I wish those two were still alive, I would've loved seeing them review present day movies, Like, 1. A Dog's Journey. - 2019. 2. A Dog's Purpose. - 2017. 3. A Dog's Way Home. - 2019. 4. Poltergeist. - 2015. 5. Child's Play. - 2019. 6. Black Panther. - 2018. 7. Black Panther WAKANDA Forever. - 2022. 8. Avatar. - 2009. 9. Avatar the way of Water. - 2022. 10. Pokémon Detective Pikachu. - 2019. 11. Encanto. - 2021. 12. Raya and the Last Dragon. - 2021. 13. Ready to Rumble. - 2000. 14. Jurassic World. - 2015. 15. Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. - 2018. 16. Jurassic World Dominion. - 2022. 17. Mulan. - 2020. 18. Aladdin. - 2019. 19. The Jungle Book. - 2019. 20. Beauty and the Beast. - 2017. 21. Alice in Wonderland. - 2010. 22. Alice through the Looking Glass. - 2016. 23. Cinderella. - 2015. 24. Fantastic Beasts and where to find them. - 2016. (and the two sequels). 25. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. - 2018. 24. The Hunger Games. - 2012. (and the sequels). 25. Star Wars the Force Awakens. 26. Star Wars the Last Jedi. 27. Star Wars the Rise of Skywalker. 28. The Boy and the Heron. - 2023. Anime Movie. 29. Jem and the Holograms. - 2015. 30. Josie and the Pussycats. - 2001. 31. Underdog. - 2007. 32. G-Force. - 2009. 33. Thunderbirds. - 2004. 34. Herbie Fully Loaded. - 2005. 35. Toy Story 4. - 2019. 36. Cars 4. - 2006. 37. The Incredibles. - 2004. 38. Incredibles 2. - 2018. 39. Mr. Peabody and Sherman. - 2014. 40. Monster's University. - 2013. 41. Kindergarten Cop 2. - 2016.
Gene's other favorite films of 1986 were Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild," Richard Pryor's "Jo Jo Dancer: Your Life is Calling", "Desert Bloom," "Sid and Nancy," (#4 on Roger's list, as aforementioned), the musical adaptation of Roger Corman's "Little Shop of Horrors" (Frank Oz's first non-Muppets film), Eric Rohmer's "Summer", "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" (#8 on Roger's list, as aforementioned), and "Ruthless People". This is the second time Gene's selection for the top spot differed in print and on television. In 1985, the #1 spot was occupied in print by Akira Kurosawa's "Ran" and on TV by "Shoah". In 1986, "Shoah" occupied the top spot on his print list and "Hannah and Her Sisters" took its place on TV. "Platoon", which was #6 on his TV list, was named "the best 1986 film not to play Chicago" in print because it only came out there on January 2, 1987. Gene was most pleased by the "goodly number of truly distinctive and risky motion pictures [that] were made and did cause a stir" as "corporate Hollywood continued its continental drift into the form and substance of television". He was pleased by audiences being able to debate critics as to the merits of, for example, David Lynch's "Blue Velvet", remarking that said debates are "part of what the movie-going experience ought to be". Gene believed that the biggest trend of 1986 was military jingoism, exemplified by the year's highest-grossing film, "Top Gun," and Clint Eastwood's "Heartbreak Ridge." Gene believed that the biggest surprise of 1986 was that the Australian film "Crocodile Dundee", with Paul Hogan, was a major box office smash; he said the success of that film "proved once again, as did 'On Golden Pond' and 'Cocoon' before it, that older audiences will go to the movies if they hear there's an old-fashioned good time to be had and that they won t be subjected to irrelevant nudity, foul language or violence". (SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, December 21, 1986)
Platoon was the best movie about Vietnam and Stone’s best movie in my opinion. Some people say that it glorifies war, but I think it did just the opposite. It scared the crap out of me and made me think that war is hell.
I saw it once, and hadn't planned to see it again. But I don't remember much about it, so maybe it would be worth another look instead of watching the remake of _All Quiet on the Western Front?_ I think we got _The Deer Hunter (1978), Apocalypse Now (1979),_ and then _Platoon._ Perhaps it opened things up for some imitators?
@@sandal_thong HBO was running Platoon the other night so it shouldn’t be hard to find. Shortly after it’s release, there were several movies that came out about Vietnam like Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill and Casualties of War to name a few. Platoon was the best in my opinion.
@@flaccidusminimus2170 Ask anybody if they remember today Top Gun, Aliens, Blue Velvet or Platoon...and tell me if the answers are the same when you ask for Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Children of a Lesser God, Lucas, Vagabond or Mona Lisa. Oh, yes, I am sure 👍🏻
@@sleuthentertainment5872 You're making a point about collective cultural memory, something highly dependent on factors like box office success, marketing, distribution, streaming availability, etc. Essentially a populist observation. What is the relevance of your point to the question of artistic quality? This isn't a program about Most Popular Movies of 1986, and it isn't a critic's job to gauge popular opinion or bear a crystal ball to foretell the collective memory of the masses. They report on their own personal perception of quality. That's it. No one needs to like it, and no one needs to conform to a consensus.
I think you're also riding roughshod over vast differences that exist in personal taste. What someone "remembers" always depends on who you're asking, what their background and personality is. I've seen "Vagabond" twice, "Mona Lisa" three times and have the poster framed in my bedroom. I can't remember much about "Top Gun" and don't care to see it again. I dislike "Blue Velvet" only slightly less than Ebert does. Human beings are diverse!
Try reading about it, no movie can tell you more than they can fit into c. two hours. Movies are only the second worst way to teach history, the worst is Broadway musicals.
So many believed Stallone's line in _First Blood,_ "I see all those maggots at the airport; protesting _me,_ spitting, calling me baby-killer.... Who are they to protest me?" that we got the slogan "Support Our Troops" for the Gulf War, as if protesters were responsible for Vietnam. Who told people how bad it was to inspire protests? Veterans returning from Vietnam.
