What a great summer that was for movies. I saw Poltergeist in a theater and people were screaming. I also saw E.T and Rocky III in theaters too. I was 14 and watched Siskel & Ebert every week throughout the 80s and 90s.
Me too, I was 17, Poltergeist scared the crap out of me--what a great movie! And I knew nothing about ET before I saw it. It was a great summer for movies!
Hand coming out of the TV freaked me out at age 11, so I went to the bathroom for a few minutes. The adult who took me said she already saw E.T. and wanted to go to this one, so I didn't see E.T. for a couple years.
Seeing these old Siskel and Ebert episodes sure does bring back some warm, happy memories. Back then in 1982, normally I went to the movies once a week with my then best friend. We were both a couple of fanatics about the movies and went to the movies together once a week, every week, for alot of years from the 1970s-1980s (and yes, we religiously watched Siskel and Ebert every week on his living room tv). Rocky III is just one of many movies we saw together at the movie theater. We tried to see every new movie that just came out regardless of genre (he loved horror movies, I preferred comedy), plot, critics reviews, who was starring in it, etc. So, there was no particular reason we went to see Rocky III. It just happened to be a new movie that just came out. But there were a handful of times when I went to see a movie on my own. ET was one of them. Poltergeist was another. In the case of Poltergeist, I saw that on my 14th birthday thanks to my Uncle. A couple days before my 14th birthday my Uncle called up and asked what I wanted for my 14th birthday. I told him I wanted to see 2 movies: The Thing and Poltergeist. On the day of my birthday, he picked me up and took me to see The Thing at a movie theater in his neighborhood in the upper east side of Manhattan. He just couldn't stand the gory special effects, so about half way through the movie, he walked out and waited for me in the lobby for the movie to end. Then he took me to a different theater also in his neighborhood (back then every neighborhood had several movie theaters within walking distance of your place) to see Poltergeist. Fearing any gory effects that movie might also have, instead of going inside with me, he bought a ticket for me and then went to his apartment, coming back for me when the movie ended to take me back home.
SAME. Once a week trips to the movies with my best pal. Saw Poltergeist with my big brother -- and ET, come to think of it. Movies were much much much more fun and much better back then. The corporatization of films destroyed the industry and we're all the worse for it.
I personally believe they missed the point on Rocky 3. The genuine and loveable Rocky from the previous films is hardened here and as it was stated in the film - he became 'civilized'.
Adjusted for inflation, the domestic grosses of the films on this episode outgross any other episode of S&E. Poltergeist was a big hit, Rocky 3 was huge, and E.T. was beyond huge.
ET , Poltergeist, Tron,The Thing,Blade Runner, Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Khan and Road Warrior. The best Star Trek movie. The best Mad Max movie and The Thing and Blade Runner were bombs that 41 years later are considered classics.
This had to be one of the best weeks in the history of cinema. Even though they both trashed Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, and Rocky 3, every movie reviewed here became a bona-fide classic. ET became the highest grossing film and held that record for a little over a decade. I saw ALL of these movies during their theatrical run.
I love Siskel & Ebert, and i don't fault them when I disagree because I know they're always coming from an honest, thoughtful, heartfelt place. That said, Siskel's dislike of Poltergeist (1 1/2 stars in his written review for The Chicago Tribune) surprised me back in 1982. I remember E.T. and Poltergeist being the two big Spielberg-involved movies of the summer. Poltergeist both fascinated and frightened me as an eleven-year-old, but it is ridiculously entertaining. It's also held its own over the past forty (nearly) years
@@terrygracy8345 I was 10 when I saw Poltergeist the first time. I was terrified! Watching it now at almost 50, it still hits me in all the same places. i have always been entertained by this movie, and terrified of that tree.
I think he got lost in the convoluted story. Today we know that they hired the right people, weird magic stuff is going on, so yes, the rope goes into the living room. It's either that or the story telling us how Michael Myers has a weird ancient evil curse, etc. Jaws did forego action to get the 3 protags their story so Gene was probably hoping for that. This one's simply more of a thriller.
Spielberg was executive producer .... Tobe Hooper directed it. I think he had a major hand to play with this one though and it's the main reason everyone thinks it's a Spielberg movie. It's not though.... not really.
I remember watching this review of theirs of Poltergeist back in the summer of '82 while shopping at a Kmart on a Saturday evening. Kmart had one of the tvs in electronics tuned into it.
I was 13 when these came out and loved Poltergeist as a kid. I have gone back to it several times and it really is pretty bland once you peel off the above par special F/X for the time. E.T. is a classic, Poltergeist is an OK film of its time.
Hated it. The print I saw, a scene from the beginning was missing (neighbors complaining about the others' TV remote control), the film broke right around the seance scene, and we had to wait ten minutes while it was fixed, and the only actually scary scene was when the guy clawed his face off -- which happened only in his imagination. Big disappointment.
@@saffmichael4369 funny, I feel exactly the opposite. I loved ET in 1982, but it’s pretty old fashioned today. Poltergeist still plays effectively to primal fears that will never change and holds up as a quality horror film for a younger audience. It isn’t a terrifying movie, but it isn’t meant ti be. It’s a fun movie, but it’s perfectly attuned to what scares little kids.
These movies are all GEMS!! Summer of 82 was the best movie summer EVER! Poltergeist is one of my most favorite horror movies!! Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is genius!
Plaid in particular is case of two Boomers rating a movie made for X. Older folks never did like Steve Martin. Or rather, they just didn't get him. You're right; DMDWP is a classic. (As for Poltergeist, I think time has proven conclusively that it's one of the most influential films in cinema.)
Wow, I saw every one of these films at the theatre during this year. Fond memories of all of them, but "Poltergeist" had the biggest impact on me. Brilliant!
