At age 11 my dad took me to see Being There. I think he really enjoyed us sharing a film that was meaningful and thought provoking. I’m grateful for all the great films he picked for us to watch.
"Being There" is a great film, but boy, they really were unfair to "Fatso," a very funny, moving film that is something of a cult classic. It bombed with critics, and Anne Bancroft never wrote or directed again. She did a superb job, and Dom DeLuise's performance was tour de force.
It's interesting for them to note that they alone seemed to like American Gigolo (when it was released). Back then there were only a dozen prominent film critics widely read, and they were aware of each other's work. And maybe another two dozen lesser critics popular in their local cities.
They were so wrong about the Fog. It had atmosphere aplenty. A movie where you weren't hit over the head with gore and violence, but had suspense that built slowly.
I’m surprised they liked “American Gigilo”. I liked it too, but it’s not really a great film. Gere is kind of perfect in the role but there’s a vacuity at the center of his performance that is at once an appropriate acting decision and yet somehow a mistaken choice. But he and the movie are stylish as hell.
I am big fan of Fatso. It’s funny, over-the-top in a good way and endearing. Critics always over-analyze a movie like Fatso. Just watch and enjoy. Incidentally, I am a big fan of Bancroft. Her performance as the U.S. Senator in G.I. Jane was outstanding. In fact, all the leads in that Ridley Scott movie did a great job.
So you've seen it. Tell me something. Was Anne Bancroft possibly using food, food addiction and obesity as a metaphor? I know she was acquainted with a lot of people in the industry who had major problems with substance abuse and addiction, not to mention alcoholism. Is it possible she was addressing one problem in Hollywood by writing a story about a different problem?
Neil Simon was to the '60s and '70s what Tyler Perry was to the '90s and '00s, the key difference being that critics never pretended like Perry was a good writer. Simon was exalted way beyond his talent, except by Siskel & Ebert, who rarely if ever gave his film adaptations a thumbs up.
I like Neil Simon's Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys, and The Out-of-Towners. Still, he could be very hit or miss. I can't even say that about Tyler Perry.
I couldn't disagree more with their assessment of The Fog. I think it is better than Halloween and is my favourite John Carpenter film. Whenever they review a horror film they are hung up on whether it is scary or not. It is sort of an inane argument, especially for anyone a certain age. As children we are more easily scared but as adults we know how certain types of films work and how they are manipulating us, some more effectively than others. But I think The Fog has a creepy atmosphere and several good characters, especially Hal Holbrook as the priest who finds the diary which records the sins of their ancestors. The titular fog is not the villain of the story. I often wonder if they actually pay attention to the films they are watching. It's not a perfect film but I rank it among my ten favourite horror films.
They say the fog itself wasn't scary. Yet they don't mention what was scary about the fog, which was the killer ghosts with hooks and swords. Dumb review by them of a great horror film.
@@marktosh3739 When I first saw Being There, I turned off the film before the outtakes began. I don't need that nonsense. Leave me with emotion I felt when the film properly ending. I don't need laughs.
They are totally wrong about Fatso. Fatso is a comedy. They just didn't get the humor. I could not stop laughing. Even the death scenes are meant to be humorous. It helps to have seen a lot of horror/comedies to get what is going on here. Dom was so good at acting in this movie, and poor Jr.---so good. I love this movie.
American Gigolo was a bad bad movie. It's very funny that Siskel and Ebert liked it. They both criticized movies that were unrealistic, and American Gigolo was anything but realistic. Richard Gere was so obnoxious in this film, it actually turned my father off of him as an actor.
they seriously did not understand horror at all. And they HATED horror. Almost all reviews about horror can be dismissed as bias & genuine hatred for horror films.
@@kd17Burger Again, It is true, They went on crusade against slasher films. Sure a lot of them were junk, but just like kung fu and blaxploitation, it would run it's course soon enough. They published the actual phone# of Lauren Bacall bc they found her choice of films objectionable. As for stupid horror..like Aliens? Like Silence of the Lambs? Like Seven? Siskel more than Ebert, but yes, horror they did not get.
