Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel talk Hollywood Culture + Q&A (1995)

[@ManufacturingIntellect]

Check out these Roger Ebert books on Amazon! The Great Movies: geni.us/FwBBY6 Your Movie Sucks: geni.us/Jb2KZ1 Ebert's Four-Star Reviews: geni.us/wAhYPK Join us on Patreon! www.patreon.com/ManufacturingIntellect Donate Crypto! commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/868d67d2-1628-44a8-b8dc-8f9616d62259 Share this video! Get Two Books FREE with a Free Audible Trial: amzn.to/313yfLe Checking out the affiliate links above helps me bring even more high quality videos to you by earning me a small commission on your purchase. If you have any suggestions for future content, make sure to subscribe on the Patreon page. Thank you for your support!

[@Bryan8329]

So much of what they are saying so far absolutely still resonates today. They are both voices that are definitely missed now.

[@50000927]

Society today doesn’t seem to reward in the same way thoughtful civil people who enjoyed taking their jobs seriously and feel a sense of duty to their fellow man and artistic truth. It’s a shame we now have so many shallow bomb-throwers and nihilistic narcissists instead.

[@dancindan4846]

even moreso today!

[@fortynights1513]

@@50000927I blame Twitter and social media and how that impacted incentive structures as much as anything.

[@fortynights1513]

In particular the part about movies selling other things

[@elmoblatch9787]

Gene Siskel, Roger Ebert, and Christopher Hitchens -- three wonderful people who I wish were still alive and kicking.

[@DaysNightsForest]

I love these guys for taking culture and attitudes in film seriously. It's always pertinent whether 1945, 1975, 1995, now or beyond. Let's take movies seriously and not just thrown away because of violence or whatever wedge issue you can throw in there.

[@tobinhays652]

A great many journalists and news websites should watch this weekly.

[@Mitchell_E_Underscore]

It wouldn't do any good. Those types of writers know what they're doing. They know the work is void of integrity. They make the choice to feed into and profit from a lucrative system that's been offered to them. Consumers are the ones who need to hear it. If enough of us stop feeding that system, it will stop being profitable and those writers will stop wanting to do that kind of work. But that's like stopping a speeding locomotive.

[@tobinhays652]

@@Mitchell_E_Underscore Let's get louder.

[@tph2010]

Glad to hear Roger is finally on the internet.

[@monte68x]

Man do I miss Siskel and Ebert. I watched them from 1978 on 'Sneak Previews' when I was 10 years old up until Gene passed in 1999.

[@VoyageOne1]

I never thought I'd hear Roger freaking Ebert defending rap music of all people. God rest his soul!!!

[@darthmauldds]

Check out his review of "Dangerous Minds".

[@Nico-jv2gh]

Was just thinking the same thing. Even more respect for these guys they were true fans of art and media.

[@mattmarkus4868]

You didn't read many of his reviews then. But he didn't blanket love or hate it. Like he said, it's not what it's about- it's how it is about it.

[@sttarch5150]

His wife was black.

[@teodelfuego]

@@sttarch5150 and he used to date Oprah Winfrey. He also was an ardent supporter of Spike Lee

[@lennycarl0099]

What film critic today would put their neck on the line so effortlessly and with gusto, as these two did back in 1995. Long live Gene and Roger and the magic that went over our heads. All my love, gents.

[@WinnipegTouristDept]

Oh yeah, they really went out on a limb, defending Hollywood

[@myfriendisaac]

4:13 “confusing Inventory with the Analysisis.” Robert’s statement was relevant then & now!

[@ResistanceQuest]

This is such an amazing collection of wonderful insightful ideas well-expressed by two articulate and passionate people.

[@warriorv9359]

Miss these guys so dawm much been watching them since my childhood r.i.p. Gene and Roger

[@Chris-B.]

Interesting to hear how Gene's opinion of Taxi Driver had changed over the years. He originally criticised it in the 1970's

[@chitown1782]

People change!

[@hevyonez97]

Gene gave the movie a positive review, his delivery on the show makes it seem like it's a negative opinion...he at first thought the killing spree at the end was too violent but in later years came to fully understand the reasoning behind the scene in itself...

[@mattmarkus4868]

_A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds._ -Emerson There's nothing shameful about changing one's mind, on the contrary.

[@SamJohnsonAZ]

I originally didn’t care for taxi driver then I watched it like 3 years later and it blew me away. Great film

[@philippesauvie639]

Uber Driver

[@TheWonderboysmusic]

Siskel: talks for 10 minutes Ebert: makes a point Siskel: I think we’ve done enough on that subject. These guys were great.

