Swamp Thing 1982
Used to show how the critics championed movies their colleagues dismissed. A monster-movie review on PBS, with Ebert calling the comic-book flick terrific.
The Big Picture · Discussion
3. “The Thumbs” | Gene and Roger
July 27, 2021/ 27 min/ Brian Raftery
Brian Raftery's Siskel-and-Ebert history reaches 1982: the SNL cameo, the jump from PBS's Sneak Previews to syndicated At the Movies, and the debut of thumbs up / thumbs down.
15 films across 1 segment.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
From Sneak Previews to the thumbs
Apocalypse Now 1979
A clip of the two arguing it out, praising the scale and the Sheen and Duvall performances; Gene later changed his mind, and they eventually devoted a whole special to Vietnam movies.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 1982
The film big enough that Justin Lin's father closed the family fish-and-chips shop early to take the kids to a 10 p.m. show at Cerritos Mall.
Mr. Mom 1983
Lin remembers Siskel and Ebert reviewing it and wondering aloud what it would be like with the guy from Splash, before Tom Hanks was Tom Hanks.
Splash 1984
Invoked in that same review as the Tom Hanks calling card, the moment Lin first grasped that movies get cast.
99 Homes 2014
One of Ramin Bahrani's films; as a kid in Winston-Salem he learned about independent and foreign movies from the show.
The White Tiger 2021
Bahrani's later film, cited alongside 99 Homes to place the director whose film education ran through Siskel and Ebert.
Better Luck Tomorrow 2002
Justin Lin's breakout, the first film named in his path from watching the critics to directing.
Fast Five 2011
Lin's Fast entry, singled out as the one where they drag the safe through Rio.
F9 2021
Lin's then-current Fast film, released the same summer this episode aired.
Strange Brew 1983
The comedy that asked Gene and Roger to play themselves; they declined.
Terms of Endearment 1983
Two thumbs up on At the Movies, the segment used to introduce the new thumbs-up / thumbs-down verdict.
Twilight Zone: The Movie 1983
A close split in the same reel: a marginal thumbs up from Gene, a close thumbs down from Roger.
Psycho II 1983
Two downturned thumbs, dismissed as a well-made but weak carbon copy of the Hitchcock original.
Three Amigos 1986
Roger panned it on Carson with Chevy Chase sitting right next to him, proof of how much weight the thumbs now carried.
Also mentioned raised along the way
The era's vital mainstream movies (named in passing) Raging BullOrdinary PeopleKramer vs. KramerRichard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip
In passing Seems Like Old Times
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV Saturday Night LiveSneak PreviewsAt the MoviesLate Night with David LettermanThe Tonight Show with Johnny CarsonMasterpiece TheatreKennedy Center HonorsThe Benny Hill ShowCheersHill Street BluesPardon the Interruption
Games FIFA World Cup Launch Edition
Ads Boar's HeadNetflixWhite Claw