Siskel & Ebert Review - Superman II, Eyes of a Stranger, Stripes, The Cannonball Run

[@Diskoboy1974]

Remember seeing Cannonball Run opening night with my sister and aunt. Afterwards, we went to Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor and ate, and I played Pac-Man for about an hour straight. Good times.

[@kali3665]

I really miss Farrell's. Nothing has ever taken its place. Nothing ever will. 😪😪

[@kali3665]

@@ianmillerdevilsfan1223 Aren't they all?

[@Fiveash-Art]

Adrien Barbeau and Tara Buckman stole the show for me as a kid. Those two chicks in the Lamborghini .. whoo haa .. hot stuff man.

[@Albendova666]

I remember watching Siskel and Ebert every Saturday night during the late 70s and onward, so much fun watching these. Thank you for the formatting That Old T.V.

[@cheddarcheese7928]

Back when Sneak Previews aired it was one of the only ways to see a part of a movie without going to the theater..It’s better today where everything is at ur finger tips..But it did make movies a lot more magical

[@stevenwatchorn9816]

As a 10-year-old, I cracked up at the Roger Moore bit with the biker in Cannonball Run (when it played a dozen times a week on HBO). I still like his self-effacing humor there; not above poking a little fun at himself.

[@trikkerman1]

I like when Roger pretends to shoot his mother, he says, "you know what mother? You're too Jewish."

[@lowbridge7070]

Saw Superman II and Cannonball Run when they originally came out in the movie theaters in 1981. I was 12 years old. Saw them with my then best friend (same age as me). The one thing we truly shared was our love for the movies. We were both fanatics about the movies. We talked, read, ate, drank, and slept the movies. And we went to the movies together once a week for a lot of years from the 1970s-1980s. He always chose the movie we would go to see. I didn't mind. I loved the movie theater going experience in itself. When we weren't going to the movies, we were watching more movies on his tv at his apartment (and yes, we religiously watched Siskel and Ebert on his tv every week). There was no particular reason my friend chose Superman II and Cannonball Run to see. We tried to see every brand new movie that came out as best we could regardless of the genre (he loved horror films, I preferred comedy), the plot and storyline, who starred in it, etc. Cannonball Run and Superman II ust happened to be a couple of the new movies that just came out. We really enjoyed both movies (we went to the movies together only once a week, so we saw each movie on different weeks). Going to the movies every week with my then best friend in the 1970s-1980s is among my most fondest, happiest memories of not only my childhood, but also of my entire life.

[@robertwilson214]

And what a time to do it....70s and 80s had best movies whether thriller,action,sci,horror,comedy.when I was 9 dad would tape for me, star wars,superman,American werewolf,thing,cannonball run,trading places

[@jusbaize]

"I can't wait for Superman 3" Boy...little did he know!!

[@Fiveash-Art]

Superman 3 isn't nearly as good as the first two, but it still has its place. I still enjoy it .. I loved the bad Superman stuff .. The fight in the junkyard was great. Kind of reminded me of Luke's fight in the cave on degobah .. lots of good metaphor going on there. Superman 3 receives WAY too much hate. I liked Richard Pryor too.

[@metfish]

“Superman 3….underrated movie…..”. Michael Bolten

[@kibagami74]

Casting Richard Pryor went a long way to to ruin Superman 3. He was totally unbelievable as some genius computer programmer, they cast him strictly for his popularity but what a total mismatch. Robert Vaughn could have been a decent villain but they went so far into cartoonish slapstick comedy that he was ruined, I guess they thought to amp up the jokes because Pryor is in it. You can easily forget Christopher Reeve is in the film with how much time they have Pryor on screen.

[@Fiveash-Art]

@@kibagami74 I like the scene in the computer room where he's getting drunk with Brad. It's stupid .. but whatever. Still a classic movie. There's a lot of stupid stuff that Richard Lester threw into Superman 2, and I can still forgive it. 😁

[@Fiveash-Art]

@@metfish Michael Bolton you say? I celebrate the man's entire catalog.

[@ac9559]

Love Superman II and Stripes. It is worth getting the Superman II DVD with the added footage, it makes it even better.