[@SweetieTheBot]

I love the little jabs they take at each other. It's really fun.

[@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr]

Ebert's point was dumb, thank God for Siskel's interruptions. Roger Ebert was sinking like a stone.

[@josephaether377]

Ebert is was so smart and well grounded... Siskel is very smart too; he's just a little out there sometimes.

[@JAKECOT_CENTER]

Siskel was an old guard conservative. Nothing wrong with that but Ebert was a more free thinking liberal. Hence why they work so well together

[@markabicht7083]

Roger's right, I learned four letter words way back in grade school on the playground.

[@WombieFerguson]

This channel is seriously great, probably my favorite. Thank you for all your hard work. Where do you get all of this old footage? So glad you're preserving them.

[@andrewrichardson2079]

This is available on the C-Span website that's where they got it

[@BolofromAvlis]

One thing that strikes me is the arguments being made years ago haven't changed much. Too bad we don't have insightful critics and journalists like we did just a short time ago. It seems decades in and out the far right is always using Hollywood as their scapegoat instead of asking " where are the parents in all of this"?...

[@BadGuyRants]

Siskel & Ebert are life!

[@billscannell93]

"Artistic treatment is the issue. You heard that said less economically earlier today." Haha their witty little digs at each other were great.

[@CraigCairney83]

Damn!! I miss these two.

[@alistairarchibald1312]

i'm not gonna lie anytime i hear Gene talk about his kids in the early and mid 90s knowing that he would be dead by early 99 i get choked up and have to pause the videos

[@Harkness78]

wow that was great, stick around til the end, they start talking about Taxi Driver and Kubrik!

[@unclesanoci5685]

@Texas Chainsaw Jesus People mature and their opinions change. You grow to appreciate the taste of alcohol and you grow out of liking sickly sweet stuff. You leap to the political left as a youngster, but wisdom changes that to the political right a decade or two later. Maturation leads to appreciation bro. I don't know, that's how I see it anyway.

[@unclesanoci5685]

@Texas Chainsaw Jesus I typed something out, but then I thought, nah, plenty of cognitive dissonance is the only thing that ever works. Time is all you need bro.

[@vnul]

22:53 Roger was a brilliant comedian. His TV show allowed him to develop the skill of being entertaining coupled with his intellectual point of view really allowed him to make you laugh as much as he made you think.

[@epatrick909]

At 26:00, Ebert says "I finally got on the internet today." Seems like ages ago!

[@zxbc1]

Getting on the internet in 1995 was pretty hip. People still used dialup and internet was just a place mostly for forum discussion and nerdy pursuits, and some rudimentary gaming. Roger was a pioneer in terms of embracing the internet as an important medium for his work. I remember seeing Roger's reviews online and him talking about the internet in the early 2000s and he was already very well versed about the technology when most of the boomer generation still shrugged it off as some kind of novelty. He truly was a renaissance man.

[@fortynights1513]

And his analysis of Internet discourse is spot on in 2024

[@judiroth7855]

Miss E erg so much. RIP, dear soul.

[@gradeahonky]

I commend Gene Siskel for that one brave clump of hair he has connecting the two hemispheres of his baldness.

[@occasionalfeelgood23]

God, I wish these types of discourses still happened today. This wouldn't happen these days. In fact, the mere mention of having a press conference about these subjects would get you cancelled.

[@nlg]

9:33 Wow Roger gets it. He's so on point

[@alechorowitz5279]

It's so great seeing this conservative looking white guy say you know what? Listen instead of judge. Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel where such geniuses.

[@Mitchell_E_Underscore]

"When young boys were fed nonsense about the gory of war, they might have gone off to war with expectations that didn't turn out to be true, whereas if they'd been exposed to brutal, violent war films they might have realized what was in store for them."

[@Protoman85]

Take that, Bob Dole!

[@rockhero2274]

There are film critics and then there are Siskel and Ebert. I'm curious to know what they would think of films today. Which ones they would champion and defend. And which they would lambast and destroy.

[@HAL-rx5ln]

rockhero2274 Roger would despise 90% of the pictures made nowadays. That's for sure.

[@deckofcards87]

@@HAL-rx5ln Gene even more so, I suspect. He really didn't care for unintelligent movies or the low brow. Culture is firmly in the dumpster and films reflect that.

