Siskel & Ebert Review The Films of...John Carpenter
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 23 ก.ค. 2024
- A chronological compilation of Siskel & Ebert reviewing the films of John Carpenter on their show
From 1978's Halloween to 1998's Vampires
It's missing a couple here and there, simply because I could not find them
All clips from the movies have been removed to avoid a copyright claim
Primarily for educational purposes, but enjoy however you see fit!
For more of this series:
• Siskel & Ebert Review ... - ภาพยนตร์และแอนิเมชัน
Hearing these guys put down The Thing….. one of the greatest films ever made, just crazy and sad. Glad Carpenter finally got the credit he deserved for making his masterpieces
Well it flopped and critics and audiences alike didnt like it at the time but i think that Siskel gave it a fairly good review considering. Basically his main issue was that he thought it was gross.
Siskel liked it.....
I might give it a thumbs up. . .but the gore made you afraid of it. . .this movie intimidated you into liking it. The more a movie intimidates you, the more you like it?
@@magicsinglez I don’t know about everyone else, but the reason I like the movie isn’t about the gore. It’s that the anxiety and mistrust between the characters about who is the infected human/intruder among them, creates so much tension that it almost becomes another character in and of itself and breaks somewhat of a wall with the viewer that leaves many people with the experience that they are fully emerged into the story themselves. (But the special effects are top notch and still hold up to this day)
@@milkcarton6654 More than anything, I think it was poor timing for release. Releasing a horror movie in the middle of summer blockbusters is bad enough but it was up against E.T. and Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. If they waited till fall like most horror movie releases, I think it would've fared better.
Ebert on The Thing....man, was he ever wrong. One of the greatest sci-fi horror films ever made...
That's what makes them human and not trying to prop studios.
Ebert was like that with 2OO1, but came around eventually and knew he was wrong about it.
Don't know if he came around with The Thing. Like you said, one of the greatest sci-fi horror flicks...along with Alien ('79).
He definitely came around with The Wild Bunch....after about 20 years...lol
The problem was that The Thing was way ahead of its time, Boomers didn't like it but Gen X loved it!
Exactly, Ebert was great, but he dropped the ball on lots of great movies.
For example Fight Club.... he was completely unable to comprehend that movie.
I’m so bummed they skipped They Live! That was the one movie I really wanted to see their opinions of.
Yes, me too. They Live is one of the best satires of the world we live in and, in a way, could be true if you strech your imagination. Also the Thing (-82) has so much ideas about US and THEM, but as a horror story I think plenty of people recall the dog. Yes, the dog. Mouth of Madness is really a precursor to Matrix and an amazing film. If not horror then mindblowing for sure... As for Escape from LA, you should at least watch the Bangkok rules scene...
Me as well. Carpenter is a unique director in that his films seem mostly silly and hard to take entirely seriously, yet are endearing in a way I can't really put a finger on. I enjoy They Live a lot, but can understand if others don't like it or think it's stupid.
Totally agree. They Live is definitely John Carpenter’s most important film.🎥🙏🏼
(((They Live)))
...And that's WHY it wasn't reviewed.
I have come here to chew bubble gum and kick ass and I’m all out of bubble gum
Both Siskel & Ebert totally whiffed on "Big Trouble In Little China"
I swear the majority of their reviews came down to what kind of mood they were in the particular day they went to the theater.
@@fairwarning007 I love watching these guys talk about movies, even when I flat-out disagree with their takes. Their boomer-ism shows in some of these Carpenter reviews. Other times they're able to see pass their generation and be spot-on.
I first saw it on VHS a couple of years after it's theater release, like many, I didn't get it, I stopped it after about 10 minutes, thought it was awful. I saw it some years later and laughed my head off, I was enthralled by it. As they said themselves, it's a spoof, Carpenter even made the special effects a spoof, it was brilliant. It's certainly earned it's big cult status since then.
@@Redfoot138 Siskel & Ebert are like a box of chawk-lets.
The Thing isn't just one of the best remakes ever, it's one of the best MOVIES ever.
It’s one of the best THINGS ever.
The Thing is most definitely a film that was beyond its time. Outstanding work by John Carpenter, The Cast, Crew, and most especially Rob Bottin.
Bang On!! I saw it when i was 18...It blew me away..the suspense is off the charts
For sure! I think people commenting in the 2020s don’t quite have the experience of what this movie was in release. When Ebert calls it one of the most nauseating things he had seen on screen, he’s very close to the truth. Movies like The Thing were not commonplace even among horror and the effects were very graphic for the early 80s. Commercially the movie ended up flopping. The appreciation for it came as horror grew and evolved as a genre.
