I won a Howard The Duck T-shirt in a bar trivia contest in 1986, just before the movie came out, so I was kind of looking forward to it. When it finally did, you heard so much bad stuff, I never got around to it. Never saw 3 Amigos either but I remember the TV commercials couldn't even make it look funny and when it was on video, my local video store even had a poster saying something like "See these big stars in this turkey before it disappears forever."
Gene: "I don't think we're going to see Hitcher 2." Well, we DID finally get one, which Gene did NOT live to see, but at least Rutger Hauer avoided appearing in THAT thing.
The biggest crime of Howard the Duck (beyond intimating human duck sexual relations) is how many good movies got delayed because it backed up the work load at Industrial Light and Magic.
And I loved the part where they refused to agree to the studio's terms and then told the viewers what happened. It's a sharp contrast from the movie critics of today, who are nearly all paid shills who are afraid of losing their "access" if they anger the studios.
@@ricardocantoral7672 anything produced by a major studio, it seems. The reason the Oscars were created in the first place was a brilliant play from the studio. The actors were tired of indentured servitude to the studio executives and were rallying together to unionize. The studio heads knew they could break that shit up if they played on their vanity with a major award show, essentially pitting them against each other. Boom. No more union.
The critics ripped this movie a new one when it came out. Roger Ebert was especially harsh in his assessment saying in part. “Howard the Duck has all the charm and allure of visiting the local sewage plant during July after eating a large helping of spoiled potato salad. The fever dream of “Star Wars” creator George Lucas,who may well have just written his careers epitaph with this foul feathered flop. The dialogue is imbecilic,the plot weaker than that of a Bob Crane porno flick,even the special effects fall on their face in the end during the climax in which Howard does battle with a monster that looks similar to something found in your toilet bowl after a late nights indulgence at Taco Bell. this is the first movie in my long career in which I found myself wishing for a cyanide pill 20 minutes in. George Lucas should be sued by the patrons of this film,not only for the cost of their tickets,but for the emotional damage and lost time out of this lives this film caused. Time that could have been spent doing anything more enjoyable,such as standing outside a pay toilet with diarrhea and no dime. I recommend Lucas be forcibly sterilized for the sake of future filmgoers everywhere.
Prior to “Howard The Duck”, there was “My Little Pony: The Movie” and “Transformers: The Movie”. Both animated movies were total train wrecks than “Howard The Duck”.
@@Musicradio77Network In addition to trashing the central character, the whole guy-in-a-duck-suit thing was last-minute. They were going for a technical solution (robotic? CGI?) but it just didn't take. With the entire project on the line, they put a guy in a duck suit and went for it. But it was the writing that failed everything.
Siskel mentions reading comics A LOT when appropriate like he loved Swampthing, and when he gave rave reviews to Dark City he said ' I went to comic shops trying to find the comic it was based on and I couldn't believe it it's not based on a comic book!'
The incident with the kids playing in the theater was similar to when I saw "Cats". I didn't object because I was more entertained by the kids running around than I was by the movie.
@@scattau41It's not "nihilistic"; it's an extremely well-executed coming of age story told through horror, but S&E had lived for far too long in their cushy Ivy-leave bubbles to appreciate that.
Gene Siskel wrote: “I give this film one finger up. Hands down the worst film of the 1980’s…and the 80’s aren’t even over yet. Time will not be kind to this film,In the ensuing years I will recall my wife’s miscarriage with fonder memories than this film. Lucas really soiled his name and his trousers laying this cinematic egg.
Extremities was a good film, Farrah was tremendous in this role. The problem with the film was that Farrah had left her Charlie's Angel hair behind her when she left that show. Americans wanted the Farrah hair but Farrah wanted to be seen as an actress. As Gene says, her role in this film could have been played by any actress, but if it had been then we would not have seen Farrah's acting ability, and as I said, that was important to her. Still, how big would the box office have been IF she had kept the Farrah hair.