If my memory is correct, this is the movie that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating. It's certainly too intense for a PG rating, while R ratings were reserved for movies deemed unsuitable for younger audiences.
Checking into this myself, you are correct. While Poltergeist undoubtedly entered into the discussion, the movies most responsible for the addition of the PG-13 rating are the two you mention.
Interesting Fact: The movie was originally rated R, but the producers (mainly Spielberg) appealed to the MPA and convinced the members to change it to PG (there was no PG-13 yet).
I recall seeing an advance showing of ET on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in 1982. We got there kind of late and had to sit in the corner of the front row on the right. I thought it was going to be scary, as TV ads kind of made it look like a horror movie, because they didn’t show ET. Two hours later, I was trying not to cry in front of my mother and sister when it ended. It’s a masterpiece, and I love that Siskel and Ebert loved it so much as well.
I can't argue with the points they made about Rocky III, but I'd still have given it a thumbs up. It wasn't Rocky I, which they wanted it to be, but it was a good movie. And, FWIW I liked it better than Rocky II.
@@RichM3000 I think _Rocky II_ was underwhelming. You don't get the feeling that he earned a shot at the champ. They should have made the first part of the movie like Clubber Lang's journey in _Rocky III,_ with Rocky fighting those ranked below the champ and winning.
@@sandal_thong8631 True. It would have also explained how Rocky became a good fighter. In the first movie, Rocky was able to fight a close fight because he trained like a madman while Apollo overlooked him. In Rocky II, Rocky didn't train hard until the very end, Apollo trained like a madman, and....Rocky wins this time?
They didn't like Poltergeist but it went on to be a classic horror film (at least in the Ghost genre). I saw E.T. with my family at the last "outdoor drive-in theatre" in my part of the world. Watching a film about an Alien under the summer night sky full of stars made it more magical.
Poltergeist is arguably the best haunted house movie ever made. The family and the characters were wonderful. The acting was great. The scary moments are still poignant after all these years. That's why the remake was insulting to so many people.
I always saw the changes to both Rocky and Apollo as functions of what had happened previously. By #3, Rocky had enjoyed success, fame, and money and Apollo had been knocked from his perch.
Years ago, I saw _Rocky III_ on Turner Classic Movies during February's Black History Month of films. Those analyzing it said Clubber Lang was an old trope or stereotype of a Black man, like when he threatens Rocky's manhood by saying his wife needs a real man. Personally, I felt this movie continues the idea that Rocky learns and grows as a fighter, like he did in the first two movies, as he learns a new way of fighting (right-handed?) to take on Lang. I felt they missed the boat in the next one, when they had him going old-school, training in the woods against Ivan Drago. I felt he should have gone to M.I.T. or somewhere to learn the latest in scientific analysis of boxing, so Rocky could improve and grow in a new way. If they were trying to do a "rope-a-dope" on Drago, like in the 2023 movie, _Big George,_ it didn't quite land.
Oh my Gracious the now mythical Summer of 82. What a fabulous one….the greatest of all time? It certainly is up there. E.T. - Great. Rocky III - awesome. Poltergeist-fantastic. Tough to beat those.
E.T was the first movie I'd ever seen in a theater I was 5 years old at the Famous Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove, Illinios. My grandparents and father probably watched this review from Siskel and Ebert before we all went out to see it. I was a bit young to understand the point of the Movie but I enjoyed what I seen. A year later I saw return of the Jedi and loved it soo much it was like a religious experience!
@@80sNewWaveGeek Awesome, that would have been a dream job for me as a teenager. It must have been damn near impossible for them to compete with big multiplexes with them only having one screen but being in that theater felt special.
They watched Poltergeist and Rocky III as adults. I went to see them with my friends when we were teenagers. I think we went back like 7 times for both of them. They were awesome and I still think they hold up pretty well.
I agree on Poltergeist, it is to this day my favorite movie in the genre. Rocky 3 is to me an example of how a movie can be not very good but also be very entertaining. I think the Rocky series has 2 films I would consider "good films", the first, and last (Rocky Balboa, not Rocky 5. Lol) the other movies are varying degrees of quality from decent to pure trash. But I find them all entertaining. I would rank Rocky 3 as the fourth best.
E.T. is at the very top of Spielberg’s films, when his high artistic sensibilities meet his wonderful way of connecting with a mass audience. What a masterpiece.
How come E.T is not as popular now , as other classics from this era: Jaws, Star Wars and even Rocky?? Their analysis was spot on.. It was the emotion of love that made it such a smash...at least back in the 80s.
It was a moment for its time. I think those people watching long afterward have been made movie-weary by computer special effects and such that disable them from taking the moment in.
Even Rocky? Rocky was the highest grossing movie of 1976 and won 3 Oscar's including Best Picture. They're still making sequels to the Rocky franchise almost 50 years later. Rocky will always be popular.
@@christianhafer9819 my bad, came out wrong. I'm a huge Rocky fan myself. What I meant was it wasn't promoted as the go to summer blockbuster as the other movies were.
ET may have lost some of its luster after Spielberg made an altered version for the its 25th anniversary (e.g. walkie-talkies s replacing guns on hands of federal agents), as well as the fact that 9/11 and other events have made alien visitors less appealing (e.g. Man of Steel, a post-9/11 portrayal of Superman). As well, no sequels, unlike Poltergeist and Rocky IP.
the mom in _E.T._ breaks my heart in the scene where they're all scampering around, grabbing the knives. "And put those knives back!" she's out of her depth. she can't control a bunch of wild teenage kids alone. great delivery. great.
I remember how secretive they were about showing what ET looked like. I saw it in the theatre and part of the suspense was waiting to see what it looked like. I remember the crowd gasped
@@freemangriffin4953 I’m assuming you’re younger. It was a big deal in 1982. The puppet looked remarkably real based on the standards of the time. And, it was unusual and moving at the time to see aliens that didn’t mean us harm but were kind. It was a very powerful message
It worked for _Jaws_ and _E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial_ but the mystery didn't work for _Howard the Duck._ I don't remember all the fowl jokes (get it?) and don't want to revisit it.
