What a great summer that was for movies. I saw Poltergeist in a theater and people were screaming. I also saw E.T and Rocky III in theaters too. I was 14 and watched Siskel & Ebert every week throughout the 80s and 90s.
Me too, I was 17, Poltergeist scared the crap out of me--what a great movie! And I knew nothing about ET before I saw it. It was a great summer for movies!
Hand coming out of the TV freaked me out at age 11, so I went to the bathroom for a few minutes. The adult who took me said she already saw E.T. and wanted to go to this one, so I didn't see E.T. for a couple years.
Seeing these old Siskel and Ebert episodes sure does bring back some warm, happy memories. Back then in 1982, normally I went to the movies once a week with my then best friend. We were both a couple of fanatics about the movies and went to the movies together once a week, every week, for alot of years from the 1970s-1980s (and yes, we religiously watched Siskel and Ebert every week on his living room tv). Rocky III is just one of many movies we saw together at the movie theater. We tried to see every new movie that just came out regardless of genre (he loved horror movies, I preferred comedy), plot, critics reviews, who was starring in it, etc. So, there was no particular reason we went to see Rocky III. It just happened to be a new movie that just came out. But there were a handful of times when I went to see a movie on my own. ET was one of them. Poltergeist was another. In the case of Poltergeist, I saw that on my 14th birthday thanks to my Uncle. A couple days before my 14th birthday my Uncle called up and asked what I wanted for my 14th birthday. I told him I wanted to see 2 movies: The Thing and Poltergeist. On the day of my birthday, he picked me up and took me to see The Thing at a movie theater in his neighborhood in the upper east side of Manhattan. He just couldn't stand the gory special effects, so about half way through the movie, he walked out and waited for me in the lobby for the movie to end. Then he took me to a different theater also in his neighborhood (back then every neighborhood had several movie theaters within walking distance of your place) to see Poltergeist. Fearing any gory effects that movie might also have, instead of going inside with me, he bought a ticket for me and then went to his apartment, coming back for me when the movie ended to take me back home.
SAME. Once a week trips to the movies with my best pal. Saw Poltergeist with my big brother -- and ET, come to think of it. Movies were much much much more fun and much better back then. The corporatization of films destroyed the industry and we're all the worse for it.
Adjusted for inflation, the domestic grosses of the films on this episode outgross any other episode of S&E. Poltergeist was a big hit, Rocky 3 was huge, and E.T. was beyond huge.
I love Siskel & Ebert, and i don't fault them when I disagree because I know they're always coming from an honest, thoughtful, heartfelt place. That said, Siskel's dislike of Poltergeist (1 1/2 stars in his written review for The Chicago Tribune) surprised me back in 1982. I remember E.T. and Poltergeist being the two big Spielberg-involved movies of the summer. Poltergeist both fascinated and frightened me as an eleven-year-old, but it is ridiculously entertaining. It's also held its own over the past forty (nearly) years
@@terrygracy8345 I was 10 when I saw Poltergeist the first time. I was terrified! Watching it now at almost 50, it still hits me in all the same places. i have always been entertained by this movie, and terrified of that tree.
I think he got lost in the convoluted story. Today we know that they hired the right people, weird magic stuff is going on, so yes, the rope goes into the living room. It's either that or the story telling us how Michael Myers has a weird ancient evil curse, etc. Jaws did forego action to get the 3 protags their story so Gene was probably hoping for that. This one's simply more of a thriller.
Spielberg was executive producer .... Tobe Hooper directed it. I think he had a major hand to play with this one though and it's the main reason everyone thinks it's a Spielberg movie. It's not though.... not really.
I personally believe they missed the point on Rocky 3. The genuine and loveable Rocky from the previous films is hardened here and as it was stated in the film - he became 'civilized'.
ET , Poltergeist, Tron,The Thing,Blade Runner, Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Khan and Road Warrior. The best Star Trek movie. The best Mad Max movie and The Thing and Blade Runner were bombs that 41 years later are considered classics.
This had to be one of the best weeks in the history of cinema. Even though they both trashed Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, and Rocky 3, every movie reviewed here became a bona-fide classic. ET became the highest grossing film and held that record for a little over a decade. I saw ALL of these movies during their theatrical run.
