Pilot - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Self Service, Mr. Quilp, Conduct Unbecoming

Just watched on the new site-siskel&ebert.org-the very first time that Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, film critics of the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, respectively, appeared on television together for the first time on a local hometown public station called WTTW in a program called "Opening Soon at a Theatre Near You". Among the movies reviewed which they saw at the recently ended Chicago Film Festival: One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest which they both liked because of Jack Nicholson's performance but they also thought might have depended too much on him. They next talk about animator Bruno Bozzetto's short Self Service which they thought had more imagination than whatever live-action films were playing at the time. The film showcased after that was Anthony Newley's musical called Mr. Quilp which they also enjoyed. After that, they talked about the British drama Conduct Unbecoming which neither was too enthused about especially when the villain took so long to be revealed. All had clips that showcased them. I liked the Self Service one the best. Then they discussed individually, without clips, what their picks of films currently playing was: Gene's was Dog Day Afternoon, Roger's Hearts of the West. Finally, with the sound effect of a dog barking, was their individual Dog of the Month (this program was originally aired once a month) of which Gene's was Lisztomania (which Roger disagreed with) while Ebert's was Mahogany. Throughout, sitting on regular chairs (not theatre seats though those were on display as well) in front of a screen, Siskel & Ebert, while holding notepads in front of them, discussed their opinions in a calm manner as opposed to their more passionate stances in later years. Oh, and Gene here has a mustache! In summation, this initial appearance of these two icons is quite historically interesting if not quite as lively to watch otherwise. Still, I'd give this thumbs up to anyone interested in this sort of thing. By the way, saying "thumbs up" or "thumbs down" isn't used here nor is the "yes" or "no" votes they'd later used on "Sneak Previews".