Steven Spielberg - classic or dud

BABIES SMELL

idk Laura Dern and Sam Neil recede into the background if I'm being sinister, or, if I'm feeling generous, are exactly the precise second-tier non-stars (in 1993) a director would want in such a spectacle.

lol god xp

i mean w/Spielberg, imagine how the scene with Indiana Jones, Brody, and the two military intelligence agents at the beginning of Raiders would have been written and directed by the end of the decade. If the Spielberg who made Last Crusade had been in the chair. That's a scene which is eerie, zero comedy, a couple of gov't agents out of their depth who nonetheless aren't dumb and willing to listen to what these two guys have to tell them.

i get what you're saying alfred, i think you're likely more forgiving of some of that than i am, to your credit.

That's a great observation, his ability to put across a scene so silly and pulpy as something that should be taken seriously is a gift. It started with Jaws, really.

what i like about the scene is it's a little naturalistically sloppy. the guys talk over one another, some interruptions, there are these very subtle shots which really make it work thoroughly (the quick side-eye Porkins in the background gives Indy while he's thinking, facing away from the camera, in the foreground. Indy getting psyched talking about the Staff of Ra and Brody smiling, looking at him, approvingly and seeing his excitement about the upcoming quest. the perfect moment for the John Williams score to make an appearance as the agents look at the depiction of the ark unleashing its power.

And if we're to the point of saying Flags of Our Fathers is superior to Saving Private Ryan, sorry, disembarking this train

Letters from Iwo Jima & Flags of Our Fathers (you can't split them apart), but again, not a fan of Saving Private Ryan regardless.

You can absolutely sever Letters From Iwo Jima from Flags of Our Fathers. The former feels like a movie from a different filmmaker, and it’s immeasurably superior to the latter

dern's performance in JP is all mumbles, chuckles, little asides to herself, thinking out loud, thinking silently, laughter of various kinds (fond, knowing, anxious), remaining half-inside conversations while pulled half-outside by something she's professionally obsessed with, and finally: screaming. imo it does manage to be competitive with the guy who says "hitler's a NUT!"

book actually had the balls to kill Hammond though which the movie didn't.

these are two different characters with the same name: one is a cartoon villain created only to be killed and the other is a tragic self-portrait

xxp respectfully disagree - as mentioned, one of the core ideas of the film is needed to address the power cinema has in re-writing history, something Iwo Jima has been criticized for by its detractors.

Hammond in the book is i believe fairly megalomaniacal, rather than the wrongheaded avuncular guy in over his head. i don't disagree btw that Laura Dern is a better actor in JP than the fella with the pipe in ROTLA, especially when it's put like that, but i think the overall execution of the latter film is very gripping in ways that JP is not with use of character. i won't dispute the sheer entertainment value of JP obv.

Classic

Amazing how Spielberg has always gotten all the credit for his cinematographer's work

— Russ (@Russ__ATX) December 19, 2023

lol, not that stupid response, this:

on Spielberg's birthday thinking about one of his hardest-ever shots pic.twitter.com/mG7FiZQCB3

— Brendan Hodges (@metaplexmovies) December 18, 2023

brb, double checking to make sure I didn't accidentally follow that first poster

Isn't that a variation on his famous shot in Jaws?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolly_zoom

It is, but there's a lot more going on in terms of movement, framing, etc. Especially when the camera pulls back behind the *other* camera.

I'd never seen "Bridge of Spies" before, but I think I really love Spielberg in this sort of ... I guess almost post-modern mode. The movie has the rhythm and vibe of a classic '40s film - much of it I could imagine Academy aspect ratio and black and white - yet is filled with virtuoso Spielberg shots and modern FX and other more contemporary trademarks. He's been in this mode for a bunch of movies in a row, since "War Horse" more or less, with his weaker recent stuff (The BFG, Ready Player One) the conspicuous exceptions/deviations.

I think I mentioned on the relative thread that I bet Spielberg could have made a compelling version of "Killers of the Flower Moon."