Amph The Style of Spielberg

What's that ludicrous Kael quote about Spielberg? Something about how he used to be a "boy soprano lilting with joy?"

Anyway, one of the things that Spielberg is most about is the 'father' relationship. Check his films; it's in almost all of them.

 

Never heard that quote before.

And yes, it's the parent-child relationship that fascinates him. Can you remember a film of his that's actually about a relationship between a man and woman? Because I can't.

 

Always?

 

and that's with Richard Dreyfus as well -

re: Close Encounters - my entire family loved the original version but the special edition really took a lot of the heart out of the film for me, choosing to focus so much on the arguing parents, where the wife is screaming at her husband constantly plus they eliminated the mountain of mashed potatoes becoming the huge replica in the living room...and...Richard's character "borrowing" the chicken wire, thus releasing the pet ducks/chickens of the neighbors, to construct that Devil's Tower in the living room. I did like the additional scenes at the beginning where we saw something mystical was happening all over the world but I actually didn't like adding the scenes where we board the spaceship - I much preferred imagining what that was like -

and "When you wish upon a star" is in the film, but via TV.

another special spot: that Steven cast Truffant ~ I'm so sorry he's no longer with us.

 

Tremendous credit needs to be given to director of photography Vilmos Zsigmond for his work with Steven on both THE SUGARLAND EXPRESS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND.

Spielberg's demands on a DP are HUGE. He endlessly comes up with
inventive and technically difficult shots that are a pain to do,
involving all kinds of issues relating to focus, camera movement,
etc. Vilmos met the challenge on both movies beautifully, and on
CE 3K, he not only gave the film a GREAT look, but he also had the
challenges of working with the special efx team and trying to match up
his work with theirs. If memory serves me correctly, Vilmos won an
Academy Award for his work on CE3K, and it was richly deserved.

A good example of shot that looks simple on the screen but was hard to
do is at the base camp at Devil's Tower Wyoming when the people are sitting
in the helicopter and the camera PULLS THROUGH THE HELICOPTER and comes
out the other side. The amount of space in the helicopter is very limited,
and pulling a camera from exterior to interior, then back to exterior creates lighting
exposure issues. It worked beautifully but I've read it was a huge pain to do.
But that's what makes Spielberg a special director. (That shot would be easier to
do today, but at the time, it was a challenge.)

(Vilmos also did awesome work on the Deer Hunter.)

 

Indeed, but no longer in the score.

 

Which is again a travesty. One of Williams' finest moments, that quote. Beauty beyond measure.

Is it still on the newest CD release?

 

Agreed. I still haven't seen it in-film, only heard it on my copy of the score. Which I believe is the latest edition, Rogue, if that answers your question.

 

I think Spielberg's work with Cary Guffey in CLOSE ENCOUNTERS was phenomenal.
It was foreshadowing for how great his work would be with kids in E.T., Empire
of the Sun and Artificial Intelligence.

 

Yes, speaking of his work with kids, I just watched "Empire of the Sun". Christian Bale was phenomenal.

 

Too bad none of this transferred over to Hook.

 

The kids in Hook were fine.

 

Spielberg generally knows how to direct children; perhaps because he has more than a few in real life.

 

Hook was off though, that's for sure.

 

I still haven't seen 'Hook'.


Perhaps it is time that this thread got a new film to talk about.

 

Hook is a good film to watch, but Jack and Maggie's characters are really uninteresting to me, and it might have been a bit more enjoyable if the kids actually killed more than two pirates, and bumping it up to a PG13 rating.

 

On to 1941!

[image=http://optimusfilms.20m.com/directors/ss/w.1941.jpg]

Generally considered to be by far Spielberg's worst movie, the film was a modest box office success, however it has been deemed as a flop in comparison to Spielberg's two previous movies: Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The film's premise deals with the aftermath of the Pearl Harbor attacks and a panic-stricken Los Angeles. Hillarity (or lack thereof) pursues.

A couple little facts for everyone: After the movie's release, Stanley Kubrick told Spielberg that he should ahve marketed it as a drama.

Both John Wayne and Charlton Heston were offered the role of General Stilwell. Wayne phoned director Steven Spielberg, who had given him the script, and not only turned it down due to ill health but tried to get Spielberg to drop the project. Wayne felt it was unpatriotic and a slap in the face to WWII vets. Heston is thought to have turned it down for the same reasons.

Having watched this movie recently, it's the only Spielberg movie I've come to loathe. Unfunny. Boring. Painful to watch.

Discuss.

 

This is Spielberg trying to be John Landis, because if there's a movie this actively resembles, it's "The Blues Brothers". And like that movie, there are some good things: the USO dance sequence and the ferris wheel bit; but farce takes an extremely sure hand and intimate knowledge of comedy techniques to carry off successfully. Spielberg later admitted that the production got away from him--no kidding. Like "The Blues Brothers" the whole thing is overscaled and very cartoon-like, and without the turn-on-a-dime technique necessary, it often just seems loud.

A misfire. A very well-made misfire.

 

This is Spielberg trying to be John Landis, because if there's a movie this actively resembles, it's "The Blues Brothers". And like that movie, there are some good things: the USO dance sequence and the ferris wheel bit; but farce takes an extremely sure hand and intimate knowledge of comedy techniques to carry off successfully. Spielberg later admitted that the production got away from him--no kidding. Like "The Blues Brothers" the whole thing is overscaled and very cartoon-like, and without the turn-on-a-dime technique necessary, it often just seems loud.

A misfire. A very well-made misfire.

You're right that entire USO sequence was superbly filmed. Spielberg definitely
knows his movie history. I also liked the stuff with Christopher Lee and Slim Pickens on the Japanese sub. Robert Stack turns in a great performance.

I agree Zaz. Quite possibly one of the most professionally crafted and produced
failures in Hollywood history. Of course by that time, Spielberg could command
the biggest budgets and the best production talent of any director.

I thought it resembled It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World to some extent.

 

Next up, the big one: Raiders of the Lost

[image=http://uashome.alaska.edu/~jndfg20/website/raiders.jpg]

Easily one of the best and most influential adventure films of all time. The collaboration between Lucas and Spielberg is historic, and considering the demand for a fourth Raiders film, you can bet that this film is now ingrained in the American film canon and will pass the test of time to be one of Spielberg's classics.

Had Spielberg followed up 1941 with another disappointment, he'd have to struggle and probably go back to a more Jaws-like thriller (see the position M. Night Shyamalan is in right now). In my opinion, this, along with its follow-up E.T. the Extra-terrestrial, is what catapulted Spielberg from a very good filmmaker to a very great filmmaker.

Discuss.

 

I would agree. He has had the ability to sustain a career, and a rare ability it is these days.

This is a sinfully enjoyable movie.

 

This is absolutely brilliant. One of my all-time favourite films. From the iconic rolling boulder to the hilarious way Indy disposes of the sword-wielder, to the great fight on the tarmac... it's just perfect. Also, the girl in this one is by far the greatest Indy-girl.

Just raw, unadulterated fun.

 

The punch, it's all about the punch.

It sounds like someone smacking a slab of meat with a baseball bat.

 

it is a perfect film from start to finish. seemingly every scene is iconic, as is every line.