Gene and Roger's annual 10 Best list. As a reminder, if you're looking for the latest home video reviews -- from Blu-Rays of classic catalog titles to the latest releases -- be sure to check out my own review site at www.andyfilm.com
Agreed. These two kind of define the term "frenemies". They were friends, and admitted as much many times and would even defend each other on occasion, but also took nearly constant pot shots at each other. It's part of what made their partnership legendary. They were like an old married couple, lol. God, I miss these guys. Whenever I see these episodes I'm 15 again.
They're both old fashioned big city newspaper men, harsh banter is the water they swam in back at their respective offices (I imagine they it softened considerably for their TV show)
It is still good but it’s not lost on me that one of the reasons it was so highly praised when it came out was because it was such a groundbreaking film from a technical standpoint.
What I loved about it when I first saw it was the crossovers of the cartoon worlds. Disney and Warner Bros. characters sharing the screen?! It was delightful. And you could really believe in Roger and get involved in his plight. It wasn't silly or outrageous.
Roger Ebert, for me, was perhaps the best film critic, with sweet, spiritual and spirited writing. But he could sometimes praise a film not simply because it was good, but because it reflected his political values, or his appreciation of new directors, or it was a film by a young acolyte or friend. Hence, Siskel's barb: ''My list doesn't have any hidden agendas, Roger...''
What I love about these "top ten" lists is the number of films still shown today and the number you have never heard of. Films that were "all the rage" at the time (Accidental Tourist for example).
It's interesting how some movies become more popular with time and others become less. Accidental Tourist has become somewhat forgotten which is too bad because it's a really good movie.
On Gene's runners-up list for 1988 were "Talk Radio," "Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam," "Rain Man," "Mississippi Burning," (which topped Roger's list) "Au Revoir Les Enfants," "A World Apart," "Wings of Desire," (#7 on Roger's list) "A Fish Called Wanda," (#6 on Roger's list) "Clean & Sober," "Running on Empty," "Salaam Bombay," (#5 on Roger's list) "Things Change," "A Cry in the Dark" and "The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad!". Gene recalled that 1988 was an "out-of-focus" year for Hollywood, which made it hard to find trends that distinguished it from any other year. The big story, he noted, surrounded the controversy of Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation of Christ"; he repeated the statement that anyone who thought it was "blasphemous" probably didn't see the film. He noted that the female-centric films "Working Girl", "The Accused" and "A Cry in the Dark" were popular among critics but not quite as hot with audiences. [Please observe that Gene was reading early reports of the box office totals for the film "Working Girl" at the time that the top-10 list for 1988 was compiled. That film, in its first weeks, wasn't a big hit, probably because its subject matter was and is a turn-off to Christmastime audiences; only in February of 1989 did that film begin to turn a profit.] Gene felt that it was a year in which "important directors had varied success", with Woody Allen's "Another Woman" making Gene concerned about the director-actor's growing isolation from the audience, Jonathan Demme's "Married to the Mob" plunging him straight into the commercial market, Mike Nichols coming back with "Working Girl" after bombing with "Biloxi Blues" (which he and Roger panned), and Martin Scorsese making "a vigorous comeback" with "The Last Temptation of Christ" after making the decidedly more commercial "Color of Money" two years before. Gene also noted that 1988 was the year home video profits superseded theatrical revenue for the first time, and had become economically pioneering with the $19.98 post-rebate pricing of the long-awaited video arrival of "E.T." (MCA Home Video #77021); he also noted that, with "the proper promotional push", Laserdiscs (which he and Roger championed) may become equally as popular as VHS. (SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, December 25, 1988)
@@kdohertygizbur . . . or at least would be in the long run. Business for the film was rather slow in its first few weeks; it grossed only $4,718,485 when Gene's list was published and compiled. It would only begin to make back its budget on its fourth weekend, in mid-January 1989.
@@kdohertygizbur No it wouldn't; that was simply an early report on its totals he gave in December 1988. "Working Girl" was released during the Christmas season, and not many people are in an immediate rush to see a film of its subject matter during the holidays, which is why it waited until February 1989 to make back its budget.
