Alas, what Phil says here is absolutely true. Film enthusiasts have
some idea about some of these things - writers, directors
etc - and there are many film lovers. But most people HAVE NO IDEA
and DON'T CARE.
It's like myself and SPORT - I know about fifty guys and a few gals
in sports - and that's it! After that I'm in the wilderness. I
HAVE NO IDEA and I DON'T CARE (very much.)
K.
On Jul 23, 2008, at 12:27 AM, Phil Edwards wrote:
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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