[@sandal_thong8631]

I don't think they mentioned Sean Young and her character in _Stripes._ Oh, well. Sorry to hear she ran afoul of Harvey Weinstein in the 1990s. Who knows how many Oscar-nominated actresses we might have had if he hadn't tried to abuse women?

[@lowbridge7070]

In spite of the bad reviews Cannonball Run got, not just from Siskel and Ebert, but from many other movie critics, it was one of the biggest box office hits of the year (number 3 of the top ten). I recall the theater being packed when I saw it and I too enjoyed it immensely. Not mentioned about Cannonball Run was that it was based on a series of illegal coast to coast races that really took place in the 1970s. They were called the Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash. The founder of these real life Cannonball races was a guy named Brock Yates (writer and editor for car and driver magazine). Brock makes a cameo in the movie as the guy who explains to the drivers the rules of the race in the parking lot (of the portofino inn which actually served as the finishing line of the real races) before the race begins. Brock eventually wrote a book (titled: Cannonball!) about the real races as well as the making of Cannonball Run. It's a good, fun book

[@Fiveash-Art]

It made such an impression on me I had to eventually paint one of my favorite scenes from the movie with Adrienne Barbeau and Tara Buckman in the Countach showing the goods. They were both so damn hot 🔥

[@troylowe814]

I miss these guys.

[@brianwhittig4206]

Love Stripes & it's in my top 10 favorite comedies of all time!

[@kali3665]

Personally, I didn't mind Cannonball Run. It did have its funny moments (I liked Roger Moore making a fool out of himself). Just leave your brain at the door and enjoy.

[@ThatOldTV]

As a kid, I loved Cannonball Run. I watched it 15 million times on HBO.

[@o.c.kiddkidd5163]

Cannonball Run was a very bad film...and I loved it dearly! The Gumball Rally was far superior...and I didn't enjoy it nearly as much. Yes, Run was a party for Reynolds and his buddies and I was entertained by that party.

[@theessentials450]

Not even that good.

[@pmafterdark]

"I can't wait for Superman 3" Believe me Gene, wait.

[@imsteevin]

It's fun to hear them talk about Murray and Ramis before Ghostbusters blew up 3 years later

[@redbeard36]

I had the biggest crush on PJ Soles back in the day.

[@jacobdehaan4114]

She was pretty hot

[@tremoloman]

Thank you for uploading these great episodes! Watching these has introduced me to a bunch of movies I've never heard of or seen. Keep up the great work! 🤘

[@joesimon2029]

Death Wish 3 ! Hope you heard of that one!

[@tremoloman]

@@joesimon2029 My favorite! Watched it dozens of times as a kid! "They killed the Giggler man.... THEY KILLED THE GIGGLER!!!"

[@stevenwatchorn9816]

Superman II was a good film, with some emotional resonance and slam-bang action at the climax. It lacked mainly the grand scale the first film had, and suffered a bit from the somewhat mismatched approaches of the two Richards as directors (Donner and Lester) due to the behind-the-scenes issues. But it is still miles better than either of the Superman films which followed in the 1980s, and also superior to the 2006 and 2013 reboots/reimaginings. Terence Stamp is indelible as Zod. Just like Gene Hackman as Luthor in the first film, though in a different way, he is able to navigate the line between humor and menace, so that he is effective at both. Even these short clips of Superman II, though, show how much John Williams was missed (after he left in solidarity with Donner). Ken Thorne's reworkings of Williams' themes are serviceable, and the parts of the score based on Williams' original-film cues are great, but Thorne's extensions of them (especially in that Niagara sequence in the first clip) are often clumsy, unimaginative, and thin.

[@ricardocantoral7672]

@Dave Davies Just one of Man of Steel's many problems. The film switches between boring drama and dumb, loud, badly photographed action sequences. The only good by product of Man of Steel was the Redletter Media review destroying it.

[@CaptainSpalding72]

Lacked grand scale? Did you not see that fucking fight in the city?

