On a cold Saturday afternoon in 1975, two men (who had known each other for eight years before they'd ever exchanged a word) met for lunch in a Chicago pub. Gene Siskel was the film critic for the Chicago Tribune. Roger Ebert had recently won the Pulitzer Prize—the first ever awarded to a film critic—for his work at the Chicago Sun-Times. To say they despised each other was an understatement. When they reluctantly agreed to collaborate on a new movie review show with PBS, there was at least as much sparring off-camera as on. No decision—from which films to cover to who would read the lead review to how to pronounce foreign titles—was made without conflict, but their often-antagonistic partnership (which later transformed into genuine friendship) made for great television. In the years that followed, their signature "Two thumbs up!" would become the most trusted critical brand in Hollywood.
Engaging ... Leaves us with the open question of their legacy ... Everybody’s a critic now, and if that’s what Singer means by 'changing movies forever,' I wonder if it’s the legacy that Siskel and Ebert had in mind.
Singer is an unabashed fan, and...he lovingly chronicles their serendipitous, long-running partnership ... Their behind-the-scenes story is, to be honest, not all that compelling. Singer works hard to make the most of backstage anecdotes...that have the whiff of embellishment over years of retelling ... Still, Opposable Thumbs is a welcome reminder of an era when film criticism actually mattered.
inger interviews producers and those who were close to the men, providing an expansive portrait of how two movie critics became unlikely stars themselves. The book ends with a rundown of some of the films that Siskel and Ebert gave glowing reviews to that have now entered relative obscurity. Recommended for wide purchase with, what else, an enthusiastic thumbs up.
