One day, while I was on the internet, I came across some episodes of Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert’s show, At the Movies, on Youtube. As I was watching these episodes, I wondered why there wasn’t a show like this on television anymore. But, when I asked this question, I realized that there kind of is. Though not on television, I can think of several channels on Youtube dedicated to talking about film. There’s also lots of blogs related to movie criticism, especially on WordPress. As a movie blogger myself, I know that the growth of the movie review community might not have been possible without Siskel and Ebert. So, in honor of the Grandfathers of Movie Criticism, I have decided to dedicate my very first blogathon to them! Siskel and Ebert at the Blogathon will take place from September 20th to the 24th. If you would like to participate, you can sign up in one of the following categories:
A. Siskel and Ebert Themselves – This category is for blog entries about Gene Siskel and/or Roger Ebert. Articles about their life, legacy, or career are most certainly welcome. If Siskel and/or Ebert have written any books, editorials, or articles, blog entries about that can be submitted to this category. If you do write an entry for this specific category, all I ask is that you please be respectful when writing about Siskel and/or Ebert. If your post is about how you disagree with their opinion, that’s fine. But please don’t be disrespectful or negative toward anybody.
B. Movies that Siskel and/or Ebert have reviewed or talked about: This category is pretty straight forward. Any movie that Siskel and/or Ebert have reviewed/talked about or that was covered on any of their shows is fair game. To find out which movies would be allowed for this category, you can find episodes of At the Movies on Youtube or search “At the Movies” or “Sneak Previews” on IMDB and look through the listed episodes section.
C. The Show Itself: For this category, you can write about anything related to Siskel and Ebert’s shows. Do you have a favorite episode of Sneak Previews or any version of At the Movies? Share it in your post! Was there a particular host that you were fond of? Feel free to talk about them in your article! Did the show play an important role in your life? Tell your story on your blog! Other topics that would be allowed in this category are trivia about the show, specific segments, and the show’s history, just to name to few.
D. Something movie related that has to do with Chicago: Because Siskel and Ebert were film critics in Chicago, this category is a creative way to honor the Grandfathers of Movie Criticism. For this category, you can talk about movies that either take place or were filmed in Chicago. You may also write about film festivals or movie related events that have been hosted in the Windy City. If you’ve had a movie-going experience in the city of Chicago, feel free to share your story!
The Official Blogathon Rules
- As I’ve already mentioned, please be respectful not only when writing about Siskel and Ebert, but also to other bloggers.
- If you plan on publishing your post(s) earlier or later than the allotted time-frame (September 20th to the 24th), please let me know in advance.
- Only new posts will be allowed for this blogathon.
- Three participants at a time are allowed to write about a singular topic. For example, if four people wanted to talk about Roger Ebert’s book, I Hated, Hated, Hated This Movie, only the first three participants would be able to write about the book.
- Each participant is allowed to publish a maximum of three entries.
- All entries must be original work.
- If your interested in participating, please share your idea(s) in the comment section below.
- Creativity is encouraged.
- Pick one of the five banners and spread the word about Siskel and Ebert at the Blogathon!





The List of Participants
Category A
Sally from 18 Cinema Lane – (Editorial) Roger Ebert’s Movie Yearbooks: How Relevant are they Anyway?
Ruth from Silver Screenings — (Review) Roger Ebert’s book, The Great Movies
Edirin from Retro Movie Buff — (Editorial) Roger Ebert’s book, Your Movie Sucks
UpOnTheShelf from The Movie Shelf Reviews — (Discussion piece) Siskel and Ebert’s appearance on “The Critic”
Category B
Le from Critica Retro — (Review) Z (1969)
Gill from Realweegiemidget Reviews — (Review) Prizzi’s Honor (1985)
J-Dub from Dubsism — (Review) Casino (1995)
Quiggy from The Midnite Drive-In — (Review) The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Rebecca from Taking Up Room — (Review) Straight Talk (1992)
Tiffany and Rebekah from Pure Entertainment Preservation Society — (Review) A Star is Born (1954)
Category D
Rob from MovieRob — (Review) About Last Night… (1986), Opportunity Knocks (1990), and Rookie of the Year (1993)
Have fun at the Blogathon!
Sally Silverscreen
Hello there, just spotted your blogathon today – Love to join with Superman II (1981), was reviewed in their Sneak Previews show, Thanks Gill from Realweegiemidget Reviews. BTW I’m holding a blogathon on Hammer and Amicus films, love you to join! Details on my blog, https://weegiemidget.wordpress.com/
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Thanks for signing up, Gill! I can add your name to the participant list as soon as possible. I will also check out your blogathon. Looking forward to reading your review in September!
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What a great idea! Can you put me down for Roger Ebert’s book, “The Great Movies”? Looking forward to it. 🙂
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I meant say “a review of Roger Ebert’s book”… Sheesh – was so excited I couldn’t type properly.
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Thanks for joining the blogathon, Ruth! Your name and topic have just been added to the list! I’ve never read that book before, so I’m looking forward to reading your review in September!
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Put me down for Martin Scorsese’s 1995 effort “Casino.” Why do I want this movie? Because Gene Siskel and I might be the only two people on earth who didn’t like this film.
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Thanks for signing up, J-Dub! I’ll add your name to list as soon as I can. Definitely looking forward to reading your review in September!