[@stevenwatchorn9816]

@@CaptainSpalding72 That was definitely a highlight, as I mentioned above. But the first film seemed to me to encompass a broader range of action and character beats, from Krypton to the heartland to Metropolis, and a final peril which involved large-scale set-pieces on the West Coast, threatened the entire country, and ended with turning back time (a scene I think works perfectly as an emotional capper despite its logical flaws). Though a very solid action-adventure, with some interesting development of the Lois-Clark-Superman relationship, the second film seemed more "contained" to me. Perhaps it would have been different if Donner had been allowed to complete what he had planned. But it may have been a circumstance that came with being the second film, and would have to have been dealt with in a different way.

[@mooseyman74]

"They need machines to fly!"😂 Says the characters that have been flying for 5 minutes.

[@nickperkins8477]

@@mooseyman74 it’s amazing how quickly the ego kicks in. 🙃😂😂

[@cowetascore8476]

I loved Cannonball Run. Just pure goofiness. Stripes and Superman II are CLASSICS.

[@Paulafan5]

Cannonball Run is fantastic and several elements in it are based on what really did happen.

[@reneedennis2011]

Superman II is the best of the series.

[@timothygrant7266]

It's a fantastic sequel. I saw it in a theater and at the drive-in.

[@Jbaxter85]

Superman 1 & 2 were SPECTACULAR 👍👍🌟🌟🌟🌟

[@ChrisRoth1972]

@@timothygrant7266I also saw Superman II during the summer of 1981.It was magical going to the movies in those days.I am glad u got to see Superman 2 in the Theater also!

[@sandal_thong8631]

It was exciting when I saw it as a kid, so I can imagine it being the highlight of summer 1981. But as someone said, the behind-the-scenes stuff took away the epic nature of the film and led to some campiness. We saw what Lester's idea of a Superman film was like with _III:_ even more dumb humor. But had Donner completed the movie, would it have been that much better?

[@steveconn]

​@@ChrisRoth1972I saw in a theater in Brazil with Portuguese subtitles.

[@ATMyles]

“I can’t wait for Superman 3.” Little did they know, S3 wasn’t worth the wait.

[@trikkerman1]

Everyone knows that Superman IV is the best one of them all...... Trolled you.

[@Paulafan5]

It had great ideas and a couple great scenes, but needed a massive rewrite. It could've been really good, but making Richard Pryor the star of Superman was an odd choice. That scene where that woman gets assimilated is still creepy today.

[@80sNewWaveGeek]

I always found it interesting how the "fractions of a penny embezzlement" storyline in S3 was later borrowed in the cult classic "Officespace".....

[@cineMADvocate]

@@80sNewWaveGeek why? They literally mention Superman 3 in the movie.

[@80sNewWaveGeek]

@@cineMADvocate because I remember in the immediate years following its release, Superman 3 was widely panned and thought of as a dud. So it was fun to see how it had enough relevance for Mike Judge to reference the film and borrow one of its plotlines for Officespace :)

[@timothylewis2527]

Gene: "I can't WAIT to see Superman III.." 😬

[@gregmeyer1805]

To be fair, it wasn't the complete disaster that Superman 4 was in the end. Superman turning bad was a nice touch, and his fight with his good side in the junkyard was the best part of the film. But it was a huge step in the wrong direction for the franchise following the first two stellar films. The Salkinds went brain dead, completely ignored what made the series so awesome up to that point with Donner taking the beloved superhero serious, and allowed Lester to muck it all up with ridiculous comedy and camp, like the 60s Batman series. Too bad.

[@terrygracy8345]

I like cannonball run for what it is. Low brow humor with a ton of great stars. Just fun

[@joshythehand2960]

I remember noticing that the sheik was KLINGER lol.. and he tells his harem.. ladies, there's only so much water in the well!

[@jacobdehaan4114]

Stripes is definitely in my top 3 Bill Murray movies. And it introduced me to John Larroquette

[@yournamehere6002]

Great comedy!

[@JamesAHirons_]

Christopher Reeves. Only one who could nail both Superman and Clark Kent characters

[@Zaft_K]

I watched those clips with tears, remembering what a fine actor he was.

[@jackal59]

This was the only time that comparing an actor to Cary Grant wasn't ridiculous.

[@timothymorris157]

Wow Superman II and Stripes? What a great year 1980 was although my favorites from that year are The Shining and SW EP V The Empire Strikes Back.