I love Prince of Darkness. For whatever reason, the soundtrack and images sent from the future that they'd receive gave me goosebumps.
That's a movie I think is tailor made to be remade. The concept is really good, but poorly executed.
It was a film that required proper completion, shoulda/woulda been a classic.
A remake would undoubtedly miss the mark completely.
I absolutely hated it
yes. scared me and those messages from the future were really creepy
Siskel & Ebert were also wrong about the Fog. It had such a great atmosphere.
Also about robocop 2
100% agreed. And the story is pretty convincing too. I also don't mind them killing people the same way all the time. They're supposed to be ghosts, right?
“Big Trouble in Little China” is a good time! I wish we had fun, action movies like it today!
The Thing and Big Trouble in little China are both amazing in their own ways.
They completely miss the point of Big Trouble in Little China.
Heartbreaking to see Gene clearly affected by his fight with cancer while gamely continuing his reviewing in the final clip.
He didn’t have cancer at this point, he actually sat front row for all Bulls championship teams, and they even let him work the mic after they one the 5th championship.
@@lowbodyfat6707 - He had his brain tumour operated upon in May 1998, Vampires came out in October 1998, so this was post brain surgery.
I feel like a jerk now.. I thought he was drunk 😬
I remember when he passed away but honestly I forgot his condition.
Miss this duo..
I’m grateful people upload these;
Lets me revisit simpler times and they’re great to put on while doing chores and such.
Roger Ebert the man who gave John Carpenters greatest films a thumbs down but gave Earth Girls are Easy thumbs up.😒
Perhaps he was nothing if not aspirational.
john carpenter is one of my fav directors and composers ever
they totally missed Big Trouble in Little China, the campiness was genius, they totally missed it. You had to be in on the joke to understand the joke. Instant classic
"It's all in the reflexes". One of the all-time great setups of cinema history.
It's said at the beginning of the movie, revealing Jack Burton's one and only talent, and he then proceeds to stumble his way hopelessly through the mayhem until near the end when he performs a singular feat of daring-do that leaves everyone - but everyone - completely dumbfounded.
He just shrugs: "It's all in the reflexes" and rushes off to yet another Jack Burton pratfall.
Brilliant stuff.
That's what I think. Carpenter's movie is like A Chinese Ghost Story, is just a fantasy adventure, just that, is not worse than The Temple of Doom, which, by the way, Ebert liked. You have to let drag yourself into the fantasy show...but they didn't understand...
@@johnreynolds7996 Heh heh, Chekhov's reflexes.
Big Trouble in Little China is AMAZING. It’s not just about special effects
- They were spot on with Halloween.
- The Fog, I kinda' agree with the repetition but still a good horror flick. Not great, but very good.
- Escape From New York, Siskel got it right, we all wanted more of the prison like background but the action scenes, chases, and the ending a good political jab. Well done all around.
- The Thing, GREAT remake. One of the greatest horror/sci-fi movies of all time. Ebert really missed on this one. Siskel got it right to an extent.
- Christine, another good, not great horror movie. Good fun horror. They both got it right.
- Starman, excellent fun sci-fi romance flick. Great performances from both leads. Both got it right.
- Big Trouble in Little China, GREAT b-movie fun. Great to see Asian actors getting juicy action American flick roles. Both got it wrong on this. To an extent.
- Prince of Darkness, again, great to see Asian actors with good roles. Great story too. Original set ups, scenes, action, story. Both got it wrong again except for yes, wanted more the science and meta physics of evil shown, addressed more.
- Carpenter's Memoirs of an Invisible Man doesn't work. Not good imho. Trying to be a comedy style horror like Ghosbusters but not fun like Ghostbusters. Both got it right on this.
- In the Mouth of Madness, another great Carpenter flick styled like a Stephen King/Lovecraft-esque story. One of his best. Both got it wrong.
- Escape From L.A. Just the same friggin' movie as Escape from N.Y. but not done as well. Ebert got this TOTALLY wrong. Jeez. Ebert says 'original'? He forgot the Escape from NY plot? Jezus...lol.
Siskel got it more right. The effects were terrible bluescreen techniques. Jokes were dumb. Yep, Siskel says it failed right down the line. Totally right.
- Vampires, I liked it, b movie schlock style. Not great but fun. Siskel got it more right than Ebert.
What's great about Carpenter movies (besides great plots, music, scene set ups) is you put yourself in the movie, whether man or woman and what would you do in those desperate situations. Really knows how to ramp up the tension and involve the audience.
Excellent, well written analysis. Thank you.