[@eargasm1072]

@@deckofcards87 Our anti-culture today is "pura basura"

[@ennesshay5040]

Check the UK critic Mark Kermode. Especially his spectacular rants ! eg. Sex and the City 2 !!!!!

[@boldsign]

Two intellectuals from Chicago :)

[@TheLiveMusicGroup]

what an oxymoron

[@colinbaker3916]

So articulate and intellectual. Roger Ebert’s words about guns in the USA are even more relevant 27 years later.

[@billscannell93]

This makes me sad. They are missed. I'm probably falling victim to 'old man syndrome', but don't people seem a lot smarter even this short time ago? Their arguments are so carefully considered, so tactfully stated. I fucking hate cancer.

[@Angyali]

As Alfred says in The Dark Knight: "Things always get worse, before they get better."

[@kevinrhea7332]

Individual People can make themselves better nothing more society is in decline

[@machineofadream]

I enjoyed this talk far more than I thought I would. These men would have made excellent college professors. You come away from this feeling smarter. The way in which they strongly criticize the politicians without being hateful is nice. I love the point about confusing inventory with analysis that Ebert makes at 4:08. The only part i didn't appreciate was the part on the value of black and white film. I feel that got a bit off-topic and exaggerated.

[@originaozz]

I love the way they disagree. This is something we seem to lost in time. The way Ebert breaks down Pulp Fiction's camera felt so insightful. He's a realist who see the film as a heighthen representation of real life and truly value free speech. Siskel, while more conservative, is still very understanding of the film's nature. He might dislike the "4 letters word" as he called it😂, but his viewpoint does adapt with each film's context. There's nothing wrong with wanting a family friendly film to truly be that and demanding violence to serve a purpose. Their contradictions really make the conversation richer. Ps. Ebert asking why guns are violent in films, but not real life is the most savage take down ever.

[@fabiobonetta5454]

Roger was the best movie critic to ever walk the Earth; and It's not particularly close, I don't think

[@MrGarysugarman]

Stunning, almost obsolete, brilliance. Great loss.

[@socal310-b2v]

Sunday at 6:30! Siskel & Ebert in Los Angeles.

[@Kain5th]

damn i wanna hear these two talk over pulp fiction. would be a huge learning experience

[@ProfessorMurf]

I miss these guys.

[@Monkofmagnesia]

Oh, come on,! Now we will never know the final question!!!

[@rashadgreviews1868]

Wow! I had no idea Gene was that much taller than Robert

[@TheLiveMusicGroup]

lol

[@A_M_P_]

@47:25 Die Hard with a Vengeance is a masterpiece. WAY better than Die Hard 2. And there's only 3 explosions in the whole movie, Gene (RIP)

[@dd22musicfan1]

Siskel and Ebert schooling these mother*uckers. Geez, we could really use them now.

[@johnmoeller8654]

Both of these gentlemen were fighting right wing posturing well before it was fashionable

[@philipgregorymaingot7722]

Sure, because right wing posturing is far more prevalent than left wing posturing...give me a break. There has been no bigger wet blanket and proponent of censorship than the left in recent times.

[@Philbert-s2c]

@@philipgregorymaingot7722 I tend to doubt you could actually define "Left" if you tried.

[@kevinrhea7332]

I’ve met maybe 2 or 3 people that can accurately define political terms and “left/right” isn’t a factor

[@JETZcorp]

I agree with almost everything Siskel and Ebert said here. But, I do think there's a funny parallel in Roger's comments about gun collectors. Clearly, he hasn't gone to a range and participated in that hobby, yet like Bob Dole he feels qualified to editorialize on it anyway. If he actually did spend some time with collectors, he'd have known that full-auto weapons were already highly restricted by the NFA (signed by Reagan, btw) at the time this talk was given. You could not then and still cannot now just buy a machine gun for $100, and it is illegal to manufacture them for civilian use. Interestingly enough, anyone can go buy a flamethrower and manufacture their own napalm - go figure. But anyway, if Roger did spend some time with the types of serious gun collectors who would jump through the hoops to possess a full-auto in the mid-90s, I suspect he might be impressed by the degree of safety protocol and diligence exercised in that community. Much as Pulp Fiction differs from pornography, there is a world of difference between gun collectors and the people who actually commit gun violence "in the streets".

