At the Movies (partially found TV review series; 1986-2010)

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Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.

Status: Partially Found

At the Movies, also known as Siskel & Ebert & the Movies and At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper was a syndicated film review TV show that ran in various incarnations from 1986 to 2010. It featured two film critics giving their judgment on the movies released that week. The original hosts of the program were the Chicago Tribune's Gene Siskel and the Chicago Sun-Times' Roger Ebert.

History

The series was spun off from an earlier program on PBS, Opening Soon at a Theater Near You, also hosted by Siskel and Ebert. The two later hosted another television program, also titled At the Movies, that ran on PBS from 1982 until 1986 when it was succeeded by the syndicated series.

In early 1998, Gene Siskel was absent from the show for a few weeks to receive treatment for a brain tumour, though he still debated with Ebert over the phone. He returned to the series later that year before returning to surgery in 1999. Siskel died on February 20, 1999, following complications from the surgery. After his death, Ebert had various guest hosts substituting for Siskel before fellow Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper was made permanent co-host in 2000.

In 2006, Ebert was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had to leave the show to receive treatment. In his absence, Roeper had a number of guest hosts on the show, with Michael Phillips eventually becoming his regular co-host before Roeper left the show following a contract dispute. Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz became the new hosts in 2008, with Disney-ABC Television hoping for them to take the show in a new direction. This version of the show was poorly received, and the two were replaced by the end of the year. Michael Phillips returned to host in 2009, along with A.O. Scott before the series was cancelled for good in 2010.

Availability

Due to their timely nature and using footage from the movies reviewed, At the Movies was almost never reran and was never released on DVD. Every review was originally available on Buena Vista's website, but following the show's cancellation in 2010, they were removed.

Numerous home recordings of Siskel and Ebert episodes have been uploaded onto video sharing sites such as YouTube, sometimes as full episodes and others as individual review clips. While most of Siskel and Ebert's episodes have been preserved online, only a handful of episodes with Ebert and Roeper have made it online. Only about five of Lyons and Mankiewicz's reviews are on YouTube, while only three of Phillips and Scott's are available. Numerous episodes of all eras of the show have been archived on siskelandebert.org. Unfortunately, the site domain has expired and is currently up for sale, fortunately on November of last year, a new website was created which is currently still uploading all of the Siskel & Ebert reviews that were available on the old website. According to the owner of the old and new websites: "My main reasons for closing the first site were due to the ISP, software and money" The new website can be found here: siskelebert.org. Also, YouTube user ClementJ64 has uploaded compilation videos featuring select moments from certain reviews.

Found Episodes

Note: This is an incomplete work in progress.

Siskel and Ebert Era: PBS

  • They're Playing With Fire/Beat Street/Ghostbusters/Les Comperes (1984)
  • Privates on Parade/Swing Shift/Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter/Can She Bake a Cherry Pie? (1984)
  • Fletch/A View to a Kill/Perfect (1985) (Partially Found)
  • Commando/The Journey of Natty Gann (1985)
  • The Trip to Bountiful/Ran/Clue/Dreamchild (1985)

Siskel and Ebert Era: Syndication

  • The Mosquito Coast/Streets of Gold/Crocodile Dundee/The Name of the Rose (1986)
  • Platoon/Lady and the Tramp/No Mercy (1986)
  • Back to the Beach/Nadine/Dirty Dancing/Rita, Sue, and Bob Too!
  • The Dream Team/Sing/Troop Beverly Hills/Crusoe/Powwow Highway (1989)
  • Winter People/Say Anything/Field of Dreams/She's Out of Control/Dead Calm (1989)
  • Johnny Handsome/War Party/Welcome Home/Queen of Hearts/Erik the Viking (1989)
  • Earth Girls Are Easy/How to Get Ahead in Advertising/See No Evil, Hear No Evil/For Queen and Country/The Rainbow (1989)
  • Cape Fear/Strictly Business/All I Want For Christmas/Liebestraum/The People Under the Stairs (1991)
  • True Romance/The Ballad of Little Jo/Kalifornia/The Joy Luck Club/The Real McCoy (1993)
  • The Beverly Hillbillies/Ruby in Paradise/The Nightmare Before Christmas/Fearless/Mr. Wonderful (1993)
  • Just Cause/The Brady Bunch Movie/Billy Madison/Oscar Surprises (1995)
  • From Dusk Till Dawn/Eye For an Eye/12 Monkeys/Two If By Sea/Don't Be a Menace (1996)
  • Worst of 1996 (1997)

Ebert and Roeper Era

  • 21 Grams/The Singing Detective/Looney Tunes: Back in Action/Gothika/Tupac: Resurrection (2003)

Found Reviews With Unknown Episodes

Movie Status Year Notes
Scary Movie 2 Found 2001
Spirited Away Found 2001
Shallow Hal Partially Found 2001
Scooby Doo Partially Found 2002 Flashback footage used in the Scooby Doo 2 review
Bowling For Columbine Found 2002

Videos

One of the found Lyons and Mankiewicz reviews, featuring Paul Blart: Mall Cop.

External Links