My list, based on North American release dates: 1. Hannah and Her Sisters 2. Sherman's March 3. Round Midnight 4. Sid and Nancy 5. Mona Lisa 6. Vagabond 7. Platoon 8. The Terrorizers 9. Do You Remember Dolly Bell? 10. Dust In The Wind
Siskel later placed "Sid and Nancy" on his list of the best films of the 1980s (which wasn't even on his '86 list) and did not include his #1 choice mentioned here "Hannah and Her Sisters".
My favorite films of 1986: 1. Children of a lesser God 2. The Fly 3. Blue Velvet 4. The Mosquito Coast 5. Crimes of the Heart 6. The Color of Money 7. Soul Man 8. A Room with a View 9. Hannah and her Sisters 10. The Mission So there.
I now remember in 1986 there was the military-approved and supported movie, _Top Gun,_ and the unapproved one that may have had more to say, _Platoon._ Both good and successful.
@Christopher C. Me either, I even DVR-ed it off TCM a month or so ago and love Gary Oldman's work, but still haven't watched it yet! What's our deal? 😮😄
@@fromthehaven94 How was it? Is it a difficult movie to sit through? I'm already assuming it is, so maybe that's possibly the reason I keep putting watching it off? EDIT: Thanks for the help!
My Top 10 1.Something Wild 2. Jo Jo Dancer Your Life Is Calling 3. Blue Velvet 4. Ruthless People 5. She's Gotta Have It 6. Aliens 7. Big Trouble In Little China 8. Platoon 9. Stand By Me 10.The Fly Honorable Mentions. At Close Range, The Golden Child, Little Shop of Horrors, Sid and Nancy, Three Amigos, Under The Cherry Moon
I forgot about At Close Range, so good! I think it's forgotten because it's so disturbing. Walkins is so good in it, one of his best! "Is this the family gun Dad!" Ruthless People one of the best comedies of all time and the highest grossing comedy of 86, yet forgotten, it shouldn't be. I remember seeing Something Wild and thinking that Ray Liotta was nuts and going to be a big star.
@@stever7157 It's even more of a shame that it was on this movie set that Charlie Sheen raped Corey Haim, which sent him spiralling into drug abuse, and death :(
1. Hannah and her Sisters 2. Sid and Nancy 3. Hoosiers 4. A Room With a View 5. Mona Lisa 6. Platoon 7. Stand by Me 8. Blue Velvet 9. Big Trouble in Little China 10.Labyrinth
Aliens was definitely a top film of the year. Ebert gave it ***1/2 despite finding the aliens too scary and gross and etc. The Fly was far more messed up and they loved it.
@Ignatius Jackson When first reading your comment, I was like "what the hell?" But looking at it again, I see what you mean, it looks like Gene has glowing neon Lee Press On nails! 😜
My top 10 from 1986. 1.Aliens 2.Highlander 3.Big Trouble In Little China 4.Running Scared 4.The Boy Who Could Fly 5.Ferris Bueller's Day Off 6.Little Shop Of Horrors 7.Crocodile Dundee 8.Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 9.Stand By Me 10.The Fly
I'd agree Crocodile Dundee was one of the best of 86. It's a shame these guys didn't like it, because it was such a huge smash and the second highest grossing film of the year and Paul Hogan was even nominated for Best Screenplay. I think they were just way too uptight on that one. I didnt like the sequels. In the second one they tried to make Mick Dundee an action hero when he should be a fish out of water in a comedy and then Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles was even more ridiculous, but the first was a true comedy classic.
@@spencer10182 I love Dundee, I've seen it like 20 times.There were a lot of movies that I liked that they didn't. They hated Aliens, they hated Die Hard, but I still love their opinions. There were a lot of little films that they brought to my attention I never would have found, like The Boy Who Could Fly, One False Move and Duma are some of my all time favorite films. I started watching them in 76 when they were on PBS, I was 12. I never missed a show until Gene passed in 98. They were the best.
How tine flies, 1986 was 36 years ago and Siskel and Ebert have both passed away. The only film I saw in the theater on either of their top 10 lists was The Fly. Which I thought was pretty gross. My favorite film of 1986 was Aliens.
I remember when I first moved to Austin in 1986, my room mate and I went to a matinee for $1, the movies were The Fly and Aliens. I had never seen the Fly, he never saw Aliens. What an INSANE double feature!! I had originally saw Aliens in Evergreen Plaza on the south side of Chicago, right before I left. I was one of the only white people in the theater and I had never been to a movie with african americans.....let alone a horror movie on the level of Aliens. That experience added SO MUCH to that movie!! I never experienced people screaming that loud and yelling at the screen.....it was so much fun!!
. Can anybody tell what is said by the guy in the hat immediately after Nancy Spungen ("Sid & Nancy") says "You want a cup of tea? Get us a cup of tea...." at the 10:50 mark ?? It actually sounds like he uses the C-word......but it can't be.......CAN IT ?? .
My list; 1. Aliens 2. Stand By Me 3. Hannah and Her Sisters 4. Platoon 5. Children of a Lesser God 6. The Great Mouse Detective 7. Peggy Sue Got Married 8. Sid & Nancy 9. Castle In The Sky 10. Lucas
I saw Aliens and Stand by Me in a theater. Great films. Lucas was funny and moving. All 3 stars gave excellent performances. And Hannah was a terrific film. Dianne Wiest and Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey and Max Von Sydow. What a cast. Seems like Carrie Fisher was in a few scenes.
Yeah I just saw Siskel’s review for the Fly. He gave it **** and called it far superior to Aliens. Makes no sense since it was grosser than Aliens. I mean pretty sure he didn’t like Aliens because the Aliens were too well made, scary and gross. I watched Aliens 1000 times. I find the Fly too gross to sit through.
@@Jim222001 The main reason Siskel didn’t like it was because of the girl being in serious peril throughout the whole thing. Children in danger in films was a major turnoff for Gene.
Ebert gave Blue Velvet 1 star. Thoroughly hated everything about it, and disliked Lynch's work until Mulholland Drive. I can't find any evidence of him reviewing The Fly for print, but he clearly enjoyed it.