[@chigal0926]

These men are missed; I grew up on their show. This was aired when I was going into my senior year of high school. Unfortunately, Hollywood has not listened. I am sick to death of all these super hero movies. Even as a teenager I wanted to see more adult theme movies. And Ebert was right about the ridiculous ratings system, which pigeon holes studios from going for more adult themed, not porn based films. Siskel was also right about focusing on box office numbers with the assumption they are better films, which we all know is not the case. I have a good example: Back in 1996, Independence Day with Will Smith made hundreds of millions of dollars. I saw it and thought it was good. However, there was a movie that was 10 times better that stared Charlie Sheen called The Arrival. It came out at the same time as Independence Day, and was the same theme as well. The only reason I heard about it was from watching an episode of Siskel and Ebert. I decided to rent the video, and was blown away. It was way more deep and intense and much more scarier than ID, without the needless, extravagant special effects and the silly, ham-handed dialogue of ID. I recommend everyone stream The Arrival with Charlie Sheen.

[@patrickshields5251]

chigal09 Siskel and Ebert and your criticism of the Hollywood system is completely accurate. This is exactly what's still happening with Hollywood system, especially their obsession with the opening weekend. They've been doing this since the creation of the summer blockbuster.

[@deckofcards87]

Great comment and I wholeheartedly agree. In their day, S&E could sway public audience opinion -but I trusted in them to do so because they were both decent, intellectual journalists with both class and integrity and without political agendas. Both possessed a wealth of knowledge about cinema ans they just loved movies and cared about there effect on the public and society at large, especially Ebert.

[@Angyali]

I too count Hoop Dreams az a fantastic movie, but it was Number-1 on my list for 1994. It didn't resonate with me on quite that high level, even though I love and admire the movie.

[@MrJonnyPepper]

see people always take my art out of context

[@qrste81]

Wow proponents of NC-17 before it was a thing. too bad it didn't work out.

[@majestyk3337]

Go to the 18:00 mark if you don't want to watch the whole video.

[@jokerswildio]

You can tell by his choice of words and his articulate nature that Ebert is the true journalist. I like Siskel also, but he seems more of a film critic who writes for a paper while Ebert seems like a journalist who specializes in film criticism.

[@ivanvanogre-nd1sw]

24:00 "John Travolta, A Heart-Throb of America." Watch Ebert!

[@frommatorav1]

TLDR: Maybe 15+ years ago. lol

[@doddsino]

1:56 So that's where George Lucas got the line!

[@oobrocks]

This has audio problems

[@QED_]

0:10 Ebert . . . and then Siskel. Another coin toss (?) Alphabetical order (?) Pulitzer Prize order (?)

[@thekcsugethe_kc_suge7930]

Man what Gene is talking about marketing is way worse today. Press & media should watch this.

[@SuiGenerisAbbie]

Who else hears music and stuff in the background of this video? It is so jarring!

[@oobrocks]

I don't know y we can't c the film clips

[@ZAPPED916]

Natural Born Killers is waaayyyyy ahead of it’s time!

[@lars7282]

Boy, they both would be so disappointed with the state of movies nowadays. Everything is competently filmed but badly written, only franchises, only „stuff“

[@jokerswildio]

I feel that good movies with intriguing characters and stories are making a comeback this year though. Dune, Elvis and Top Gun are 3 examples.

[@daikiri13]

I told my brother to smoke ?!? 15:09

[@JoeSmith-gi1lf]

Rogers criticizes the way Bob Dole attempted to divide the nation over Rap music back then (and he's right). I wonder, however, if Roger would use the same criticism of the Democrat party and the way it vilifies anyone who doesn't agree with them today.

[@KernelHughes]

It goes both ways. Both sides are guilty but conservative only cry "cancel culture" when censorship when it happens to them

[@greg6898]

Who made Tipper Gore God?

[@FirstMultitude]

Be sure to give this video a thumbs up on your way out...

[@idontknow1919]

I love them both, but this Q &A just shows how much smarter Ebert is than Siskel

[@matts9064]

Today’s media helps the govt and keeps the boogeyman out there. Keep division growing and always blame someone else.

[@thekcsugethe_kc_suge7930]

Bob Dole was establishment & like all of those people pick one broad issue that they don’t research past surface level. Dole wasn’t the only one of these people on both sides.

[@thekcsugethe_kc_suge7930]

Wrong on guns Ebert

[@AlanSmitheeman]

By the late 90s Gene finally got rid of his comb over.

[@frommatorav1]

Those 6 hairs finally fell out.

