Siskel & Ebert (1983) - Blue Thunder, Return of the Jedi, Breathless, La Traviata

[@john2001plus]

This reminds me why l liked this show so much.

[@JoeBlow-fp5ng]

Roger and Gene would HATE what has happened to the Star Wars franchise since they passed away.

[@housecut]

Thanks for the timestamps

[@cecilfloyd8331]

Oh man this is another great episode!

[@warriorv9359]

Return of the jedi baaaaaaadassss

[@sheilaholmes996]

I love all three but the first one will always be special because it was all new and exciting.

[@bOmBAsTiK]

Never saw "Blue Thunder" all the way through but I know it was the inspiration for one of my favorite shows from the '80s, "Airwolf"

[@jhorton1600]

Blue Thunder had it's own TV show. I think it had 2 seasons.

[@sm5574]

Airwolf actually traces its origins back to a failed spinoff of Magnum P. I.

[@drumtum]

@@sm5574 Two Birds of a Feather?

[@sm5574]

@@drumtum, exactly.

[@itsthedavidshow]

As someone who grew up on these two, I always identified more with Ebert. But as a (much) older man, I find myself nodding along to Siskel far more. "Blue Thunder" is a great example. I've seen that film a couple dozen times. I saw "Firefox" with Eastwood in theaters. When is the last time anyone thought of the dogfights in that picture?

[@reneedennis2011]

I like Blue Thunder.

[@johnbauby6612]

I like turtles

[@kibagami74]

Surprised Ebert would give Blue Thunder a Thumbs Down. I saw that in theaters as a 9 y/o kid and loved it, hated seeing Lymangood's death, that scarred me but it certainly had impact in the film. Roy Scheider was a great actor. Just shows, you never know for sure where Siskel or Ebert will come down on a movie.

[@chadcrudup6944]

Yeah I was 12 or 13 when I saw BT in the theater and JAFO's death really hit me hard

[@sandal_thong]

This viewing I thought Leia said, "Now we find out if that _coke_ is worth the price we paid" though I knew better. I was thinking if there's video of her high on coke before watching this. Someone said the 40th anniversary release in theaters this year was their favorite movie of the year so far. The comment that there's twice as many special effects shots than the original movie goes to the idea that in action movie sequels you have to top what came before. PS: I don't ever remember putting my Atari _on top_ of a TV. It was always on the floor with cords and controllers going places, and having to hit reset every few minutes.

[@garyrossetti2443]

I loved Blue Thunder but disappointed in Return Of The Jedi I did like the Ewoks Thank you for uploading this That Old T.V.

[@rosario508]

The Ewoks were the worst thing about ROTJ!!!

[@littlekingtrashmouth9219]

The fight between Luke and Vader as Palpatine watched was probably the most crucial lightsaber fight of the trilogy

[@sandal_thong]

I don't remember hating the Ewoks when RotJ came out, and even watched one of the Ewok TV movies. I was joking that maybe the TV special would be worth watching again and comparing it to _The Phantom Menace_ in 1999, but didn't bother. What bothered me after the initial viewing was that Luke's confrontation with Darth Vader seemed to play no role in whether the Rebel Alliance defeated the Empire, unless you think distracting Vader and the Emperor caused their defeat.

[@DTM-Books]

How appropriate that this video features a “Vader” Atari 2600 on top of the TV. Also, I'd like to note for the record that everyone back in 1983 loved Return of the Jedi, long before the miserable Comic Book Guy fanboys took over and hated literally every Star Wars movie and TV show that wasn't Empire Strikes Back.

[@shombie2737]

Hated opera, thought it was boring and stuffy, but "Amadeus" and "Diva" changed my mind. "La Traviata" might work.

[@donwilcox728]

I hate Oprah too!!!!!!

[@rubpust6968]

If only we knew back then!!!! For goodness sake, dont let Lucas make more StarWars!!!!

[@fordhamdonnington2738]

Or better yet, don't let Disney make any more Star Wars movies.

[@josephjoe4180]

Why? The Prequels were awesome. Podracing, Coruscant, underwater cities, Darth Maul, duel of the fates, Obi Wan vs Anakin, clone wars, etc....I could keep going. If the prequels had come out in 1977 they would be just as beloved by the older generation as they are now by millennials. As for Jar Jar, I found him infinitely less annoying than C-3po's constant whining. And oh God, don't get me started on the Ewoks. A lot of the complaints levied against the prequels can also be applied to the original trilogy if fans weren't so blinded by childhood nostalgia.