@@flaccidusminimus2170 Ebert gave four stars to The Straight Story too. But yeah, he had been negative on everything before 1999 except for Eraserhead. Even The Elephant Man.
Good question. "The Fly" came out in mid-August during the gap period between the end of their old Tribune show "At the Movies" (early August) and the beginning of their new show on Buena Vista (September 20). August was usually the off-season for both guys when they took their vacations, but in this particular year, they were also in between TV contracts. Vacation may account for why Roger missed it for the Sun-Times, but it is worth noting that there are many oversights on his website including missing reviews and articles that appear in older non-web sources.
@@flaccidusminimus2170 Yes, andyfilm has the ATM's that Rex Reed and Bill Harris came in to host after Siskel and Ebert left and they did review The Fly and Stand by Me and She's Gotta Have It. Look on his webpage.
I don't think so. It came out in mid-August during a time when he was usually on vacation. Perhaps when he came back the Sun-Times wanted him to move forward and didn't provide him with column space to review it. Both bypassed it on TV that Summer because it came out during the gap period between the end of their old Tribune show "At the Movies" (early August) and the beginning of their new show on Buena Vista (September 20).
My Top 10 for 1986: 1. Aliens 2. Stand by Me 3. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 4. The Fly 5. Platoon 6. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off 7. Blue Velvet 8. Mona Lisa 9. Down by Law 10. The Mosquito Coast
10:42 Gary Oldman's accent might take the credit or the censor's lazy ears might take the blame, but I feel like, "More sugar, you c***s," wasn't the typical language heard on Siskel & Ebert...
1. Stand By Me 2. Aliens 3. Sid and Nancy 4. Platoon 5. Ferris Bueller's Day Off 6. At Close Range 7. The Fly 8. The Mission 9. The Mosquito Coast 10. Manhunter
@@fromthehaven94 Wanted to add more obscure choices, but the list ended up being true for me. 1,2 and 5 are undeniably great movies. Stand By Me is a top ten of all time for me. Wore my VHS tape of it out so much that when I see the movie now I expect a few frames to skip via white noise when Ace steals Gordie’s Yankee’s cap.
I dont care what these sissies said about the movie, Aliens was truly the best movie of 1986. Platoon or Hannah and Her Sisters were great of course, but they haven't aged like wine.
Someone asked what movie would you want to see again in the theater? A couple years ago I went back for _Aliens._ Unfortunately, I really wanted to see the 3-hour laserdisc edition with the automated machine guns and more, so was slightly disappointed. _Star Trek IV_ had more to say and might have helped save the whales. _Labyrinth_ while not the best might be worth seeing again on the big screen for its visuals, as well as _Top Gun_ and _Highlander._
@@sandal_thong I really want to see the Special Edition of Aliens remastered for the big screen. I mean, years ago, they re-released Alien. Why not Aliens?
@@LukeLovesRose They criticized the movie for not having a scene like the one they cut: Ripley learning of her daughter growing old and dying without family in her life.
I've never understood why people avoid sad movies, - like _everyone_ gets it when it's *sad music* - it feels beautiful, not just sad! (....No one can just listen to 'Walkin on Sunshine' all day every day, y'know?) - but seem to miss the same point when it comes to movies.
The best films of 1986, from a cheeseburger-and-fries-at-McDonald's, entertainment-&-mind-candy-loving, lowbrow-and-low-standards kinda guy. And I don't do top tens. I don't _have_ top tens. I just have movies that I like and remember fondly. If you don't like the movies I do, what can I tell you? You're just wrong. 52 Pick-Up Aliens Armed and Dangerous Avenging Force Back to School Big Trouble in Little China Cobra Critters Crocodile Dundee Deadly Friend The Delta Force Extremities F/X The Fly Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives The Golden Child Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer Highlander Howard the Duck Labyrinth Little Shop of Horrors Manhunter Maximum Overdrive The Money Pit The Mosquito Coast Murphy's Law Nomads Poltergeist II: The Other Side Psycho III Raw Deal Ruthless People Stand by Me Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home TerrorVision The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 Three Amigos Top Gun Tough Guys The Transformers: The Movie Trick or Treat Troll Vamp There you have it. If there were better movies than these in '86, I ain't seen 'em. Joe Bob says check 'em out.
My best of 1986 Hannah & Her Sisters Round Midnight Children of a Lesser God A Room with a View Peggy Sue Got Married Pretty in Pink Ferris Bueller's Day off Stand By Me About Last Night Little Shop of Horrors The Big Easy Ruthless People Down & Out Beverly Hills The Great Mouse Detective Blue Velvet Salvador Sid & Nancy The Fly Mona Lisa Platoon Aliens Top Gun Vagabond
I count only about 22 movies worth seeing from 1986 (all the top-10 highest grossing films) plus 12 more, so not that many compared to other years, unless you include Siskel and Ebert's best picks (which I usually don't for other years). However instead of 5 or 6 I counted 10+ that might be worth seeing twice or more: _Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee, The Karate Kid Part II, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Aliens, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, An American Tale, Highlander, Hoosiers,_ and _Jumpin' Jack Flash._
Siskel hated gross out movies yet the Fly which is way grosser than Aliens. He loved and called far superior to Aliens. I find the Fly too messed up and disturbing to watch straight through.
I think with most of us, general rules of thumb about personal taste all have exceptions. "The Fly" is just as you say, but the fact that it cuts so deep (or at least tries to) is the reason it resonates with me more than most modern sci-fi films and probably did to Siskel as well.
He actually liked both films. Didn't hate Taxi Driver at all, just didn't think the violent second half was great, but he loved the love story between De Niro and Sheppard.
I don't think a movie's popularity with the general public is a reliable indication of its quality. But the only movies on these lists that have bum reputations today are "Peggy Sue Got Married" and "Down and Out in Beverly Hills". "Children Of A Lesser God" isn't exactly popular anymore, but is still well-liked. Others like "Trouble In Mind" and "Hard Choices" were never really seen by anyone other than critics, but that doesn't make them bad (probably just the contrary).
Only a very brief clip of Blue Velvet with Rossellini singing (in between his mentions of Peggy Sue and Round Midnight) 0:44. I had to cut it to skirt the copyright restrictions even though it was very brief.
