National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1/The Cemetery Club/Sommersby/The Vanishing/Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

Roger Ebert - Host: The basic story of "The Vanishing", as I've outlined, it can make a great thriller, and it DID make a great thriller four years ago, when a French and Dutch language version of this plot was created by George Sluizer. Now, the same director is back to do this English language remake, and the result is a travesty. Instead of the elegant, cruel logic of the ending in the original movie, this Hollywood version has been turned into an anthology of cheap slasher movie cliches. For anyone who admired the original film, the ending of this one is almost obscene, suggesting, I think, that cool irony may be all right for the Europeans, but we dumb Americans are such dumb-witted Philistines that we need a dumb slasher plot with a happy ending. This movie is an insult to the intelligence.

Gene Siskel - Host: Well, I didn't care for it, and let's deal with it just on its own basis...

Roger Ebert - Host: Okay.

Gene Siskel - Host: ...If you haven't seen the other picture. Um...

Roger Ebert - Host: But even more so than Martin Guerre in the other film, this is the same story by the same director...

Gene Siskel - Host: Okay.

Roger Ebert - Host: So he made it once the way...

Gene Siskel - Host: Okay.

Roger Ebert - Host: ...He wanted to make it, and now he comes to America and he cheapens it for us.

Gene Siskel - Host: Okay, but let's, again, for the average...

Roger Ebert - Host: Okay.

Gene Siskel - Host: ...Person who is gonna see this picture, they're not gonna like it...

Roger Ebert - Host: The average person is gonna see a BETTER movie if they see the original!

Gene Siskel - Host: Of course they...

Roger Ebert - Host: Why should the average person even see this?

Gene Siskel - Host: There's no reason whatsoever.

Roger Ebert - Host: Okay.

Gene Siskel - Host: I don't LIKE film, maybe you're confused about that.

Roger Ebert - Host: Okay, I understand.

Gene Siskel - Host: I'm still trying to get that opinion out here.

Roger Ebert - Host: Go right ahead.

Gene Siskel - Host: Calm down, big boy, calm down.