Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times said Ebert "was without question the nation's most prominent and influential film critic," and Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times called him "the best-known film critic in America."
Star 80 is a 1983 American biographical drama film written and directed by Bob Fosse. It was adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Village Voice article "Death of a Playmate" by Teresa Carpenter and is based on Canadian Playboy model Dorothy Stratten, who was murdered by her husband Paul Snider in 1980. The film’s title is taken from one of Snider's vanity license plates. The film would also be Fosse's final film before his death in 1987.
Eugene Kal Siskel was an American film critic and journalist for the Chicago Tribune. He is best known for co-hosting various movie review television series with colleague Roger Ebert.
James Edmund Caan was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in The Godfather (1972) – a performance which earned him Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actor. He reprised his role in The Godfather Part II (1974). He received a motion pictures star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1978.
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times. He co-hosted the television series At the Movies with Roger Ebert from 2000 to 2008, serving as the late Gene Siskel's successor. From 2010 to 2014, he co-hosted The Roe and Roeper Show with Roe Conn on WLS-AM. From October 2015 to October 2017, Roeper served as the host of the FOX 32 morning show Good Day Chicago.
Medium Cool is a 1969 American drama film written and directed by Haskell Wexler and starring Robert Forster, Verna Bloom, Peter Bonerz, Marianna Hill and Harold Blankenship. It takes place in Chicago in the summer of 1968. It was notable for Wexler's use of cinéma vérité-style documentary filmmaking techniques, as well as for combining fictional and non-fictional content.
Mystic Pizza is a 1988 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Donald Petrie in his feature directorial debut, and starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts and Lili Taylor. It follows the coming-of-age of three young Portuguese-American friends who work at a pizza parlor in a seaside Connecticut town. The film received positive reviews, with Roger Ebert declaring at the time, "I have a feeling that Mystic Pizza may someday become known for the movie stars it showcased back before they became stars." It marked Matt Damon's film debut.
At the Movies is an American movie review television program produced by Disney–ABC Domestic Television in which two film critics share their opinions of newly released films. Its original hosts were Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel, the former hosts of Sneak Previews on PBS (1975–1982) and a similarly titled syndicated series (1982–1986). Following Siskel's death in 1999, Ebert worked with various guest critics until choosing Chicago Sun-Times colleague Richard Roeper as his regular partner in 2000.
Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, collectively known as Siskel & Ebert, were American film critics known for their partnership on television lasting from 1975 to Siskel's death in 1999.
Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is a 1970 American satirical musical melodrama film starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers, Marcia McBroom, Phyllis Davis, John LaZar, Michael Blodgett, and David Gurian. The film was directed by Russ Meyer and screenwritten by Roger Ebert from a story by Ebert and Meyer.
The Incredibly True Adventure of Two Girls in Love is a 1995 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Maria Maggenti and starring Laurel Holloman, Nicole Ari Parker, and Maggie Moore. It tells the story of two very different high school girls who fall in love.
How to Make an American Quilt is a 1995 American drama film based on the 1991 novel of the same name by Whitney Otto. Directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, the film features Winona Ryder, Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn, Kate Nelligan and Alfre Woodard. It also marked Jared Leto's film debut. Amblin Entertainment optioned Otto's novel in 1991, and were able to persuade Steven Spielberg to finance the screenplay's development. How to Make an American Quilt garnered mixed reviews from critics. It was a box-office success, grossing $41 million against a $10 million budget. The film received a nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
Americathon is a 1979 American comedy film directed by Neal Israel and starring John Ritter, Fred Willard, Peter Riegert, Harvey Korman, and Nancy Morgan, with narration by George Carlin. It is based on a play by Firesign Theatre members Phil Proctor and Peter Bergman. The movie includes appearances by Jay Leno, Meat Loaf, Tommy Lasorda, and Chief Dan George, with a musical performance by Elvis Costello.
The Castle of Fu Manchu is a 1969 film and the fifth and final Dr. Fu Manchu film with Christopher Lee portraying the title character.
Sneak Previews was an American film review show that ran for over two decades on Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). It was created by WTTW, a PBS affiliate in Chicago, Illinois. It premiered on November 26, 1975 as a monthly local-only show called Opening Soon...at a Theater Near You and was renamed in 1977 to Sneak Previews and it became a biweekly show in 1978 airing nationally on PBS. By 1980, it was a weekly series airing on over 180 stations, and it was the highest rated weekly entertainment series in the history of public broadcasting. The show's final broadcast was on October 4, 1996.
Deep End is a 1970 romantic drama film directed by Jerzy Skolimowski and starring Jane Asher and John Moulder Brown. Set in London, the film focuses on the relationship between two young colleagues at a suburban bath house and swimming pool.
Michael Phillips is an American film critic for the Chicago Tribune newspaper.
Ebert Presents: At the Movies is a weekly, nationally syndicated movie review television program produced by film critic Roger Ebert and his wife, Chaz Ebert. The program aired on public television stations in the United States through American Public Television from January 21 to December 30, 2011.
American actor, director, and producer Robert Duvall has had an extensive career in film and television since he first appeared in an episode of Armstrong Circle Theatre in 1959. His television work during the 1960s includes Route 66 (1961), Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1962), The Twilight Zone (1963), The Outer Limits (1964), The F.B.I. (1965–1969), and The Mod Squad (1969). He was then cast as General Dwight D. Eisenhower in the 1979 miniseries Ike. In 1989, he played Augustus "Gus" McCrae alongside Tommy Lee Jones in the epic Western adventure television miniseries Lonesome Dove. The role earned him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film. Three years later, he portrayed Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader Joseph Stalin in the television film Stalin (1992), which earned him another Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Television Film.
Dice Rules is a 1991 American stand-up comedy film starring Andrew Dice Clay and directed by Jay Dubin. This was the first film to get an NC-17 for language alone.