The thirty seconds of the standard Woody Allen neuroticism broadcast here was hard enough to sit through. I can't imagine 2 more hours of it. And I'll never be able to watch "Lucas" in the same way again knowing that Charlie Sheen quite possibly violated Corey Haim on set.
This was a great year where I actually saw most of the movies that they talked about. The last decade when the academy award nominations come out I haven’t even heard of most of them.
I count the top-10 highest-grossing films of that year (all of which I've seen, for a change) plus another 11 or 12 worth seeing, for 22 (the lowest I've made for years 1985-1990). However instead of 5 or 6 worth watching multiple times from these years, I count 12 worth seeing at least twice! So fewer good movies, but more great movies!
Down and out in Beverly hills was one of the worst movies i have ever seen. Shocking they borh liked it. It came and went and you never see it played on tv because noone liked it.
I would take away Hannah and Her Sisters and a few others and replace with Aliens, Ferris Buehler, Stand by Me, Ruthless People. Can't believe Siskel didn't have Platoon in his top ten unacceptable.
I saw them filming the opening title sequence. At least the newspaper trucks in front of the legendary Chicago Theatre.
Cool 😎.
That's so cool. Where was it? Downtown Chicago?
@@Blodia1990, yes, on State Street. The theater is still standing and operating, only now they have concerts in it.
I walked Bob Dylan in 1975!
@@jesusrivera521, was he on a leash?
Children of a Lesser God should be talked about more because it's a beautiful movie.
RIP Siskel and Ebert 🙏 Thanks 4 sharing these classic videos.
I wish those two were still alive, I would've loved seeing them review present day movies, Like,
1. A Dog's Journey. - 2019.
2. A Dog's Purpose. - 2017.
3. A Dog's Way Home. - 2019.
4. Poltergeist. - 2015.
5. Child's Play. - 2019.
6. Black Panther. - 2018.
7. Black Panther WAKANDA Forever. - 2022.
8. Avatar. - 2009.
9. Avatar the way of Water. - 2022.
10. Pokémon Detective Pikachu. - 2019.
11. Encanto. - 2021.
12. Raya and the Last Dragon. - 2021.
13. Ready to Rumble. - 2000.
14. Jurassic World. - 2015.
15. Jurassic World Fallen Kingdom. - 2018.
16. Jurassic World Dominion. - 2022.
17. Mulan. - 2020.
18. Aladdin. - 2019.
19. The Jungle Book. - 2019.
20. Beauty and the Beast. - 2017.
21. Alice in Wonderland. - 2010.
22. Alice through the Looking Glass. - 2016.
23. Cinderella. - 2015.
24. Fantastic Beasts and where to find them. - 2016. (and the two sequels).
25. The Nutcracker and the Four Realms. - 2018.
24. The Hunger Games. - 2012. (and the sequels).
25. Star Wars the Force Awakens.
26. Star Wars the Last Jedi.
27. Star Wars the Rise of Skywalker.
28. The Boy and the Heron. - 2023. Anime Movie.
29. Jem and the Holograms. - 2015.
30. Josie and the Pussycats. - 2001.
31. Underdog. - 2007.
32. G-Force. - 2009.
33. Thunderbirds. - 2004.
34. Herbie Fully Loaded. - 2005.
35. Toy Story 4. - 2019.
36. Cars 4. - 2006.
37. The Incredibles. - 2004.
38. Incredibles 2. - 2018.
39. Mr. Peabody and Sherman. - 2014.
40. Monster's University. - 2013.
41. Kindergarten Cop 2. - 2016.
Gene Siskel died February 20, 1999 (aged 53)
Gene's other favorite films of 1986 were Jonathan Demme's "Something Wild," Richard Pryor's "Jo Jo Dancer: Your Life is Calling", "Desert Bloom," "Sid and Nancy," (#4 on Roger's list, as aforementioned), the musical adaptation of Roger Corman's "Little Shop of Horrors" (Frank Oz's first non-Muppets film), Eric Rohmer's "Summer", "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" (#8 on Roger's list, as aforementioned), and "Ruthless People".
This is the second time Gene's selection for the top spot differed in print and on television. In 1985, the #1 spot was occupied in print by Akira Kurosawa's "Ran" and on TV by "Shoah". In 1986, "Shoah" occupied the top spot on his print list and "Hannah and Her Sisters" took its place on TV. "Platoon", which was #6 on his TV list, was named "the best 1986 film not to play Chicago" in print because it only came out there on January 2, 1987.
Gene was most pleased by the "goodly number of truly distinctive and risky motion pictures [that] were made and did cause a stir" as "corporate Hollywood continued its continental drift into the form and substance of television". He was pleased by audiences being able to debate critics as to the merits of, for example, David Lynch's "Blue Velvet", remarking that said debates are "part of what the movie-going experience ought to be". Gene believed that the biggest trend of 1986 was military jingoism, exemplified by the year's highest-grossing film, "Top Gun," and Clint Eastwood's "Heartbreak Ridge."
Gene believed that the biggest surprise of 1986 was that the Australian film "Crocodile Dundee", with Paul Hogan, was a major box office smash; he said the success of that film "proved once again, as did 'On Golden Pond' and 'Cocoon' before it, that older audiences will go to the movies if they hear there's an old-fashioned good time to be had and that they won t be subjected to irrelevant nudity, foul language or violence". (SOURCE: Chicago Tribune, December 21, 1986)
Platoon was the best movie about Vietnam and Stone’s best movie in my opinion. Some people say that it glorifies war, but I think it did just the opposite. It scared the crap out of me and made me think that war is hell.
I saw it once, and hadn't planned to see it again. But I don't remember much about it, so maybe it would be worth another look instead of watching the remake of _All Quiet on the Western Front?_ I think we got _The Deer Hunter (1978), Apocalypse Now (1979),_ and then _Platoon._ Perhaps it opened things up for some imitators?