It's impossible to overstate what an impact Steven Spielberg films had in the mid 70s to mid 80s. What a decade, From Jaws to ET. No one had a better connection with the audience, with ordinary middle class Americans than Spielberg. I really like how he portrayed the government and authorities as menacing, it's accurate.
Ebert was right about Poltergeist being wrong for little kids. I was 9 and it scared the bejeezus out of me. Actually so did E.T. lol. The PG-13 rating landed a year or two later with Red Dawn.
When I was little, like 4-5 yrs old, at night when we were in the basement watching tv or whatever, my older sister would run upstairs, turn off the lights and lock the door while saying “Carolann “ over and over in that eerie voice
This channel is awesome, who doesn't like the TV? It's a great aesthetic and these are the clearest S&E videos I've seen on RUclips because of it, subcribed!
My brother and I watched Siskel and Ebert every Saturday night my brother and I saw ET 16 times at the movies it was my favorite movie of Steven Spielberg's
"Can I use her underwear to make soup?" Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is hilarious and Steve Martin's second full-on funny movie, with The Man With Two Brains being the third and final one imo.
They were wrong about Rocky 3 that movie is iconic, its the first time MR T has ever been seen, its the first time Hulk Hogan has ever been in a movie and the story is about getting your ass kicked giving up on yourself, then slowly believing in yourself again to the point of being victorious and winning your self respect back. I give it a thumbs way up 👍
Gene Siskel really loved cutting down films and making the film makers really dumb and idiotic it sounds like he really loved his job for that reason thank you for uploading this That Old T.V.
He's so self righteous with his projected moral authority in his criticisms .... I always thought he was kind of an old lady. A bit of a stiff. Entertaining though..... Kind of like The Church Lady
I'm glad they didn't review The Thing the same week as ET. The comparisons between them would've hurt The Thing, which they argued over enough as is, the following week.
I remember watching this show and respecting their critiques to a point. But, one thing I always felt about them is that they expected "high art" cinema to play as "popcorn" movies and "popcorn" movies to play as "high art". Just enjoy the movies for the joy they bring/brought. I still like Poltergeist. I don't understand what crawled up their tushes about that film. E.T.'s still a classic and Dead Men's subtle comedy resonates today.
As a Connery fan I can say I've never heard of Wrong Is Right. Never seen a vhs or dvd of it or on tv. Maybe it streams in a dark corner of the internet. Utterly forgotten if anyone even noticed it at the time.
During E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Review Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Superman: The Movie and Alien (1979)
They just didn't understand Poltergeist. You could tell that they were completely unfamiliar with anything to do with paranormal activity. Guess we have to understand that there wasn't all these paranormal like shows and movies back then, So of course we find absolutely nothing confusing about the plot of Poltergeist nowadays but I guess it seemed to illlogical in 1982.
I think they missed the point of Rocky 3. Apollo was humbled by losing to Rocky and he had respect for him. They also showed how the fame and money changed Rocky. He wasn't the same fighter nor the same person anymore. The evolution of his character showed over the first 3 movies.
16:56 "We never do find out if a real poltergeist was involved in the strange events in that haunted house..." Uhh, what? Does he think it was a Scooby Doo villain wearing a mask?
pow, POW, !POW! and pow. one solid sports drama, one classic, one masterpiece and a solid laffer. THAT is a lineup. the best in the show's history? most consistently good? you decide.
No opinion on the Plaid movie. But I have watched Rocky III many times and enjoyed it. I also have watched Poltergeist, and I find it enjoyable. I have never seen ET. Too much hype.
Wow, they were brutal on Poltergeist. So far off base! That movie is classic to scare little kids and adults, and it always will be. Absolutely holds up today.
I thought Clubber Lang was the best villain in the Rocky series. I know I a lot of people will disagree but I loved when Rocky stood up to his fear and knocked him out at the end. I think they were to hard on their judgement of the film. I loved Poltergeist also. I saw it at the movies and I was 12 years old. The scene where the guy starts peeling his face off really spooked me out.
0:00 Intro 2:12 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid 👎🌟🌟 8:02 Rocky 3 👍🌟🌟🌟 12:24 Poltergeist 👎🌟🌟 18:37 E.T. 👍🌟🌟🌟🌟 Dog of the week's worst movies 24:30 (1982) Fighting Back 25:36 (1982) Wrong is Right 26:22 The reviews
This is insane that they both couldn't even see that Poltergeist was (and is) an actual Classic film. For all of the right reasons. It's visually intimate, yet stunningly haunting. It dealt not only with issues of spirituality and the Life Beyond, but it related it to it's own times of the 1980's. It questioned the spirituality of a historically Christian America, and how religion fit in to America's post-nuclear-family-unit. A time of optimism of Science (The Space Shuttle Voyager, etc.), and and embracing of individualism (spike-haired New Wave Music, defiant Heavy Metal music). I think Siskel & Ebert were smart, contemplative white guys (Mexican American here), but they are looking at this film entirely from a post-modern lens. In all of their dorky educated-ness, they literally can't relate, so they simply dismiss the film entirely; despite the fact that the psychic goes into a poignant philosophical dialogue with the family before the "cleansing" of the house. And all of this after the parents, who, even though they read Carl Jung, admit that they have never practiced any "particular" religion. Imagine showing this movie to an Aboriginal tribes-people as an introduction to the grossly-comfortable American-lifestyle, complete with spoiled doggie and a huge two-story house where the refridgerator is never empty. The Natives wouldn't not find ghosts invasively coming out of the walls "silly" at all (to use Rodger Ebert's own words). The Natives would understand. Steven Spielberg (who wrote the actual script) was one of the great visionaries of our time. A master visual story-teller, I always contended that a deaf person could watch Poltergeist or Close Encounters of the Third Kind from beginning to end, and they would understand the story completely. I think Rodger Ebert is a very smart and observant fellow, and I still refer to some of his film analysis. But their "mumbo-jumbo" review here (Sikel's own words) is a significant example of how in criticism we should always keep in mind that art--like religion--does not exist WITHOUT culture. Which, unfortunately, leaves Siskel & Ebert culturally de-void. They insult insult the great acting in the film as well, especially in the roles of the mother and the psychic.
