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Publisher : G.P. Putnam's Sons (October 24, 2023)
Language : English
Hardcover : 352 pages
ISBN-10 : 0593540158
ISBN-13 : 52
Item Weight : 1.22 pounds
Dimensions : 6.25 x 1.2 x 9.3 inches
Best Sellers Rank: #8,630 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #8 in Movie History & Criticism #48 in Rich & Famous Biographies #88 in Actor & Entertainer Biographies
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Top Amazon Reviews
I didn’t always agree with Siskel and Ebert. They got things wrong on occasion but they sure were fun to watch and listen to. I do have an issue with the subtitle of the book though. They didn’t change the movies-they changed the way people TALKED about the movies. They changed how we engaged each other about the films we love and hate. Their influence still stands in print and on TV. Both men were intelligent, acerbic and traded barbed quips about films so well that one might jot realize that they couldn’t stand each other in the very beginning. Heck, they disliked each other when the first met. It was the competition that did it. Ebert saw Siskel as the rival newspaper’s answer to him and Siskel saw Ebert as a competitor to take down. That did change with time. At first, they were a pair of prima donnas; when Roger got a cushion so that he was at the same height as Siskel on screen (it makes it easier to frame the shot), Siskel had to have one, too. The secret weapon behind-the-scenes was Thea Flaum. The co-producer of the show groomed the pair so that their reviews and quips on screen would flow giving them tips,to make their written reviews translate to the screen. She taught them television even goi g so far as to tell them to get a new wardrobe because, as she noted, the way they dressed on screen looked awful. Without Htea, there would be no Siskel & Ebert. The pilot was a disaster but she knew there was something there and helped them hone their television craft. The irony is that neither was a strange to TV but they were to the idea of a two critic show where they had to interact and tolerate each other. With time, they developed friendship (and they may have disagreed and dislike each other in the beginning but there was mutual respect. Most of the time) and would stand their intellectual ground with each other. This partnership flourished and it became one of PBS’ most popular programs. Later, when theh left and were syndicated, they continued to be popular. This book does a great job covering their childhood, their rivalry, the difficult start of their show, success, the death of Gene Siskel (no how very few knew wbout how truly I’ll he was), the aftermath of the show tin Roger Ebert carrying on with others (though that magic chemistry was gone). It concludes with Roger Elbert’s illness, the show carrying on without him while he recovered and his eventual death. There’s a nice appendix of overlooked films that each man championed over the years. Siskel & Ebert changed the way that we, as audience members, saw the movies. They were a unique pair, brilliant and challenged each other every step of the way. I don’t believe either man would have it any other way.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 25, 2023 by Wayne Klein
For a generation of young movie fans in the 80s, Siskel & Ebert (Ebert & Siskel) were perhaps the most trusted adults in our lives. I watched "At the Movies" and later, "Siskel & Ebert", more religously than perhaps any other show since being weaned off "The Electric Company". So deeply etched into my mind are these two that while reading "Opposable Thumbs" I could actually hear their voices in my head. Singer's book not only provided a rich history of how the show came to be and how these two became some of the biggest celebrities in film, but reminded me of some of the most instructive and entertaining television I've ever watched. I suspect like many other readers, I spent a lot of time looking up referenced clips of their show and appearances on Letterman and Carson and feeling as drawn to these two men as we were when we were younger. While we see this kind of crosstalk everywhere these days what the modern version lacks—that Singer's book so completely cements—is that Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were not characters playing it up for the camera, the camera captured who they were and beamed it to all of us.
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Reviewed in the United States on November 27, 2023 by Joshua Bradley
I grew up in Chicago. I first came across Roger Ebert while I was still in high school and Gene Siskel was doing movie reviews for the local CBS station. I was delighted when they joined forces and remain an ardent fan long after they moved into syndication and I left town. Ebert was a magnificent writer and Siskel seemed grounded with his family. Beyond sad that both men left us far too soon in such tragic fashion. I miss them so much. I have waited for this book forever and I'm so pleased with what Matt Singer has shared. The book is both revealing and entertaining, taking us inside one of the biggest media rivalries of the last century. Great stories and solid writing. The perfect Christmas gift for any movie lover.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2023 by SLO Writer
I grew up in the 80s watching Siskel & Ebert with my dad. I don’t think we ever missed an episode. Later in college and early adulthood I read Ebert’s reviews religiously. I still reread his reviews every time I’m remembering an old movie or just watched a classic. It’s one of my visited websites, several times a week, for nearly 20 years. This book provided not only memories but context to both men’s lives. It’s perfectly constructed. Kudos to the writer and all involved.
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Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2023 by John K. Addis
The pairing of Siskel and Ebert was brilliant, in retrospect. I followed them since the Sneak Previews days. This book is a loving tribute to them and their work. Every week I'd watch them trade reviews and snarky comments. Sometimes I'd watch to learn about new movies, other times to see what they thought about movies I had already seen. And if both agreed on a movie, it was probably worth seeing. This book shows how their background as newspaper writers led them to television fame. After they left Sneak Previews, their television bosses thought that they had made the show and any other film critic could take their places. Boy were they wrong. Siskel & Ebert set the mold that other critics tried and failed to copy, because people liked them. Siskel preferred hard-edged movies, while Roger was a soft touch for sentimental ones. At least that's how I saw them, and it was fun to guess who would like or dislike a certain movie. It was almost a game viewers could play along with. One of the last comments in the book was perfect. Roger said that they succeeded not as a team, but as individuals, because as a team it wouldn't have worked. So true. They were the Laurel & Hardy of movie reviewers. I like books that tell what happened behind the scenes. Did things fall together easily or was it a struggle. This book delivers the goods in that department.
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Reviewed in the United States on October 26, 2023 by Paul Wetor
Took me back to a show I loved and provided an intimate look at two profound individuals who created a genre.
Reviewed in the United States on December 12, 2023 by Sean K.