@@sandal_thong HBO was running Platoon the other night so it shouldn’t be hard to find. Shortly after it’s release, there were several movies that came out about Vietnam like Full Metal Jacket, Hamburger Hill and Casualties of War to name a few. Platoon was the best in my opinion.
The Deerhunter is the best movies about Nam.
JFK is Stone’s best movie.
So sadly many of these movies are forgotten today..
By who? Yourself? Or are you claiming to speak on behalf of everyone alive?
@@flaccidusminimus2170 Ask anybody if they remember today Top Gun, Aliens, Blue Velvet or Platoon...and tell me if the answers are the same when you ask for Down and Out in Beverly Hills, Children of a Lesser God, Lucas, Vagabond or Mona Lisa. Oh, yes, I am sure 👍🏻
@@sleuthentertainment5872 You're making a point about collective cultural memory, something highly dependent on factors like box office success, marketing, distribution, streaming availability, etc. Essentially a populist observation. What is the relevance of your point to the question of artistic quality? This isn't a program about Most Popular Movies of 1986, and it isn't a critic's job to gauge popular opinion or bear a crystal ball to foretell the collective memory of the masses. They report on their own personal perception of quality. That's it. No one needs to like it, and no one needs to conform to a consensus.
I think you're also riding roughshod over vast differences that exist in personal taste. What someone "remembers" always depends on who you're asking, what their background and personality is. I've seen "Vagabond" twice, "Mona Lisa" three times and have the poster framed in my bedroom. I can't remember much about "Top Gun" and don't care to see it again. I dislike "Blue Velvet" only slightly less than Ebert does. Human beings are diverse!
A Room With A View is a wonderful movie.
Platoon was one of the most important Vietnam movies ever made. It explained a lot for those of us who weren’t there
“You weren’t even there, man.”
Willem Defoe, “Born on the 4th of July”
Try reading about it, no movie can tell you more than they can fit into c. two hours. Movies are only the second worst way to teach history, the worst is Broadway musicals.
So many believed Stallone's line in _First Blood,_ "I see all those maggots at the airport; protesting _me,_ spitting, calling me baby-killer.... Who are they to protest me?" that we got the slogan "Support Our Troops" for the Gulf War, as if protesters were responsible for Vietnam. Who told people how bad it was to inspire protests? Veterans returning from Vietnam.
I only saw Hannah and Her Sisters once but I remember liking it.
I love the intro. It couldn't be more 80s if it tried.
I absolutely thought the same. This Saxophone driven Intros are just too catchy. Alf had one of these too.
Well, this version of the show started in 1986, so what do you want?
I prefer this opening to the ones they had before.
Unexpectedly, takes me back a simple moment in front of my parents TV @ 16yo. Wow.
I HATED THAT DECADE.
My list, based on North American release dates:
1. Hannah and Her Sisters
2. Sherman's March
3. Round Midnight
4. Sid and Nancy
5. Mona Lisa
6. Vagabond
7. Platoon
8. The Terrorizers
9. Do You Remember Dolly Bell?
10. Dust In The Wind
Siskel later placed "Sid and Nancy" on his list of the best films of the 1980s (which wasn't even on his '86 list) and did not include his #1 choice mentioned here "Hannah and Her Sisters".
I'll never forget him flipping his thumb on Broken Arrow on the air.
@@timothygrant7266 that was funny only because 1. Broken Arrow was awful and 2. Its exactly the type of movie Gene of all people should hate.
Heyyy!
Nice to see *Down and out in Beverly Hills* get some ❤Love! ❤
- Now that's a bright n lively comedy that _no one ever talks about now!_ 👍
great episode
My Best Flim of the Year 1986 Lucas, The Great Mouse Detective and Aliens
You forgot about "Rad"
I love how the thumbnail has green nail polish on Siskel's fingernails.
They were legends.
My favorite films of 1986:
1. Children of a lesser God
2. The Fly
3. Blue Velvet
4. The Mosquito Coast
5. Crimes of the Heart
6. The Color of Money
7. Soul Man
8. A Room with a View
9. Hannah and her Sisters
10. The Mission
So there.
blue velvet? L soul man? huge L... bruh
I am entitled to my opinion.
@@michaelhouser4778 sure your entitled to your wrong opinion
Children of a Lesser God is a great movie and it's sad that it has become somewhat forgotten.
Soul Man? LMAO
Platoon was a great great film. Ebert was right.
Super great, such a great script, direction and acting. Best Vietnam film IMO.
I now remember in 1986 there was the military-approved and supported movie, _Top Gun,_ and the unapproved one that may have had more to say, _Platoon._ Both good and successful.
how about stand by me great movie
I first heard about Gary Oldman through Sid and Nancy, which I have still never seen.
@Christopher C. Me either, I even DVR-ed it off TCM a month or so ago and love Gary Oldman's work, but still haven't watched it yet! What's our deal? 😮😄
It's a hard watch all these years later A great film none the less
@@geoffelder2236 Well, the deal was I finally saw Sid and Nancy over the summer.
@@davidpyott3710 I guess I would ask you the same questions as @fromthehaven94. Thanks for your input, I appreciate it (both of you guys!)
@@fromthehaven94 How was it? Is it a difficult movie to sit through? I'm already assuming it is, so maybe that's possibly the reason I keep putting watching it off?
EDIT: Thanks for the help!
My Top 10
1.Something Wild
2. Jo Jo Dancer Your Life Is Calling
3. Blue Velvet
4. Ruthless People
5. She's Gotta Have It
6. Aliens
7. Big Trouble In Little China
8. Platoon
9. Stand By Me
10.The Fly
Honorable Mentions. At Close Range, The Golden Child, Little Shop of Horrors, Sid and Nancy, Three Amigos, Under The Cherry Moon
I forgot about At Close Range, so good! I think it's forgotten because it's so disturbing. Walkins is so good in it, one of his best! "Is this the family gun Dad!" Ruthless People one of the best comedies of all time and the highest grossing comedy of 86, yet forgotten, it shouldn't be. I remember seeing Something Wild and thinking that Ray Liotta was nuts and going to be a big star.
Something Wild was unpredictable and very entertaining. Liotta at his most menacing.