Do you Drink when you post because Ebert gave 4 stars to Seven - 3 1/2 to Aliens and 4 Stars to Silence of the Lambs and where did you ever get that Lauren Bacall phone number story They both placed Halloween on their Best Films of 1978 so you really do not know what you are talking about - Again - they gave Thumbs Down to Generic Slasher movies that were made for the sake of Killing people in gruesome ways and had no other reason to be made than that
@@kd17Burger All you can do is point to a few examples of horror films they liked. In general, they trashed them unfairly. Siskel in particular should never have reviewed them. He always complained about the violence and automatically gave a thumbs down to any horror film where a child was in danger. For example, "Aliens."
American G is another film --like Meatballs--propelled to the top of the box office by the power of it's hit Disco song--Call Me--and the main problem was the casting of Ms. Hutton. She is simply too cold to pull off the sultry, vulnerable woman role that Kathleen Turner had nailed in Body Heat. Yes, this is another film that would have been improved by recasting Ms. Hutton with Ms. Turner. Richard Gere and Turner on screen would have been electric. In this film he is confident and casual about his good looks, and only Ms Turner--of the actresses working in films at that time--could have pulled off the role opposite of him. In those innocent scenes where we see Ms. Hutton trying to be something other than a cold and calculating woman, Ms. Turner would have soared. What a missed opportunity.
@@ricogomez4020 Believe me, no one on Earth wanted more for Ms Hutton than I did. I wanted her to soar in Charlie's Angels, but she was too jagged for that. She walked through the role of Tiffany like a shard of glass cutting everything in her path. She was much better in the TV ads for the perfume. In this film she struggled to be anything other than a pitch woman for clothing she wore.
Oh well I am alone in disliking Being There. I find it boring and Sellers dull too. How did Melvyn Douglas win an Oscar for it? He was much better in The Seduction of Joe Tynan.
This is a lousey review of The Fog. They missed it completely. I think they showed they were still stuck in the fog of being up each others outdated jaxies. Luckily the movie has outlived their total lack of grasp on excellent cinema.
@aoggrta74 Yes, "The Fog" is a terrific horror film. Like John Carpenter's "The Thing," it was very underrated when it came out. They were totally wrong about it.
At age 11 my dad took me to see Being There. I think he really enjoyed us sharing a film that was meaningful and thought provoking. I’m grateful for all the great films he picked for us to watch.
"Being There" is a great film, but boy, they really were unfair to "Fatso," a very funny, moving film that is something of a cult classic. It bombed with critics, and Anne Bancroft never wrote or directed again. She did a superb job, and Dom DeLuise's performance was tour de force.
"Fatso" was a delight and a shame Bancroft never wrote or directed again.
The Fog was great. I think they failed to mention that it was the pirates who killed not the fog itself.
not pirates but ghosts of the murdered
Pirate ghosts! Ghost pirates!
Not pirates, lepers.
Loved “Being There.”
It's interesting for them to note that they alone seemed to like American Gigolo (when it was released). Back then there were only a dozen prominent film critics widely read, and they were aware of each other's work. And maybe another two dozen lesser critics popular in their local cities.
I think The Fog has aged well for a C- rated B Film with a low budget
I like The Fog. A really good low budget horror movie.
I did too,the light house scene was very very exciting,,and the whole film is atmospheric...
They were totally wrong about "The Fog." A great horror film.
Agreed. It wasn’t Halloween or The Thing (the films that Carpenter made before and after it) but I enjoyed it. Adrienne Barbeau is great, for one
Love this channel so much. Thanks for your hard work.
They were so wrong about the Fog. It had atmosphere aplenty. A movie where you weren't hit over the head with gore and violence, but had suspense that built slowly.
Siskel actually walked out of that Jonestown film. Wow!
It was pretty awful all-around. Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones with Powers Booth is a much better telling of the story.
The Fog is my all time favorite horror movie. Very atmospheric and the first scary movie that I watched beginning to end.
The Fog was great!