I was 13 when these came out and loved Poltergeist as a kid. I have gone back to it several times and it really is pretty bland once you peel off the above par special F/X for the time. E.T. is a classic, Poltergeist is an OK film of its time.
Hated it. The print I saw, a scene from the beginning was missing (neighbors complaining about the others' TV remote control), the film broke right around the seance scene, and we had to wait ten minutes while it was fixed, and the only actually scary scene was when the guy clawed his face off -- which happened only in his imagination. Big disappointment.
@@saffmichael4369 funny, I feel exactly the opposite. I loved ET in 1982, but it’s pretty old fashioned today. Poltergeist still plays effectively to primal fears that will never change and holds up as a quality horror film for a younger audience. It isn’t a terrifying movie, but it isn’t meant ti be. It’s a fun movie, but it’s perfectly attuned to what scares little kids.
I remember watching this review of theirs of Poltergeist back in the summer of '82 while shopping at a Kmart on a Saturday evening. Kmart had one of the tvs in electronics tuned into it.
If my memory is correct, this is the movie that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating. It's certainly too intense for a PG rating, while R ratings were reserved for movies deemed unsuitable for younger audiences.
Checking into this myself, you are correct. While Poltergeist undoubtedly entered into the discussion, the movies most responsible for the addition of the PG-13 rating are the two you mention.
Interesting Fact: The movie was originally rated R, but the producers (mainly Spielberg) appealed to the MPA and convinced the members to change it to PG (there was no PG-13 yet).
These movies are all GEMS!! Summer of 82 was the best movie summer EVER! Poltergeist is one of my most favorite horror movies!! Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is genius!
Plaid in particular is case of two Boomers rating a movie made for X. Older folks never did like Steve Martin. Or rather, they just didn't get him. You're right; DMDWP is a classic. (As for Poltergeist, I think time has proven conclusively that it's one of the most influential films in cinema.)
E.T. is at the very top of Spielberg’s films, when his high artistic sensibilities meet his wonderful way of connecting with a mass audience. What a masterpiece.
I think so too. What I can't figure out is why it has fallen to the wayside over the years. Jaws and even 2001 get regular nostalgia screenings here and there but I've never seen ET return since the mid 80s.
@jimjam51075 Some theaters have played E.T. I don't know if you have one in your town that has "Flashback cinema" where they play classic movies on the big screen every Sunday and Wednesday. But if you check the schedule every week, I guarantee that you will run into E.T. playing one week (most likely in the summer).
It's impossible to overstate what an impact Steven Spielberg films had in the mid 70s to mid 80s. What a decade, From Jaws to ET. No one had a better connection with the audience, with ordinary middle class Americans than Spielberg. I really like how he portrayed the government and authorities as menacing, it's accurate.
Poltergeist is arguably the best haunted house movie ever made. The family and the characters were wonderful. The acting was great. The scary moments are still poignant after all these years. That's why the remake was insulting to so many people.
Wow, I saw every one of these films at the theatre during this year. Fond memories of all of them, but "Poltergeist" had the biggest impact on me. Brilliant!
Oh my Gracious the now mythical Summer of 82. What a fabulous one….the greatest of all time? It certainly is up there. E.T. - Great. Rocky III - awesome. Poltergeist-fantastic. Tough to beat those.
Ebert was right about Poltergeist being wrong for little kids. I was 9 and it scared the bejeezus out of me. Actually so did E.T. lol. The PG-13 rating landed a year or two later with Red Dawn.
They didn't like Poltergeist but it went on to be a classic horror film (at least in the Ghost genre). I saw E.T. with my family at the last "outdoor drive-in theatre" in my part of the world. Watching a film about an Alien under the summer night sky full of stars made it more magical.
I can't argue with the points they made about Rocky III, but I'd still have given it a thumbs up. It wasn't Rocky I, which they wanted it to be, but it was a good movie. And, FWIW I liked it better than Rocky II.