Boy did they get it wrong, Carpenter is a absolute genius and a legend
While i disagree with them a lot, i miss the intellectual back and forth about films so much. It took me years to realize that the point was never to agree but to stimulate discussion. Thank you for that S&E
Arnie's literally possessed later on by Christine, and in turn, by the car's previous owner, LeBay.
Thank you so much for uploading these. I never got to see these when they aired and i don't think I ever seen a re run. Wish we had shows like this today!
Gene was so right, and Roger was so wrong about The Thing.
I had forgotten how much fun this pair of critics were.
Ebert, the only person ever to like Escape from LA more than Escape from New York
Funny how The Thing went right over Ebert, but Siskel did get it.
Carpenter directed Starman???
I just learned my fun fact of the day. Good movie btw.
I so miss these guys. They did get plenty wrong throughout Carpenter's career but so did audiences. His movies after Halloween up to They Live all made money - they just weren't Blockbusters.
Also... it's heartbreaking to watch Siskel in his review for Vampires, just a few months before passing away. 😢
The only thing of his I enjoyed after They LIve was In the Mouth of Madness. Everything else just seemed kind of limp somehow. Loved his early stuff though.
@@Ravenscroft82 I hear you. I agree most of his later directorial efforts are not on the same level. I'm in the minority in feeling that Escape From L.A. gets better with age. Most people will never warm up to that one. I appreciate the comic book approach and look but that ending... it just seems more relevant as society becomes more locked in on their electronic devices.
I'd settle for a Gene Shalit or Leonard Maltin at this point. Siskel and Ebert's reviews were always worth listening to. The reviewers I hear these days have no weight, no authority and half of them seem like they've only watched Disney movies their entire lives.
@@mightisright there's some good reviewers on YT but you are right, the majority of younger reviewers are culturally clueless.
Criticism isn't objective. There is no right or wrong opinion.
you continue to impress!!!!! thank you especially for this episode as John Carpenter is one of my all time fav directors. thanks bunches, keep up the great work!
Ebert defending escape from LA so hard is something that happened hahahaha
Great compilation, thank you! John Carpenter is such a creative director
Even his adaptations and remakes were extremely creative. They Live, for example, was based on a short story and had barely anything in common with the movie.
Actually, i read or heard In the Mouth of Madness is really underrated. I want to check it out.
One of the best Lovecraftian-style horror films of all time. A good mindfuck.
I wouldn't say it's underrated because everyone I have read who have seen it really enjoyed it. I think not many people really know about it. Really cool film.
It's a flawed gem, but boy does it sparkle when it needs to.
The 1st and 3rd acts are tremendous. The middle sags a bit.
Im glad siskel didn't agree with ebert on the thing. One of the best sci-fi movies of all time, definitely my favorite.
As someone who grew up near the shore and a bay across the street, 'The Fog' scared the shit out of me as a kid. Seeing thick, glowing smoke slowly, quietly creep on land and through my yard in the dead of night was ominous.
They really didn't get Big Trouble at all
A lot of people didn't.
@@Shadowman4710 ~ Poor souls
Their opinions are really informed by their time and the fact that they have to explain these movies to people who were born in the 1910s
John Carpenter. Master of Suspense.
One of the best aspects of “The Thing” is that the characters are individualized! As far as gross out factor, it was extreme for that time but relatively tame by today’s standards!
I recently rewatched Christine. I was really impressed. It really holds up. Keith Gordon should have nominated for best actor Oscar.
Lmao are you insane??
I agree
Christine is a terrific movie
I recall watching Siskel & Ebert with my dad when we visited my grandparents from 1982-1992. I recall the first movie they took me to see was E.T. Siskel & Ebert at the time were only movie review show on TV. I'm sure my father read the reviews in the newspaper I was just a little kid and didn't start reading the newspaper until around 1993.
Whenever someone cites Sisko and Ebert as reference guides for movies, I can't help but roll my eyes. This duo were narrow minded, didn't represent the masses, and slandered lots of movies that would end up being held in high regard. To each their own, but they are conmen for being able to pass themselves off as plausible critiques. They don't have a discerning eye. They go into a movie with an implicit bias and if a movie doesn't meet that, it gets a thumbs down.
providing thoughtful and amazing observations and compliments from two intelligent critics on how Carpenter provides entertaining filmmaking and sincere art with real craft.
Starman is a hugely unappreciated film.🕺✨
Yeah world hate on "John Carpenter's Prince of Darkness" all you want. It was quite ahead if it's time dealing with Science, Religion and Horror. To this day, I still find it an unsettling film to watch. It will always be my favorite John Carpenter film.