"Dead men don't wear plaid" would have been so much better as a miniseries of one hour episodes or even short 30 minute episodes. Trying to make a full motion picture out of it the gimmick wears pretty thin.
Yes! He always looked like a bald middle-aged guy and never aged! He looked pretty much exactly the same from his first show to his last. Kind of bizarre.
I have always marveled at how Gene Siskel looked pretty much exactly the same for the entirety of his career. He was one of those people who always looked pretty old so he never really aged, if that makes any sense.
@@NativeIntelligenceCheckMyDJmix Yeah, he just honestly always looked around 50. He did go balder over time, etc. But his face just stayed pretty much the same. Just one of those guys who always had a "mature" look, which is a bit weird when you are only 30 but then kinda nice when you are 50, because you haven't really aged, lol.
What's it with the Yes No votes? Were they trying something different that week? Strange that they gave credit to Spielberg for Poltergeist. Tobe Hooper said he was only there for one day of shooting. I always thought it was a great movie so I'm surprised at their mediocre review. It's a much different experience when you're twelve. Fun Fact: When I went to see E. T. the line nearly circled around the whole theater.
What a great summer that was for movies. I saw Poltergeist in a theater and people were screaming. I also saw E.T and Rocky III in theaters too. I was 14 and watched Siskel & Ebert every week throughout the 80s and 90s.
Me too, I was 17, Poltergeist scared the crap out of me--what a great movie! And I knew nothing about ET before I saw it. It was a great summer for movies!
E.T.is overrated trash.
Hand coming out of the TV freaked me out at age 11, so I went to the bathroom for a few minutes. The adult who took me said she already saw E.T. and wanted to go to this one, so I didn't see E.T. for a couple years.
Best summer ever for movies, especially sci Fi. Poltergeist ,ET , The Thing , Blade Runner, Wrath of Khan, Road Warrior,Tron and Road Warrior!
Summer of 82 certainly was a fun time for movies! I was 15 and saw every one of these in the theater.
Seeing these old Siskel and Ebert episodes sure does bring back some warm, happy memories.
Back then in 1982, normally I went to the movies once a week with my then best friend. We were both a couple of fanatics about the movies and went to the movies together once a week, every week, for alot of years from the 1970s-1980s (and yes, we religiously watched Siskel and Ebert every week on his living room tv). Rocky III is just one of many movies we saw together at the movie theater.
We tried to see every new movie that just came out regardless of genre (he loved horror movies, I preferred comedy), plot, critics reviews, who was starring in it, etc. So, there was no particular reason we went to see Rocky III. It just happened to be a new movie that just came out.
But there were a handful of times when I went to see a movie on my own. ET was one of them. Poltergeist was another. In the case of Poltergeist, I saw that on my 14th birthday thanks to my Uncle.
A couple days before my 14th birthday my Uncle called up and asked what I wanted for my 14th birthday. I told him I wanted to see 2 movies: The Thing and Poltergeist.
On the day of my birthday, he picked me up and took me to see The Thing at a movie theater in his neighborhood in the upper east side of Manhattan. He just couldn't stand the gory special effects, so about half way through the movie, he walked out and waited for me in the lobby for the movie to end.
Then he took me to a different theater also in his neighborhood (back then every neighborhood had several movie theaters within walking distance of your place) to see Poltergeist. Fearing any gory effects that movie might also have, instead of going inside with me, he bought a ticket for me and then went to his apartment, coming back for me when the movie ended to take me back home.
Absolutely good memories
SAME. Once a week trips to the movies with my best pal. Saw Poltergeist with my big brother -- and ET, come to think of it. Movies were much much much more fun and much better back then. The corporatization of films destroyed the industry and we're all the worse for it.
Great story. You had a nice Uncle. ❤️
Your uncle stepped out for a drink.
@richardvinsen2385 my uncle didn't drink whatsoever
I met my grandpa maybe three times. One of my only memories of him is the time he gave me and my brother ET on VHS for Christmas.
I will never forget the green plastic on that videocassette
I personally believe they missed the point on Rocky 3. The genuine and loveable Rocky from the previous films is hardened here and as it was stated in the film - he became 'civilized'.
Adjusted for inflation, the domestic grosses of the films on this episode outgross any other episode of S&E. Poltergeist was a big hit, Rocky 3 was huge, and E.T. was beyond huge.
@@stonegasman3866 I think it's hilarious.
@@stonegasman3866 at least 2.5× the budget to be considered a success, generally speaking ~
E.T. beat Star Wars for highest grossing movie. Yeah, it was beyond huge.
@@alancarnell2747 It sure did. Not sure why. I was underwhelmed.
@@christianhafer9819 Sounds like you need some lovin"
Have to say that the summer of '82, had some of the best legendary movie releases of any year since.
Definitely a solid year for sci-fi/horror fans!
ET , Poltergeist, Tron,The Thing,Blade Runner, Star Trek 2 The Wrath of Khan and Road Warrior. The best Star Trek movie. The best Mad Max movie and The Thing and Blade Runner were bombs that 41 years later are considered classics.
