Quote of the Day

Today marks the introduction of an online archive of episodes of Siskel & Ebert (and later Ebert & Roeper, and still later Roeper & Annoying Guest Critic); over a thousand episodes are now online. Ebert commemorates the occasion with a commentary on his website and says, while remembering his episodes with Siskel:

"... there are the memorable disagreements, as when I couldn’t believe Gene didn’t love “Apocalypse Now,” and he couldn’t believe my thumb was down on “Full Metal Jacket.” He said I should have been wearing a Santa suit while giving thumbs-up to “Cop and a Half.” (One day the mail brought an autographed photo of Norman D. Golden II, the eight-year-old co-star of “Cop and a Half,” thanking me for helping his career. I thought that was nice of the kid, until I recognized something familiar about his handwriting.) A few years earlier, I told Gene (offscreen) that his praise for the awful family weepers “Six Weeks” and “Table for Five” might indicate sentimentality that was inspired because Gene and his wife, Marlene, were expecting for the first time. He handed me a note, “to be read only when you are on the flight to Cannes,” telling me I was right."

I can't wait to start scouring through their old reviews. Those glorious arguments they used to have! I fear I might get lost in them, though, and never be heard from again. Farewell, world!
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