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I’ve updated my blog-a-thon page to include it! https://dubsism.com/2019-movie-blog-a-thons/
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Thanks for spreading the word about the blogathon! I hope it encourages others to join!
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Siskel and Ebert. I used to watch it all the time. (Although I never took their views with me to the movies.) I especially liked it when one praised the movie while the other disparaged it. As they did with Silence of the Lambs. I’ll take that movie and reference both reviewers comments on it, if that’s OK
Quiggy
https://midnitedrive-in.blogspot.com
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Thanks for joining the blogathon, Quiggy! Referencing Siskel and Ebert’s comments on ‘Silence of the Lambs’ is more than ok. It would be great! I’ll definitely add your name to the list! Can’t wait to read your review in September!
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Yes, please! I’d like to do “Straight Talk,” if I may. 🙂
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Oh, and I’m at Taking Up Room, obviously.
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Thanks for joining the blogathon, Rebecca! I just added your name and topic to the list! I’ve never heard of this movie before, so I’m interested in reading your review in September!
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You’re very welcome, Sally! Yeah, I’ve owned it for years but never watched it. I’m purposely not going to read Ebert’s review until after I get my thoughts, down, lol.
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That’s a great idea! Most of the movies I review are films that I had never seen before. This allows me to broaden my cinematic horizons and introduce myself to new films.
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hey can I do About Last Night (1986), Opportunity Knocks (1990) and Rookie of the Year (1993) – all take place in chicago
Tnx
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Thanks for checking out the blogathon, MovieRob! I just added your name and topics to the list! I didn’t know that these movies took place in Chicago, so I’m looking forward to reading your reviews this September!
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wikipedia is amazing…. it has lots of lists abt geographic locations of movies
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IMDB also lists filming locations, as well as interesting facts and tidbits about the movie. Both Wikipedia and IMDB are good resources for cinema!
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I’m a big fan of IMDB and use it for trivia and quotes all the time. I was aware that they have filming location and possibly listings of places where the story takes place too, but I never really looked into it.
something else to add to my list 🙂
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BTW, what’s ur email address? I wanna send u something. tnx. (if u prefer email me at rob@movierob.net
tnx
Rob
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Hi Rob! I just created a new email address for my readers, followers, and other bloggers to contact me. It’s 18cinemalanefans@gmail.com! You can also send me a message on the “Contact Me” page on my blog!
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sent u an email
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I, unfortunately, didn’t get your message. Can you try sending it again?
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resent.
hope u got it this time. check ur spam or junk if not.. strange 🙂
Rob
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Yes, I did get your email! I will definitely think about contributing to Genre Grandeur!
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Hi, can I change my post to Prizzis Honor (1985), which has been reviewed by both men and by Ebert on at least 2 more occasions. Will talk about these in my post as well as my thoughts of the movie. from Gill at Realweegiemidget Reviews
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Yes you can! In fact, I updated your topic on the list! I’ve never heard of this movie before, so I’m looking forward to reading your review in September!
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Oh, I’d love to write about Z, a film from 1969 that was number one in both Siskel and Ebert’s favorites of the year.
See you in Septmber! Cheers!
Le from Critica Retro
http://www.criticaretro.blogspot.com
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Thanks for joining the blogathon, Le! I just added your name and topic to the list! Z is a film that I’ve never heard of before, so I definitely want to check out your review in September!
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Hello, I’d love to write about Roger Ebert’s book, ‘Your Movie Sucks’, for Retro Movie Buff. It’s one of my favourites of his collections and always makes me laugh. Thanks, Edirin.
http://www.retromoviebuff.com/
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Hi there, Edirin! I’m adding your name to the participation list right now! Thanks for signing up for the blogathon! Can’t wait to read your article this September!
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After thinking it over for a while, I think I’d like to sign up for this. I’d love to write about the Siskel & Ebert episode of the tv show The Critic, “Siskel & Ebert & Jay & Alice”. Not only have Siskel & Ebert discussed The Critic on their show, but they play themselves in that episode! I have yet to see anyone claim it and I think it’s worth discussing. Thank you!
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Hi UpOnTheShelf! Thanks for joining the blogathon! I’ve never heard of this show or this episode, but I can’t wait to read about it in September. I’ll add your name and topic to the participant list right away!
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Dear Sally,
This is a really unique and interesting topic for a blogathon! I did some research to find a topic for participation, and I think I chose one. I would like to write about “A Star is Born” from 1954 because Siskel and Ebert talked about it on a 1988 show called “The Movies That Made Us Critics.” They both remembered seeing this film as children and referenced it as the first “adult” movie they appreciated. I would like to make that film my new Code film for that week and write about it for your blogathon! Is that alright?
Yours Hopefully,
Tiffany Brannan
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Hi Tiffany! Yes, your suggestion is great! I just added your name to the participant list. I can’t wait to read your review next month!
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Dear Sally,
Thank you! I am excited about watching this film and reviewing it! I watched and reviewed the first “A Star Is Born” in July, so I am eager to see the second Code adaption of the famous story. Because of the recent release of yet another remake of this story, I feel that I need to have seen both of the old versions so that I have something to say on the subject!
Yours Hopefully,
Tiffany Brannan
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You’re welcome! I think that is such a great idea! Maybe you could write about one of the newer versions for next year’s A Month Without the Code? Reading about how it could be “breened” would be fascinating!
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https://midnitedrive-in.blogspot.com/2019/09/make-room-for-hannibal.html
My post is up.
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