★★★★
AUTHOR MATT SINGER / OUT 24 OCTOBER / 352 PAGES
NO FILM CRITIC ever becomes as famous as the films they review; improbably, Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert were the exceptions that proved that rule. Hosting a series of film-review TV shows between 1975 and 1999, the Chicago-based writers remain among the most recognisable, respected faces in film journalism, their ‘thumbs up’ system known by millions. The various incarnations of their TV shows transformed criticism from a fusty academic pursuit to a mainstream, demographic-spanning sensation.
In Opposable Thumbs: How Siskel & Ebert Changed Movies Forever, Matt Singer (a respected critic himself ) sympathetically documents this remarkable partnership, and the ever-contentious energy that was their trademark. If there was one thing these two loved to criticise more than films, it was each other: rivals in print journalism since the late ’60s, the pair were the original frenemies, finding ways to disagree even when they agreed on something — amismatch that made for great, compelling television. “Even their hairstyles were diametrically opposed,” writes Singer.