To quote from the Knight Ridder report on Gene Siskel's death, "Siskel and
Ebert had a profound impact on the box office of documentaries such as
_Hoop Dreams_ and _Crumb_, and independent films such as _Fargo_ and _One
False Move_. Such was their mainstream credibility that when they talked
up the obscure picture _My Dinner with Andre_, slated to close after a
week in New York, it ended up running for 54 weeks."

There was a synergy in the Siskel & Ebert combination that made watching
them a much more informative, rewarding experience for lovers of
movies than either alone could occasion. I didn't realize how true this
was until I watched yesterday as Tom Shales sat in for Siskel, who was at
the time of recording still alive. He's going to be missed.

Jim Marsden
Bryant College

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Online resources for film/TV studies may be found at ScreenSite
http://www.tcf.ua.edu/ScreenSite