[@yournamehere6002]

Also Stir Crazy, Dressed to Kill and Cheech and Chong's Next Movie

[@natalieps2387]

I just cant understand why a good looking very talented actor like burt reynolds who looked just like a young brando & was fantastic in gun smoke as a half native American named quint ( also who tarrantino was named after bc his then teen mom had a crush on him so named her son after burts character ) & hes awesome in deliverance so how did he go down the road of all those slap stick comedies like smokey & the bandit the cannonball run films stroker ace etc? Burt finally got a chance to show his talents again in boogie nights & he had admitted he regrets turning down so many movies where the actor that took it won an oscar. The movie he regrets most not taking was Garrett breedlove in terms of endearment which jack Nicholson won supporting oscar. Chris Reeves is the gold standard for superman & I dont think anyone will even get on par as much as I liked Henry cavill. So glad siskel gives all the credit to Reeve

[@iluvmylovebirdandmybudgiet7729]

Reynolds problem was working his bud Hal Needham instead choosing the best role

[@branagain]

As much as they hated Cannonball Run, I’m surprised it wasn’t called the dog of the week.

[@Jbaxter85]

Superman 2 👍🌟🌟🌟🌟 Stripes 👍🌟🌟🌟🌟 Eyes of a Stranger 👎🌟🌟 The Cannonball Run 👎🌟🌟 25:57 The reviews

[@HumanBeanbag]

This show makes me want popcorn

[@parapoliticos52]

Christopher Reeve sure hit the genetic jack pot

[@joesimon2029]

OMG- you should hear what they say about Cannonball Run 2 ! LOL

[@danieldalton6544]

Eyes of a Stranger seems like a mix between John Carpenter's Someone's Watching Me, When A Stranger Calls, and the gore of F13. Can't believe I've never heard of or seen it.

[@lysanderofsparta3708]

"Eyes of a Stranger" is mostly a slasher-style Hitchcock pastiche, particularly "Rear Window", by way of Carpenter's "Someone's Watching Me". The obscene phone calls are straight out of "Black Christmas" and "When a Stranger Calls" and the severed head in the fish tank is from "He Knows You're Alone". The situations involving the Jennifer Jason Leigh character reference "Wait Until Dark" and "The Spiral Staircase".

[@grannyweatherwax8005]

You can tell I watch a lot of TikTok - I was waiting for the dog to talk 😂

[@robertwilson214]

Actually....Jack Elam in this is hysterically funny.

[@matthewbrown2037]

Being a car nut from a very young age I do have fond memories of The Cannonball Run, although it probably had much more to do with the fact it starred a Lamborghini Countach rather than any of the actors. It really is a bad movie though.

[@CogensFamilyTV]

I love Christopher Reeve, the purposely falling back is comic gold. But a bit geeky here, wouldn't the lasers burn a hole through his glass lenses? I agree, S2 stands on its own, but oh Gene, I think you will taking back that "I can't wait for S3"..hehe..

[@mattpope1746]

Watching the old episodes has given me a new appreciation for Siskel and Ebert’s integrity. Gene is particular is always forceful about gratuitous violence - particularly aimed at women- in the films. It seems a very principled stand. I feel there’s a decency and sense of ethics in the two men that is derided today.

[@Revelian1982]

I think he's a tosser who contradicts himself every week.

[@stevenhill3136]

Two thumbs down? The Cannonball Run was great

[@CaptainSpalding72]

Not one bit. Even Reynolds admitted he did it for the huge paycheck.

[@josephwolosz2522]

Cannonball Run was a big movie. I think it's just a summertime popcorn movie. Have fun watching all those cool cars and fun actors. I felt like I was part of the race at times. SUPERMAN II was better than the first in many ways. I don't know why Gene thought the Special Effects were not that great. How about the fight in Times Square? And the flying scenes in the Fortress of Solitude. This had a more comic book feel too it. That's what the modern Super Hero movies miss these days. Christopher Reeve bought into the role. It's just a shame he got so badly injured. Probably my favorite Super Hero movie.