@@reesebn38 “At Close Range” is one of the best and most underrated movies of all-time.
@@Wildcock23 I saw it in the theatre when it came out. Brilliant! "Is this the family gun Dad?!!"
@@reesebn38 “Put that down. What’s eatin’ you?” 😈
Down and Out in Beverly Hills and The Fly were both very good.
The Fly didn't belong on a top ten list. It was good, but the ending was too quick. What does happen with the baby?
I thought I was just about the only person left that remembers how good Down and Out in Beverly Hills is!
Corey Haim was so good in Lucas.
One of my favorite movies, all time. Such a joy to watch and extremely underrated. Love it!
@@schmeltingaccident Charlie Sheen was in that as well. It’s a shame what drugs did to them.
@@stever7157 It's even more of a shame that it was on this movie set that Charlie Sheen raped Corey Haim, which sent him spiralling into drug abuse, and death :(
A great movie that has become sadly forgotten.
Man I never got over Vietnam. I did get over the panic attacks, and flash backs.
1. Hannah and her Sisters
2. Sid and Nancy
3. Hoosiers
4. A Room With a View
5. Mona Lisa
6. Platoon
7. Stand by Me
8. Blue Velvet
9. Big Trouble in Little China
10.Labyrinth
Aliens was definitely a top film of the year. Ebert gave it ***1/2 despite finding the aliens too scary and gross and etc.
The Fly was far more messed up and they loved it.
Sometimes the choices they make you have to think, WTF?????
Did they review the film on their show? Maybe on the last At the Movies they did?
The thing that bothered me about The Fly was they didn't resolve the pregnancy.
The Fly (granted, I haven't seen it) reminds me of District 9.
The thumbnail... Poor Siskel... his nail polish didn't dry in time for the show!
@Ignatius Jackson When first reading your comment, I was like "what the hell?" But looking at it again, I see what you mean, it looks like Gene has glowing neon Lee Press On nails! 😜
@@geoffelder2236 Ha, I'm glad you caught in the second time!
@@ignatiusjackson235 Now I can't un-see it, Gene looks trippy as all hell! 😆
@@geoffelder2236 I know, right! 😆
😂😂😂😂
1986 was a serious year for serious cinema.
You say that,
but their #1 for 1985 was The Shoah.
It don't get any more serious than a BRUTAL ten hour holocaust memorial doc.
My top 10 from 1986. 1.Aliens 2.Highlander 3.Big Trouble In Little China 4.Running Scared 4.The Boy Who Could Fly 5.Ferris Bueller's Day Off 6.Little Shop Of Horrors 7.Crocodile Dundee 8.Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 9.Stand By Me 10.The Fly
I'd agree Crocodile Dundee was one of the best of 86. It's a shame these guys didn't like it, because it was such a huge smash and the second highest grossing film of the year and Paul Hogan was even nominated for Best Screenplay. I think they were just way too uptight on that one. I didnt like the sequels. In the second one they tried to make Mick Dundee an action hero when he should be a fish out of water in a comedy and then Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles was even more ridiculous, but the first was a true comedy classic.
@@spencer10182 I love Dundee, I've seen it like 20 times.There were a lot of movies that I liked that they didn't. They hated Aliens, they hated Die Hard, but I still love their opinions. There were a lot of little films that they brought to my attention I never would have found, like The Boy Who Could Fly, One False Move and Duma are some of my all time favorite films. I started watching them in 76 when they were on PBS, I was 12. I never missed a show until Gene passed in 98. They were the best.
Roger actually gave a strong recommendation to Aliens, and Gene liked Die Hard.
@@flaccidusminimus2170 That right I forgot one liked it one didn't.
@@reesebn38 I started watching them in 79 when they reviewed The Black Hole and The Electric Horseman. I was 11.
How tine flies, 1986 was 36 years ago and Siskel and Ebert have both passed away. The only film I saw in the theater on either of their top 10 lists was The Fly. Which I thought was pretty gross. My favorite film of 1986 was Aliens.
I remember when I first moved to Austin in 1986, my room mate and I went to a matinee for $1, the movies were The Fly and Aliens. I had never seen the Fly, he never saw Aliens. What an INSANE double feature!! I had originally saw Aliens in Evergreen Plaza on the south side of Chicago, right before I left. I was one of the only white people in the theater and I had never been to a movie with african americans.....let alone a horror movie on the level of Aliens. That experience added SO MUCH to that movie!! I never experienced people screaming that loud and yelling at the screen.....it was so much fun!!
Mmmmm, how quickly time passes...
also: Fly goop 🤢
I'm surprised Little Shop of Horrors wasn't on Ebert's Top 10
“Stand By Me” should have made their lists.
No *Stand by me* ?
They didn't review that on the show. Not sure if they wrote print reviews.
Siskel is superior
Boy, I miss Hollywood.
.
Can anybody tell what is said by the guy in the hat immediately after Nancy Spungen ("Sid & Nancy") says "You want a cup of tea? Get us a cup of tea...." at the 10:50 mark ??
It actually sounds like he uses the C-word......but it can't be.......CAN IT ??
.
I think he says, "Four sugars, ya cunt." I guess no one who worked on the show or at the network could hear it either 😂
It is exactly what you think it is, no idea how that got overlooked....I guess the sound guy can't discern cockney C bombs
I just heard it too and raced to the comments to see if anyone else caught it!
My list;
1. Aliens
2. Stand By Me
3. Hannah and Her Sisters
4. Platoon
5. Children of a Lesser God
6. The Great Mouse Detective
7. Peggy Sue Got Married
8. Sid & Nancy
9. Castle In The Sky
10. Lucas
I saw Aliens and Stand by Me in a theater. Great films. Lucas was funny and moving. All 3 stars gave excellent performances. And Hannah was a terrific film. Dianne Wiest and Michael Caine, Barbara Hershey and Max Von Sydow. What a cast. Seems like Carrie Fisher was in a few scenes.
Yeah I just saw Siskel’s review for the Fly. He gave it **** and called it far superior to Aliens.
Makes no sense since it was grosser than Aliens. I mean pretty sure he didn’t like Aliens because the Aliens were too well made, scary and gross.