My worst 1986 movies Heat Cobra Jumpin Jack Flash Howard the Duck Short Circuit No Mercy Under the Cherry Moon Club Paradise Last Resort Nothing in Common Raw Deal The Golden Child Vamp Nine & half weeks Hard lessons Touch & Go Pirates Broken Rainbow Nobody's Fool Tai-Pan Best of the Times
@@immortalholesYou're not the only person to say this and I don't know how to respond except to say that people need to pick up a dictionary once in a while. The ending of the movie was anything but nihilistic.
I love S&E, and I love hearing their opinions, whether I agree with them or not, but I am really disappointed that they didn't enjoy Three Amigos!. It's such a long-standing beloved classic for me and, I hope, many others.
Everyone hating on George Lucas for Howard The Duck. No one hating on Radioland Murders. Also, Heartburn was a tell all that really didn’t tell us anything!
@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 RLM was just a random, dumb movie. The Star Wars prequels on other hand was basically throwing dirt on a beloved franchise. Not the same thing.
Okay, okay, I know I'm supposed to hate Howard the Duck and I'm going to get lambasted for this, but I like it. It's just dumb fun. Entertainment doesn't always have to be profound or uplifting. It doesn't have to be clever, either. It doesn't have to be controversial or raise awareness of the problems of modern society. There's a lot to be said for just plain silliness. HTD is a cult classic today because it doesn't pretend to be anything it's not. It doesn't take itself seriously, and the viewer isn't supposed to take it seriously, either. You got a problem with that? Fight me!
I like it as well. I saw it at roughly the same time I saw "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and...I thought "Howard" was the better movie. Lol, I didn't think either was that great or anything but by and large I had much more fun watching Howie & Lea Thompson than Roger & Bob Hoskins.
There is definitely some effective filmmaking in it, and I wish some of the critics had at least spotlighted that while detailing what they found morally objectionable about the story.
@@johnbogg7395 I don't like 95% of horror movies, but The Hitcher was a absolute masterpiece. S&E's reviews of it have some of the most laughable theories and blatant hallucinations/inaccuracies I've ever seen out of them.
Howard the Duck as a character seems like a loathsome parody of Charlie Chaplin as rhe. Tramp. We can relate road a symptotic Tramp, but not to this creep.
@@Nathan-gd7xq Didn't ruin anything ... Siskel was always uptight about movies and it's always fun to watch. Lighten up Francis. I grew up watching these guys and still enjoy them ... but it's also fun to see how self inflated these guys could get, always offended, always a bit self righteous. That was part of their shtick I think ... It's a big reason people hate critics, but it's the main reason I love them. It's good entertainment.
@@danorthsidemang3834 Na, .. it was a fun movie, well shot... I liked it as a kid. A lot better than those pretentious Woody Allen movies Siskel was always gushing about. This guy didn't like Taxi Driver and constantly whined about horror movies. It's all fun stuff though.
I won a Howard The Duck T-shirt in a bar trivia contest in 1986, just before the movie came out, so I was kind of looking forward to it. When it finally did, you heard so much bad stuff, I never got around to it. Never saw 3 Amigos either but I remember the TV commercials couldn't even make it look funny and when it was on video, my local video store even had a poster saying something like "See these big stars in this turkey before it disappears forever."
3 Amigos the three dumbest Gingos they could find help rescue Mexican village from banditos.
Three Amigos is a blast.
I never saw 3 Amigos in the theater, nor saw promotions, and I still get a chuckle every time I see it.
Gene: "I don't think we're going to see Hitcher 2."
Well, we DID finally get one, which Gene did NOT live to see, but at least Rutger Hauer avoided appearing in THAT thing.
The biggest crime of Howard the Duck (beyond intimating human duck sexual relations) is how many good movies got delayed because it backed up the work load at Industrial Light and Magic.
