At the Movies (partially found TV review series; 1986-2010)
Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert.
Status: Partially Found
Date found: Unknown
Found by: Unknown
At the Movies, also known as Siskel & Ebert & the Movies and At the Movies with Ebert and Roeper was a syndicated film review TV show that ran in various incarnations from 1986 to 2010. It featured two film critics giving their judgement on the movies released that week. The original hosts of the program were the Chicago Tribune's Gene Siskel and the Chicago Sun-Times' Roger Ebert.
History
The series was spun off from an earlier program on PBS, Opening Soon at a Theater Near You, also hosted by Siskel and Ebert. The two later hosted another television program, also titled At the Movies, that ran on PBS from 1982 until 1986 when it was succeeded by the syndicated series.
In early 1998, Gene Siskel was absent from the show for a few weeks to receive treatment for a brain tumor, though he still debated with Ebert over the phone. He returned to the series later that year before returning to surgery in 1999. Siskel died on February 20, 1999 following complications from the surgery. After his death, Ebert had various guest hosts substitute for Siskel before fellow Sun-Times critic Richard Roeper was made permanent co-host in 2000.
In 2006, Ebert was diagnosed with thyroid cancer and had to leave the show to receive treatment. In his absence, Roeper had a number of guest hosts on the show, with Michael Phillips eventually becoming his regular co-host before Roeper left the show following a contract dispute. Ben Lyons and Ben Mankiewicz became the new hosts in 2008, with Disney-ABC Television hoping for them to take the show in a new direction. This version of the show was poorly received and the two were replaced by the end of the year. Michael Phillips returned to host in 2009 along with A.O. Scott before the series was cancelled for good in 2010.
Availability
Due to their timely nature and using footage from the movies reviewed, At the Movies was almost never reran and was never released on DVD. Every review was originally available on Buena Vista's website, but following the show's cancellation in 2010, they were removed.
Numerous home recordings of Siskel and Ebert episodes have been uploaded onto video sharing sites such as YouTube, sometimes as full episodes and others as individual review clips. While most of Siskel and Ebert's episodes have been preserved online, only a handful of episodes with Ebert and Roeper have made it online. Only about five of Lyons and Mankiewicz's reviews are on YouTube, while only three of Phillips and Scott's are available. Numerous episodes of all eras of the show have been archived on siskelandebert.org. Unfortunately, the site is currently down. YouTube user ClementJ64 has uploaded compilation videos featuring select moments from certain reviews, though the full, unedited versions of some of the reviews are currently unavailable online.
Videos
External Links
siskelandebert.orgCurrently down- AtTheMoviesFan1, a YouTube channel that features some reviews.
- ClementJ64's compilations