I watched Aliens 1000 times. I find the Fly too gross to sit through.
@@Jim222001 The main reason Siskel didn’t like it was because of the girl being in serious peril throughout the whole thing. Children in danger in films was a major turnoff for Gene.
What about Top Gun?
@@logalogalog Didn’t like it
Wasn't Lucas the movie that Corey Feldman said that Corey Haim was assaulted during filming by someone who he has not yet named?
Charlie Sheen
Look at Siskel dropping The Fly and Blue Velvet on this list! I am usually an Ebert guy but I don't see either film on his list.
He must have forgot.
Ebert gave Blue Velvet 1 star. Thoroughly hated everything about it, and disliked Lynch's work until Mulholland Drive. I can't find any evidence of him reviewing The Fly for print, but he clearly enjoyed it.
I didn't think The Fly was that damn great. Hated the part with Goldblum's character vomiting.
@@flaccidusminimus2170 Ebert gave four stars to The Straight Story too. But yeah, he had been negative on everything before 1999 except for Eraserhead. Even The Elephant Man.
Why isn't there a written review from Ebert of The Fly or a regular review on the show when The Fly first opened?
Good question. "The Fly" came out in mid-August during the gap period between the end of their old Tribune show "At the Movies" (early August) and the beginning of their new show on Buena Vista (September 20). August was usually the off-season for both guys when they took their vacations, but in this particular year, they were also in between TV contracts. Vacation may account for why Roger missed it for the Sun-Times, but it is worth noting that there are many oversights on his website including missing reviews and articles that appear in older non-web sources.
@@flaccidusminimus2170 Yes, andyfilm has the ATM's that Rex Reed and Bill Harris came in to host after Siskel and Ebert left and they did review The Fly and Stand by Me and She's Gotta Have It. Look on his webpage.
He had the review right in his hand,
but sadly it got melted off. 🤢
Did Ebert ever review The Fly on his own? If he did I can't find his review on his website.
I don't think so. It came out in mid-August during a time when he was usually on vacation. Perhaps when he came back the Sun-Times wanted him to move forward and didn't provide him with column space to review it. Both bypassed it on TV that Summer because it came out during the gap period between the end of their old Tribune show "At the Movies" (early August) and the beginning of their new show on Buena Vista (September 20).
My Top 10 for 1986:
1. Aliens
2. Stand by Me
3. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
4. The Fly
5. Platoon
6. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
7. Blue Velvet
8. Mona Lisa
9. Down by Law
10. The Mosquito Coast
10:42 Gary Oldman's accent might take the credit or the censor's lazy ears might take the blame, but I feel like, "More sugar, you c***s," wasn't the typical language heard on Siskel & Ebert...
1. Stand By Me
2. Aliens
3. Sid and Nancy
4. Platoon
5. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
6. At Close Range
7. The Fly
8. The Mission
9. The Mosquito Coast
10. Manhunter
I concur with any list that have the movies 1, 2, and 5. All of which I've seen and loved.
@@fromthehaven94 Wanted to add more obscure choices, but the list ended up being true for me. 1,2 and 5 are undeniably great movies. Stand By Me is a top ten of all time for me. Wore my VHS tape of it out so much that when I see the movie now I expect a few frames to skip via white noise when Ace steals Gordie’s Yankee’s cap.
Awesome list
@@JT_Grogan A pretty great year for movies.
I dont care what these sissies said about the movie, Aliens was truly the best movie of 1986. Platoon or Hannah and Her Sisters were great of course, but they haven't aged like wine.
Gene didn't care for it, Roger was of two minds about it-he thought it was well made, but it drained him out while watching it.
@@sha11235 Yeah, I know. Pansies
Someone asked what movie would you want to see again in the theater? A couple years ago I went back for _Aliens._ Unfortunately, I really wanted to see the 3-hour laserdisc edition with the automated machine guns and more, so was slightly disappointed.
_Star Trek IV_ had more to say and might have helped save the whales.
_Labyrinth_ while not the best might be worth seeing again on the big screen for its visuals, as well as
_Top Gun_ and
_Highlander._
@@sandal_thong I really want to see the Special Edition of Aliens remastered for the big screen. I mean, years ago, they re-released Alien. Why not Aliens?
@@LukeLovesRose They criticized the movie for not having a scene like the one they cut: Ripley learning of her daughter growing old and dying without family in her life.
Lucas is a good movie but sad
I've never understood why people avoid sad movies,
- like _everyone_ gets it when it's *sad music* - it feels beautiful, not just sad!
(....No one can just listen to 'Walkin on Sunshine' all day every day, y'know?)
- but seem to miss the same point when it comes to movies.
Well I guess you didn't hear Corey Feldman talk about how Mr. Tiger Blood graped Corey Haim on the set
@@Swoll826 yeah, i did... still a good movie
The best films of 1986, from a cheeseburger-and-fries-at-McDonald's, entertainment-&-mind-candy-loving, lowbrow-and-low-standards kinda guy. And I don't do top tens. I don't _have_ top tens. I just have movies that I like and remember fondly. If you don't like the movies I do, what can I tell you? You're just wrong.
52 Pick-Up
Aliens
Armed and Dangerous
Avenging Force
Back to School
Big Trouble in Little China
Cobra
Critters
Crocodile Dundee
Deadly Friend
The Delta Force
Extremities
F/X
The Fly
Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives
The Golden Child
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer
Highlander
Howard the Duck
Labyrinth
Little Shop of Horrors
Manhunter
Maximum Overdrive
The Money Pit
The Mosquito Coast
Murphy's Law
Nomads
Poltergeist II: The Other Side
Psycho III
Raw Deal
Ruthless People
Stand by Me
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
TerrorVision
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2
Three Amigos
Top Gun
Tough Guys
The Transformers: The Movie
Trick or Treat
Troll
Vamp
There you have it. If there were better movies than these in '86, I ain't seen 'em. Joe Bob says check 'em out.
Just add *Down and Out in Beverly Hills* and you're golden.
