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Post by Crunchy Col on Nov 23, 2019 17:39:00 GMT
The greatest popular filmmaker still working in Hollywood today?
Have a look at this lot, and order it. Thank you very much.
Duel Jaws Close Encounters of the Third Kind Raiders of the Lost Ark E.T. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom The Color Purple Empire of the Sun Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Jurassic Park Schindler's List Saving Private Ryan A.I. Artificial Intelligence Minority Report Catch Me If You Can War of the Worlds Munich Lincoln Bridge of Spies The Post
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rayge
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Post by rayge on Nov 23, 2019 18:10:29 GMT
Duel (2) and ET (1) are both fine films. Close Encounters (3)was a visual treat at times, but the story-telling lagged and it was a bit pofaced. The Indy trio and Jurassic Park were candy-floss movies, a childish treat to consume but leaving naught but a sticky stick behind. Can't split them, because I don't remember them. The impression I took away from those (Duel excepted) was that he was a master manipulator of mass emotion, much like Disney.
Haven't seen any of the others, not even Jaws You're welcome
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Nov 23, 2019 18:19:08 GMT
I adore Raiders.
He was generally better when he was being entertaining rather than serious.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 23, 2019 20:32:14 GMT
My favourites are the first two Duel and Jaws.
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Post by tory on Nov 24, 2019 8:45:17 GMT
In terms of bringing what WW2 was really like into the minds of a new generation, Saving Private Ryan achieves that in a staggering fashion. I don't think there is a more intense moment in cinema in many respects than those first 20 minutes.
Jurassic Park was amazing. I had grown up being a massive Dinosaur fan and the moment when we see the T-Rex for the first time was a moment of genuine cinematic magic.
I cried during ET when I saw it.
Raiders was scary and brilliant.
A.I has a beauty to it that reaps rewards with further viewings - I'd like to see it at the cinema again one day. I remember being non-plussed at first, but it is a great film.
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Post by Crunchy Col on Nov 24, 2019 10:14:12 GMT
I've only seen five, and I can't remember much of E.T. 'cos I was just a kid. I might have seen one of the Indiana Jones films too, on a small screen at uni.
Duel is great! so much made of such a simple idea. Jaws is one of the most boring films I've ever seen. Bridge of Spies and Schindler's List are both beautiful in similar ways. It's good when there's a hero. We need a hero.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 24, 2019 11:58:11 GMT
Speilbergo Directed Films:
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark- His perfect film. Every aspect is perfect, from casting, writing, shooting. Everything was perfect. Thrilling, fast paced story, fully realized characters, balanced script with just enough humor to offset the adventure. This film avoids the Speilbergo traps of sappiness and whimsy and keeps it's eye focused on the adventure.
2. Jaws-A Masterwork. Thrills, chills and drama. A perfect "monster" movie. Everything starts with a great cast and the choice of Scheider (One of my favorites) anchors the proceedings with his everyman portrayal. Dreyfuss and Shaw's actual onset antagonism added extra spice and Murray Hamilton's slimy politician provided a perfect secondary villain. A malfunctioning shark named "Bruce" helped make the fishy scenes more mysterious and scary.
3. Jurassic Park- As long as one ignores the obvious science issues, this is a fun, fast paced ride. The dinos are convincing and act as their own characters within the drama, rather than window dressing, propped up to look good. The casting is pitch perfect and story engaging. The likability factor of the characters adds just as much as the spectacle.
4. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade- Took what worked well in Raiders and amplified it. Great opening sequence with a perfectly cast River Phoenix, the film moves swiftly and adroitly through it's world. Ford and Connery turn out to be a perfect bit of casting, with their chemistry keeping the proceedings fun and moving. Fun story, filled with adventure and intrigue.
5. Empire of the Sun- Great visuals and even greater performance from Bale. Cuts back on the sentimentality and whimsy and tells a difficult story in a unique way.
6. Catch me if you can- Well told real life story, which moves swiftly and is buoyed by some top notch performances, fantastic score and great cinematography.
7. Lincoln- A well told story with some amazing performances
8. 1941- ok. It's not a "great" film and is probably ranked too high, but it IS one hell of a fun ride and I've always had a soft spot for it. It's well shot and the period elements are spot on. The humor works and the performances are solid..
