“Opposable Thumbs,” a new book on the endearing odd couple of film criticism, makes a case for their significance.
Roger Ebert, left, and Gene Siskel in 1987 on the set of their TV show. We begin with a warning. Per the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, you are never to use the expression “Two thumbs up!” on “television programs or appearances in the field of motion picture critiques” because it has been locked down by the conjoined estates of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.Before the two feisty, ambitious, unglamorous reviewers claimed it, the expression had some dodgy history.
They began then to argue, unscripted and unrehearsed, across ever more lucrative platforms: “Sneak Previews” , “At the Movies” , “Siskel & Ebert & the Movies” . The shows had their share of gimmicks — a “Dogs of the Week” segment featuring an actual dog — but all that faded from view the moment the two hosts locked horns. Nominally, they were trying to change each other’s minds, but they usually ended up reifying their own beliefs, as well as their dismal opinions of each other.
Then again, who’s to say? Siskel and Ebert were honest, industrious and intelligent professionals who educated a lot of people, me included, about the art and business of making movies and who lifted up the careers of filmmakers like Errol Morris and Steve James. But, like nearly all critics, they were creatures of their time, and, as Singer’s book makes clear, that time has largely passed.
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