This had to be one of the best weeks in the history of cinema. Even though they both trashed Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, and Rocky 3, every movie reviewed here became a bona-fide classic. ET became the highest grossing film and held that record for a little over a decade.
I saw ALL of these movies during their theatrical run.
And in just a few weeks, flops "Blade Runner" and "The Thing" opened the same day. We were spoiled back then.
I love Siskel & Ebert, and i don't fault them when I disagree because I know they're always coming from an honest, thoughtful, heartfelt place. That said, Siskel's dislike of Poltergeist (1 1/2 stars in his written review for The Chicago Tribune) surprised me back in 1982. I remember E.T. and Poltergeist being the two big Spielberg-involved movies of the summer. Poltergeist both fascinated and frightened me as an eleven-year-old, but it is ridiculously entertaining. It's also held its own over the past forty (nearly) years
Agreed. This is a good movie. There is some hilarious dialogue mixed in with some real chills
@@terrygracy8345 I was 10 when I saw Poltergeist the first time. I was terrified! Watching it now at almost 50, it still hits me in all the same places. i have always been entertained by this movie, and terrified of that tree.
Poltergeist has aged incredibly well. Gorgeous film. Siskel had some odd opinions at times - but always thought-provoking.
I think he got lost in the convoluted story. Today we know that they hired the right people, weird magic stuff is going on, so yes, the rope goes into the living room. It's either that or the story telling us how Michael Myers has a weird ancient evil curse, etc. Jaws did forego action to get the 3 protags their story so Gene was probably hoping for that. This one's simply more of a thriller.
Spielberg was executive producer .... Tobe Hooper directed it. I think he had a major hand to play with this one though and it's the main reason everyone thinks it's a Spielberg movie. It's not though.... not really.
I just fell in love with the nostalgia of this channel.
I remember watching this review of theirs of Poltergeist back in the summer of '82 while shopping at a Kmart on a Saturday evening. Kmart had one of the tvs in electronics tuned into it.
K-Mart was the store .... then Wal-Mart started to slowly take over. I don't think they even have K-Marts anymore.
Siskel is WAY wrong on Poltergeist. It's an absolute classic gem.
Movie critics are the absolute worst. Bottom of the barrel.
I was 13 when these came out and loved Poltergeist as a kid. I have gone back to it several times and it really is pretty bland once you peel off the above par special F/X for the time. E.T. is a classic, Poltergeist is an OK film of its time.
We were a little spoiled with so many good movies then.
Hated it. The print I saw, a scene from the beginning was missing (neighbors complaining about the others' TV remote control), the film broke right around the seance scene, and we had to wait ten minutes while it was fixed, and the only actually scary scene was when the guy clawed his face off -- which happened only in his imagination. Big disappointment.
@@saffmichael4369 funny, I feel exactly the opposite. I loved ET in 1982, but it’s pretty old fashioned today. Poltergeist still plays effectively to primal fears that will never change and holds up as a quality horror film for a younger audience. It isn’t a terrifying movie, but it isn’t meant ti be. It’s a fun movie, but it’s perfectly attuned to what scares little kids.
These movies are all GEMS!! Summer of 82 was the best movie summer EVER! Poltergeist is one of my most favorite horror movies!! Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid is genius!
Plaid in particular is case of two Boomers rating a movie made for X. Older folks never did like Steve Martin. Or rather, they just didn't get him. You're right; DMDWP is a classic. (As for Poltergeist, I think time has proven conclusively that it's one of the most influential films in cinema.)
I don't understand what Siskel and Ebert don't get about Poltergeist. It's basically a haunted house movie, up to volume 11 lol. It's a classic.
Wow, I saw every one of these films at the theatre during this year. Fond memories of all of them, but "Poltergeist" had the biggest impact on me. Brilliant!
It's an excellent movie. Wish there were no sequels.
Poltergeist is the scariest PG rated movie ever. Today the effectiveness of it's scares alone would give it an R rating.
Dude rips his face off!!
If my memory is correct, this is the movie that led to the creation of the PG-13 rating. It's certainly too intense for a PG rating, while R ratings were reserved for movies deemed unsuitable for younger audiences.
@@zanti4132I'm sure this contributed to it. I've heard Gremlins and Temple of Doom also played a role.
Checking into this myself, you are correct. While Poltergeist undoubtedly entered into the discussion, the movies most responsible for the addition of the PG-13 rating are the two you mention.
Interesting Fact: The movie was originally rated R, but the producers (mainly Spielberg) appealed to the MPA and convinced the members to change it to PG (there was no PG-13 yet).
I recall seeing an advance showing of ET on the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in 1982. We got there kind of late and had to sit in the corner of the front row on the right. I thought it was going to be scary, as TV ads kind of made it look like a horror movie, because they didn’t show ET. Two hours later, I was trying not to cry in front of my mother and sister when it ended. It’s a masterpiece, and I love that Siskel and Ebert loved it so much as well.
Roger ebert hit it right on the nose with E.T. 42 years later, and the movie, special effects, and musical score, and emotion still holds up.
Sometimes these 2 guys just completely miss the boat. Rocky 3 may not have been as good as 1 and 2, but it's still a solid movie, as was Poltergeist.
I can't argue with the points they made about Rocky III, but I'd still have given it a thumbs up. It wasn't Rocky I, which they wanted it to be, but it was a good movie. And, FWIW I liked it better than Rocky II.
@@RichM3000 I think _Rocky II_ was underwhelming. You don't get the feeling that he earned a shot at the champ. They should have made the first part of the movie like Clubber Lang's journey in _Rocky III,_ with Rocky fighting those ranked below the champ and winning.
@@sandal_thong8631 True. It would have also explained how Rocky became a good fighter. In the first movie, Rocky was able to fight a close fight because he trained like a madman while Apollo overlooked him.
