It was impossible to live life in the 80s without a saxophonist being in the same room.

Gene and Roger had such an incredible chemistry between them…I could have watched them talk about movies together for hours at a time. The Siskel and Ebert shows were sometimes nearly as entertaining as the films themselves.

I miss this show and Roger and Gene, immensely.

Wow. After watching the intro, 1987 was a really good year for movies.

I love that Roger included Lethal Weapon. Never afraid to give credit to a good popcorn movie

River's Edge was ahead of its time. It was set in Northern California (Pacific Northwest adjacent) and foreshadowed the look and vibe of the 90s grunge era.

River's Edge is the best movie of 1987. It's devastating.

My Top 10 1. River's Edge 2, Wall Street 3. Planes, Trains & Automobiles 4. The Lost Boys 5. Wings Of Desire 6. Less Than Zero 7. Throw Mama From The Train 8. Lethal Weapon 9. Full Metal Jacket 10. Barfly 11. Withnail & I

The Untouchables is one my favorites of 87 but my favorite film of that year is Raising Arizona

87 was a solid year for cinema.

Barfly is an awesome movie. Very original

1987 was a great year for movies.

Seeing the tracking at the beginning warms my heart...

1987 was a very good year for movies!

WOW!! James L Brooks goes from terms of endearment, to broadcast news to the simpsons!!! Thank you!!!

Man, this brings back good memories.

I love these old podcast rerun things. I remember watching River's Edge in 1987 at age 13. Hugely underrated film.

1939 will never be surpassed for quality movies.

My Best of 1987 10. No Way Out 9. House of Games 8. Broadcast News 7. Moonstruck 6. Full Metal Jacket 5. Au revoir les enfants 4. Matewan 3. The Dead 2. The Princess Bride 1. Wings of Desire Runners Up: 15. Fatal Attraction 14. The Untouchables 13. Robocop 12. The Last Emperor 11. River’s Edge

Rivers Edge is a really great film. I think it should be on the Criterion Collection!

"River's Edge" is the one I've seen the most of any film in my life. The dialog is perfect(Neal Jiminez). It's a perfect script that's executed perfectly (Tim Hunter) and I have used lines in real life...and crack myself up.

i loved Rivers Edge, its still one of my favorite films and no one ever knows what im talking about when i mention it. i was a high school Sophomore that year and was very much wrapped up in the metal scene. Rivers Edge is without a doubt the most realistic portrayal i have ever seen of that scene. which is in no way to say that every group of disenfranchised delinquent stoner teens like that had a crazy murderer friend. but EVERY character in that film reminded me of people and peers around me, even Hoppers nuts old biker. one of my best friends parents were an old biker couple and ALWAYS had parties and tons of old bikers hanging around.

I miss when Hollywood had 10 good movies a year. Instead of todays 1 every 3 yrs.

My Top 10 1. Hollywood Shuffle 2. The Princess Bride 3. Planes Trains and Automobiles 4. Raising Arizona 5. La Bamba 6. Near Dark 7. Big Shots 8. The Hidden 9. Evil Dead 2. 10. Wall Street

The Last Emperor is a masterpiece.

Amazing set of movies that year.

Every one of the movies, on both their lists, is better than The Last Emperor. Within the first 45 minutes into it, I fell into a deep sleep. And yes, I saw it on the big screen.

Wow, what a year for movies, 1987! Soo many great movies and such a wonderful variety. I miss times like that…

Best films of 1987 (random list) - My Life As A Dog (Lasse Hallstrom, 1985) - Babette's Feast (Gabriel Axel) - Broadcast News (James L. Brooks) - Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders) - Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick) - Au revoir, les enfants (Louis Malle) - House of Games (David Mamet) - Yeelen (Souleymane Cisse) - The Family (Ettore Scola) - Raising Arizona (Joel Coen)

1. Moonstruck 2. Full Metal Jacket 3. Raising Arizona 4. Wings of Desire 5. Broadcast News 6. Manon of The Spring 7. Barfly 8. Jean de Florette 9. River's Edge 10. The Princess Bride

River's Edge is a masterpiece.

Barfly, Angel Heart, Near Dark, Fatal Attraction

Reviewing all these old S&E’s I can’t believe Roger didn’t pick “Full Metal Jacket” for his top ten! Still love him, though.

River's Edge. They were so afraid of us slackers in the old days.

