Great Director

Steven Spielberg

7-4-2008

He has been accused of being overly sentimental. He is considered one of the nicest guys around, so long as you don’t ask him about his politics. He is arguably the most successful director of all time (financially of course). He’s created some of cinemas biggest money-making franchises, as well as some of cinemas most treasured classics (that also happen to be financially successful in their own right). He is the one and only Steven Spielberg. Oh sure, don’t get me wrong; Spielberg has always been “the man” to many of us who watch movies. Heck, a guy who winds up being more popular BEHIND the camera then the actors on the screen is someone who deserves respect! Not only has he made many of cinemas classic films, he was the first director in a long time to build a movie studio from scratch in the form of Dreamworks (even if it was sold to Paramount in one of the stupidest deals in movie history).

So what is it that makes Spielberg movies so popular? Well, believe it or not, it’s not style. Spielberg films, with an exception here and there, actually look bland on the surface. In an ironic turn of events, most of Spielberg’s films look like they could be directed by anyone. His films are not popular because of gimmicks. Truth be told, you could walk out of a Spielberg film and make almost no connections from it to any of his other films. What makes Spielberg films worth investing in is the fact that most of them are really, really good. In fact, almost all of these movies, even the ones that aren’t classics, are very enjoyable in their own right. Case in point, Spielberg’s first film was “Duel,” a movie starring Dennis Weaver in 1971 about a lone man getting into road rage with a diesel truck in the desert.

The story really ends there, but as anyone who has seen the film can tell you, the movie provides the thrills and excitement that is needed to keep an audience entertained. Nice small touches that make the movie work even better are the fact that the truck looks downright sinister, and you never do see the drivers face. The suspense in this movie is nail biting. Spielberg even did little things behind the scenes, like grease the truck every morning and film the scenes in order, that added extra layers of depth that may not be noticable to the average viewer. Sound like a great cinematic experience? Well, it would make great cinema, except for the fact that this is actually a TV movie. The quality of the movie was good enough that it got a theatrical release internationally, but American’s discovered Spielberg in the comfort of their own living rooms, watching TV with the family. This is fitting, since Spielberg would eventually make some of the best family films of all time, with some of the most coveted VHS and DVD’s around.

Shortly after making a small splash on TV, Spielberg would make a big splash in theaters with “JAWS,” a movie that not only created a fear of the ocean, but was reason for the creation of the “Summer Blockbuster.” The film went on to get nominated for several Academy Awards in 1975, including Best Picture. Not a man to miss a beat, Spielberg then made the first of several alien movies, with “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.” Though most science fiction portrayed aliens as being hostile, this was the first time where aliens came off as friendly and curious creatures (though, to the films credit, the audience is unaware of this for most of the film). Though critically and commercially successful, there was some disappointment that the audiences didn’t get to see the aliens in the film once discovered they were friendly.

Spielberg rectified this with his most personal film “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.” Though very successful before, “E.T.” introduced Spielberg as Hollywood’s golden child. A man who made films that any person, age, gender, or race would fall in love with. The movie was nominated for several Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. A year later Spielberg would team up with his best friend George Lucas, who was hot off the success from his space opera “Star Wars,” and the two teamed together to introduce the world to Indiana Jones in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” The film would garner several Academy Award nominations (including, yes, Best Picture), and create one of cinemas most iconic heros. Indiana Jones would appear in two more films, a TV series, book series, video games, and now an upcoming feature film, which finds Spielberg and Lucas re-teaming with each other again.

It was around this area that Spielberg also showed that he was as good as a producer as he was director, with a sharp eye for successful films. During the eighties Spielberg would produce (but not direct) “The Land Before Time,” “The Goonies,” “Gremlins,” “Young Sherlock Holmes,” and the “Back To The Future” trilogy. Sadly, even Spielberg could not escape controversy, and in this case it was directed towards the violent content in “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.” While some people feel this is either the best or worst installment of the Indiana Jones series, one thing that people can agree on is that the film is violent. Extremely violent. When the movie received a PG rating from the MPAA, blood was spilt as people demanded justice for a proper rating.

While the film itself was never re-rated, this controversy did result in Spielberg suggesting a new rating to be called PG-14, which eventually was announced as PG-13. Entering the nineties, Spielberg brought us “Hook,” a sequel of sorts to the famous Peter Pan story starring Robin Williams. While the movie was entertaining in it’s own strange way, many people starting to wonder whether or not Spielberg would grow up himself, and make more ambitious films. Two years later, people got their answer. In 1993 Spielberg directed both the box office blockbuster “Jurassic Park” and the holocaust drama “Schindler’s List.” In one year alone Hollywood's golden child had directed the most financially successful film of the year as well as the most artistically important film of the year.

“Schindler’s List” won several Academy Awards, including Best Picture and (finally) Best Director. And then there was a four year break from the golden child. When Spielberg returned in 1997, he returned in less then stellar fashion. The creation of his new studio Dreamworks should have been an event to praise, but people hated “The Lost World: Jurassic Park,” and Spielberg’s opus on black slavery, “Amistad,” was met with high critical praise and lukewarm reception reception at the box office. A year later though Spielberg would return with a bang, by giving the world it’s most violent World War II film to date: “Saving Private Ryan.” Though a great film in itself, much of the attention at the time was given to the first twenty minutes of the film, which starts off with the invasion of Normandy. In this violent, noisy, and gruesome opening, Spielberg finally gave people a view of the horrors of war that were previously thought impossible to portray in film.

