yes
― Patriotic Goiter (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Saturday, 14 November 2020 15:55 (three years ago) link
He did better, though.
Close Encounters is great and def not boring
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 14 November 2020 15:55 (three years ago) link
It's a solid balance of generally (but not really) boring and broadly wonderful, imo. Lots of good stuff, def. iconic, though iirc there are three (!) different cuts floating around, a la Blade Runner, just to make things confusing.
― Josh in Chicago, Saturday, 14 November 2020 15:56 (three years ago) link
Close Encounters is the best, it will not disappoint
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 14 November 2020 17:31 (three years ago) link
It's held up very well on a couple of rewatches.
― scampo-phenique (WmC), Saturday, 14 November 2020 17:52 (three years ago) link
The decision to take one of the singular cartoon art styles of the 20th century and turn it into an ugly point-and-click PC adventure interface is heartbreaking, but apart from that it’s pretty enjoyable and funny
― Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 14 November 2020 18:18 (three years ago) link
It's alright, but it bears very little resemblance to Tintin.
I've never seen CE3K either.
I think the most recent Spielberg I've fully enjoyed in Lincoln.
― chap, Saturday, 14 November 2020 18:21 (three years ago) link
Close Encounters is great but there is a lot of shouting
Coincidentally I just watched Spielberg’s Columbo episode for the first time and it is FABULOUS
― Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 14 November 2020 18:22 (three years ago) link
OK! I'll watch Close Encounters, ty!
― flamboyant goon tie included, Saturday, 14 November 2020 18:27 (three years ago) link
Yes, it is great but also if for no other reason you need to see Close Encounters for the visual stylings of Douglas (2001, Blade Runner, Star Trek: TMP, Tree of Life) Trumbull.
― Some dads are not YOUR dad (Old Lunch), Saturday, 14 November 2020 18:50 (three years ago) link
Would happily watch Close Encounters again, don't think I'll ever put my eyes thru Tintin
― big man on scampus (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 14 November 2020 19:00 (three years ago) link
i can't argue with anyone who thinks it's a huge disservice to Hergé. as a kids' adventure movie i found it lively, colorful and engaging, like Hugo without the thematic weight. in terms of tech experiments it's four thousand miles ahead of Zemeckis's experiments in this vein.
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 14 November 2020 19:16 (three years ago) link
It's definitely a trend thing, the BBC showed a butt-ugly CGI Watership Down a couple of years back and I bailed on that after the first episode
― big man on scampus (Noodle Vague), Saturday, 14 November 2020 19:18 (three years ago) link
The thing I love about Close Encounters is it burrows inside the “i want to believe” vibe in a way that is weirdly endearing? like theres a lot of shouting and driving and running and legit craziness in a practical sense but Spielberg is v good at passing on that inherent wonder at the heart of it all that you get drawn into it somehow anyway maybe just me? i stan v hard for spielberg anywayalso: it looks SO fucking greati want mr veg and i to dress up as Dreyfuss and Devil’s Mountain for a future halloween
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 14 November 2020 19:19 (three years ago) link
The ATC scene in Close Encounters is one of my favourite scenes of any movie.
― Maresn3st, Saturday, 14 November 2020 19:20 (three years ago) link
you're not alone Veg! inherent wonder is the real engine of that movie. my first viewing as an adult was a couple years ago when it got a mini theatrical rerelease, and those early nighttime road scenes were what really drew me in. magic.
― Doctor Casino, Saturday, 14 November 2020 19:29 (three years ago) link
Also, as someone who is a little hot and cold on John Williams scores for Spielberg movies, Close Encounters is one of the undeniable greats.
― On average, this critic grades 8.3 points lower than other critics (Eric H.), Saturday, 14 November 2020 19:37 (three years ago) link
What’s the version to see - the original?
― Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 14 November 2020 19:57 (three years ago) link
My favourite Williams score is Temple of Doom, so lush!
xp
― chap, Saturday, 14 November 2020 19:58 (three years ago) link
started to comment on boringness or not of Close Encounters, thought to "show all messages":
"probably essential to see on a theater screen for full impact anyway."saw CE3K on VHS as a kid and found it super boringsaw a 35mm print of the remaster done for Blu-ray at Cinefamily in 2013, and fell asleep halfway through― glandular lansbury (sic), Friday, February 5, 2016 12:00 PM (four years ago) it feels so endless― Οὖτις, Friday, February 5, 2016 12:02 PM (four years ago)
saw CE3K on VHS as a kid and found it super boring
saw a 35mm print of the remaster done for Blu-ray at Cinefamily in 2013, and fell asleep halfway through
― glandular lansbury (sic), Friday, February 5, 2016 12:00 PM (four years ago)
it feels so endless
― Οὖτις, Friday, February 5, 2016 12:02 PM (four years ago)
his Columbo is dope fr though
― @oneposter (⛰️) (sic), Saturday, 14 November 2020 20:02 (three years ago) link
fractions homework truly the quiet winner for best scenequick brad there are thousands of lives at stake https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5aPvAndPpI
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 14 November 2020 20:03 (three years ago) link
I saw the Spielberg Columbo recently and...it was okay? Not that it was bad but it was m/l just another episode of Columbo. Which (again) is good not bad! But it wasn't particularly Spielbegian (or proto-Spielbergian, to the extent that he was still acquiring a style).Best TV Spielberg is probably his WWII Amazing Stories episode. It inches right up to his mid-'80s super saccharine tendencies (see: his installment of Twilight Zone: The Movie) but remains on the more favorable side of that line.
― Some dads are not YOUR dad (Old Lunch), Saturday, 14 November 2020 20:48 (three years ago) link
NV otm ant the visual hideousness of Tintin - frustratingly, the animated credits are actually quite nice. Also thought it was a mistake to mash together two different Tintin stories and then go for a generic action movie ending. Just feels like Spielberg doesn't trust the material, or understand it - American cultural imperialism at its most embarrassing.
― Ward Fowler, Saturday, 14 November 2020 20:50 (three years ago) link
Rewatch the opening shot again, OL - that's as technically / storytellingly impressive as anything in Raiders, and done by a 23yo nobody.
(The murder/cleanup shown as a split-screen in Robert Culp's glasses in the "next" episode is even more astounding.)
― @oneposter (⛰️) (sic), Saturday, 14 November 2020 20:54 (three years ago) link
I've seen a bit of Tintin across a bar with the sound off, and it's absolutely repulsive, though looks like the virtual "camera"work would be impressive if it were possible to actually keep your eyes on the screen.
― @oneposter (⛰️) (sic), Saturday, 14 November 2020 20:55 (three years ago) link
opening shot scene, but the first shot is ridonkulous
― @oneposter (⛰️) (sic), Saturday, 14 November 2020 21:02 (three years ago) link
I liked Tintin
― flamboyant goon tie included, Saturday, 14 November 2020 21:26 (three years ago) link
same!
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Saturday, 14 November 2020 21:47 (three years ago) link
The opening shot is great, but Jack Cassidy is just so memorably suave and repulsive. Spielberg isn't the main draw!
There is *so much* that could've been better with Tintin but it's just fun and the voice acting and script are great
― Chuck_Tatum, Saturday, 14 November 2020 22:12 (three years ago) link
it's been a few years since i saw it, but i remember it matching sic's description - just a nice sprinkling of shots where he went the extra mile and got something very very "cinematic" for 70s TV, even for a "movie of the week" show like Columbo. it's also the first non-pilot episode - so if it's a generic Columbo maybe it helped set the tone?
― Doctor Casino, Sunday, 15 November 2020 01:09 (three years ago) link
Tintin is interesting until the awful smash bang explosions ending but yeah I feel he was completely clueless about what made Hergé tick.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Sunday, 15 November 2020 06:24 (three years ago) link
And CE3K is all-time. Ignore the haters.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Sunday, 15 November 2020 06:25 (three years ago) link
I feel he was completely clueless about what made Hergé tick.