- Such a great zero-fucks comedy! 👍
My best of 1986
Hannah & Her Sisters
Round Midnight
Children of a Lesser God
A Room with a View
Peggy Sue Got Married
Pretty in Pink
Ferris Bueller's Day off
Stand By Me
About Last Night
Little Shop of Horrors
The Big Easy
Ruthless People
Down & Out Beverly Hills
The Great Mouse Detective
Blue Velvet
Salvador
Sid & Nancy
The Fly
Mona Lisa
Platoon
Aliens
Top Gun
Vagabond
I count only about 22 movies worth seeing from 1986 (all the top-10 highest grossing films) plus 12 more, so not that many compared to other years, unless you include Siskel and Ebert's best picks (which I usually don't for other years). However instead of 5 or 6 I counted 10+ that might be worth seeing twice or more:
_Top Gun, Crocodile Dundee, The Karate Kid Part II, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Aliens, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, An American Tale, Highlander, Hoosiers,_ and _Jumpin' Jack Flash._
What in the cross dressing Siskel is going on in the thumbnail? 🤣
A common pose of his. In almost every episode, if you pause in the right place, it's look like he's preparing to grope someone.
I clicked because the bright green mani had me rolling 🤣
To be fair, I could not pull off that color.
Lmao the thumbnail
I know right.i did a double take! 😂😂😂😂😂
Little known fact: Scorsese shot the intro to the show.
10:52 - Did they just let a C-bomb slip on TV? 🤣
Aliens, Crocodile Dundee, Top Gun
Yes. Perfect.
THE FLY DOESN'T GO OVER INTO THE GROSS OUT CATEGORY?! Jesus what a ridiculous statement. One of the grossest movies ever made
Siskel hated gross out movies yet the Fly which is way grosser than Aliens. He loved and called far superior to Aliens.
I find the Fly too messed up and disturbing to watch straight through.
I think with most of us, general rules of thumb about personal taste all have exceptions. "The Fly" is just as you say, but the fact that it cuts so deep (or at least tries to) is the reason it resonates with me more than most modern sci-fi films and probably did to Siskel as well.
@@flaccidusminimus2170 Yeah and he also loved Mimic which was grosser and creepier than Aliens.
I haven't seen The Fly reminds me of District 9.
Maybe it wasn't that much gross out stuff to him. I couldn't stomach the scene of Jeff's character vomiting at one point.
SOMETHING WILD would've been my number one, SID AND NANCY the second best, NOTHING IN COMMON number three.
Best Charlie Sheen film.
Lucas or Platoon? He was in 2 films that made their lists that year.
@@flaccidusminimus2170 I would say Platoon Charlie Sheen had a wonderful performance.
Rodger & Oprah dated once.
(OW said she doesn't remember☺️)
I've never seen a pic of her young, now I think about it.
10 years earlier siskel hated Rocky and Taxi Driver. How can I take this guy seriously
He actually liked both films. Didn't hate Taxi Driver at all, just didn't think the violent second half was great, but he loved the love story between De Niro and Sheppard.
Rocky is schlock
So many better films in 1986 than what these guys chose. More than half were quickly forgotten on that list.
I don't think a movie's popularity with the general public is a reliable indication of its quality. But the only movies on these lists that have bum reputations today are "Peggy Sue Got Married" and "Down and Out in Beverly Hills". "Children Of A Lesser God" isn't exactly popular anymore, but is still well-liked. Others like "Trouble In Mind" and "Hard Choices" were never really seen by anyone other than critics, but that doesn't make them bad (probably just the contrary).
Everything was better in the 80s
What was cut out at the beginning?
Only a very brief clip of Blue Velvet with Rossellini singing (in between his mentions of Peggy Sue and Round Midnight) 0:44. I had to cut it to skirt the copyright restrictions even though it was very brief.
@@flaccidusminimus2170 Ebert hated Blue Velvet. I haven't seen the film yet.
@@phillafella I've seen it. It's kind of weird.
@@reneedennis2011 doesn’t that describe every Lynch film? (except The Straight Story, a title that is a joke in itself)
@@erakfishfishfish Yes, it does.
The thirty seconds of the standard Woody Allen neuroticism broadcast here was hard enough to sit through. I can't imagine 2 more hours of it.
And I'll never be able to watch "Lucas" in the same way again knowing that Charlie Sheen quite possibly violated Corey Haim on set.
You're missing out, Hannah and Her Sisters is well liked even by people that don't love Woody Allen movies in general.
Watching old movie shows really makes it clear how stupid and bad the movies released these days are.
ALIENS withstood the test of time better than 95% of these movies.
3:22
The original Fly was much, much better.
I haven't seen it, but... _you're insane_
Rip Cory haim he claims he was sexually assaulted by Charlie Sheen during this movie
Corey Haim acting with his mouth hanging open yet again.
1986 to me was the worst year for movies in the 80s'.
This was a great year where I actually saw most of the movies that they talked about. The last decade when the academy award nominations come out I haven’t even heard of most of them.
Ah, there were some good films. It's the same every year.
I count the top-10 highest-grossing films of that year (all of which I've seen, for a change) plus another 11 or 12 worth seeing, for 22 (the lowest I've made for years 1985-1990). However instead of 5 or 6 worth watching multiple times from these years, I count 12 worth seeing at least twice! So fewer good movies, but more great movies!
Roger says that Jeff goldbloom can't love because he's turning into a fly! How dare he say that Flys can't love? So closed minded.
Who's he gonna love?
Down and out in Beverly hills was one of the worst movies i have ever seen. Shocking they borh liked it. It came and went and you never see it played on tv because noone liked it.
Great time in film but of how nice it is not to worry about Woody Allen movies in 2023
Wow ridiculous that Aliens didn’t crack either of their lists
Gene didn't even like it.
I would take away Hannah and Her Sisters and a few others and replace with Aliens, Ferris Buehler, Stand by Me, Ruthless People. Can't believe Siskel didn't have Platoon in his top ten unacceptable.
He had it at number 7.
As I mentioned in the comment section, _Platoon_ appeared on Mr. Siskel's TV list but not on his print list.