So agreed with Willem Dafoe. He takes such chances and his choices are very interesting. Characters we never quite know where they're going. Like Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken, Nicholas Cage, etc. Yes, they make some box office boring, big paycheck movies, they're human, but I adore their ''small' movies.
My Top 10 of 1988 1. Dead Ringers (Canada) 2. Running On Empty 3. Frantic (US/France) 4. Die Hard 5. Beetlejuice 6. The Unbearable Lightness Of Being 7. Colors 8. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 9. Coming To America 10. The Vanishing (Netherlands/ France) Special mention: #11 Rain Man
Good list. I agree with a lot of your selections. Dead Ringers has my favorite Jeremy Irons performance and one of Howard Shore's best soundtracks. The ending to that film is both shocking and heartbreaking. Coming to America is one of my favorite Eddie Murphy comedies. Die Hard is a great action thriller and that first film remains the best of the five films in its series. Colors was praised for its unflinching realism back in the day and while its overall impact may have faded a bit in recent years, the performances given by Duvall and Penn are still powerful. And, Running on Empty is a touching film with fine performances by Christine Lahti, Martha Plimpton and River Phoenix.
I watched Mississippi Burning for the first time just now based on Roger’s enthusiastic review. I was surprised at how routine and “Hollywood” it was. Not unwatchable but so very pedestrian. And read the racial and historical criticisms leveled at the film at the time of its release…they are all valid critiques. Just baffling that Roger liked it as much as he did.
I don't feel old (52), but this makes me feel old. Or nostalgic. I remember watching Siskel and Ebert most weeks in the mid to late 80s as an adolescent. Them and the newspaper (or an alternative weekly once i got to college.) Doesn't seem that long ago, but wow are our lives so much different. (And not because we're not adolescents any more.)
My take on some of the films reviewed in this episode: Shy People - A forgotten film that is finally getting rediscovered thanks to streaming services. I caught up with it on Tubi this past weekend. My big takeaway is the atmosphere of the film. You really feel that swamp setting seep into your pores as you watch it. Also, the story is incredibly touching if familiar, a country mouse meets up with a city mouse and they each learn valuable lessons from each other that save their families from disaster. A great film. Bull Durham - I love the writing in this film and the sharp way in which all of these characters speak. Susan Sarandon should have won the Oscar that year for her performance. Who Framed Roger Rabbit - I adored it as a kid, but found myself irritated by Roger when revisiting it as an adult. The blending of live action and animation still goes unmatched by anything else I've seen, and Bob Hoskins grounds the experience with his cynical eye.
Shy People is a superb movie. But I disagree with lots of their choices and they actually have a favorite film from 1988 on their worst films list! (Betrayed).
@@SimuLord The entire Police Academy series are more or less aimed at younger audience. It's kind of like a live action cartoon in sensibility. I rewatched the first one and liked it a lot, but realized that none of the childhood memories stood up nowadays because back then I was simply clueless and stupid. Now I just notice more of Kim Cattrall's outfit lol.
Who framed Roger rabbit Die hard Beetlejuice Big The last temptation of Christ The naked gun: from the files of police squad! Cinema Paradiso (the ending scene alone is worth it)
Seen _Die Hard, Beetlejuice,_ and _The Naked Gun_ multiple times, as well as _Coming to America_ and _A Fish Called Wanda._ Maybe saw _Big_ a couple of times as well as _Crocodile Dundee II_ and _Bull Durham. Punchline_ starring Tom Hanks and Sally Fields is one of my favorites. Several movies were good to see once, like _Scrooged_ but do I really want to see them again, like _The Accused?_ The one about Prague I may have missed with its _Unbearable_ title. I count 34 movies worth seeing at least once on home video, compared to 27, I think in 1989.
In retrospect, Rain Man and Grave of the Fireflies were my favorite films of the year. Rain Man has not aged well; Grave of the Fireflies is exponentially more popular now than it was in 1988.