[@sandal_thong]

I think we can agree that Star Wars films can be awe-inspiring and wonderous to kids who see one for the first time in theaters. Of course that's true of other movies and franchises when it's your first time in the theater watching a live-action blockbuster, as you can see in comments to clips for _Superman,_ and _Star Trek II._

[@kibagami74]

RotJ was an amazing experience, the build up was huge, absolutely everyone I knew saw it multiple times in theaters, kids and adults. We really don't have such shared cultural phenomenons anymore, kind of sad. Yes the Ewoks were cringe and some things could have been handled better but RotJ is still one hell of a movie, the original trilogy is 2 3/4's movie greatness.

[@hungwilliam44]

The country that produces the best science fiction is the best country in the world: America.

[@fordhamdonnington2738]

But Luc Besson did an end run around George's monopoly on science fiction and made an amazing movie called 5th Element : France.

[@hungwilliam44]

@@fordhamdonnington2738 I'll see your 5th element and raise you Trancers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6.

[@jodybriggs1075]

I like to imagine they had blazing rows over filming every aspect of the intro. YOU went up the balcony steps first SO I get to sit in the chair first!!!

[@drumtum]

Well Blue Thunder have aged better than Firefox.

[@akfreed6949]

Think the Blue Thunder plot is crazy ? When Art Bell was still hosting and still owned Coast to Coast AM radio show , someone claimed that some armed Apache helicopters left for Waco before the big gunfight . When the helicopters came back all the ammo was gone .

[@akfreed6949]

@Snide Remarks There were agents seen firing their weapons at what looked like a storage container . They denied it was their weapons and said it was flashlights .

[@jnerdsblog]

Listening to these two, you'd never believe that RotJ would be viewed as the worst of the originals. Just goes to show 1) how damn good the movies were and 2) that nobody hates Star Wars more than its fans. Awesome movie, just like the 8 others in their own ways.

[@joncarroll2040]

My earliest memory is watching RotJ in the theater and it made me a fan for life. It's still my favorite SW movie. Though in point of fact there are 10 other movies... 11 if you count animation.

[@nicktaylor2657]

A lot of people like Empire Strikes Back as the best of the Star Wars trilogy but I like Return of the Jedi because you have resolution of the story I didn't like the cliffhanger ending of Empire Strikes Back

[@zt1053]

That's what Lucas wanted. I didn't appreciate the darkness of Empire till I got older.

[@sandal_thong]

We got three cliffhangers this year you won't like then: _Fast X, Across the Spider-Verse,_ and _Mission Impossible._

[@ricardocantoral7672]

I don't understand why people whine about the ending of Empire. The story wasn't over yet and it wasn't really cliffhanger. That was just wrapping up the second part of a trilogy.

[@scottaznavourian3720]

Interesting they bring up 6 more movies...siskel died 3 months before TPM came out and ebert died just before star wars got sold to disney.

[@donwilcox728]

The old TV is kinda cool for the first few minutes then it becomes annoying because I can't see what's happening.

[@mrchopsticks3]

Blue Thunder is a great movie, though you can drive a fleet of Mac trucks through some of the plot holes.

[@matthewschwartz6607]

What were some of the holes? None really jumped out to me.

[@OEMishGarage]

I do like how Scheider's character shows concern over the civilian casualties in the helicopter demonstration, but then uses civilian buildings as shields from the F-16s' missiles.

[@matthewschwartz6607]

@@OEMishGarage - From what I read, the script was different, and SCHEIDER was supposed to be the villain when he got a hold of Blue Thunder! He was supposed to go on a killing spree, he was supposed to be a traumatized vet.

[@maskedmarvyl4774]

I don't think Siskel and Ebert would have liked the last three Star Wars movies....

[@lloydshanahan154]

Roger Ebert did give Star Trek 09 a lack luster review, so he probably wouldn't have.

[@sandal_thong]

"There's a great chase sequence with flying motorcycles." Funny, including Ebert's comment that they should just fly over the forest that's been used in cartoons.

[@joshuaburns3167]

For once I agree with Siskel over Ebert on Blue Thunder

[@nicklengyel356]

It was more like, don't let Lucas sell his creations to another company

[@lloydshanahan154]

Sure are a lot of stuck up film snobs in this comment section hating on Return of the Jedi. You posers do realize hating Ewoks doesn't really make you look cool, right?

