More than 20 years of reviews by film critics Roger Ebert, Richard Roeper and the late Gene Siskel are now available on the internet.

Clips of the reviews from the television shows Siskel & Ebert At The Movies and Ebert & Roeper have been archived on a website.

Film critic Roger Ebert, seen here at his home in April, says he's 'exhilarated' by the 5,000 TV clips archived online. Ebert is still recovering from cancer surgery.
(Chicago Sun-Times/Dom Najolia/Associated Press)

"For years, this was a dream," Ebert said in a statement. "Now I am exhilarated that it is a reality, thanks to the enormous effort of digitizing something like 1,000 programs."

The site is being touted as the largest online collection of video-based movie reviews. Searches are possible by movie title, director or actor, with 5,000 lively discussions between the reviewers.

"It is always fascinating to go back and see what was being said about a film before it opened," said Ebert.

Ebert and Siskel, who died in 1999, were known for their sharp verbal spars. They coined the phrase "two thumbs up" if a movie got high marks from them both. The show won seven Primetime Emmys.

Ebert is the Chicago Sun-Times movie reviewer, while Siskel wrote for the Chicago Tribune.

Roeper, also a reviewer for the Sun-Times, took over Siskel's chair in 2000.

The 65-year-old Ebert, who is still recovering from a 2006 surgery for cancer, has been temporarily replaced by a host of guest reviewers including Jay Leno, director Peter Bogdanovich and New York Times critic A.O. Scott.

The writer, who is unable to speak until he undergoes another surgery, said he hopes to return soon to his hosting duties on the show, now in its 32nd year.

With files from the Associated Press