[@xdmaster7888]

One of the most interesting S&E episodes ever. Evenly divided between PG and R rated films, covering three larger-budgeted hits and one low-budget horror film, with Gene and Roger agreeing on all the films and splitting that deck 50/50 as well. My take on the 4 films they covered here: *STRIPES--Not a huge shock that they enjoyed a well-made comedy, but it was nice in 1981 to not have veteran white movie critics bitch and moan about how disgusting and vile a gross out R rated comedy this was. S&E just gave STRIPES its due as a very funny movie. *EYES OF A STRANGER--Interestingly, this film was originally scripted as a sinister R rated thriller but not a slasher film at all; Warner Bros. told the production to crank up the brutality and gore or they'd nix it. It feels like S&E would have liked the movie as it was written much more than they did the one on screen. *CANNONBALL RUN--7-year old me loved this film; adult me thinks it's funny in parts but it is really slapdash (which, then and now, I found a hell of a lot more likable than S&E did). It kind of got S&E on the track of rightly finding almost everything Burt Reynolds did going forward to be awful. *SUPERMAN II--The lesson here is maybe more sequels would work if they were done in tandem or at least closely with the first movie. That's why the 2nd SUPERMAN film could survive and even thrive when Richard Donner was fired and Richard Lester took over. By SUPERMAN III (which S&E both disliked) that balance was gone and the franchise has never regained that initial momentum.

[@latvguy1]

Funny how they both said they couldn't wait for Superman 3. I bet they changed their mind after seeing it.

[@knownpleasures]

Superman 2 had a bizarre release schedule of circa Christmas 1980 for most of Europe and ROW and then USA 🇺🇸 summer of 1981

[@thefonzkiss]

You see these bleeds? These bleeds right here?

[@peternighswander9629]

I loved Superman 2 and I wish they had stopped at this one. It did not need two more dreadful sequels

[@robertwilson214]

How cool to actually walk through the side of a skyscraper instead of climbing out the window.

[@gridlo]

I like that those Superman clips were edited so they didn't give away that Louis knows Clark is Superman. "For the first time in my life, everything's clear." is a response to her comment about Clark and they cut the second part to "I'm gonna change into something more comfortable... maybe you should too."

[@oobrocks]

17:25 Superman 2

[@Paulafan5]

Cannonball Run is great silly fun. A movie you can watch on a rainy day and just enjoy. Yeah, it could've been better, but it's still fun and the first Western film that Jackie Chan appeared in.

[@TBOTSS]

@Paulafan5 Just a quick correction. "The Big Brawl" was Jackie's first Western movie.

[@gmaqwert]

I wonder if they liked Cannonball Run 2

[@andrewk2996]

I loved Cannonball Run! It's just silly, mindless fun, no one's intelligence got insulted. It didn't go out to be Citizen Kane

[@CaptainSpalding72]

it's still terrible.

[@chrisbowman7280]

@@CaptainSpalding72 🤣

[@auburn1357]

13:07 that sounds crazy

[@AndrewNewZealand]

Sucks that they didn't give any credit to Terrance Stamp as Zod in Superman II 🤔

[@WilAdams]

P;J. Soles (Norma--baseball cap--in Carrie, and Lynda--what's the matter Bob, can't I get your ghost--in Halloween) is one of the seriously under used actresses of her time. Like Kathleen Turner (Body Heat) she simply did not get the roles that would have transformed the projects. For example, if P.J. had been cast in War Games, or Kathleen cast in Irreconcilable Differences those films would have been so much better. The problem that P.J. would have solved in War Games would have been chemistry with Mathew Broadrick. The 'love' story was the one weakness in that film and P.J. could have saved it.

[@joesimon2029]

Rock n' Roll High School too .

[@WilAdams]

@Dave Davies Abrasive? I did not see that trait in Body Heat. Jessica Rabbit. Or even Romancing the Stone. Should I be looking for a specific scene. As for Soles, range, I think we got a good look at some range in Stripes. I think she is like Roselyn Russell in that she had range, but unlike Miss Russell, P.J. did not seek out roles that would show it. Miss Russell made it a point in her career to do varied roles. Lots of awards and nominations followed.

[@ShmuckOnWheels]

I wish they would have continued with the Dog of The Week segment, or something similar, on their subsequent review shows. God knows there is never a shortage of lousy movies.

