Gee, I dunno.
I think Spielberg is one of the best and smartest directors the medium has ever
given us. I'm hard pressed to think of another director who ranges across
genres with the panache he does, and has so appreciably matured with his craft
so effortlessly that the art simply emerges.
Of course some films are better than others, some have wider appeal than
others.... but as a real movie director and extremely smart producer of other
directors' works, he's hard to beat.
His biggest problem is that there are so many people who think it's not cool to
like a Spielberg movie, or Tarantino movie, or whatever.
Couple of weeks back, someone I know watched the first 10 minutes of PLANET
TERROR and said I KNEW IT WAS GOING TO BE CRAP. ANYTHING DIRECTED BY TARANTINO
IS CRAP!
Ahhhh... BUT HE DIDN'T DIRECT IT. ROBERT RODRIGUEZ DID.
And there followed a YES HE DID/NO, HE DIDN'T..... ROBERT RODRIGUEZ DIRECTED
SIN CITY AND THAT WAS A MASTERPIECE.... HE'S A GREAT DIRECTOR. TARANTINO IS
CRAP....
Yes, yes... I know. They saw the credits... again.... OH, MAYBE I BETTER TAKE
ANOTHER LOOK AT THE WHOLE MOVIE THIS TIME, THIS LOOKS LIKE IT MIGHT BE GREAT!
RODRIGUEZ IS VERY COOL!
A survey was done a few years ago about people coming out of various movies, or
lining up for various movies.
Some staggering % had NO IDEA who the director of the film was they had just
seen or were going to see.... and yes, in this straw poll, one of the films was
a Spielberg movie. Most people could not give a monkey's toss about who
directed a film. Most people don't even think about it.
Quick, and without looking at the IMDB, name 5 films directed by Robert Aldrich.
Too easy? Name 10 films directed by Robert Altman.
Okay - really easy ones - name 5 films directed by Raoul Walsh, or Michael
Curtiz, or William Wellman.
How about 10 films directed by John Ford?
And as for writers, I can count on the fingers of one hand the number of people
I know who might look at a film title and be excited by the name of a writer
credit.
Phil
----- Original Message -----
From: David Kusumoto
To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2008 2:51 PM
Subject: Re: [MOPO] Can a major director shoot an "epic" on a low budget?
** I know enough about Bob Brooks to not wanna tangle with him, especially
his razor wit, which comes out when he's not even trying. I will say though,
that while more films are being made than ever before -- the truth is -- more
films were RELEASED by "major studios and distributors" from the 1920s to 1946
than they are today. They had a monopoly and even owned the theaters to show
their OWN films. Movie attendance since 1946 has never been eclipsed, thanks
to TV. Foreign films -- more prevalent today -- were "near" unavailable to
U.S. audiences outside NY and LA before 1960. Most small towns never saw ANY
films with subtitles.
** Meanwhile, switching gears back to "Jaws" and it's so-called "cheap rubber
shark" -- good and classy response by Rich in the U.K.; I'm glad you clarified
your earlier remarks. That 1975 picture introduced the "blockbuster" mentality
to Hollywood, opening in more theaters on opening day than typical for most
studios at the time. The "disaster" genre wave preceded it and some say "Jaws"
just blew down the doors faster.
** "Jaws" was a big-budgeted film for the 1970s -- with everything riding on
the skills of a 26-year old "novice" -- who hadn't yet demonstrated a track
record of success in the U.S. "Jaws" began production before the 1974 release
of his theatrical debut, "The Sugarland Express." Most famously, Spielberg
ditched the domestic melodrama of the ultra-popular Peter Benchley novel and
turned his film into a high-seas adventure, with a triangle character structure
involving Shaw, Dreyfuss and Scheider.
** Most memorable were comments by actor Richard Dreyfuss, who dissed the
film (and Spielberg) throughout its production. Following historic sneak
previews in Dallas and Long Beach, and an exhibitor's preview in New York,
Dreyfuss was mobbed. (Like many people, he had underestimated Spielberg's
skills as an editor and storyteller -- and had no idea what the assembled film
would look like with John Williams' legendary score). Dreyfuss went bonkers,
telling everyone he was dead wrong, that he was embarrassed by his remarks,
that Spielberg was a genius, that the picture would be big for everyone. For
many people, "Jaws" remains Spielberg's "best" film -- and for collectors,
probably his best film poster, next to the bicycle and moon image in "E.T."
** After "Jaws," Spielberg would always have final cut. He made enemies
quickly. Many critics (except the late Pauline Kael) disdained Spielberg's
reputation as a "populist" director (akin to how they treated Hitchcock,
another "commercial" director whose legend grew anyway, esp. after his death in
1980). After the disaster of "1941," Spielberg's rep for "sentimental"
big-budget entertainment was sealed when he returned with the first "Raiders"
picture in '81. I know my appreciation for Spielberg's craftsmanship is a
minority view at MoPo. He's not highly regarded nor beloved as Scorcese or
Ridley Scott or Eastwood among living directors -- yet it's not difficult for
anyone to predict that Spielberg will indeed be considered legendary -- for
good and for ill -- by future generations (just not mine)....
-kuz.
> Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2008 00:32:24 +0100
> From: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: Can a major director shoot an "epic" on a low budget?
> To: MoPo-L@LISTSERV.AMERICAN.EDU
>
> Stand corrected, must read up on my history.
> Point I meant to make, but failed badly with this example, I'd rather
> have a tale well told, with tension due to what you don't see, but are
> scared you will, rather than a film choc full of the most mind blowing
> effects.
> (Which I don't equate with a rarely seen, obviously rubber, albeit
> expensive, shark.)
> Regardless of the setting, I'll do without the water, just settle for
> a shower.
>
> Cheers,
> Rich
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