"Bull Durham," "A Fish Called Wanda" and "Midnight Run" in the same year. And Siskel has two of them on his list, with "Last Temptation of Christ" and "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" in his top positions. Great calls, Gene.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? was a movie that I and everyone I knew loved back then. I thought it was an instant classic. But it seems to be forgotten now, I doubt many young people have even heard of it.
I know it wasn't reviewed well and objectively wasn't a great western, but as a 13 year old I loved Young Guns and watched it several times in the theatre that summer
Siskel was brilliant and my fave and I had no idea his review and emotional response to his top film shows how profound a thinker and feeler he is. He “got” that film and it is one of the greatest of all time.
@@Blortoblorto Hmm I got something much different from this film. Who was doing the abuse for Fun and Profit? Of course you remember having seen this film, that the main character Charlie Babbitt did have some realizations and character growth by the end of the film.
The last temptation is trying to make God=Lord Jesus Christ flawed as a sinner like us all which He isn't. God=Lord Jesus Christ never sinned not even once. The proof is in the Holy Bible scripture.
I saw it as a teen when it came out and I felt like I had stumbled into a world that no one else had entered, due in large part to Barbara Hershey's performance - glad to see Ebert noticed it!
I've never seen Mississippi Burning, but I remember that my 6th grade History teacher hated it. She went on a little rant to the class about it. She didn't normally talk about movies and I don't recall her talking about any other movie, but that one really pissed her off.
I count 34 movies worth seeing at least once in the theater or on home video, with 7 worth seeing multiple times _(Die Hard, Beetlejuice, Coming to America, The Naked Gun, A Fish Called Wanda, The Dead Pool,_ and _Punchline)._ Not sure whether _Big_ was worth seeing multiple times.
That was a much better year for movies than I'd remembered. I would have put Cronenberg's "Dead Ringers", "Die Hard" and "Coming to America" in there somewhere, though.
Definitely "Dead Ringers", at least, yeah. But there were so many great films that decade and every year that some gems just have to be left out on any top 10. The '70's and '80's were just astonishing in terms of the quality of work being constantly produced.
Year 2021 checking in: The best movie from both their lists is....Midnight Run. Now officially a beloved classic. RIP Charles Grodin and Yaphet Koto. But, they completely overlooked Die Hard. Wow.
That scene with Geena Davis and William Hurt: on the surface, Geena's supposed to be the wacky funny one, but the laughs are all in William's bewildered reaction shots. When the director and the actors know where the laughs are, it's pretty special. As they said, a funny, serious drama.
My favorite films of 1988: 1. Hairspray 2. Beetlejuice 3. The Accidental Tourist 4. The Unbearable Lightness of Being 5. Betrayed 6. Frantic 7. The Naked Gun 8. The Last Temptation of Christ 9. Mississippi Burning 10. Who framed Roger Rabbit So there.
My list Wings of Desire Midnight Run The Unbearable Lightness of Being A Fish Called Wanda Shy People Running on Empty The Accidental Tourist Who Framed Roger Rabbit Mississippi Burning Salaam Bombay
Believe it or not, it was just plain VHS in SLP mode too. I transferred it using a Panasonic DVD Recorder which cleaned up the image slightly so it looks really good on here. The VCR we had was a good one, that also made a difference back then too.
1) Talk Radio 2) Coming To America 3) Sporloos 4) They Live 5) Stand & Deliver 6) The Naked Gun 7) Dead Ringers 8) Who Framed Roger Rabbit? 9) Eight Men Out 10) The Beast
My personal Top 10 from 1988, plus 10 more: 1) Paperhouse (1988) 2) My Neighbor Totoro (1988) 3) The Bear (1988) 4) Die Hard (1988) 5) Big (1988) 6) The Vanishing (1988) 7) Cinema Paradiso (1988) 8) Beetlejuice (1988) 9) Dangerous Liaisons (1988) 10) Landscape in the Mist (1988) ------------------------------------ 11) Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988) 12) Willow (1988) 13) Grave of the Fireflies (1988) 14) Akira (1988) 15) Ariel (1988) 16) Rain Man (1988) 17) A Short Film About Love (1988) 18) The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988) 19) Time of the Gypsies (1988) 20) Midnight Run (1988)
Beetlejuice was great. It started a trend of weird fantasy/horror comedies about weird people in weird situations and weird worlds. Meet the Hollowheads, Nothing But Trouble, Meet the Applegates, etc., and it paved the way for Batman and all those noir adventure films with dark heroes that came after Batman.