VHS distortion did wonders for that ad snippet: “The cleanser Dave uses to clean his groooiiiinn.”
"I don't think we'll be seeing the hitcher 2"
Luckily for gene they waited 20 years too make another hitcher movie.
What Gene said regarding King Kong Lives is astounding. You would think the studio would have found at least one scene worth showing.
I used to love that movie as a young kid.
@@nworbrelytthefirst We were all stupid as kids, no need to be ashamed.
And I loved the part where they refused to agree to the studio's terms and then told the viewers what happened. It's a sharp contrast from the movie critics of today, who are nearly all paid shills who are afraid of losing their "access" if they anger the studios.
@@KasumiKenshirou Seriously, are critics frequently bribed for good reviews? I know it has happened but I don't know if it's a serious problem.
@@ricardocantoral7672 anything produced by a major studio, it seems. The reason the Oscars were created in the first place was a brilliant play from the studio. The actors were tired of indentured servitude to the studio executives and were rallying together to unionize. The studio heads knew they could break that shit up if they played on their vanity with a major award show, essentially pitting them against each other. Boom. No more union.
The critics ripped this movie a new one when it came out. Roger Ebert was especially harsh in his assessment saying in part. “Howard the Duck has all the charm and allure of visiting the local sewage plant during July after eating a large helping of spoiled potato salad. The fever dream of “Star Wars” creator George Lucas,who may well have just written his careers epitaph with this foul feathered flop. The dialogue is imbecilic,the plot weaker than that of a Bob Crane porno flick,even the special effects fall on their face in the end during the climax in which Howard does battle with a monster that looks similar to something found in your toilet bowl after a late nights indulgence at Taco Bell. this is the first movie in my long career in which I found myself wishing for a cyanide pill 20 minutes in. George Lucas should be sued by the patrons of this film,not only for the cost of their tickets,but for the emotional damage and lost time out of this lives this film caused. Time that could have been spent doing anything more enjoyable,such as standing outside a pay toilet with diarrhea and no dime. I recommend Lucas be forcibly sterilized for the sake of future filmgoers everywhere.
That was a pleasure to read 🤣🤣🤣
Howard the Duck was a major disappointment compared to the amazing comic book he starred in. They lost that character and did a stupid duck instead.
Prior to “Howard The Duck”, there was “My Little Pony: The Movie” and “Transformers: The Movie”. Both animated movies were total train wrecks than “Howard The Duck”.
@@Musicradio77Network In addition to trashing the central character, the whole guy-in-a-duck-suit thing was last-minute. They were going for a technical solution (robotic? CGI?) but it just didn't take. With the entire project on the line, they put a guy in a duck suit and went for it. But it was the writing that failed everything.
Siskel really did his homework when it came to 'Howard the Duck' (reading the original comics).
Siskel mentions reading comics A LOT when appropriate like he loved Swampthing, and when he gave rave reviews to Dark City he said ' I went to comic shops trying to find the comic it was based on and I couldn't believe it it's not based on a comic book!'
We all know how Howard went down, it was even referenced as a mistake at Lucas getting the AFI lifetime achievement award.
Tim Robbins' performance in Howard the Duck is one of the worst I have ever seen in a big budget movie.
The incident with the kids playing in the theater was similar to when I saw "Cats". I didn't object because I was more entertained by the kids running around than I was by the movie.
That door story is hilarious.
The Hitcher is cool. One of the first horror films I ever watched. Everyone at school loved it.
Is nihilism cool?
@@scattau41 i don't know.
The Hitcher is a classic of the thriller/horror genre.
@@scattau41. These days, it certainly can be.
@@scattau41It's not "nihilistic"; it's an extremely well-executed coming of age story told through horror, but S&E had lived for far too long in their cushy Ivy-leave bubbles to appreciate that.