@@RichM3000 I think _Rocky II_ was underwhelming. You don't get the feeling that he earned a shot at the champ. They should have made the first part of the movie like Clubber Lang's journey in _Rocky III,_ with Rocky fighting those ranked below the champ and winning.
@@sandal_thong8631 True. It would have also explained how Rocky became a good fighter. In the first movie, Rocky was able to fight a close fight because he trained like a madman while Apollo overlooked him. In Rocky II, Rocky didn't train hard until the very end, Apollo trained like a madman, and....Rocky wins this time?
I recall seeing an advance showing of ET on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in 1982. We got there kind of late and had to sit in the corner of the front row on the right. I thought it was going to be scary, as TV ads kind of made it look like a horror movie, because they didn’t show ET. Two hours later, I was trying not to cry in front of my mother and sister when it ended. It’s a masterpiece, and I love that Siskel and Ebert loved it so much as well.
How come E.T is not as popular now , as other classics from this era: Jaws, Star Wars and even Rocky?? Their analysis was spot on.. It was the emotion of love that made it such a smash...at least back in the 80s.
It was a moment for its time. I think those people watching long afterward have been made movie-weary by computer special effects and such that disable them from taking the moment in.
Even Rocky? Rocky was the highest grossing movie of 1976 and won 3 Oscar's including Best Picture. They're still making sequels to the Rocky franchise almost 50 years later. Rocky will always be popular.
@@christianhafer9819 my bad, came out wrong. I'm a huge Rocky fan myself. What I meant was it wasn't promoted as the go to summer blockbuster as the other movies were.
ET may have lost some of its luster after Spielberg made an altered version for the its 25th anniversary (e.g. walkie-talkies s replacing guns on hands of federal agents), as well as the fact that 9/11 and other events have made alien visitors less appealing (e.g. Man of Steel, a post-9/11 portrayal of Superman). As well, no sequels, unlike Poltergeist and Rocky IP.
I think they missed the point of Rocky 3. Apollo was humbled by losing to Rocky and he had respect for him. They also showed how the fame and money changed Rocky. He wasn't the same fighter nor the same person anymore. The evolution of his character showed over the first 3 movies.
"Can I use her underwear to make soup?" Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is hilarious and Steve Martin's second full-on funny movie, with The Man With Two Brains being the third and final one imo.
I always saw the changes to both Rocky and Apollo as functions of what had happened previously. By #3, Rocky had enjoyed success, fame, and money and Apollo had been knocked from his perch.
Years ago, I saw _Rocky III_ on Turner Classic Movies during February's Black History Month of films. Those analyzing it said Clubber Lang was an old trope or stereotype of a Black man, like when he threatens Rocky's manhood by saying his wife needs a real man. Personally, I felt this movie continues the idea that Rocky learns and grows as a fighter, like he did in the first two movies, as he learns a new way of fighting (right-handed?) to take on Lang. I felt they missed the boat in the next one, when they had him going old-school, training in the woods against Ivan Drago. I felt he should have gone to M.I.T. or somewhere to learn the latest in scientific analysis of boxing, so Rocky could improve and grow in a new way. If they were trying to do a "rope-a-dope" on Drago, like in the 2023 movie, _Big George,_ it didn't quite land.
E.T was the first movie I'd ever seen in a theater I was 5 years old at the Famous Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove, Illinios. My grandparents and father probably watched this review from Siskel and Ebert before we all went out to see it. I was a bit young to understand the point of the Movie but I enjoyed what I seen. A year later I saw return of the Jedi and loved it soo much it was like a religious experience!
@@80sNewWaveGeek Awesome, that would have been a dream job for me as a teenager. It must have been damn near impossible for them to compete with big multiplexes with them only having one screen but being in that theater felt special.
They watched Poltergeist and Rocky III as adults. I went to see them with my friends when we were teenagers. I think we went back like 7 times for both of them. They were awesome and I still think they hold up pretty well.
I agree on Poltergeist, it is to this day my favorite movie in the genre. Rocky 3 is to me an example of how a movie can be not very good but also be very entertaining. I think the Rocky series has 2 films I would consider "good films", the first, and last (Rocky Balboa, not Rocky 5. Lol) the other movies are varying degrees of quality from decent to pure trash. But I find them all entertaining. I would rank Rocky 3 as the fourth best.