There was an enormous gap in the publication of Siskel's and Ebert's Top 10 lists for 1987. Gene's Top 10 list for that year was not published until January 3, 1988, and appeared to be written more hastily than any of his other Top 10 list articles, omitting mention of his runner-ups or least favorite films of 1987, and avoiding the mention of favorite acting and directing credits for 1987, among others. That being said, Gene saw it as an opportunity to accentuate the positives of 1987 in film, which were that: -Robby Benson did not star in a film that year -the main colorizer of black and white film saw its stock plunge to a measly $3 from $20 a year before -Walt Disney's 1955 film "Lady and the Tramp" (Walt Disney Home Video #582) made its home video debut as part of the Walt Disney Classics line, "giving children another fine animated movie to watch at home instead of Saturday morning TV." (and, no, eBay sellers, the tape of that movie is NOT worth thousands of dollars,) -Warner Bros. made its first Looney Tunes cartoon since the 1969 closure of its theatrical animation division ("The Duxorcist") -Robin Williams got what Gene wanted out of him in the great "Good Morning, Vietnam". -Then-94-year-old Lilian Gish turned out to be alive and well and active in "The Whales of August", which was her last film (she died on February 27, 1993).

"Starring a young woman, Cher..." She was 41.

First thing I note is that in 2022 both Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina are still killing it and each has had a great body of performances. Second, it was just an outstanding year for films both Foreign and English language . If you don't like Lethal Weapon then say hello to Babettes Feast, My Life as a Dog,Au revoir, les enfants, Wings of Desire , Matewan, et al. . If i had to do a list of the Top 25 films of 1987 I suspect that #11-25 would easily be better than other years'Top Ten ( example - Near Dark ). I was a major fan of Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway is one of my all time favorite actresses yet I really did not care for Barfly . Now coming back to 2022 let us all think about that the film that for North American audiences is considered timeless and virtually perfect is The Princess Bride but it did not make either of their lists. The thought of Houseeping makes me smile - what a great run of films Billy Forsyth had in the 80s ( That Sinking Feeling , Gregorys Girl, Local Hero, Comfort and Joy)

I feel like Gene didn’t talk more about Full Metal Jacket despite it being #2 on his list because they didn’t have enough time for him to argue about it with Roger AND list his number one choice

The Last Emperor might have been one of the best of the year, but my lord is it a chore to sit through.

interesting looking at Siskel's list and how Full Metal Jacket still holds up now and The Last Emperor which i just rewatched and think it is an a stone cold masterpiece. I wonder if Ebert ever changed his mind on Full Metal Jacket because imo it holds up as one of Kubricks very best for me.

I love Ebert but the Last Emperor was one for the ages. Saw it a kid when it came out and recently saw clips on KZfaq. Wow, powerful scenes.

I can't believe I'm nostalgic about a tracking icon on at the beginning of the video,from back in the old days ........you're old if you know what that is for 😮☺️🤨🤔😆😋

My own personal top ten favorite films from '87: Baby Boom Three Men And A Baby The Princess Bride Fatal Attraction Wall Street Lethal Weapon Robocop Predator The Lost Boys Empire Of The Sun

1988 I was in high school. I rented The Big Easy on video cassette because on the cover it had 4 stars, one of the years 10 best by Roger Ebert. I will be forever grateful to Roger Ebert. It has turned out to be one of my favorite films ever. I own it, and watch it on a regular basis. It is a special movie. The soundtrack is the greatest of all time. It introduced me to Dewey Balfa, Zachary Richard, Professor Longhair, and Aaron Neville. It made me a Saints fan. It was by far the most influential movie of my youth. And I don't know if I ever would of watched it if I didn't see Roger Ebert's review on the cover. And boy was Ellen Barkin not gorgeous!!??

The Untouchables was another great movie. Sean Connery won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor

nice pick from Roger --- I also very much enjoyed Housekeeping

BEST FILMS OF 1987 1:41 BROADCAST NEWS 3:59 ROXANNE 5:56 MOONSTRUCK 7:48 BARFLY 10:19 THE BIG EASY 12:23 RIVER’S EDGE 14:35 THE LAST EMPEROR 16:48 HOUSE OF GAMES

Robocop Predator Full metal jacket Lethal Weapon The lost boys Planes trains and automobiles The untouchables Wall Street Evil dead 2 (better than the first) Broadcast news Moonstruck The princess bride Rivers edge is an odd movie, but if anyone wants to know what the 80s was actually like versus what it’s remembered to be, watch this movie. I never thought I’d like a movie with Mickey rourke, Faye dunaway, and (you guessed it) Frank Stallone, but Barfly is great. The book “Hollywood” by Charles Bukowski about the making of it is even better! Near Dark is also fun. You can tell Bill Paxton is enjoying himself. You have to be in a certain mindset to watch Withnail and I. Otherwise, it will rub you the wrong way, but Richard E. Grant was born to play that role. Fatal Attraction would’ve been better with the original ending.