Gene Siskel wrote: “I give this film one finger up. Hands down the worst film of the 1980’s…and the 80’s aren’t even over yet. Time will not be kind to this film,In the ensuing years I will recall my wife’s miscarriage with fonder memories than this film. Lucas really soiled his name and his trousers laying this cinematic egg.
Extremities was a good film, Farrah was tremendous in this role. The problem with the film was that Farrah had left her Charlie's Angel hair behind her when she left that show. Americans wanted the Farrah hair but Farrah wanted to be seen as an actress. As Gene says, her role in this film could have been played by any actress, but if it had been then we would not have seen Farrah's acting ability, and as I said, that was important to her. Still, how big would the box office have been IF she had kept the Farrah hair.
this was released like 7 years after she left Charlie Angels..nobody cared about her hair....the problem was she made several bad movies..
@@iluvmylovebirdandmybudgiet7729 excuse me, the burning bed was a masterpiece.
@@jmjfanss The 1984 TV movie which earned received her only Emmy Award nomination in 1985.
My worst 1986 movies
Heat
Cobra
Jumpin Jack Flash
Howard the Duck
Short Circuit
No Mercy
Under the Cherry Moon
Club Paradise
Last Resort
Nothing in Common
Raw Deal
The Golden Child
Vamp
Nine & half weeks
Hard lessons
Touch & Go
Pirates
Broken Rainbow
Nobody's Fool
Tai-Pan
Best of the Times
Short Circuit??!!! Even SC2 was good. I liked 'em both
i like some of those movies however, nothing in common, nine and half weeks, the golden child
As a pro rape American taxpayer I am offended at anti-rape propaganda. I will be writing my congressma.
“Anti-rape film” … are there any pro-rape films?
Anything directed by Michael Winner!
A Clockwork Orange? Midsommar?
Revenge of the Nerds?
"The Hitcher" is an awesome display of nihilism.
*awful
@@immortalholes The hitcher is a stone cold classic. I guess you were just too much of a pussy to enjoy it.
@@immortalholesYou're not the only person to say this and I don't know how to respond except to say that people need to pick up a dictionary once in a while. The ending of the movie was anything but nihilistic.
The Hitcher is a masterpiece. Not at all surprised S&E didn't like it (it's not their style) but wow it is a breathtaking film.
Its beyond illogical garbage. They got it right.
@Apathetic Noncombatant ✔ + ✔
Most critics at the time hated it, it has developed a following since. Solidly rated on IMDB and Rotten Tomatoes
it's pretty good
It's not aged so well, though.
I love S&E, and I love hearing their opinions, whether I agree with them or not, but I am really disappointed that they didn't enjoy Three Amigos!. It's such a long-standing beloved classic for me and, I hope, many others.
I think you had to see it as a child to enjoy it.
Everyone hating on George Lucas for Howard The Duck. No one hating on Radioland Murders.
Also, Heartburn was a tell all that really didn’t tell us anything!
Radioland Murders flopped at the box office and was panned by almost every critic that reviewed it.
@@ricardocantoral7672 yeah, but it’s not jar jar legendary status cringe
@@littlekingtrashmouth9219 RLM was just a random, dumb movie. The Star Wars prequels on other hand was basically throwing dirt on a beloved franchise. Not the same thing.
James Russo.
One of your "go to" actors for playing scumbags in the Eighties.
Beverly Hills Cop
He was killed off in the first film from 1984.@@lukedunham5010
It's a shame Howard the Duck bombed so badly that we never got to see a Marvel character in a movie ever again.
Oh how I wish were weren’t inundated with low substance superhero flicks
Go to 'Pitch Meetings' / 'Ryan George' on youtube. You'll understand why movies are so bad these days !
This film was meant to be animated They should of stuck with that 😏
The Hitcher is a great movie, a real cult classic now.
"Revolution" came out in 1985. So why is on a list of worst films of 1986?
So wrong on the Hitcher.