@@lw3646 Keaton got the best scenes, the best lines. And when he's not on screen, they're always talking about him. He's the most important character in this movie, which is why the filmmakers named it after him instead of going with some other title like _House Ghosts_ or _Scared Sheetless_ (which were actual, honest-to-god titles considered for the film).
I have to agree with both men on their choices for 1988's best. I just recently watched both Mississippi Burning and The Last Temptation of Christ and both are mesmerizing and emotionally charged great performances. Both films also examine the hatred man has for those they refuse to empathize with and the consequences of their actions. Powerful films.
Some of my favorite movies of all time are mentioned by one or the other. Who framed Roger Rabbit, Bull Durham, and the Last Temptation of Christ are three of my favorite films.
The Accidental Tourist = Sensational. To this day one of my favorite and most wonderfully structured film. William Hurt, robbed at the Oscar's. I think I love it most for I feel like Macon and don't take interpersonal chances yet for me, at 50, I'm fine with that.
I was finally able to catch that movie on Shudder. It's freaking wild! What I loved about it was that they went with John Zacherle as Aylmer's voice. Many lesser films would've given that little monster a grating, high-pitched, nasty voice to match what he looked like on the outside. But no, Zacherle's calm, low, soothing voice adds a sense of verisimilitude to the story. As outlandish as the events are, if an alien parasite needed you for sustenance, it would want to bend you to its will by using the most dulcet and seductive tones possible. It makes Aylmer scarier, instead of annoying.
I wonder if Roger was sitting and stewing after Gene called him out on his "hidden agenda," or if Roger was just used to Gene's snarky comments and brushed it off. Many good movies in 1988, my top three from that year are Rain Man, Die Hard and Roger Rabbit. Saw each of those 4-5 times in movie theaters that year.
Kevin Costner has no personality ,but for this particular baseball character his dryness worked and where appropriate he was a little more emotional.he was here then in field of dreams which I thought was overrated.....
Never could get into "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"..... "Bull Durham" is an absolute joy!....."I wouldn't watch "The Last Temptation Of Christ" if you paid me a million dollars.
In fact, it's believers in the blank slate that know in their hearts that they're wrong. Every day reality confronts them with this fact, and they have to struggle mightily to pretend things are otherwise.
MY TOP 10 MOVIES OF 1988 1. VICE VERSA 2. HAIRSPRAY 3. CLARA'S HEART 4. THE SEVENTH SIGN 5. BUSTER 6. I'M GONNA GIT YOU SUCKA 7. BIG 8. HALLOWEEN 4: THE RETURN OF MICHAEL MYERS 9. A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET 4: THE DREAM MASTER 10. CHILD'S PLAY
BEST FILMS OF 1988 2:07 SHY PEOPLE 4:30 LITTLE DORRIT 6:12 BULL DURHAM 7:42 THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING 9:55 THE ACCIDENTAL TOURIST 12:29 WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? 13:58 THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST 16:04 MISSISSIPPI BURNING
Funny that Last Temptation of Christ isn't in Roger's top 10 but it is the only movie mentioned here that later made it into his Great Movies list. I guess Wings of Desire would have eventually been added if he had lived longer. Edit: I was wrong because Wings of Desire is in the list.
A bit surprising that dead ringers wasn't on either list. I guess the subject matter was off-putting for their tastes. Jeremy Irons gave such a great performance it seems strange to not mention it.
There's something wrong with people who don't like British comedy. You probably both think Nick Swardson's Bucky Larson is the height of humor. You probably also liked Movie 43.
@@gspendlove What, exactly, IS "British humor," and how is it defined? I mean, there is a HUGE difference between BlackAdder and, say, Are You Being Served. That's like defining something as "American humor." Do you mean "Police Academy" or do you mean "Heathers"?