I remember how secretive they were about showing what ET looked like. I saw it in the theatre and part of the suspense was waiting to see what it looked like. I remember the crowd gasped
@@freemangriffin4953 I’m assuming you’re younger. It was a big deal in 1982. The puppet looked remarkably real based on the standards of the time. And, it was unusual and moving at the time to see aliens that didn’t mean us harm but were kind. It was a very powerful message
It worked for _Jaws_ and _E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial_ but the mystery didn't work for _Howard the Duck._ I don't remember all the fowl jokes (get it?) and don't want to revisit it.
the mom in _E.T._ breaks my heart in the scene where they're all scampering around, grabbing the knives. "And put those knives back!" she's out of her depth. she can't control a bunch of wild teenage kids alone. great delivery. great.
I thought Clubber Lang was the best villain in the Rocky series. I know I a lot of people will disagree but I loved when Rocky stood up to his fear and knocked him out at the end. I think they were to hard on their judgement of the film. I loved Poltergeist also. I saw it at the movies and I was 12 years old. The scene where the guy starts peeling his face off really spooked me out.
I remember watching this show and respecting their critiques to a point. But, one thing I always felt about them is that they expected "high art" cinema to play as "popcorn" movies and "popcorn" movies to play as "high art". Just enjoy the movies for the joy they bring/brought. I still like Poltergeist. I don't understand what crawled up their tushes about that film. E.T.'s still a classic and Dead Men's subtle comedy resonates today.
This channel is awesome, who doesn't like the TV? It's a great aesthetic and these are the clearest S&E videos I've seen on RU-vid because of it, subcribed!
They were wrong about Rocky 3 that movie is iconic, its the first time MR T has ever been seen, its the first time Hulk Hogan has ever been in a movie and the story is about getting your ass kicked giving up on yourself, then slowly believing in yourself again to the point of being victorious and winning your self respect back. I give it a thumbs way up 👍
My brother and I watched Siskel and Ebert every Saturday night my brother and I saw ET 16 times at the movies it was my favorite movie of Steven Spielberg's
When I was little, like 4-5 yrs old, at night when we were in the basement watching tv or whatever, my older sister would run upstairs, turn off the lights and lock the door while saying “Carolann “ over and over in that eerie voice
As a Connery fan I can say I've never heard of Wrong Is Right. Never seen a vhs or dvd of it or on tv. Maybe it streams in a dark corner of the internet. Utterly forgotten if anyone even noticed it at the time.
During E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Review Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Superman: The Movie and Alien (1979)
I'm glad they didn't review The Thing the same week as ET. The comparisons between them would've hurt The Thing, which they argued over enough as is, the following week.
They just didn't understand Poltergeist. You could tell that they were completely unfamiliar with anything to do with paranormal activity. Guess we have to understand that there wasn't all these paranormal like shows and movies back then, So of course we find absolutely nothing confusing about the plot of Poltergeist nowadays but I guess it seemed to illlogical in 1982.
Agreed. It's not even horror. It's serious drama with supernatural themes. That's why we're still talking about it. I love S&E, but sometimes they can't see the forest for trees.
They didn't miss judge Poltrrgeist, they just didn't like it as much as you, or I did. Their job is to explain why they like or don't like a film, not to reinforce our opinions.
Gene Siskel really loved cutting down films and making the film makers really dumb and idiotic it sounds like he really loved his job for that reason thank you for uploading this That Old T.V.
He's so self righteous with his projected moral authority in his criticisms .... I always thought he was kind of an old lady. A bit of a stiff. Entertaining though..... Kind of like The Church Lady
16:56 "We never do find out if a real poltergeist was involved in the strange events in that haunted house..." Uhh, what? Does he think it was a Scooby Doo villain wearing a mask?
"Dead men don't wear plaid" would have been so much better as a miniseries of one hour episodes or even short 30 minute episodes. Trying to make a full motion picture out of it the gimmick wears pretty thin.