Okay, okay, I know I'm supposed to hate Howard the Duck and I'm going to get lambasted for this, but I like it. It's just dumb fun. Entertainment doesn't always have to be profound or uplifting. It doesn't have to be clever, either. It doesn't have to be controversial or raise awareness of the problems of modern society. There's a lot to be said for just plain silliness. HTD is a cult classic today because it doesn't pretend to be anything it's not. It doesn't take itself seriously, and the viewer isn't supposed to take it seriously, either. You got a problem with that? Fight me!
Ha ha ha! Totally!
Agreed! I wouldn't consider it a good movie per se, but I do really enjoy it.
Just dumb fun for sure!
I like it as well. I saw it at roughly the same time I saw "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" and...I thought "Howard" was the better movie. Lol, I didn't think either was that great or anything but by and large I had much more fun watching Howie & Lea Thompson than Roger & Bob Hoskins.
I loved Heartburn. Great story, funny and dramatic. The acting was top notch. ❤❤❤
The Hitcher is a cult classic. And i just saw it again Underrated movie.
No actually, it sucked.
I did enjoy the movie, yes, I agree with Siskel and Ebert, but it was very Well Directed and Acted
Barely a "cult classic" lol
Yeah, it’s quite good--if more than a bit unbelievable by the end.
@@deckofcards87 It is.
Walter Matthau showed up a lot on the worst of the year. I do like The Hitcher.
There is definitely some effective filmmaking in it, and I wish some of the critics had at least spotlighted that while detailing what they found morally objectionable about the story.
No actually, it sucked.
@@stevegeorge6880 They just did not like horror films. S & E recommended some dodgy movies sometimes.
@@johnbogg7395 I don't like 95% of horror movies, but The Hitcher was a absolute masterpiece. S&E's reviews of it have some of the most laughable theories and blatant hallucinations/inaccuracies I've ever seen out of them.
Son of Friday The 13th...lmbo
Never heard of Heartburn
It was a good movie
Maybe The Hitcher was shooting for something higher than they gave it credit for; a statement about the cycle of abuse of fatherhood?
I actually enjoyed Extremities.
Three Amigos was awesome.
Howard the Duck as a character seems like a loathsome parody of Charlie Chaplin as rhe. Tramp. We can relate road a symptotic Tramp, but not to this creep.
I’m waiting for ‘Howard the Duck vs. The Hitcher’ joint reboot, starring Gerald Butler.
We loved Three Amigos.
Ebert doesn’t know how to pronounce Salome?? That’s kind of embarrassing.
The Three Amigos is a good movie.
Martin Short is an insufferable buffoon.
One of the best comedies of the eighties. It was proto-simpsons!
no
i don't think so
I was disappointed when I saw it in the theater as a kid.
I may be in the minority but Howard The Duck is awesome 80s trash
It's definitely trash
There they go again .. a couple of old ladies "clutching at their pearls" about The Hitcher ... 😂 That movie is a classic .. loved that one as a kid.
No actually, it sucked.
Here we go again ... someone getting upset because a 36 year old review ruined their childhood memories.
@@Nathan-gd7xq Didn't ruin anything ... Siskel was always uptight about movies and it's always fun to watch. Lighten up Francis. I grew up watching these guys and still enjoy them ... but it's also fun to see how self inflated these guys could get, always offended, always a bit self righteous. That was part of their shtick I think ... It's a big reason people hate critics, but it's the main reason I love them. It's good entertainment.
@@danorthsidemang3834 Na, .. it was a fun movie, well shot... I liked it as a kid. A lot better than those pretentious Woody Allen movies Siskel was always gushing about. This guy didn't like Taxi Driver and constantly whined about horror movies. It's all fun stuff though.
Nostalgia >Critical thinking. It sucked then and sucks now,
Could never stand these guys such haters
Gene was right about not seeing the Hitcher 2 because he died before it came out. 😂🤣😂
Shut up.
LOL but we all die oliver, so 😂🤣😂to you