Steven Spielberg - classic or dud

Replace 'Maximum Overdrive' with 'Hook' and that tweet is basically otm.

I don't think I've seen Minority Report in 15 years. Held up better than I remembered, if only because it was so much more of a Hitchcock homage than I remembered, not just the wrong man motif, but overt references, like individual shots and set pieces. Was pretty cool, my daughter dug it.

Haven't seen since it was released, so its due for a rewatch. I suspect, however, that my main problem with the film--the ugly-as-hell cinematography--will only be amplified now.

It's super ugly, almost to the point of confrontational. There's a shot that transcends lens flare, essentially just pointing the camera at the sun. But the effects are pretty good and the retina-scanning ads and whatnot of the future pretty close to fruition. Plus, it's often darkly comical, even slapstick at times, which also seems sort of Hitchcocky.

Spielberg shoots the incredible musical number that opens TEMPLE OF DOOM. pic.twitter.com/ivijLcuIEV

— Nick de Semlyen (@NickdeSemlyen) November 17, 2019

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielberg-sons-debut-feature-honeydew-heading-berlin-1279391

Honeydew, the New England-set horror starring Steven Spielberg's son Sawyer Spielberg in his introductory role ...

Exit The Warrior/Steven's Son, Sawyer

First off, he's not sick, afaik! But I do assume he is staying at home like everyone else, and as I was reading that Making of Jaws book it occurred to me how cool it would be if someone like Spielberg started making little home movies again, just for the sake of mutual entertainment. (The same holds for any filmmakers, for that matter. Like, I'd expect Soderbergh could whip something fun up for a few minutes of distraction.) But man, Spielberg could make like a 5-minute lark, then send it off to ILM for state of the art FX and John Williams for a quickie score, if he wanted to.

Every few years I rewatch "Empire of the Sun." What an impeccable piece of filmmaking.

Scanning back a bit, a lot of bad mouthing the Williams score, but honestly it didn't stick out that much as particularly oppressive. What you *do* hear a lot is apparently a Welsh lullaby called "Suo Gân," which fits pretty thematically:

As for Suo Gân, the lullaby can be dated back to the start of the 19th Century, with the most commonly accepted lyrics being written by Welsh folklorist and poet Robert Bryan (1858-1920). The song, whose title translates simply as 'Lullaby’, describes the relationship between mother and child, as the elder tries to rock the youngster to sleep, assuring him that all is well in the world. A rough translation from the original Welsh can be seen below.

Sleep child on my bosom
Cosy and warm is this;
Mother’s arms are tight around you,
Mother’s love is under my breast;
Nothing may affect your napping,
No man will cross you;
Sleep quietly, dear child,
Sleep sweetly on your mother’s breast.
Sleep quietly, tonight, sleep;
Sleep sweetly, the pretty of his picture;
Why are you now smiling,
Smiling softly in your sleep?
Are angels above smiling,
On you smiling joyfully,
You smiling back in sleeping,
Sleeping quietly on my breast?
Do not fear, nothing but a leaf
Knocks, knocks on the door;
Do not fear, a small lonely wave
Murmurs, murmurs on the seashore;
Sleep child, there’s nothing here
Nothing to give you a fright;
Smile quietly in my bosom,
On the angels white yonder

p sure I've said this before - Empire of the Sun is great except for the score, which is godawful

Only seen this recently and found myself trying to rationalize the often mystifyingly disjointed acting direction as being intended to convey the effect of traumatic situations but I'm not convinced this was all intentional. Kind of odd, although you can't knock the Bale kid's effort.

The score had some arresting moments I thought, maybe I was getting bored with the images

Bale's performance is unimpeachable.

Spielberg and Hanks make cameos late in Jim Carrey's novel, at first benignly ... but then the worm turns in a matter that will satisfy the haters.

I think the imagery of this movie is impeccable too. Some absolutely gorgeous shots, if anything those are the ones that take me out of the movie.

Just seen three seconds of Tintin jesus christ so ugly what the fuck were they thinking?

give it a few more seconds, it's good imo

I can't watch anything that ugly

Just a pointless tech-driven decision in terms of the style

I can't watch anything that ugly

― big man on scampus (Noodle Vague)

I thought you enjoyed Boris Johnson press conferences

Lol no I studiously avoid TV news as much as possible

I haven't seen Close Encounters, it just sounds so boring, am I missing

yes

He did better, though.

Close Encounters is great and def not boring

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.

Close Encounters is the best, it will not disappoint

It's held up very well on a couple of rewatches.

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

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.

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

OK! I'll watch Close Encounters, ty!

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.

Would happily watch Close Encounters again, don't think I'll ever put my eyes thru Tintin

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.

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

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 anyway

also: it looks SO fucking great

i want mr veg and i to dress up as Dreyfuss and Devil’s Mountain for a future halloween

The ATC scene in Close Encounters is one of my favourite scenes of any movie.

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.

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.

What’s the version to see - the original?

My favourite Williams score is Temple of Doom, so lush!

xp

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 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

fractions homework truly the quiet winner for best scene

quick brad there are thousands of lives at stake

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5aPvAndPpI

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.

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.

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.)

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.

opening shot scene, but the first shot is ridonkulous

I liked Tintin

same!

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

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?