To this day there's two Carpenter films I haven't seen:
Prince of Darkness
Memoirs of an Invisible Man
It’s crazy how many of these movies went completely over their heads. Some of them they were so close to ‘getting’ as with Siskel’s review of The Thing. But man, most of these aged way better than the reviews.
So fun to see contemporary critics talk about these movies!
Thanks for the video! I disagree with Siskel & Ebert about horror movies but I do miss them and their show.
"Big Trouble in Little China" was the last movie Dean Cundey worked on. John Carpenter's films never looked as good afterward. Cinematography matters.
Surprised how much they liked Christine. Glad they got it.
Ebert was right about Escape From New York. As good as it was and he did praise it( and I love it), It would had been nice to see how New York became a prison and all the subspecies living there. For example, those humans coming out at night to hunt and eat anything...even some humans.
I agree. The film is fun but still underdeveloped.
@@ricardocantoral7672 a sequel or prequel is needed but it would have to be without the snake character as focus and more in Brain character imo
Escape from New York is perhaps as close as we will ever get to a comic strip that is just ripped from the page and thrown up onto the big screen.
Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing for a film maker to do, well, I just don't know. But it's what Carpenter did.
Not literally - I have no idea if Escape from New York is an original story or not - but it has that broad-stroked, comin'-right-at-ya! look that just screams Comic Book Stuff!!!!
Movie was not about that. It was about a rescue mission.
wow siskel recommended the thing, one of the rare critics to do so. btw IMO starman is one of the best movies Carpenter made, most often overlooked.
When I was a kid I didn't know these guys were such tools.
I loved The Fog. Watch it every October
Loved The Thing too
18:58 Very odd and hypocritical to hear Siskel say that Carpenter "hasn't been impressive since Halloween" after seeing him give positive reviews to Escape From New York, The Thing, Christine, and Starman. He even listed Starman in his top 10 of 1984 iirc. This was one of the most cynical and mean spirited episodes of At The Movies he ever did. Wonder if he was in a bad mood, or drunk.
I agree. Siskel was always too cynical. He clearly isn't taking the show seriously in that clip.
It’s so sad to see the change in Gene between 1996 and 1998…I loved watching these guys even though I often didn’t agree with them.
I watch/read critics who are entertaining and have intelligent, interesting perspectives. To me, only liking critics who agree with you is missing the point.
RIP to Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.
I'd be curious to know whether either of them ever revised their initial assessment of The Thing in later years.
I was thinking this as well.
Siskel liked The Thing and gave it a thumb up in 1982..
@@humanice2 "Liked" is perhaps the wrong word. He "got" what the film was about, and admired that part of it. Ebert was simply unable to understand the movie at all, he just couldn't get past the gore. Maybe he watched it with his eyes closed?
Escape From New York is a brilliant classic!
💯
S & E really missed that BTILC is supposed to be a parody. I'm surprised that they couldn't figure that out.
It is as subversive as all hell. They actually complained that Kurt Russell is a bad action hero in this one! They totally miss that he is MEANT to be a bad action hero. He only THINKS he is the action hero, when it is really his sidekick who kicks ass.
@@johnreynolds7996 Spot on. I love this movie and it's a Carpenter favorite.
@@iflarnted "It's all in the reflexes" is one of the great setups in cinema history, and it take a loooooong time before Carpenter pays it off.
The only better payoff that I know of is Zoolander's double-setup of Magnum/Ambiturner.
Dear god, that was magnificent.
For me The Thing is my favourite John Carpenter film. Closely followed by The Fog, then Escape From New York, Halloween, Assault On Precinct 13, and all the rest.
Fortunately, they're long gone.
Great video thanks
Argh! I was holding out for that review of "They Live!"
It would be interesting to see if their thoughts on Big Trouble changed after the CGI revolution in the 90s gave new meaning to the term, "special effects," especially since the majority of the film's effects were practical and have aged well because of it. When they started talking about the overdone special effects with no story, I pretended they were talking about the Star Wars prequels and had a nice laugh.
Prince of Darkness scared the hell out of me. There are some genuine jolts in that film that I wasn’t expecting.
Halloween and the Thing are classics. And the Halloween soundtrack is brilliant. Nice and ominous.
5:08 thinking that "call me Snake" was the only portion of the film they showed in this review is making me die
Boy, these critics really missed the boat on John Carpenter, the master film maker so much that they didn't even review "They Live" an absolute masterpiece.
I'm not American but have loved movies my whole life and never seen this show but heard about these movie critic legends Siskel and Ebert constantly on TV shows, having now watched a lot of their reviews on youtube i must say they were wrong far more often than they were right, constantly telling us average movies would be remembered well in years to come while sh*tting on movies that are classics today, dont choose movies to see by what critics say its like asking a stranger what you should eat tonight
I'm 45 now but even when I was a kid I understood these two didn't understand movies half as much as they thought they did
I often forget Carpenter directed “Christine” and “Starman.”. They’re right about the “Christine” actor-he’s great!