"Rivers Edge "....

Ebert sure did love Barfly. He even wrote about visiting the set and you could tell he was quite taken by Bukowski. It's kind of surprising that he liked it so much, just wouldn't have guessed he was the audience.

My Best and Favorite Flim of the Year 1987 1. Planes, Trains and Automobiles 2. The Chipmunk Adventure 3. Dragnet

My favorites of 1987: 1. Full Metal Jacket 2. The Last Emperor 3. River's Edge 4. Angel Heart 5. Dragnet 6. No Way Out 7. The Glass Menagerie 8. The Principal 9. Superman Four 10. Three for the road So there.

Rivers Edge... I Got Lucky Enough to See in TheEarly Hours on TCM Network. "I Was In Love!"...

River's Edge really gave me chills down my spine. Looks like Tim Hunter wants you get immersed into the nightmare reverse of the 80s America, and you can't do nothing to escape. Disturbing and raw, surrealist psycho pulp trip to the rotten guts of the american dream. Put Abel Ferrara, William Lustig, Tobe Hooper, Stephen King and David Lynch together and it'll gettin' close to this... Is the preamble, by the way, of many things: Heathers, Twin Peaks, I Know what You did Last Summer, Very Bad Things...

If Broadcast News had come out the next year Holly Hunter would’ve won the Oscar.

1. The Princess Bride 2. The Dead 3. Barfly 4. Angel Heart 5. The Untouchables 6. Radio Days 7. Raising Arizona 8. House of Games 9. Withnail & I 10.The Last Emperor Some great genre fare in 87 with Predator, The Running Man, Robocop, Evil Dead 2, and Hellraiser.

A good year indeed.

Wall Street was another awesome movie

I took House of Games down to Columbus the only time I visited my brother in college.

I believe 1987 was one of the first years for this "modern era" imo. Idk why.

My list Roxanne River's edge Jean De Florette Moonstruck Prick up your ears The last emperor The big easy Lethal weapon House of games

Rivers Edge was telling them as it is now. It is more relevant now- we are screwed

The Last emperor BADLY needs a new 4K scan and 4K disc. The Criterion blu-ray is wretchedly outdated and cropped.

The Big Easy was a FORMATIVE movie for me in high school

12:23-14:28...THOUGHT PROVOKING AND BREATHTAKING!!!...ITS ALMOST UNIQUE IN ITS MILEU AND CHILLING IN ITS CHARACTER DEPICTION...AS CAPTURED BY DIRECTOR TIM HUNTER!!!...OUTSTANDING SCORE PARALYZING IN ITS IMPACT!!!.......PERCEPTIVE COMMENT BY MR. SISKEL!!!...13:44-13:55

Christ. Who would have guessed the 80's reviewers would be so advanced compared to, what??? There ARE NONE like this in 2021~~FFS!

That Big Easy crack about Siskel's list was one of Ebert's very sickest burns.

After a record setting match of 6 movies on their respective top 10 lists -- Ebert: "I say your taste is getting better the longer you work with me."

In hindsight 87 was a weak year for movies, these top ten lists leave a lot to be desired compared to other years, and they both ignored "the untouchables" and "Good morning Vietnam"

Dunaway gets major points for taking that character where she did!

1.lethal weapon 2.FMJ 3.moonstruck 4.barfly 5.big easy #

The films featured in this episode: Broadcast News - James L. Brooks was one of the most reliable comedy writer/directors of the 80's and 90's and this is one of his best films. (9/10) Roxanne - I love this movie. Steve Martin is fantastic as a modern update of Cyrano de Bergerac and Darryl Hannah gives a career best performance as Roxanne. (9/10) Moonstruck - One of the best romantic comedies I've ever seen. Cher is terrific and so is the writing. (10/10) Barfly - I'm in agreement with Ebert, it is surprisingly warm cynicism. Wonderful performances by Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway. (8/10) River's Edge - seemed to me like an afterschool special with R-rated material thrown in to make it feel more adult. Crispin Glover's performance is really over-the-top and it turned me off. (5/10) The Last Emperor - I admired the technical achievement more than I enjoyed the experience of seeing it. (7/10) House of Games - haven't seen it in a while. I'll update this when I revisit it.