[@scottaznavourian3720]

Kinda a big spoiler when the first clip you see has Han alive and not in carbonite

[@gspendlove]

Well, it's not like there was ever any doubt they were going to rescue Han. The fun was in watching their plan play out. And in finally getting to see Jabba the Hutt, who up to then in the movies had only been mentioned as an unseen threat.

[@cosmoissleeping]

Now I wish they would stop making Star Wars movies and shows

[@josephpanzarella1417]

Pretty hard not to wince at Ebert's bad pronunciation of "Placido"

[@PrimarchX]

Be careful what you wish for, guys.

[@fordhamdonnington2738]

10:44 Boy did that turn out terrible. One word: J.J. Abrams

[@Lyjaneg]

It's a TRAP!

[@demondsims5411]

"George Lucas wants to make six more Star Wars movies" 😮...😢...😭 Why didn't George Lucas make six more movies during the late 80s and in the 90s?!?!?!?! I'd rather seen a sequel trilogy with Hamill, Ford, and Fisher while they were still young in the late 80s or 90s. The trash we got later was abysmal. What could've bee😞😩😫

[@PaulSmith-qs1es]

Interesting that live opera didn't have overtitles back then. I've never seen one without them. (though I have seen a few with the overtitles messed up.)

[@ShmuckOnWheels]

The hell is an "overtitle"???

[@PaulSmith-qs1es]

@@ShmuckOnWheels like a subtitle but over the stage instead at the bottom of the screen.

[@kali3665]

But Return of the Jedi still has Ewoks - the most hated creatures of the Star Wars franchise until Jar Jar Binks inflicted himself on us. Oh, and this was where we REALLY started hating C3PO. I liked Blue Thunder and Breathless, probably because they *were* style over substance both, but not when they first came out. Needed to mature a little before I could appreciate those guys. 😊

[@delbongo]

We?

[@kali3665]

@@delbongo I *CAN'T* be the only one....

[@gspendlove]

Don't presume to speak for anyone but yourself.

[@sandal_thong]

I remember not liking C-3PO after I listened to _Star Wars: The Radio Drama_ where he tells the Jawas where to find R2D2. It's not said explicitly in the movie he did so, but seemed they were just looking for droids in the desert. He's also a whiner and seemingly a coward. I didn't pick up on it as a kid, but when Chewie repairs him in _Empire_ he said "Stormtroopers here? I must warn the others! Oh, no I've been shot!" so he wasn't a total coward as I thought when he previously suggested they surrender to the Empire.

[@TobeyStarburst]

It's a trap!!!

[@mowm88]

Blue Thunder discovered the Google.

[@davidnelson6874]

I almost fell asleep in the theater watching Return Of The Jedi.

[@markallen2984]

"Jedi" was the first bad Star Wars movie (and they've been bad ever since.....though "Rogue One" was OK)

[@sandal_thong]

I liked the first half of _RotJ_ though I think they should have beaten Jabba in less than 4 1/2 minutes; but it's a movie so we needed some action. _Rogue One_ was absurd that the engineer would create a second codeword for the project with the codeword "Death Star" that only his daughter would know and be able to retrieve from the archive, as if he knew that was going to happen. If he wanted to sabotage the Death Star he could have done so, resulting in self-destruction when it did a full-power attack on Alderaan, or jumped to hyperspace.

[@TobeyStarburst]

6 more lol

[@CaptainGinyu]

oof

[@irvingwashington8638]

"The Return of The Jedi" is such a childish stinker. 🤮 Especially when you compare to the "The Empire Strikes Back". Bluh

[@widowrumstrypze9705]

Still better than ALL that came after!

[@sandal_thong]

@@BarnabasCollinsXIII Some young people in Canada said they came up with Ewoks and sent their idea to Lucas in the hopes he would buy it and produce it. A court ruled against them in Canada, so they failed to prove it. Still, it's an interesting idea that there would be no Ewoks in a Star Wars variant in the multiverse.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

Return is where the series started going wrong. The series was only a half a dozen years old and we already felt the pain of it getting caught up nostalgia ( a second death star).

[@gterrymed]

Both Lucas' wife and producer left Lucas and Star Wars never reached the level of '77 or Empire Strikes Back

[@petetownshend5297]

You’re right buddy

[@carolinamarcg]

The tv is dumb, give us the whole picture

[@hareofsteel]

1. It's probably like 12p, being this old. So all you would see at full screen is pixels unless somebody has remastered this show. 2. KZbin would probably take this down if the poster didn't add the foreground material.