I’m surprised they liked “American Gigilo”. I liked it too, but it’s not really a great film. Gere is kind of perfect in the role but there’s a vacuity at the center of his performance that is at once an appropriate acting decision and yet somehow a mistaken choice. But he and the movie are stylish as hell.
Love Dog of The Week!!
Sooo Happy that I was able to see this
When it reached New York City this was long gone
I am big fan of Fatso. It’s funny, over-the-top in a good way and endearing. Critics always over-analyze a movie like Fatso. Just watch and enjoy. Incidentally, I am a big fan of Bancroft. Her performance as the U.S. Senator in G.I. Jane was outstanding. In fact, all the leads in that Ridley Scott movie did a great job.
So you've seen it. Tell me something. Was Anne Bancroft possibly using food, food addiction and obesity as a metaphor? I know she was acquainted with a lot of people in the industry who had major problems with substance abuse and addiction, not to mention alcoholism. Is it possible she was addressing one problem in Hollywood by writing a story about a different problem?
Mmm... Adrienne Barbeau AND Jamie Lee Curtis!!!
Always amused to hear Gene trash the Sunn Classics films (well deserved), considering he didn't live to see anything made by The Asylum.... 🤣
Totally agree with them with regards to American Gigolo. Really great film. Hard to believe it was dissed when it came out.
Richard Gere's walk in American Gigolo was ...EVERYTHING
Neil Simon was to the '60s and '70s what Tyler Perry was to the '90s and '00s, the key difference being that critics never pretended like Perry was a good writer. Simon was exalted way beyond his talent, except by Siskel & Ebert, who rarely if ever gave his film adaptations a thumbs up.
I like Neil Simon's Odd Couple, The Sunshine Boys, and The Out-of-Towners. Still, he could be very hit or miss. I can't even say that about Tyler Perry.
I couldn't disagree more with their assessment of The Fog. I think it is better than Halloween and is my favourite John Carpenter film. Whenever they review a horror film they are hung up on whether it is scary or not. It is sort of an inane argument, especially for anyone a certain age. As children we are more easily scared but as adults we know how certain types of films work and how they are manipulating us, some more effectively than others. But I think The Fog has a creepy atmosphere and several good characters, especially Hal Holbrook as the priest who finds the diary which records the sins of their ancestors. The titular fog is not the villain of the story. I often wonder if they actually pay attention to the films they are watching. It's not a perfect film but I rank it among my ten favourite horror films.
Ebert essentially says it's more of the same (comparing it to Halloween). It's almost as if he didn't watch The Fog at all.
They say the fog itself wasn't scary. Yet they don't mention what was scary about the fog, which was the killer ghosts with hooks and swords. Dumb review by them of a great horror film.
For me The Fog has always missed the mark. It is a good concept, has good actors, has some creepy imagery, but just doesn’t quite come together.
Get the Honey Junior!!!
Peter Sellers was brilliant.
Here's the outtakes used during the closing credits for "Being There."
th-cam.com/video/vsQ_ClWBeRI/w-d-xo.html
Totally unnecessary.
@@ricardocantoral7672
Exactly.
That's why they're referred to as "outtakes."
;)
@@marktosh3739 When I first saw Being There, I turned off the film before the outtakes began. I don't need that nonsense. Leave me with emotion I felt when the film properly ending. I don't need laughs.
It’s amazing how long the scenes are back then I know they had to kill time
The episodes were about 10 minutes longer too.
Same thought.
Both wrong about The Fog.
How nice when they had a full 30 minutes! After they left PBS their shows averaged 21 minutes.
Hal Ashby was outstanding in the 70s. 80s came and just fizzled. Dunno what happened to him but just sad that he was never the same again!
Don't know about all his 80s films, but 8 Million Ways to Die is great!
Being there one if my favorite movies of all time baaaadasss
Mine too!
I couldn't disagree more with their criticism of "Fatso." I really felt sad for the protagonist and laughed at him at the same time.
I agree with you
Was the fog knocking on the door?
The Bermuda Triangle "mystery" is one of the biggest fairy tales ever sold to the American public.
They completely misfired on Fatso. That's a very sweet little movie with some great performances and genuinely funny moments.
