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I am wildly excited that for the whole month of November, the Chicago Film Office of the City’s Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events (DCASE), and the Chicago History Museum are collaborating to celebrate the anniversary of the beginning of the iconic movie review show started by my late husband, Roger Ebert, and his partner Gene Siskel. It is difficult to believe that it was fifty years ago that producer Thea Flaum ordered Roger and Gene to sit down on the make-shift film set at WTTW and talk about the movies. The history of film criticism was to be forever changed.
Although the show’s producers and the show’s titles changed over the years moving from “Coming Soon To a Theater Near You,’ and “Sneak Previews” at public television to “Siskel & Ebert At the Movies” at Tribune Entertainment, landing in wide syndication at Disney’s Buena Vista Television, and later known simply as “Siskel & Ebert,” the film duo Roger and Gene flowed easily with each stage of their evolution. Their cheerful (and sometimes not-so-cheerful) banter invited us to gather communally and find out how we were more alike than different. They became beloved national symbols because their passion for the movies was both authentic and infectious. They convinced us that movies were more than entertainment; they were an “Empathy Machine” that allowed us a peek into the lives of people of different races, ages, genders, ethnicities, socio-economic statuses, and/or religions.
DCASE and the Chicago History Museum will present a series of movies and events starting Wednesday, November 5, at the Chicago Cultural Center’s Claudia Cassidy Theater. Most of the films and talks will start at 7 pm, except on Saturday, November 22, when the celebrations will start at 2 pm.
To start the series, I have chosen to present the movie “Eve’s Bayou” by Kasi Lemmons, starring Samuel L. Jackson, Jurnee Smollett, Lynn Whitfield, and Meagan Good. I can remember not only Roger’s excitement, but the thrill of the film industry when this film debuted in 1997. Before then, Kasi Lemmons was known primarily as an actor (“The Silence of the Lambs,” “Candyman”). So her directorial debut took Hollywood by storm. Today, women directors are more readily accepted, but that was not always the case.
I am so grateful that Siskel & Ebert’s 50th Anniversary is being celebrated in Chicago because not only did Roger and Gene start their newspaper careers here (Roger at the Chicago Sun-Times and Gene at the Chicago Tribune), but they also insisted that their television show be shot here. Although both were world-educated and knowledgeable, at heart they were Midwestern guys who wanted a show that didn’t talk down to their audience. And I am convinced that, deep down, both Roger and Gene were convinced that some of the lessons learned from the movies could perhaps help us make the world a better place. Let’s keep that hope alive at the movies.
Here is the schedule of events, all at the Claudia Cassidy Theater at 78 E. Washington St.:
Eve’s Bayou: Wednesday, Nov. 5, 7 p.m.
Breaking Away: Wednesday, Nov. 12, 7 p.m.
Drugstore Cowboy: Wednesday, Nov. 19, 7 p.m.
Siskel & Ebert at 50: A Live Performance: Saturday, Nov. 22, 2 p.m.
Lone Star: Tuesday, Nov. 25, 7 p.m.
To RSVP for events, please go here.
And read Roger’s review of “Eve’s Bayou” here.
from Roger Ebert https://ift.tt/4M2YWHb
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