In Memoriam: Gene Siskel

In a New York Times tribute to Mr. Siskel (2-22-99 [Section B, Page 8, Column 3]), Robert Thomas pointed out that when Opening at a Theater Near You began in 1975, "film critics, for all the intellectual pretensions of some and the safe, sure judgments of others, had little sway over a movie's fate." At this time, "most reviewers had largely local followings and partly because huge Hollywood advertising and promotion campaigns could override even negative national reviews." But Siskel and Ebert changed all of this: "the crackling on-air chemistry between Mr. Siskel and Mr. Ebert, their sometimes spirited, even caustic, disagreements and, ultimately, their opinions that consistently reflected broad public tastes, quickly made them such powerful persuaders that movie ads routinely included their thumbs-up endorsements."

The most obvious aspect of the show was, to me, the sincere love of both men for the films they reviewed. This enthusiasm could not be faked, and it was contagious. The hallmark of the show, from its earliest phase, was the intense professional rivalry between Ebert and Siskel. This rivalry was not put on, and the show's high ratings attest to the fact that millions of people took an active pleasure in this rivalry.

Janet Maslin wrote tellingly of Mr. Siskel's importance to film in another New York Times tribute (2-25-99 [Section E, Page 3, Column 1]): "He and Mr. Ebert led the way toward a more democratic critical universe. Their prominence came at a time when films were newly available on videotape, and a new breed of film awareness, not to say movie-mania, swept into popular culture. With concise, thumb-pointing assessments and sharp disputes, they vastly outshined their imitators and set the tone for armchair film talk everywhere."