In Rocky II, Rocky didn't train hard until the very end, Apollo trained like a madman, and....Rocky wins this time?
They didn't like Poltergeist but it went on to be a classic horror film (at least in the Ghost genre). I saw E.T. with my family at the last "outdoor drive-in theatre" in my part of the world. Watching a film about an Alien under the summer night sky full of stars made it more magical.
I saw it on the big screen but not at the drive-in. A few years ago it was at a drive-in near me but I missed it. I think the other film was Top Gun.
Ebert did like Poltergeist though, he just didn’t love it
Poltergeist is arguably the greatest haunted house movie ever made
Poltergeist is arguably the best haunted house movie ever made. The family and the characters were wonderful. The acting was great. The scary moments are still poignant after all these years. That's why the remake was insulting to so many people.
I always saw the changes to both Rocky and Apollo as functions of what had happened previously. By #3, Rocky had enjoyed success, fame, and money and Apollo had been knocked from his perch.
Not to mention that Apollo being someone that brags and is arrogant was a character to rile people up.
Years ago, I saw _Rocky III_ on Turner Classic Movies during February's Black History Month of films. Those analyzing it said Clubber Lang was an old trope or stereotype of a Black man, like when he threatens Rocky's manhood by saying his wife needs a real man. Personally, I felt this movie continues the idea that Rocky learns and grows as a fighter, like he did in the first two movies, as he learns a new way of fighting (right-handed?) to take on Lang.
I felt they missed the boat in the next one, when they had him going old-school, training in the woods against Ivan Drago. I felt he should have gone to M.I.T. or somewhere to learn the latest in scientific analysis of boxing, so Rocky could improve and grow in a new way. If they were trying to do a "rope-a-dope" on Drago, like in the 2023 movie, _Big George,_ it didn't quite land.
Oh my Gracious the now mythical Summer of 82. What a fabulous one….the greatest of all time? It certainly is up there. E.T. - Great. Rocky III - awesome. Poltergeist-fantastic. Tough to beat those.
I'm surprised they never mentioned Williams' score for "E.T.", which is about 60% of why that movie is great.
E.T was the first movie I'd ever seen in a theater I was 5 years old at the Famous Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove, Illinios. My grandparents and father probably watched this review from Siskel and Ebert before we all went out to see it. I was a bit young to understand the point of the Movie but I enjoyed what I seen. A year later I saw return of the Jedi and loved it soo much it was like a religious experience!
I saw many movies myself at Tivoli.....I remember when shows were only for $1.50. I also worked there for a summer ('97).
@@80sNewWaveGeek Awesome, that would have been a dream job for me as a teenager. It must have been damn near impossible for them to compete with big multiplexes with them only having one screen but being in that theater felt special.
They watched Poltergeist and Rocky III as adults. I went to see them with my friends when we were teenagers. I think we went back like 7 times for both of them. They were awesome and I still think they hold up pretty well.
I agree on Poltergeist, it is to this day my favorite movie in the genre. Rocky 3 is to me an example of how a movie can be not very good but also be very entertaining. I think the Rocky series has 2 films I would consider "good films", the first, and last (Rocky Balboa, not Rocky 5. Lol) the other movies are varying degrees of quality from decent to pure trash. But I find them all entertaining. I would rank Rocky 3 as the fourth best.
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid suffered the same problem: not their generation.
E.T. is at the very top of Spielberg’s films, when his high artistic sensibilities meet his wonderful way of connecting with a mass audience. What a masterpiece.
How come E.T is not as popular now , as other classics from this era: Jaws, Star Wars and even Rocky?? Their analysis was spot on..
It was the emotion of love that made it such a smash...at least back in the 80s.
It was a moment for its time. I think those people watching long afterward have been made movie-weary by computer special effects and such that disable them from taking the moment in.
Even Rocky? Rocky was the highest grossing movie of 1976 and won 3 Oscar's including Best Picture. They're still making sequels to the Rocky franchise almost 50 years later. Rocky will always be popular.
@@christianhafer9819 my bad, came out wrong. I'm a huge Rocky fan myself. What I meant was it wasn't promoted as the go to summer blockbuster as the other movies were.
@@jokerswildio And yet it turned out to be huge. Amazing how things work out.
ET may have lost some of its luster after Spielberg made an altered version for the its 25th anniversary (e.g. walkie-talkies s replacing guns on hands of federal agents), as well as the fact that 9/11 and other events have made alien visitors less appealing (e.g. Man of Steel, a post-9/11 portrayal of Superman). As well, no sequels, unlike Poltergeist and Rocky IP.
the mom in _E.T._ breaks my heart in the scene where they're all scampering around, grabbing the knives.
"And put those knives back!"
she's out of her depth. she can't control a bunch of wild teenage kids alone. great delivery. great.
I always thought she was hot as hell in that little cat costume she wore for Halloween
I remember how secretive they were about showing what ET looked like. I saw it in the theatre and part of the suspense was waiting to see what it looked like. I remember the crowd gasped
Why though? I disliked everything about E.T. and found it totally obnoxious!
@@freemangriffin4953 I’m assuming you’re younger. It was a big deal in 1982. The puppet looked remarkably real based on the standards of the time. And, it was unusual and moving at the time to see aliens that didn’t mean us harm but were kind. It was a very powerful message
💯. It was amazing.
It worked for _Jaws_ and _E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial_ but the mystery didn't work for _Howard the Duck._ I don't remember all the fowl jokes (get it?) and don't want to revisit it.
It's impossible to overstate what an impact Steven Spielberg films had in the mid 70s to mid 80s. What a decade, From Jaws to ET. No one had a better connection with the audience, with ordinary middle class Americans than Spielberg. I really like how he portrayed the government and authorities as menacing, it's accurate.