[@theriddler8695]

Arrrrrrmyyyy training sir!!! Great movie. I saw The Cannonball Run in the theaters and loved it…and still do. It’s a classic. Superman II yet another classic. What a summer!!!! 1981…great summer for movies.

[@oobrocks]

Superman (1) is better but only a tad: 2 is also great!

[@bluethunder7391]

Christopher Reeve ruined the role for everyone else. He is the real Superman.

[@TheSamdroidOnline]

Review for It Came Without Warning - That's what she said.

[@RichardMcDowell-m8c]

Eyes of a Stranger had no caller ID.

[@bertmustin]

Christopher Reeve based Clark Kent on Carey Grant.

[@TheSecurityCamChannel]

4 dollars for a movie ticket in 1981. Let that sink in.

[@ShmuckOnWheels]

I haven't seen Superman 2 in decades but watching this clip reminds me of how much better Margot Kidder looked in Superman. What a difference a few years makes with some people.

[@murraykelm5691]

I thought Stripes was funnier than Ghostbusters.

[@theessentials450]

Always fun to listen to their rants on bad films.

[@oobrocks]

I'd prefer to only c the picture not the tv but the audio is great

[@mrtaxi072]

Cannonball Run was fantastic fun. It amazes me that they'll both love Stripes and then a few minutes later, dis Cannonball because why? The plot was more formulaic? Stripes was funny but so was Cannonball. I think Cannonball was even funnier

[@greggburke7796]

These nerds completely missed the boat on Cannonball Run. It only cost 39 million to make and grossed 160 million back in 1981. That's about half a BILLION dollars in today's money.

[@Paulafan5]

I just saw it the other week and seeing real cars driving is a refreshing change from all the CGI action in a lot of action movies today.

[@theessentials450]

I hated Cannonbal Run even as a kid when it was released.

[@aldenmartin623]

Love em

[@JosephASmith-km6yf]

They were really wrong about The Cannonball Run. The movie has some fun humor and a great cast. I saw it and Superman II in the theater the same day! Now Cannonball Run II, that movie sucked the big one!

[@theriddler8695]

Siskel “I can’t wait for Superman III”. That statement didn’t age well. That movie was a 💩.

[@BrentFiore]

Boy in the public TV days they showed a quarter of the movie

[@rcfred_689]

Cannonball run was somewhat funny

[@anadraham2995]

Cannonball Run was WoNdErFuL 👍💯🎯

[@sbwification2]

Stripes hasn't aged well.

[@PhantasyStarved]

I feel gratified and vindicated by all the Cannonball Run love in this comment section

[@gheller2261]

Nobody wants to see Cruise Director Julie McCoy smoking a cigarette. Ick.

[@twikirobot6897]

All of these films are great.

[@freddyfurrah3789]

I guess burt thought if he and his friends were having a good time, it was a good movie. WRONG

[@oobrocks]

Stripes is above ave but not great: 4 stars

[@davidharrison4881]

GUMBALL

[@jonvisser1509]

Superman 2 way better than any current DC movie. They are so far off the mark Aquaman sucked Wonder Woman okay 2nd one crap and these suicide squad movies aweful. They need copy the Marvel trend make movies that bring the hero's together that Justice League just aweful. Jesse Eisenberg about the most miscast Lex Luther in movie history just aweful. They honestly need to just start over. 1982 Swamp thing Wes Craven movie is great the Tim Burton Batman okay.

[@luckymerciless]

Superman 3??? If they only knew................

[@ciadella1971]

I will watch Cannonball Run over Stripes anyday.

[@freddyfurrah3789]

SISKEL IS NUTS, WHEN IT COMES TO LOVE STORIES. THE BRAIN TUMOR STARTED EARLY.

[@pscurti350]

Cannonball Run is a cult classic.. Just goes to show what these two New York D-Bags knew.

[@yournamehere6002]

It's fun but terrible, and they're from Chicago

[@michaelminervini1908]

LOL superman 2 was crap.

[@seanabbins5481]

Stripes comes off as terrible based on these clips

[@yournamehere6002]

Stripes is a great comedy

[@PatTheBatmanFan]

“Stripes” is pure garbage.

[@TobeyStarburst]

Ripoff channel??