I'm on a director binge watching spree these days. I just finished watching Stanley Kubrick's films, and I wanted to tackle Steven Spielberg's movies next. Some of his films have become a huge part of my childhood, from Indiana Jones and Hook to Saving Private Ryan and Bridge of Spies.
Spielberg has a very eclectic filmography ranging from child-friendly to serious. Whenever I get to know a particular artist, I tend to devour his or her each and every work. At the same time, I feel the inclination to check out Spielberg's best films as sort of a refresher course slash a binge for the uninitiated. Hence the question: where do I start?
Hello,
(Apologies if this isn't allowed--I've seen similar posts and believe this is okay)
Lights to Low is a filmography podcast in which we survey the works, film by film, of some of our favorite directors. We started with Steven Spielberg.
We currently have seven episodes available: Duel through E.T. We are releasing new episodes roughly every week and a half. In our earlier episodes, we were learning to find our tempo in both conversation and audio quality, so bear with us as we progress.
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Both Scorsese and Spielberg are probably the two greatest current living directors. Which one is the best?
Martin Scorsese films: The Age of Innocence,Bringing Out the Dead,The King of Comedy, After Hours, Who's That Knocking at My Door, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, The Color of Money, The Last Temptation of Christ, Goodfellas, Cape Fear, Casino, Gangs of New York, The Aviator, The Departed, Shutter Island, Hugo, Wolf of Wall Street
Steven Spielberg: A.I. Artificial Intelligence, The Terminal, Amistad, Hook, Poltergeist, Duel, The Sugarland Express, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, The Color Purple, Empire of the Sun, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, Jurassic Park, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystall Skull, War Horse, Schindler's List, Saving Private Ryan, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, War of the Worlds, The Lost World:Jurassic Park, Munich, The Adventures of Tintin, Lincoln, Bridge of Spies, BFG.
Maybe everyone always / already knew this, but wow Spielberg has like 3-4 writing credits across his entire filmography?? That is wild to me for a few reasons. I always thought of him as an auteur (even if he is the og maker of blockbuster type films) and so many of his films have that patented Spielberg feel and sentimentality to them that i guess i always just figured he wrote the films to get that sentimentality and feel into his films, but I guess not - maybe that's even more impressive in some ways that he can create such a signature style without writing the films. Did spielberg have a writing partner that wrote most of his films to help make that signature style?
Then again, Scorsese also didn't write many of his films - though he had paul schrader as a writing partner for his big early hits. But now i am thinking do all these really famous 'auteur' directors of old not write the films that made them famous? I feel like modern day directors that think of themselves as "auteurs" almost exclusively write the films they direct, but i could be wrong on that as well.
(This all started because someone told me today their friends uncle wrote saving private ryan and i was like nooo wayyyyy - but he was right lol)
Steven Spielberg, a Hollywood titan synonymous with larger-than-life spectacle, cherishes the big-screen experience and traditional movie theaters.
"I want to see the survival of movie theaters. I want the theatrical experience to remain relevant in our culture," he told The New York Times in 2019.
But in a clear sign of the times, Spielberg's company, Amblin Partners, announced Monday it has signed a multiyear deal to make feature films annually for the streaming powerhouse Netflix.
Amblin, named for a 1968 short film by Spielberg, will continue to make movies for Universal Pictures. In recent years, Universal distributed high-profile Amblin projects such as "Green Book" and "1917." (Universal Pictures is a unit of NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.)
“At Amblin, storytelling will forever be at the center of everything we do, and from the minute Ted and I started discussing a partnership, it was abundantly clear that we had an amazing opportunity to tell new stories together and reach audiences in new ways,” Spielberg said in a statement Monday, referring to Ted Sarandos, the co-chief executive of Netflix.
The agreement does not specifically mention that Spielberg will direct movies for Netflix, although Variety said that was a possibility. Spielberg's next project is a remake of the classic musical "West Side Story" that will debut theatrically in December via the Disney-owned label 20th Century Studios.
The deal represents a major victory for Netflix, which needs A-list talent on its roster to fend off growing competition from streaming rivals such as Disney Plus and grow its base of more than 200 million global subscribers. The pact also signals that Spielberg's alleged feud with Netflix has cooled — or perhaps that the rift was overstated in the first place.
In early 2019, Spielberg was reportedly looking to propose rule changes that would bar movies that are mainly distributed on digital platforms from competing at the Academy Awards. The reports created the impression that the Oscar-winning director was anti-streaming.
**But in the end, the celebrated filmmaker behind "Schindler's List" and "Jurassic Park" did no
... keep reading on reddit ➡I recently watched Minority Report, I hadn't seen it in 15 years or so. Great movie. Except for that ultra shiny, ultra glowy, hazy effect that makes you feel high while you're watching it. If you don't know what I mean, it's hard to explain but watch 5 minutes of the film and you'll understand.
Then I watched War of the Worlds. Similar thing. Not as much as Minority Report, but you can definitely see it. And then I remembered A.I. being similar (though I haven't seen it since it came out) and even Catch Me If You Can and the questionable Indiana Jones film from 2008 having scenes like this.
This is highly subjective, but I have to say, I am not a fan. It's too distracting, almost looks cartoonish at times. Minority Report is definitely the worst offender. It's like J J Abrams' lens flares. I guess, like J J, Spielberg eventually realized it didn't look good and stopped doing it.
Edit: Some of you are suggesting this is a result of the technology at the time. No guys, it's definitely very intentional, it's only Spielberg films and it's a very specific effect, especially in Minority Report and War of the Worlds. In his other films of the time, it's only select scenes, but in the former 2 it's the whole thing and it's very distracting. I think he thought it would look futuristic or "enchanting" in some way.
The director's cut.
I recently re-watched 1941. I think it's been recently reissued or remastered or rediscovered or something. I went in with an open mind. The opening just killed me. I know it's a cheap joke. They used the same actress that was in Jaws. I thought it was hilarious. Then there's Belushi. He's just awesome in this movie. Physical comedy at its best. There's only one problem. The movie is bad. It's really bad. Everyone knows it's bad. Spielberg disowned the movie while it was still in the editing room.
But for me this illustrates the complex relationship that comedy movies have with serious cinema and serious film criticism. This movie is terrible but I really enjoyed it. Some of the jokes are hilarious. Most of the time I'm just laughing at how bad it is. I think Spielberg hates it because it's flawed. But it's a comedy. The flaws just make it funnier. After a while it can get a bit tedious. It's obvious and predictable. The script and acting are terrible. But that's OK because it's a comedy. I can easily go back and rewatch it many times over.
I think comedies should be put in a special category from traditional serious cinema. Not in the way that garbage Hollywood blockbusters are separate from serious cinema but in a category of films that can still be great even if they're bad.
I've always had a difficult time thinking of Mel Brooks as an auteur. It's difficult for me to put his films in the same category of the French New Wave or Italian Neo-realism. His bad movies are just as good as his good movies. Space Balls is just eh? But I could enjoy it just as much as Blazing Saddles. I'm not even sure we need to put these silly comedies into the category of guilty pleasures. I think they need a different form of film criticism and analysis. I think they can stand up to a formal criticism that accepts its flaws and cheap jokes. A structure of criticism that views the film as a whole and celebrate as it deconstructs the film's flaws.
We don't even need to go anywhere near Jerry Lewis. It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad world is a terrible movie, but I love it. Everyone loves it. It's absolutely awesome. The "kick the bucket" gag is so dreadful and obvious, but that's whats so great about it. That movie is nowhere near serious film criticism, but it's like the greatest movie ever made. I think we can really build a new type of formal film criticism for these awesome classic comedies.
