Opposable Thumbs

How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever

By: Matt Singer

Narrated by: Matt Singer

Once upon a time, if you wanted to know if a movie was worth seeing, you didn’t check out Rotten Tomatoes or IMDB.

You asked whether Siskel & Ebert had given it “two thumbs up.”

On a cold Saturday afternoon in 1975, two men (who had known each other for eight years before they’d ever exchanged a word) met for lunch in a Chicago pub. Gene Siskel was the film critic for the Chicago Tribune. Roger Ebert had recently won the Pulitzer Prize—the first ever awarded to a film critic—for his work at the Chicago Sun-Times. To say they despised each other was an understatement.

When they reluctantly agreed to collaborate on a new movie review show with PBS, there was at least as much sparring off-camera as on. No decision—from which films to cover to who would read the lead review to how to pronounce foreign titles—was made without conflict, but their often-antagonistic partnership (which later transformed into genuine friendship) made for great television. In the years that followed, their signature “Two thumbs up!” would become the most trusted critical brand in Hollywood.

In Opposable Thumbs, award-winning editor and film critic Matt Singer eavesdrops on their iconic balcony set, detailing their rise from making a few hundred dollars a week on local Chicago PBS to securing multimillion-dollar contracts for a syndicated series (a move that convinced a young local host named Oprah Winfrey to do the same). Their partnership was cut short when Gene Siskel passed away in February of 1999 after a battle with brain cancer that he’d kept secret from everyone outside his immediate family—including Roger Ebert, who never got to say goodbye to his longtime partner.But their influence on in the way we talk about (and think about) movies continues to this day.

Photographer/© ABC/Getty Images.

Good book. But unless you are a standup comedian, or an actor, you shouldn’t read a book you wrote

I miss siskel and Ebert. I always loved the show. I really enjoyed the book. But every time I listen to a book read by the author, the author usually sounds like an elementary school teacher, or somebody trying too hard. Actual professional performers know how to tow the line between making something sound, natural and conversational, and still not overdoing it. The author here is really trying to sell the lines and puts in awkward, pregnant pauses for effect. He tries way too hard. It happens a lot, with most authors. It’s better to just hire an actor who knows how to make it flow. Writing and reading out loud are two entirely different skills.

Thumbs Way Up for Opposable Thumbs!

Siskel and Ebert were an integral part of my journey as a film lover and at times film critic, and it's great to now have this entertaining and at times touching history of their partnership.

As a writer, Matt Singer does a great job keeping it interesting, even when covering familiar ground. I laughed out loud a few times, which is as much a credit to Siskel and Ebert's own words as well as Singer's ability to find the structure to share them. But the author deserves even more credit for his sensitive and carefully crafted prose which brought me to tears on three separate occasions.

As a reader, he also does very well, to the point it feels unfair comparing him to other writers reading their own nonfiction work. My only criticism is that there's a very broadcast ready, slightly detached quality to the reading which serves most of the book well, but there are times where it would have been served better with a more emotionally nuanced performance.

Overall, I can easily and enthusiastically recommend this audiobook.

Fun and informative; enjoyable

This is a great trip down cinematic memory lane with two dudes who seemed like Gen X’s favorite uncles back in the day telling which movies to go see. I can imagine that’s sort of the extent of the book’s appeal. Future generations sadly didn’t get to experience these two together but thank goodness for YouTube.

I must for niche movie lovers

movies have always played a huge role in my life, my mom and dad took me when I was 5 years old to the theater and they thought, understandably, that I would quickly fall asleep but I did anything but follow through on that. The lights went out and the screen lit up and I was hooked even though the film, Coal Miner's Daughter, was far from being a kids movie I still remember falling in love with the whole experience. this book made me realize that at the movie lover I am in great company even though in Kentucky you have to look really hard to find movie lovers but because of Siskel and Ebert I knew that they were out there and I just needed to look for them. This is a great read and I enjoyed every moment of it.

Fantastic storytelling by Singer!

I loved hearing the history of Siskel & Ebert! I’ve watched Sneak Previews as a young kid. Then I followed their career and was a frequent viewer of At The Movies. Author & narrator Matt Singer does a wonderful job acting out the voices of the main subjects. Singer does overact in a few spots, but he makes up for that in his delivery.

I feel fans of film and media will truly enjoy this story of Siskel & Ebert and their partnership.