers. To safeguard the integrity of this prestigious endorsement, they trademarked the phrase. As Ebert once stated, "We made television history and created the trademarked catchphrase 'Two thumbs up.'"
5. DISNEY ALLEGED THAT EBERT INSISTED ON REMOVING THE THUMBS DURING A CONTRACT DISPUTE.
In 2007, Disney-ABC Domestic Television announced that Ebert had demanded the removal of the thumbs from the show (then titled At the Movies with Ebert & Roeper) during tense contract talks. Ebert countered, stating he "had agreed to keep the Thumbs during good-faith negotiations." He added, "Their initial offer was unacceptably low, and when I countered, they ignored it and removed the Thumbs. This was unexpected after 22 years of collaboration." When Ebert left the show, the thumbs were retired as well.
6. THEIR ON-AIR DISAGREEMENTS WERE THE SHOW’S BIGGEST APPEAL.
Fans of Siskel and Ebert and the Movies often cite the critics’ heated debates as the show’s most memorable moments. Despite their frequent disagreements, their relationship was rooted in deep mutual respect, which only added to the show’s appeal.
"Gene Siskel and I were like tuning forks," Ebert wrote a decade after his partner’s death. "Strike one, and the other would resonate at the same frequency. In any group setting, we were acutely aware of each other. This awareness manifested as camaraderie, shared opinions, or even hostility. If something struck us as funny but inappropriate, catching each other’s eye was disastrous. We often found the same things hilarious, a true sign of intellectual connection."
7. THEY SUPPORTED EACH OTHER MORE THAN THEY CLASHED.
Ebert admitted that while he and Siskel frequently disagreed on films, they always stood by each other in real life. "Even in my most competitive and resentful moments, I never considered ending our partnership," Ebert wrote. "I know Gene felt the same. We were bound together irreversibly. 'You might be an a**hole,' Gene would say, 'but you're my a**hole.' When we fought, it was intense, but when we united against a common adversary, we were unstoppable. Howard Stern learned this the hard way when he targeted one of us on his show—we turned on him together."
8. THEY DISCUSSED NOT JUST FILMS, BUT THE ART OF FILMMAKING ITSELF.
While reviews were their primary focus, Siskel and Ebert also aimed to cultivate a deeper understanding of cinema as an art form among their audience. In a 1990 Film Comment editorial, Ebert highlighted their themed episodes, which explored topics like film colorization, the benefits of letterboxing, the beauty of black-and-white cinematography, and the MPAA’s role in censorship.
"Siskel & Ebert was the first—and often the only—TV show to tackle these issues," Ebert noted. "It’s fair to say that many Americans formed their opinions on colorization and letterboxing because of our program. (Video retailers even reported a shift in customer preferences after our episode on letterboxing.)"
9. THEY PRODUCED AN ENTIRE EPISODE IN BLACK AND WHITE.
To emphasize the importance of black-and-white cinematography, Siskel and Ebert filmed a full episode in monochrome.
10. THEY INTRODUCED VIEWERS TO COUNTLESS INDEPENDENT FILMS AND DOCUMENTARIES.
While the show primarily focused on Hollywood blockbusters, Siskel and Ebert also highlighted lesser-known films, including foreign cinema, arthouse projects, and documentaries. They are often credited with bringing attention to the documentary Hoop Dreams and were early supporters of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. (Ebert was particularly fond of Michael Moore’s Roger & Me.)
"They’ll recommend art-house films like Heavenly Creatures, which I might not have considered, and I’ll trust their judgment and watch them," a young film enthusiast told the Los Angeles Times. "But no matter what they say about Interview With the Vampire or Desperado, nothing could stop me from seeing those. There are certain actors I’ll follow no matter what." (We suspect she was a fan of Antonio Banderas.)
11. A NEGATIVE REVIEW OF THE FISHER KING INSPIRED A VILLAIN NAMED SISKEL IN THE REF.
Before the 1992 Oscars, Siskel and Ebert hosted a special discussing the nominees, where Siskel criticized Terry Gilliam’s The Fisher King, written by Richard LaGravenese, as one of the least deserving films. "I found it overly dramatic," Siskel explained to the Los Angeles Times.
Two years later, during a press screening of Ted Demme’s The Ref, also written by LaGravenese, Siskel noticed something unusual: the antagonist shared his name. Initially puzzled, Siskel later learned through a publicist that LaGravenese had named the character after him as a response to his critique of The Fisher King.
"I find it an odd kind of retaliation," Siskel remarked. "I’m not sure it’s the most impactful way to protest. By inserting my name into the film, he might have disrupted the dramatic flow, making it harder for viewers to stay immersed. People might even expect a Roger Ebert joke afterward." (Always the critic.)
12. SISKEL ENJOYED JOHN WOO’S BROKEN ARROW, UNTIL EBERT DISAGREED.
One of their most notable reviews was for John Woo’s Broken Arrow, a film that otherwise faded into obscurity. This review stood out because Siskel reversed his opinion—and his thumb—after hearing Ebert’s critique. He switched his thumbs up to a thumbs down live on air, making it a unanimous pan.
This wasn’t the only instance where one critic influenced the other’s opinion. "I was much more excited about Babe than Roger was, but he eventually came around," Siskel told Entertainment Weekly in 1996. "With Broken Arrow, I was on the fence, but Roger’s comments convinced me to turn my thumb down." Ebert also admitted to changing his mind: "I revised my opinion on Unforgiven. I initially gave it two-and-a-half stars [in the Chicago Sun-Times], but I wasn’t thinking clearly when I reviewed it."
13. THE ICONIC BALCONY SEATS WERE EVENTUALLY DESTROYED.
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The iconic balcony seats where the critics sat for decades met the same fate as many movie props: they were ultimately destroyed. Ebert expressed his dismay, writing that "one of the most recognizable set designs in television history, which had endured for over half the lifespan of the medium"—and which he felt deserved a place in the Smithsonian—was instead "tossed into a dumpster in an alley."