9. Close Encounters of the third kind- Some amazing visuals make up for it's weak points. Dreyfuss is in his element here.
10. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom- Oh, people will get on this one because of the stereotypes and overall bleak tone, but the damn thing is fun and memorable and look amazing.
11. Schindler's List- A one watch movie, with good performances. His choice to shoot without storyboards and treat the material like a documentary, added to the impact. The black and white cinematography helped this. 12. Munich- A well made thriller which could have delved deeper into the conflict it portrayed
13. Minority Report- Again, Spielbergo gets a decent performance out of Cruise, with an interesting premise and solid cast around him. Well shot with a desaturated palate ,the film gives a good blend of Dystopian and Utopian elements. Could have done without the "Happy" ending, though.
14. A.I.- Some amazing sequences and performances, but it can't help but fall into Spielbergo traps of over sentimentality and overwriting. Jude Law is the real deal here.
15. War of the Worlds- A decent interpretation..Steven gets a decent, almost human performance out of Cruise. His choice to go with a desaturated palate and grainy appearance made the action seem more "real"
16. War Horse- Solid with good visuals
17. Bridge of Spies- Solid, well acted drama
18. E.T.- Sentiment overdose. A movie designed to tug at heartstrings and sell merchandise. Comes off a bit calculated
19. Saving Private Ryan- After a great opening salvo, the movie crumbles under the weight of it's silly premise and multitude of generic characters, borrowed from other war movies. There's no denying it's a well made film, but if you see enough war movies, you will have seen every character populating this movie.
20. The Lost World: Jurassic Park- Great looking movie with some out and out bad acting and utterly terrible narrative choices.
21. Adventures of Tin tin- Didn't feel much with this one, but am unfamiliar with the source material, which might be why it made less impact with me.
22. The Post- Just kind of exists.
23. Hook- Oh Hook. There are moments of enjoyment, but they are outweighed by frustration with the heaps of schmaltz and over sentimentality. Hoffman is a curious casting choice.
24. Ready Player One- Some good visuals, but Steven is not the director to tackle this material
25. The Sugarland Express- Has moments, but the characters are too underdeveloped to make a really convincing story.
26. The Color Purple- Over sentimental and stereotypical. The actors do what they can with the material and there are good performances
27. Indiana Jones and the Crystal Skull- A series of half-hatched scenarios, strung into a half baked idea. Not sure what Spielbergo was thinking here. Awful on almost every level. LaBeouf should not be allowed to SEE movies, much less be in them.
28. The Terminal- Hanks should avoid accents at all times. This one is interminable. One begs for an ending to this ludicrous saga.
29. Amistad- Woeful. Ignored the actual history and badly acted all round
30. Always- A misfire on all levels
*The BFG- Did not see this one
*Duel- This is a TV movie so I didn't include it in the ranking. Well made and taut, with a good performance from Weaver..
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Sneelock
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Post by Sneelock on Nov 25, 2019 18:04:02 GMT
well, let's get this out of the way. FavoritesRaiders of the Lost Ark Jaws Close Encounters of the Third Kind Duel
Close Encounters is the only one that I feel like I need to defend. notice I said "favorite" rather than best. he's really growing into his own skin here - scenes like reading the serial numbers off the planes - Pure Speilberg. this is "pop culture" in what I find a good way up the ying-yang. the truck at the railroad stop. the space ships hot rodding with the cops. I think Dreyfess and the sequences are just delightful. I think the creature at the end was pretty lousy. that spaceship looks like a giant electric wedding cake and out comes a ghost puppet. I always found the ending problematic. it works emotionally but it's pretty juvenile when you think about it. Roy solves all his problems by getting on a spaceship. it works on me but I always found it more than a little b.s.
undeniably well done.Jurassic Park Sugarland Express Schindler's List Saving Private Ryan
in all honesty, I think Jurassic & Sugarland are real close to being favorites - maybe in another couple of years. J.Park is the sort of thing Unca Steve does well. it's manipulative but those manipulations always pay off here - they don't always. I think Schindler is easily his best "serious film" but "private ryan" is the sort of thing he does well too. rarely has he had a chance to display his big David Lean type ambitions. some scenes of that film probably rival the planning and manpower of the events they depict - this is no small thing. I don't really think it goes the distance and agree that the people who like it the most have seen the fewest war movies so the cliches don't bother them as much.