[@gfalcon]

Near the end of his life, Gene actually wore a "male pattern baldness" wig when he was getting treated for his brain cancer. He looked so tired around 1998

[@frommatorav1]

@@gfalcon You could tell he was still smart but he began to slur just a little. Kind of made me sad but at the same time a little inspired that he kept doing what he loved until the end.

[@gfalcon]

@@frommatorav1 Gene's last appearance on Letterman really showed just how beaten down he was from the disease and the treatments. He still had all of his smarts, but he was just too worn out to spar with Roger as vigorously as he always did. I kinda found it classy that he had a wig to re-create a hairstyle that most bald guys today would be ashamed to wear.

[@frommatorav1]

@@gfalcon I saw that episode for the first time last week. My comment was referring to that one.

[@indieeasmr7101]

Whenever you are challenged with the argument that violence in movies has a negative impact on children, just remember that there's children all over the world who live countries where guns aren't worshipped, and they turn out just fine. Children learn pretty young that movies aren't real. Just consider your first non-cartoon movie going experience as a kid. Did you get nightmares from the Willy Wonka tunnel scene? Sure, but did you think it was real? Absolutely not. Its called imagination and its supposed to be limitless. Real violence comes from people with mental health problems getting guns. Don't blame their actions on movies, blame the guns.

[@julianabrown8283]

Listening to an entire rap album would be torture. lol

[@Harkness78]

There are good rap albums, even if you aren't into rap there is bound to be a few you would find rewarding. I hate country music but I am sure there several albums I would enjoy front to back.

[@deckofcards87]

Used to listen to hiphop... when I was about 16 lol. Then I discovered a wealth of better genres. There's a small handful of exceptions with thought-worthy lyrics but it's too limited from a musical standpoint.

[@edwardelric603]

Rap is talentless ignorant garbage. You want black music listen to Curtis Mayfield and Marvin gaye

[@gan1019]

And you’re exactly who Ebert was talking about.

[@TheLiveMusicGroup]

yes

[@alexdavis2925]

Talents & great minds like this seem to have gone extinct these days

[@Mythologos]

That comb-over is painful to look at.

[@wweecw1]

Gene Siskel is great but he always comes off so awarded when he talks

[@TheLiveMusicGroup]

awarded?

[@theechothief5594]

"people getting upset over cop killings in movies" Oh, have times have changed. I look forward to the pendulum shift (that's already in effect) where people actually respect, appreciate and obey law enforcement. Our world today is full of spoiled, entitled brats.

[@KernelHughes]

The good old days don't exist and there are plenty of bad cops who abuse people

[@tentcater4710]

The way Gene carried on for years about hoop dreams ugh give it a rest dude!

[@happiness1772]

The movie didn't do well at first. They mentioned it over and over to promote the efforts of those filmmakers, and because they believed it was a masterpiece that was being under seen and shafted.

[@STR33TJESSUS]

Hollyweird movies has been used for witchcraft since it's creation and humans are still hypnotized in 2023

[@ivanvanogre-nd1sw]

50:23 White Man Privilege? Rich Person Privilege?

[@TheLiveMusicGroup]

Siskel died of terminal comb-over, right?

[@brandoncollins1225]

No. He died of brain cancer. What an ugly thing to say.

[@kevinrhea7332]

She fine tho

[@NYpatriot712]

This whole segment is about trashing Bob Dole. Huge turnoff.

[@nikosvault]

triggered?

[@DLDX]

Pulp Fiction sucks!

[@majestyk3337]

Um, no.

[@danorthsidemang3834]

@@majestyk3337 Um, yes.

[@zachjohnson637]

@@danorthsidemang3834 Um, no.

[@jokerswildio]

I believe it is slightly overrated, but at the time so different. My favorite Tarantino films are Inglorious Basterds and Once Upon a Time in HOLLYWOOD

[@dreamquesttv]

So it reminds you of your mom?

[@CoolhandLukeSkywalkr]

Boy, did Roger Ebert drink the kool-aid. He ended up being very wrong.

[@brandoncollins1225]

About?

[@chel3SEY]

Grinding political and ideological axes. These two should have stuck with film reviewing, which they do very well, unlike their politics and social commentary.

[@Harkness78]

Fuck off you douche.

[@hokiebabe]

chel3SEY Imagine...a movie critic commenting on society. What is the world coming to? /s

[@HkFinn83]

You mean you heard something you don’t like

[@danwesson1934]

I lean right but they had some incredible insight which is true about the division. These guys were first class