SNEAK PREVIEWS-"'History of the World, Part I', 'Clash of the Titans'"-WTTW-TV11 Chicago (06-11-81)
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- Опубліковано 31 січ 2021
- A complete edition of the first movie review program featuring the Chicago Tribune's Gene Siskel and the Chicago Sun-Times' Roger Ebert.
NOTE: Downloaded from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb). Description contains a listing of the Tucson theaters in which all of the films on this show played.
Contents:
Opening credits
Introduction, featuring clip from HISTORY OF THE WORLD, PART I
Reviews:
a. NICE DREAMS, a Columbia release at the Campbell Plaza 3, Park Mall and De Anza drive-in, and the first Cheech and Chong film Siskel and Ebert reviewed since naming the Paramount release UP IN SMOKE as their Dog of the Week in 1978. Not that they find this any better. (both NO's)
b. HIGH RISK, an American Cinema Releasing release at the Tucson 5 Drive-In, El Con 6 and Oracle View, surprisingly engages and delights Gene and Roger both (both YES's)
c. HISTORY OF THE WORLD, PART I, a 20th Century-Fox release at the El Con 6. Roger is disappointed in Mel Brooks for surrouding this historical chronicle (which begins at the Dawn of Mankind and ends at the French Revolution) with bathroom humor, uneven pacing and recycled jokes from older material; Gene had a lot more fun with the film. (Gene YES, Roger NO)
d. (The original version of) CLASH OF THE TITANS, a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer release through United Artists at the Park Mall, Oracle View and Tucson 5 Drive-In. Both men find this a fantastic adventure film, and Ray Harryhausen's work in it in particular. (both very strong YES's)
Dogs of the Week:
a. Roger picks FINAL EXAM, which he finds "an exploitation movie filled with indefinitely delayed senseless violence", something he in turn finds even worse than "an exploitation movie filled with senseless violence"
b. Gene picks THE HAND, a film about Michael Caine's chase after a disembodied hand that he finds laughable as hell.
Recap of reviews
Preview of next week's show
Closing credits
Funding credit: "Public Television Stations"
Logo: PBS
Siskel called it correctly that some jokes from the movie would last a long time. "It's good to be the king" definitely has.
For me the image of Gregory Hines tongue flopping out of his mouth is still funny . Clash of the Titans is a classic
I would like to check out the Harryhausen _Clash of the Titans_ at some point; I remember seeing promos for the remake and its sequel when I was a tween.
History of the World Part ! got criticized brutally when a dozen other 'good' movies are long forgotten. And the Clash of the Titans is classic Harryhausen wonderment.
I can remember being 8 years old and watching Clash the night it debuted on HBO. Sadly, the film went over my head and I didn't fully appreciate it until many years later. As for History, it was one of the first R rated films I can remember watching in my basement with my hand hovering over the cable box ready to quickly change the channel if my parents came down stairs. Although, it isn't a classic, it does contain some classic comedy bits. Cesaer's Palace with Dom DeLuise, The Spanish Inquisition and the French Revolution are moments I will never forget. So Siskel was right.
History of the World Part 1 is my favorite Mel Brooks movie
Mel Brooks peaked early in his film career.
I like how he mentions "Song of the South" the banned Disney movie. I remember seeing it sometime in the 1970s on broadcast TV on the Disney movie night, it is really too bad they didn't do more with that kind of animation combined with live action.
In the era of cocaine and other hard drugs, it’s funny and almost embarrassing watching 2 older guys rag on cannabis like it’s the worst thing in the world and fall into all the usual stereotype traps about it. Yes, if you overuse it, you’re a useless idiot who isn’t funny. But that’s true of a lot of things, including alcohol, which was legal in 1981. But there’s a reason there were very few peer reviewed experiments on cannabis - they didn’t want to find out it could be beneficial for certain people at the right dosage. The booze industry and big pharma were freaking out. They’d rather people die from mixing those things instead of taking some oil.
Times have definitely changed for pot since 1981, that's for sure . . . and to my mind, they are changing in America for the better. When they want to, that is.
I thought History of the World Part I was lame as shit.
Maybe "dope" would have helped Ebert survive like it did Chong.