Much to Admire about them:The Color Purple - the performances and the technical end of this are really something. still, it's not only Quincy Jones SUCK-ASS score that gilds the lily IMO. Unca Steve could have trusted himself as much as he trusted his actors and it would have been a much stronger film. having said that - I think it's good and I do get choked up at the end.
Catch Me If You Can Munich Minority Report A.I. Artificial Intelligence Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
all of the above have sequences I admire or are solid movies overall that just don't really have that extra vitamin C or whatever.
E.T. (begrudgingly saved from "actively disliked" list. I'll admit there's good stuff here I just always fuckin' hated the damned thing. still - the kids - the flying bikes - the product placement ... it has redeeming virtues I suppose but I still fuckin' hate it.)
Can take it or leave itLincoln The Post
I guess "Lincoln" nudges "the post" simply because DDL is one hell of an actor. both are talking movies. I actually get on better with "the Post" - more forward movement but there's no single thing that stands out like the performance in "Lincoln" otherwise I think Lincoln is pretty much a bore. somebody crack a window that thing is stuffy!
No Opinion / Haven't seen it.Bridge of Spies War Horse Actively DislikeHOOK!!!!! War of the Worlds Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade Always Empire of the Sun Amistad
Either relentlessly unpleasant, cloying or just plain boring to the point of annoyance.
I detest "hook" but dislike "war of the worlds" nearly as much. technical accomplishments only get you so far. I've got to give a shit and I couldn't wait for either of those to be over.
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Post by Reactionary Rage on Nov 25, 2019 19:26:29 GMT
Does anybody give a fuck about Saving Private Ryan after the first 20 mins or so?
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nolamike
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Post by nolamike on Nov 25, 2019 21:08:32 GMT
There's always a level of competence and craftsmanship in Spielberg's films that make them easy to watch and enjoy, and I don't think he's ever made a "terrible" film, though Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull gets mighty close. I think the best way to describe my appreciation of his movies would be "when I'm traveling for work and I'm looking for something to watch on premium cable in my hotel room, a new Spielberg movie will keep me entertained more than just about any other movie likely to be playing on the other channels." Something like, say, Bridge of Spies - a taut, well-done story, filmed in a way that enhances (rather than distracts from) that story, with solid performances throughout. It's not going to end up on any lists of my favorite movies, but I'd be nitpicking if I tried to come up with a robust criticism of it. Hell, I'll even go out on a limb and say I even found the much-criticized The Terminal to be a perfectly entertaining way to spend ninety minutes, even though I have zero interest in rewatching it.
At the same time, I think the only films of his I'd call undeniable masterpieces are Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and the beginning of Saving Private Ryan... and maaaaybe Schindler's List, though I haven't seen it since shortly after its release.
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Post by quaco on Dec 11, 2019 1:56:28 GMT
Just saw E.T. for the first time last week. Somehow I had missed it all these years. It was nice. The score was very good, emphasized by the fact that it was shown with live orchestral accompaniment. That was cool. The film itself was enjoyable, though cliched at times. 6/10
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Post by Crunchy Col on Jan 12, 2020 7:17:51 GMT
Half-watching* Close Encounters now. I love the five-note phrase that runs throughout - kind of a genius idea. And as others have said, the visuals are incredibly impressive at times. Isn't that Spielberg's main strength - how he can WOW you? or isn't that what they're ALL aiming to do?
Dreyfuss is great, reminds me a bit of a young Jack Lemmon, fast mouth, those little nervous tics. My film book says he sort of lost it a bit after this, was really 'just' a very fine character actor who wasn't comfortable as a big star.
*yes I know I should sit tight and watch the whole thing but it's 7 am and the film is halfway through and I'm only watching it anyway 'cos I couldn't sleep
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2020 19:18:25 GMT
It's so long since I've seen it, but I always felt the first half was very slow. It takes a long time for the spaceship to arrive!
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Post by Crunchy Col on Jan 12, 2020 19:55:11 GMT
Yes - but some great scenes there, the round-table discussions, the stuff with his family. And the lovely Teri Garr
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