I'd guess Herge would have hated it.
― chap, Sunday, 15 November 2020 20:26 (three years ago) link
I suppose someone mentioned this at some point, but I can't find anything.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CbUM27qw6a8
Obvious first reaction: why?
― clemenza, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 02:07 (three years ago) link
Yeah, I love Spielberg, but this might be just the fourth movie of his I have absolutely no interest in seeing.
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 02:43 (three years ago) link
That burnished neon look Spielberg and Kaminski have been using since - I dunno - "Big Fat Giant" or something is distractingly ugly. Why? I realize it's more Kaminski's aesthetic than anything but it's awful.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Tuesday, 27 April 2021 06:50 (three years ago) link
I'm guessing that part of the why for this one is the original movie casting of Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer as Puerto Ricans.
― Ward Fowler, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 08:00 (three years ago) link
The only thing he's done in the last decade I've liked is Lincoln. Haven't seen The Post but not particularly interested to.
― chap, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 08:14 (three years ago) link
It's good! Lotta folks liked "Bridge of Spies," too (I haven't ever gotten around to it, but plan to). Fwiw, my short list of skips have been "Always," "The Terminal," "War Horse" and "BFG," though I could imagine one day sitting down and watching all but "BFG."
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 12:00 (three years ago) link
War Horse is about as 1948 as it gets, but (or so, maybe) I enjoyed it.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 12:05 (three years ago) link
Misread that as "about as *1941* as it gets" and I was confused! I briefly thought, wait, I thought it was supposed to be a somewhat mawkish drama?
― Josh in Chicago, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 12:20 (three years ago) link
“War Horse” ( the most John Ford-iest of Spielbergs) and “Lincoln” are the last two most memorable ones for me.
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Tuesday, 27 April 2021 12:25 (three years ago) link
Lincoln holds up.
― So who you gonna call? The martini police (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 27 April 2021 12:42 (three years ago) link
i'll defend Tintin, but not in a sustained or committed way.
― Bobo Honk, real name, no gimmicks (Doctor Casino), Tuesday, 27 April 2021 13:10 (three years ago) link
Going to be terribly on brand here and say the 1961 version is a tad overrated and sign me right up for the Spielberg take.
― avatar of a kind of respectability homosexual culture (Eric H.), Tuesday, 27 April 2021 13:41 (three years ago) link
Yeah I think I agree. I watch West Side Story for the color and movement - the prospect of Spielberg doing a lush kinetic big-budget dance movie, even if it turns out to be pointless I'm sure at the very least it will look and sound very good. Maybe its a low bar but after a year of pandemic nightmare idgaf, I'll pay 12 bucks to see his take on that.
Bridge of Spies and The Post are both perfectly fine middlebrow Hollywood popcorn, fun & worth watching once if you dont hate Spielberg and/or Hanks. Agree that Lincoln holds up, rewatched it recently and I think I like it a lot.
― nobody like my rap (One Eye Open), Tuesday, 27 April 2021 14:05 (three years ago) link
Ranking post-Munich Spielberg:
Lincoln (2012)Bridge of Spies (2015)War Horse (2011)-------Ready Player One (2018)The Post (2017)-------Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
I did not see Tintin or BFG.
― avatar of a kind of respectability homosexual culture (Eric H.), Tuesday, 27 April 2021 14:15 (three years ago) link
It's not even that I think the original is great and sacrosanct, it's more that it feels definitively of its moment, both for better and worse. But Ward Fowler's point above makes sense.
― clemenza, Tuesday, 27 April 2021 14:17 (three years ago) link
Richard Beymer wasn't playing a Puerto Rican, FTR.
― avatar of a kind of respectability homosexual culture (Eric H.), Tuesday, 27 April 2021 14:20 (three years ago) link