They are totally wrong about Fatso. Fatso is a comedy. They just didn't get the humor. I could not stop laughing. Even the death scenes are meant to be humorous. It helps to have seen a lot of horror/comedies to get what is going on here. Dom was so good at acting in this movie, and poor Jr.---so good. I love this movie.
Groove world media loves this stuff
American Gigolo was a bad bad movie. It's very funny that Siskel and Ebert liked it. They both criticized movies that were unrealistic, and American Gigolo was anything but realistic.
Richard Gere was so obnoxious in this film, it actually turned my father off of him as an actor.
American Gigolo was my ish.
Hal Ashby : Harold and Maude
they seriously did not understand horror at all. And they HATED horror. Almost all reviews about horror can be dismissed as bias & genuine hatred for horror films.
That is not true .they hated stupid horror movies
@@kd17Burger Again, It is true, They went on crusade against slasher films. Sure a lot of them were junk, but just like kung fu and blaxploitation, it would run it's course soon enough. They published the actual phone# of Lauren Bacall bc they found her choice of films objectionable. As for stupid horror..like Aliens? Like Silence of the Lambs? Like Seven? Siskel more than Ebert, but yes, horror they did not get.
you're wrong they hate lame horror movies
Do you Drink when you post because Ebert gave 4 stars to Seven - 3 1/2 to Aliens and 4 Stars to Silence of the Lambs and where did you ever get that Lauren Bacall phone number story
They both placed Halloween on their Best Films of 1978 so you really do not know what you are talking about - Again - they gave Thumbs Down to Generic Slasher movies that were made for the sake of Killing people in gruesome ways and had no other reason to be made than that
@@kd17Burger All you can do is point to a few examples of horror films they liked. In general, they trashed them unfairly. Siskel in particular should never have reviewed them.
He always complained about the violence and automatically gave a thumbs down to any horror film where a child was in danger. For example, "Aliens."
American G is another film --like Meatballs--propelled to the top of the box office by the power of it's hit Disco song--Call Me--and the main problem was the casting of Ms. Hutton. She is simply too cold to pull off the sultry, vulnerable woman role that Kathleen Turner had nailed in Body Heat. Yes, this is another film that would have been improved by recasting Ms. Hutton with Ms. Turner. Richard Gere and Turner on screen would have been electric. In this film he is confident and casual about his good looks, and only Ms Turner--of the actresses working in films at that time--could have pulled off the role opposite of him. In those innocent scenes where we see Ms. Hutton trying to be something other than a cold and calculating woman, Ms. Turner would have soared. What a missed opportunity.
Hutton was fine. Movie was a bit boring.
@@ricogomez4020 Believe me, no one on Earth wanted more for Ms Hutton than I did. I wanted her to soar in Charlie's Angels, but she was too jagged for that. She walked through the role of Tiffany like a shard of glass cutting everything in her path. She was much better in the TV ads for the perfume. In this film she struggled to be anything other than a pitch woman for clothing she wore.
@@WilAdamsLauren Hutton was not in Charlie's Angels. You're mixing her up with Shelley Hack.
You ate the Ony!!
I loved Fatso!
I'm surprised Roger didn't like fatso. It was very funny
Oh well I am alone in disliking Being There. I find it boring and Sellers dull too. How did Melvyn Douglas win an Oscar for it? He was much better in The Seduction of Joe Tynan.
I agree with you. It might have made a good 30 minute TV show, or maybe a skit.
Yep, you are alone!
I agree.
I loved Fatso. You guys are snobs.
FATSO WAS A CUTE LITTLE FILM. THUMBS DOWN
This is a lousey review of The Fog. They missed it completely. I think they showed they were still stuck in the fog of being up each others outdated jaxies. Luckily the movie has outlived their total lack of grasp on excellent cinema.
I like American Gigolo, but yhe The Fog was stupid and boring.
@aoggrta74 Yes, "The Fog" is a terrific horror film. Like John Carpenter's "The Thing," it was very underrated when it came out.
They were totally wrong about it.
What it is based on is interesting. Read the wikipedia page on it.
Gigolo 👍 Fog 👎