Ebert was right about Poltergeist being wrong for little kids. I was 9 and it scared the bejeezus out of me. Actually so did E.T. lol. The PG-13 rating landed a year or two later with Red Dawn.
Thank you for posting this.
I've never seen a finer, more realistic performance than Jo Beth Williams in Poltergeist.
Agree. Loved her in this movie.
I saw everyone of these movies in the theater when I was a kid!
When I was little, like 4-5 yrs old, at night when we were in the basement watching tv or whatever, my older sister would run upstairs, turn off the lights and lock the door while saying “Carolann “ over and over in that eerie voice
This channel is awesome, who doesn't like the TV? It's a great aesthetic and these are the clearest S&E videos I've seen on RUclips because of it, subcribed!
My brother and I watched Siskel and Ebert every Saturday night my brother and I saw ET 16 times at the movies it was my favorite movie of Steven Spielberg's
I like how they're reviewing ET, not knowing that it's going to be the most successful film of the 1980s
5:10 That part from Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid was (you gonna admit) kinda hilarious.
Wow, three famous films people still know today; what a week for movies.
"Can I use her underwear to make soup?" Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid is hilarious and Steve Martin's second full-on funny movie, with The Man With Two Brains being the third and final one imo.
Poor Poltergeist, ET played at our dinky one screen movie house in Smithtown NY (Long Island) for 6 months, lol.
Very informative and intelligent reviews
Poltergeist was huge. Seems like people today might not realize how popular it was
Whoa! Some heavy releases that week!
I totally forgot about the "Dog of the Week" I always laughed at the selections every week.
They were wrong about Rocky 3 that movie is iconic, its the first time MR T has ever been seen, its the first time Hulk Hogan has ever been in a movie and the story is about getting your ass kicked giving up on yourself, then slowly believing in yourself again to the point of being victorious and winning your self respect back. I give it a thumbs way up 👍
Great quality!
Poltergeist is really good, it's interesting how much the general opinion of movies ebbs and flows.
23:03 wow, what a compliment. Well put
If I am not mistaken, "...At the Movies" would be launched later in the year ~
If this was today, they'll probably say Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid would've been a better film for streaming lol
Most kids of my era to this day, are afraid of clowns thanks to Poltergeist!
Gene Siskel really loved cutting down films and making the film makers really dumb and idiotic it sounds like he really loved his job for that reason thank you for uploading this That Old T.V.
He's so self righteous with his projected moral authority in his criticisms .... I always thought he was kind of an old lady. A bit of a stiff. Entertaining though..... Kind of like The Church Lady
My take, Love Dead Men, E.T. and Poltergeist. Never saw Rocky III. Jo Beth Williams should have won the Oscar for her performance.
It's really interesting that the rant of Clubber Lang has become the norm when it comes to fighters today.
Love that old opening theme music. (When they went to ABC it was something else.)
I'm glad they didn't review The Thing the same week as ET. The comparisons between them would've hurt The Thing, which they argued over enough as is, the following week.
I remember watching this show and respecting their critiques to a point. But, one thing I always felt about them is that they expected "high art" cinema to play as "popcorn" movies and "popcorn" movies to play as "high art". Just enjoy the movies for the joy they bring/brought. I still like Poltergeist. I don't understand what crawled up their tushes about that film. E.T.'s still a classic and Dead Men's subtle comedy resonates today.
As a Connery fan I can say I've never heard of Wrong Is Right. Never seen a vhs or dvd of it or on tv. Maybe it streams in a dark corner of the internet. Utterly forgotten if anyone even noticed it at the time.
Poltergeist was a great movie, these guys were behind the times at the time.
True I think it’s funny how they tried to make Rocky 3 racist that seems more like something that would have been said in present time
@@paullandis5524 no shit, they'd cancel Mr.T for being to black just like Uncle Ben and Aunt Jemima
During Siskel & Ebert's Rocky II review, Ebert joked that Apollo Creed would team up with Rocky for the third movie. He called that one.
lol, i remember it was this episode that i first saw an image of e.t. before going to the movies.
During E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial Review Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Star Wars: A New Hope, The Empire Strikes Back, Superman: The Movie and Alien (1979)
They missed the boat on E.T. when it comes to the soundtrack. One of John Williams’ best.
They just didn't understand Poltergeist. You could tell that they were completely unfamiliar with anything to do with paranormal activity. Guess we have to understand that there wasn't all these paranormal like shows and movies back then, So of course we find absolutely nothing confusing about the plot of Poltergeist nowadays but I guess it seemed to illlogical in 1982.
What exactly does Lang say at 9:37? Could never figure that out.
"Ok, I'll say it, you're right, it's love." ☺
I am 61 and can lay claim to being 1 of only 3 people of who's never seen both "E.T." and "Close Encounters...". I guess I'll get around to it.
They failed to point out the mother in E.T. leaving the little girl home all alone. That wouldn't fly these days.
I think they missed the point of Rocky 3. Apollo was humbled by losing to Rocky and he had respect for him. They also showed how the fame and money changed Rocky. He wasn't the same fighter nor the same person anymore. The evolution of his character showed over the first 3 movies.
Exactly. They want no character progression and total rehash apparently.
Yeah, they missed the message of "Eye of the Tiger," which became the new Rocky theme.
They definitely got Rocky 3 wrong. It’s the best in the franchise and most entertaining
16:56 "We never do find out if a real poltergeist was involved in the strange events in that haunted house..." Uhh, what? Does he think it was a Scooby Doo villain wearing a mask?
😀😀😀
pow, POW, !POW! and pow. one solid sports drama, one classic, one masterpiece and a solid laffer.
THAT is a lineup. the best in the show's history? most consistently good? you decide.
"Poltergeist" was the first movie I saw by "myself"Ooooooo!