Best of 1987 1. The Last Emperor 5 out of 5👍 2. Predator 5 out of 5 👍 3.Lethal Weapon 5 out of 5 👍 4.Evil Dead:2 5 out of 5 👍 5.RoboCop 5 out of 5 6.FMJ Full Metal Jacket 5 out of 5 👍 7.The Lost Boys 5 out of 5 👍 8.Rivers Edge 4.5 out of 5 👍 9.The Untouchables 5 out of 5 👍 10. House Of Games 4.5 out of 5 👍 Honorable Mentions A Nightmare on Elm Street: 3 Dream Warriors, Angel Heart ❤, Innerspace, Good Morning Vietnam, Hamburger Hill, Wall Street, Broadcast News, Creepshow:2, Hellraiser, House:2 The Second Story, Can't Buy Me Love, Moonstruck.

I love their argument about Mickey Rourke in BAR FLY. You can tell they are both passionate about their opinions and do not back down when they think they are right. I think Ebert picked this one just to dig at Siskel and to have that argument. Again.

I love Moonstruck it's still one of my favorite films.

River's Edge is The Best of the WORST of Crispin Glover. I love him in it so much.

Loooking through these comments and don’t see any Stakeout fans.

Loved Mickey Rourke in Barfly. I thought he tapped into Bukowski, though I hear Bukowski hated it.

12:44 good ol' Verdugo Hills High School. They were filming it during the school day.

Shanley did win the Oscar. Good call, Roger.

I love House of Games and Full Medal Jacket. I'm due to watch both great films again.

What a GREAT show that was !!, damnittt!

House of Games filmed in my town. I was outside the check mart when they were filming.

Lethal Weapon, number 9???!!? Wow

Interesting how many of the films they pick each year are almost totally forgotten, both critically and in the popular consciousness.

3:41 - I learned from reading his memoirs and numerous essays that was Roger was exactly this kind of person before meeting his wife. I think he loved Broadcast News partly because he identified with the Hunter and Brooks characters.

I can't take my eyes off Ebert's lips. Mmmm...olive oil from Spain...

"Unlike _Wall Street,_ which took a real cheap shot at the securities industry..." That didn't age well 🤣 Wall Street is crammed full of fine upstanding citizens like Bernie Madoff.

..predator, lost boys, less than zero, lethal weapon, good morning vietnam

Barfly, "To all my friends"

Lol every time Siskel didn't like a film or a performance that Ebert did, Ebert would always lay into him for his opinion. I miss these guys.

My top 10 of 1987. plus 5 honorable mentions: 1) The Princess Bride (1987) 2) The Monster Squad (1987) 3) Predator (1987) 4) Lethal Weapon (1987) 5) RoboCop (1987) 6) Near Dark (1987) 7) Wings of Desire (1987) 8) Au Revoir les Enfants (1987) 9) Full Metal Jacket (1987) 10) Empire of the Sun (1987) ------------------------------- 11) The Year My Voice Broke (1987) 12) Evil Dead II (1987) 13) The Dead (1987) 14) Pelle the Conqueror (1987) 15) Raising Arizona (1987)

Looking back, GS was always on the conservative side. But, MR was playing the character of Henry Chinaski who is likely much like the author. Mickey observed Bukowski’s mannerisms and built his performance around that. People who knew Bukowski well said it was spot on. I thought it was brilliantly acted but I’m a huge fan of the author so there’s that.

My brother had every book. Before google if I needed to know who was in what I'd call my bro & he'd look it up for me!

River’s Edge was classic. I was 21 when it came out & related to the people in it. I love the soundtrack. Terrible story (based on a true one) but the performances were all fantastic including from unknown Keanu Reeves, the amazing Crispin Glover & the ever crazy Dennis Hopper

Scanning through the comments best of lists for 1987 I find it absolutely HILARIOUS that Superman 4 The Quest For Peace is on Quite a few of their lists while Fatal Attraction is on ALMOST NO ONE'S list

Roxanne is super

I wanted to look up obsequious right away too

I think the 80's were generally weak years for films, but there were a few gems, like here for 1987, The River's Edge, Broadcast News, Radio Days... and ones not mentioned , Matewan by John Sayles, and Raising Arizona by the Coens. Just realized, between Broadcast News and Raising Arizona, '87 was a great year for Holly Hunter!

When they reviewed devils rejects, well, that made my day😊