The film earned him his second Academy Award for Best Director, though the film lost Best Picture (some would say shockingly) to John Madden’s romantic comedy “Shakespeare In Love.” In the new millennium Spielberg re-created the science fiction genre with “Minority Report,” a movie that was hailed as a masterpiece, but for some reason failed to do great business at the box office. The new millennium also saw Spielberg complete Stanley Kubrick’s unfinished project“A.I.: Artificial Intelligence,” a movie that Kubrick himself suggested Spielberg direct since the story was "more to [his] style." The movie was considered a disapointment though, and many people were unhappy with Spielberg’s choice to create a more happy ending for the film, in comparison with the scripts original, grim ending. Spielberg’s latest film in his already varied career was also his most controversial. “Munich” was Spielberg’s own, personal view of the conflict between America and Israeli terrorists.

The film also looked at other countries terrorists, and proved to be off-putting for many countries. Spielberg is to follow this film with another installment of Indiana Jones, which I’m fairly positive won’t garner much controversy. Looking through Spielberg’s films its easy to see why pinpointing his success is both easy and hard. Stylistically speaking, only “Schindler’s List” and “Saving Private Ryan” stand out as artistically striking films. The former looking like a documentary, the latter looking like a visual imagining of what war must not only look like, but what war feels like. Though many of his films feature aliens, strange creatures, and exciting chases, Spielberg films are still not known for being artistic. The only common theme in his films seems to be that of parental abandonment.

Most of his films have parents who are divorced, not involved with their child’s life, or simply aloof. Aside from this theme though, each Spielberg film is a unique experience. Though many other directors have more artistic films, and (in some cases) more impressive films, no other director manages to create works of art that can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone. Martin Scorsese is a great director but, alas, many people would feel uneasy bringing their date or child to one of his films. With Spielberg everyone is invited to the show, with a couple of rare exceptions. For these reasons alone, I chose Steven Spielberg as the first Great Director for my site.

Cream of the Crop
(In alphabetical particular order)

Not only is "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" an exciting and tense film, with great acting and writing, but near the end of the film the movie does something you didn't expect it do; it makes you imagine. Imagine that maybe, just maybe, there is life out there. It dares us to open our minds to other possibilities out there, making for a grand experience.

Though many people accuse "The Color Purple" of being manipulative and overbearing, I have to admit that I personally find it heartbreaking and touching. Though the film was nominated for eleven Academy Awards, it did not garner a Best Director nomination, and the movie was completely shunned because of controversy that many black people felt Spielberg, a white Jewish man, had no right directing a movie about a tragic black woman. Though the years have shown the movie to have flaws, it stands as an empowering and touching film about finding hope and love in the darkest days of our lives.

Considered by many to be the best family film ever made, this wonderfully directed film about a lost alien who befriends a lonely boy is one of America's all time classics, and it's easy to see why. Seen mostly through the eyes of the alien E.T., the movie is charming and touching in ways you couldn't possibly imagine.

Yeah, I consider "Jurassic Park" to be one of Spielberg's great films. Why choose this, an "animal attacks" film over other such films such as "Amistad" and "Empire of the Sun?" Simple: Speilberg recreated dinosaurs. While the film is wildly entertaining during the action sequences, the scenes that leave the biggest impact on the audience are the opening scenes, where we see dinosaurs roaming the land for the first time. Like "E.T." and "Close Encounter," these scenes spark our imaginations and get us to dream.

Though originally thought to be nothing more then a B movie, "JAWS" remains one of the greatest monster/horror movies of all time. Part of the reason this movie is so effective is because Spielberg wisely keeps the shark unseen for most of the film, playing off the audiences fears instead of scaring them with visual gimmicks (the film would have aged poorly if that had been the case). Though the shark comes off looking mechanical by todays standards, the movie is still more effective then most "animals attack" movies that have been made since.

Criminally overlooked at the box office, "Minority Report" is one of the best science fiction films you haven't seen. A film that creates a futuristic world that is unlike any other, ideas that question the moral conflicts of human nature, and characters that end up being more complicated then originally predicted. The only thing that hurts the movie is a forced "happy ending" on top of the more original and complicated ending. If not for this extension the movie might have ended on a more daring note which, in turn, may have helped at the box office. Still, it's hard to complain when the movie is daring in itself.

Easily his most controversial film, Spielberg made a film about two groups of terrorists, the men hired to killed the terrorists, and the idea that everyone's fear and hate may be their own worst enemy. Though based on a true story, Speilberg is more interested in the human conflict of the events of Munich then the politics surrounding them. Nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director, "Munich" didn't win a single Oscar but should go down in history as a great film.

While I'm sure some people will debate me on this, any movie that creates a character as iconic as Indiana Jones deserves to be on this list. Besides, the main reason we go to the movies is to have fun. And if fun is what you want, then fun is what you'll get with "Raiders of the Lost Ark." Snakes, planes, gun fights, sword fights, lost Christian artifacts, it's ALL here! All that...and a monkey to boot.

Though known mainly for it's brutal opening, "Saving Private Ryan" has a great story and characters to help keep you interested in the movie. This is a movie you might not want to watch a second time, but that's okay because the first time will leave a big enough impression to last a lifetime.

Though I list these movies in alphabetical order I have to admit that "Schindler's List" is most likely Spielberg's best film ever. With commanding performances from all the actors, to a sensitive script, to every heartbreaking moment, "Schindler's List" is not a movie you watch: It's something you experience. Deeply, madly, and truly do you experience this.

Turd In The Potpourri

I'm going to get some flack for chosing this as Spielberg's weakest film. After all, with "Hook" and "1942" out there why chose this film to be on the list? Because it's recent? Well, that's actually a big part of it. See, Spielberg has made some bad movies, but by this point in his career he should know better. By now he's directed several classics. He's won a couple of Oscars. I expect a lot from him. To get $200 million dollars and use it to have aliens blow up the world without reason or cause is a big waste in my eyes. Blowing up buildings is the easiest thing a director can do in Hollywood these days. So unless Spielberg could make blowing up buildings any more interesting he should have let this project go.