Wow, they were brutal on Poltergeist. So far off base! That movie is classic to scare little kids and adults, and it always will be. Absolutely holds up today.
I don’t agree with the rocky 3 review, of course rocky wasn’t the same as 1&2 that’s the whole point , he fought his way to fortune, he’s older, rich now and sort of lost his way a bit and he fell and fought his demons and grew as a person , great movie
0:00 Intro 2:12 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid 👎🌟🌟 8:02 Rocky 3 👍🌟🌟🌟 12:24 Poltergeist 👎🌟🌟 18:37 E.T. 👍🌟🌟🌟🌟 Dog of the week's worst movies 24:30 (1982) Fighting Back 25:36 (1982) Wrong is Right 26:22 The reviews
Figures SIskel and Ebert didn't like POltergeist. I've seen both of them change their minds on movies later when other critics loved it or when it became very popular
This is insane that they both couldn't even see that Poltergeist was (and is) an actual Classic film. For all of the right reasons. It's visually intimate, yet stunningly haunting. It dealt not only with issues of spirituality and the Life Beyond, but it related it to it's own times of the 1980's. It questioned the spirituality of a historically Christian America, and how religion fit in to America's post-nuclear-family-unit. A time of optimism of Science (The Space Shuttle Voyager, etc.), and and embracing of individualism (spike-haired New Wave Music, defiant Heavy Metal music). I think Siskel & Ebert were smart, contemplative white guys (Mexican American here), but they are looking at this film entirely from a post-modern lens. In all of their dorky educated-ness, they literally can't relate, so they simply dismiss the film entirely; despite the fact that the psychic goes into a poignant philosophical dialogue with the family before the "cleansing" of the house. And all of this after the parents, who, even though they read Carl Jung, admit that they have never practiced any "particular" religion. Imagine showing this movie to an Aboriginal tribes-people as an introduction to the grossly-comfortable American-lifestyle, complete with spoiled doggie and a huge two-story house where the refridgerator is never empty. The Natives wouldn't not find ghosts invasively coming out of the walls "silly" at all (to use Rodger Ebert's own words). The Natives would understand. Steven Spielberg (who wrote the actual script) was one of the great visionaries of our time. A master visual story-teller, I always contended that a deaf person could watch Poltergeist or Close Encounters of the Third Kind from beginning to end, and they would understand the story completely. I think Rodger Ebert is a very smart and observant fellow, and I still refer to some of his film analysis. But their "mumbo-jumbo" review here (Sikel's own words) is a significant example of how in criticism we should always keep in mind that art--like religion--does not exist WITHOUT culture. Which, unfortunately, leaves Siskel & Ebert culturally de-void. They insult insult the great acting in the film as well, especially in the roles of the mother and the psychic.
Yes! He always looked like a bald middle-aged guy and never aged! He looked pretty much exactly the same from his first show to his last. Kind of bizarre.
No opinion on the Plaid movie. But I have watched Rocky III many times and enjoyed it. I also have watched Poltergeist, and I find it enjoyable. I have never seen ET. Too much hype.
pow, POW, !POW! and pow. one solid sports drama, one classic, one masterpiece and a solid laffer. THAT is a lineup. the best in the show's history? most consistently good? you decide.
What's it with the Yes No votes? Were they trying something different that week? Strange that they gave credit to Spielberg for Poltergeist. Tobe Hooper said he was only there for one day of shooting. I always thought it was a great movie so I'm surprised at their mediocre review. It's a much different experience when you're twelve. Fun Fact: When I went to see E. T. the line nearly circled around the whole theater.
Poltergeist not scary? It traumatized an entire generation of kids. Couldn't use my closet for a whole year, threw my clown doll in the trash and white noise to this day makes me uneasy. Not scary, pfft. It was obvious Spielberg was making a scary movie not for adults.
I think what he ignores poltergeist is a somewhat family friendly horror movie. It is the type of movie you let the kids watch as perhaps their entrance into horror maybe after the universal monster movies. On a side note my friend told me once he saw the movie with his kids and they had a clown just like the one in the movie and set it up to scare the shit out of his daughter who was just a little kid.