The two leads in Starman were amazing.
"We will see in two years." If only... 😢
I think The Fog was a great movie , Escape from New York too.
Agreed 100%. Both are terrific films.
The Fog is a snooze, Escape from New York is a fun, silly romp, but I wouldn't call it great. Carpenter's truly great movies are Halloween and The Thing, IMO
@marzilyas I agree with you on The Fog. My favorites are those 3 others you listed with The Thing being at the top, of course.
The Fog is about atmosphere , and it hits a home run
R.i.p. Brothers
Just love those guys 🥰
They Live was arguably his last great movie. I know a lot of people love Mouth of Madness though, so i guess it's a tossup there. Still, there's a 6 year gap between those. He did Village of the Damned in-between but no one ever talks about that. His later films were mostly underwhelming, with the last being The Ward in 2010. I don't know what happened to Carpenter. Age maybe. His younger years were surely on fire, with Halloween, The Thing and Big Trouble instant classics. Ghosts of Mars: not so much.
Siskel comments at the very end about John Carpenter's new film who had made his name with halloween, is now been doing it long enough he gets his name in on the title,... Carpenter had been having his name on the titles long before Vampires
FYI: Siskel & Ebert also never reviewed _Dark Star_ nor _Assault on Precinct 13,_ AFAIK.
You could have left in a little more of the movie clips, as long as they're less than 5 seconds TH-cam won't detect it
Man…when they were wrong…they were on another planet.
I loved watching these guys reviewing movies when i was a teenager but it's a hard pill to swallow on their Thing review. Second or third best horror movie ever. Great practical effects, performance from the actors and music. No silly happy ending. 😂
I think this video got saved in the wrong playlist. This is supposed to be a RLM Trivia playlist.
I don't know who did that or why
Some movies are ahead of their time and it takes awhile for the critics to get it.
Some times it is the crowds are sleeping on a great movie and the critics got it.
What can you do. Time is the best judge of art.
The Thing is the best science fiction horror film of all times
There's another one on a spaceship that's pretty good
"Prince of Darkness was directed by John Carpenter, who's been riding for a long time now on his reputation for making the classic thriller Halloween a full decade ago, he has not been impressive since..."
This is my definitive break up with Siskel...forever. But wait, why he said that if he liked Escape from New York, The Thing...?...what happened to his head suddenly?
"Those who can, do; those who can't, teach”
Escape From NY is by far the coolest and best Carpenter movie. They Live has the most meaning.
Gene is looking so sick by the time Vampires came out. So sad. You see such a difference in him as the years fly by in the reviews.
I didn't like "Prince of Darkness" at all. The rest of the movies I liked; I thought "Memoirs of an Invisible Man" was underrated. However, The Thing, Starman, and Escape From New York all hold special places in my heart!
I just saw Prince of Darkness for the first time a few days back. What an absolute turd of a movie. Definitely one of Carpenter's worst.
@@dustinneelyI thought so the first time I saw it. But I recently saw it again and I enjoyed it immensely. I don’t know what changed.
It's amusing now to reflect on how flat footed S&E could be especially around popular genre films.
They were big into 70s filmmaking. They would reward movies that had good drama or a sound plot. That becomes rarer in the horror genre.
Ebert is the Thing in this clip.
Big Trouble in Little China inspired by Romancing the Stone? God they were ridiculous.
Says a lot when Gene liked Vampires more than most of Carpenters other movies.
8:57 I think Rodger must have been watching a different movie
Carpenter’s films are usually fantastic and have aged very well. Siskel and Ebert’s reviews sadly haven’t!
Prince of Darkness is creepy as hell. Especially the footage from the future
Banger after Banger yooooo.
I think that Starman is one the best films ever made...... and I always forget the JC was director! Jeff Bridges is fantastic, and maybe I just think of it as a Jeff Bridges movie? Great range by Carpenter because Starman has a lot of emotion and is a road movie and a love story. No horror, or scares.
what happened to « they live » ? did they not review it?
I love the saw the genius in Halloween
19:07 Siskel Totally Contradicts himself by saying Carpenter hasn't been Good Since Halloween , Despite him just reviewing Starman and saying that was a great movie..
ghosts of mars should of been a bonus last one
This is awesome. I never missed an episode of their shows and followed them from PBS to syndication. In this particular video, I was mostly in agreement with their reviews but boy did they get it wrong on The Thing.