No opinion on the Plaid movie. But I have watched Rocky III many times and enjoyed it. I also have watched Poltergeist, and I find it enjoyable. I have never seen ET. Too much hype.
Wow, they were brutal on Poltergeist. So far off base! That movie is classic to scare little kids and adults, and it always will be. Absolutely holds up today.
Poltergeist was ridiculously illogical and not true to its own reality, the opposite of ET
I thought Clubber Lang was the best villain in the Rocky series. I know I a lot of people will disagree but I loved when Rocky stood up to his fear and knocked him out at the end. I think they were to hard on their judgement of the film. I loved Poltergeist also. I saw it at the movies and I was 12 years old. The scene where the guy starts peeling his face off really spooked me out.
Fighting Back is an excellent movie and really deserves an official DVD release!! I don’t agree with these guys most of the time
They always showed extended clips of the movies...
I love Steven Spielberg and his films.
most....
Fun fact Poltergeist and E.T. Were filmed just blocks away from each other.
0:00 Intro
2:12 Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid 👎🌟🌟
8:02 Rocky 3 👍🌟🌟🌟
12:24 Poltergeist 👎🌟🌟
18:37 E.T. 👍🌟🌟🌟🌟
Dog of the week's worst movies
24:30 (1982) Fighting Back
25:36 (1982) Wrong is Right
26:22 The reviews
Thank you, guys. Rocky III is junk, a comic book film, whereas the first two were about Rocky and his rise from despair.
It wasn`t particularly exciting.....and none of the emotion of the first 2 movies
What was the deal with Poltergeist, anyway? Who really directed it? Did Steven Speilberg really direct it, or was it Tobe Hooper?
This is insane that they both couldn't even see that Poltergeist was (and is) an actual Classic film. For all of the right reasons. It's visually intimate, yet stunningly haunting. It dealt not only with issues of spirituality and the Life Beyond, but it related it to it's own times of the 1980's. It questioned the spirituality of a historically Christian America, and how religion fit in to America's post-nuclear-family-unit. A time of optimism of Science (The Space Shuttle Voyager, etc.), and and embracing of individualism (spike-haired New Wave Music, defiant Heavy Metal music). I think Siskel & Ebert were smart, contemplative white guys (Mexican American here), but they are looking at this film entirely from a post-modern lens. In all of their dorky educated-ness, they literally can't relate, so they simply dismiss the film entirely; despite the fact that the psychic goes into a poignant philosophical dialogue with the family before the "cleansing" of the house. And all of this after the parents, who, even though they read Carl Jung, admit that they have never practiced any "particular" religion. Imagine showing this movie to an Aboriginal tribes-people as an introduction to the grossly-comfortable American-lifestyle, complete with spoiled doggie and a huge two-story house where the refridgerator is never empty. The Natives wouldn't not find ghosts invasively coming out of the walls "silly" at all (to use Rodger Ebert's own words). The Natives would understand. Steven Spielberg (who wrote the actual script) was one of the great visionaries of our time. A master visual story-teller, I always contended that a deaf person could watch Poltergeist or Close Encounters of the Third Kind from beginning to end, and they would understand the story completely. I think Rodger Ebert is a very smart and observant fellow, and I still refer to some of his film analysis. But their "mumbo-jumbo" review here (Sikel's own words) is a significant example of how in criticism we should always keep in mind that art--like religion--does not exist WITHOUT culture. Which, unfortunately, leaves Siskel & Ebert culturally de-void. They insult insult the great acting in the film as well, especially in the roles of the mother and the psychic.
"Dead men don't wear plaid" would have been so much better as a miniseries of one hour episodes or even short 30 minute episodes. Trying to make a full motion picture out of it the gimmick wears pretty thin.
I love Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. They were wrong about that one.
Ironically the first movie they reviewed which is supposed to be the most anticipated movie became the lesser known of all these movies reviewed
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid was highly anticipated? I'm not trying to be snarky, I was one year old in 1982 and I'm sincerely asking.
@@snerdterguson usually the first film reviewed on siskel and ebert was considered the "A" block, kinda like the headliner
I saw and liked very much the Poltergeist of course I the Extra-Terrestrial
They keep missing the good ones. Poltergeist and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid are FUN.
1982 was a good year.
Gene Siskel looked 50 his entire life
Those guys never stopped wearing V-neck sweaters and sport coats.
Yes! He always looked like a bald middle-aged guy and never aged! He looked pretty much exactly the same from his first show to his last. Kind of bizarre.
Lol
thank you for all of these shows... your skill and dedication
make the experience really wonderful
Weird to see these guys RUclips alive and fairly young.
I have always marveled at how Gene Siskel looked pretty much exactly the same for the entirety of his career. He was one of those people who always looked pretty old so he never really aged, if that makes any sense.
@@apartmentgroup9671 Ha, true...his early balding didn't help him, and yes he looked the same throughout thee show. Good point.
@@NativeIntelligenceCheckMyDJmix Yeah, he just honestly always looked around 50. He did go balder over time, etc. But his face just stayed pretty much the same. Just one of those guys who always had a "mature" look, which is a bit weird when you are only 30 but then kinda nice when you are 50, because you haven't really aged, lol.
Siskel didn't like Rocky III OR Poltergeist? That didn't age well.
Ebert has a great point about ratings. This is why the PG13 rating came to be.
Poltergeist was fun...
What's it with the Yes No votes? Were they trying something different that week? Strange that they gave credit to Spielberg for Poltergeist. Tobe Hooper said he was only there for one day of shooting. I always thought it was a great movie so I'm surprised at their mediocre review. It's a much different experience when you're twelve. Fun Fact: When I went to see E. T. the line nearly circled around the whole theater.
Holy shit. Siskell is Mike and Ebert is Jay.
Too many spoilers in their reviews.. they gave the whole plot of poltergeist out
How could they slam Poltergeist?