Gene Siskel

By the mid-1980s, the fabled animation studios of Walt Disney had fallen on hard times. The artists were polarized between newcomers hungry to innovate and old timers not yet ready to relinquish control. These conditions produced a series of box-office flops and pessimistic forecasts: maybe the best days of animation were over. Maybe the public didn't care. Only a miracle or a magic spell could produce a happy ending. Waking Sleeping Beauty is no fairy tale. It's the true story of how Disney regained its magic with a staggering output of hits - "Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast ," "Aladdin," "The Lion King," and more - over a 10-year period.

Sesame Street's 25th Birthday: A Musical Celebration is a special produced for the beloved series' 25th anniversary. Released in a slightly different form on video in October 1993, the special was shelved for its broadcast premiere on PBS until 1994, during pledge drive season, and in many markets, aired as part of a marathon block with three show episodes.

THE AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE VAULT is a 2-disc, 500-minute odyssey that collects eight feature-length VHS mixtapes from the crackpots at AGFA—including two that have only ever been available theatrically.

Trace the history of television and its impact on American culture with clips, newsreels, and exclusive interviews from television greats like Walter Cronkite, Carol Burnett, and Jay Leno.

The surprising and entertaining life of renowned film critic and social commentator Roger Ebert (1942-2013): his early days as a freewheeling bachelor and Pulitzer Prize winner, his famously contentious partnership with Gene Siskel, his life-altering marriage, and his brave and transcendent battle with cancer.

Documentary featuring director David Lynch, stars Dennis Hopper, Kyle MacLachlan, Laura Dern and Isabella Rossellini, cinematographer Frederick Elmes, editor Duwayne Dunham, composer Angelo Badalamenti, and producer Fred Caruso. Produced for the "Blue Velvet" DVD.

Throughout the ’80s John Hughes defined the teen movie genre and spoke not only to that generation’s teens, but every generation that has followed. Then in 1991 he hung up his director’s hat and disappeared into obscurity ala J.D Salinger. In 2008, a group of young Canadian filmmakers set out to complete a documentary about the man with what they hoped would culminate with an interview, which would be his first since 1999.

“Mineshaft: The Cruising Murders" peels back the layers of controversy surrounding the making of the 1980 thriller, "Cruising." Directed by William Friedkin, the film triggered fierce protests from the LGBTQ+ community for its portrayal of a serial killer targeting gay men in New York's leather bars. Friedkin drew inspiration from the brutal murder of Variety reporter Addison Verrill, blurring the boundaries between cinematic fiction and real-life tragedy.

A documentary feature that reveals the creative process of Chicago moviemakers. Using the city's famous river as a location, directors are placed in a variety of boats and share stories of how Chicago has influenced their careers.

Unleashed from the video vaults of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #3: SEQUELITIS is a brand new compilation of the most electrifying found footage mayhem that you’ll see this week. For our third tape, we’re diving into the most controversial, hotly debated topic of all time: HORROR SEQUELS! Thank you for your generous support during these difficult times. And remember: “This makes Guns N’ Roses look like THE BRADY BUNCH.”

Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert slug it out with SNES tennis in this hour-long syndicated special. Includes Gene using a camcorder with a steadicam attachment, a Danny DeVito interview and plenty of classic home video recommendations.

A Confessional Documentary is a 1-minute long short film directed by noted film critic Gene Siskel, originally shown alongside his partner Roger Ebert's short film (Citizen Yuppie) on the 1987 broadcast of their annual Holiday Gift Guide program. It was shot entirely on a (then-new) Fisher Price PixelVision PXL2000 low-fidelity camcorder in monochrome on compact audio cassette, inspiring Richard Linklater to utilize the same technique in his 1991 feature SLACKER. The film recontextualizes the image of Roger Ebert's face to provide some humorous jabs at the nature of film criticism.

A chronicle of the history of baseball in the movies. Includes interviews with the directors and stars of some of the most memorable baseball-themed films.

A Confessional Documentary is a 1-minute long short film directed by noted film critic Gene Siskel, originally shown alongside his partner Roger Ebert's short film (Citizen Yuppie) on the 1987 broadcast of their annual Holiday Gift Guide program. It was shot entirely on a (then-new) Fisher Price PixelVision PXL2000 low-fidelity camcorder in monochrome on compact audio cassette, inspiring Richard Linklater to utilize the same technique in his 1991 feature SLACKER. The film recontextualizes the image of Roger Ebert's face to provide some humorous jabs at the nature of film criticism.

A Confessional Documentary is a 1-minute long short film directed by noted film critic Gene Siskel, originally shown alongside his partner Roger Ebert's short film (Citizen Yuppie) on the 1987 broadcast of their annual Holiday Gift Guide program. It was shot entirely on a (then-new) Fisher Price PixelVision PXL2000 low-fidelity camcorder in monochrome on compact audio cassette, inspiring Richard Linklater to utilize the same technique in his 1991 feature SLACKER. The film recontextualizes the image of Roger Ebert's face to provide some humorous jabs at the nature of film criticism.