Back many years ago, I made a ritual of watching Siskel & Ebert. I think it was my first real encounter with film criticism. I greatly enjoyed the duo’s often-contentious debates, but beyond that, I really credit the show with opening my eyes to independent film.

Often during the show, Gene & Roger would recommend non-mainstream films. They would always say something to the effect of “seek this film out if it’s playing in your area”, and my being in L.A. at the time, the films often were. On one of these shows, they reviewed a first film produced & directed by a pair of brothers. They raved about this film, saying it was one of the best of the year. It was a modern noir and the clips made it look really promising, so I made a note and decided to check it out.

The film was BLOOD SIMPLE, and it ended up being one of my favorite films of the era. I talked to some friends who had also heard about it on Siskel & Ebert, and told them they had to go. They did, and also loved it. I’m not sure how much credit to give Gene & Rog for the success of BLOOD SIMPLE, but the exposure they gave it had to have had an impact. It certainly had an impact for me, as it became one of the first indie films I saw that really inspired me to get into filmmaking.

Now many years later, what was left of Siskel & Ebert is coming to an end. Roger’s blog entry (at the link above) is a sad but fitting eulogy to the show. He also embeds the terrific YouTube clip of he and Gene trying to get through a promo, bringing back happy memories of that aforementioned contentiousness.