So now we’ve reached the final end of this directorial journey. If you haven’t read a single blog post in the Spielberg series, I’m going to quickly summarize each of my posts here. I’ll be going in ranking order with a final list summarized at the end.
So let’s get to it!
The BFG tells a classic story, but by having a Jewish filmmaker tell it, it allows the story to be reclaimed and redefined in a way that separates it from its antisemetic creator.
Always has no reason for its creation, this lack of a true reason hurts the movie as it feels hollow and lacks any sort of depth it is hoping to achieve.
1941 could be a lifeless comedy, by taking the crafting of the movie seriously it helps keep it more grounded and better overall, even if the movie isn’t a smashing success.
The problem with Munich is not that it does a tender job to service the story. It’s that it takes that care too far and ultimately tries too hard to pay reverence to the story it’s trying to tell and that ultimately makes it feel melodramatic rather than sincere.
The comedy of The Sugarland Express is a surprise given the movie’s dark themes, but it works more often than not.
The story of A.I. Artificial Intelligence is centered on the idea of hope. Love, though the more obvious theme, would not stand out as the primary piece of the story unless there was hope there to keep that love alive.
The disastrous production of Twilight Zone: The Movie was a tragedy that should never have happened. The fact that it did is horrifying and ultimately changed the landscape of film safety forever.
The Color Purple is a powerful story. The movie version does no justice to it source material because Spielberg couldn’t personally relate to the story that needed to be told and it loses something because of that.
Given the massive success of its predecessor, The Lost World has too much to live up to. As a result it was struggling from the beginning and ultimate fails to recapture the magic of the original.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
The fourth Indiana Jones movie is fine. It’s not perfect, but it also isn’t so bad that it deserves to be called the worst movie ever made. And it deserves to be seen for mediocrity not hyperbole.
The Terminal is far too relevant in today’s culture. It’s too relevant because it feels like a reminder that we have made no progress with how we treat those who need the most help and understanding.
War Horse tries too hard to be sentimental and the result loses honesty and sincerity which overall hurts the goal of the movie.
The secret that makes Empire of the Sun work better than expected is how it doesn’t directly show the moments people know but instead shows those in the distance to keep the focus on its story.
There is a power in leaving questions unanswered. By doing this, Duel manages to keep the stakes high in spite of a lot of long stretches without action.
The problem with Amistad is it focuses not on the men wrestling for freedom but the lawyers who worked for them out of obligation. This cheapens the final result and makes the movie feel less sincere.
Ready Player One places value on pure knowledge but without addressing the value that knowledge lacks outside of specific contexts. By making it’s characters brilliant in the world, it makes them seem better and more developed than they truly are or will be when that world is not more.
The Post tells a story about the role of the media in society. In doing this, it shows the value of speaking out against corrupt power and the need for bold risks in the name of truth.
Under the spectacle of alien invasion, War of the Worlds shows the danger of a humanity that lacks unity, trust, and understanding. All in all that danger, much like the one in the movie. will cause us to fall apart and lose the eventual struggle.
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
It’s well known now, but Temple of Doom took a chance to redefine the way we rate movies, by showing that young people have to take in mature content at more appropriate ages rather than being sheltered until adulthood.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a story fueled by curiosity. In the same vein, Spielberg uses his own curiosity to fuel his desire to tell stories and create long lasting movies.
What makes Bridge of Spies succeed is not the way it tells the story, but the way it shows its characters. In doing that it allows human beings to develop which makes for more interesting stories.
There is something just delightful about The Adventures of Tintin, and it shows that now all movies need to be these big, impressive masterpieces, sometimes they can just be fun.
The struggle with Hook is that is doesn’t let itself have fun soon enough, and by doing that struggles to create the magic that allows for youth, in the same way that its main character struggles to find his.
The truth behind Catch Me If You Can is muddled. But for the purpose of storytelling it actually makes the final narrative more compelling. Whether that choice should be told for every story remains to be seen, but for this one it works.
Movies are often placed in genres to help categorize them, but Jaws breaks out of those categories and shows that a movie can be many things, even when its story is a simple one of survival and resilience.
Minority Report asks an interesting question of its audience. If you knew the outcome of your life, would you accept it quietly, or would you resist it with all of your being?
The thing that makes Lincoln succeed is not that it tells a bold story, but that it takes the time to honestly showcase the man who let the country through the civil war, rather than the myth who ended slavery in America.
West Side Story is still a timeless story, because we have not learned the lessons of the past, only found more nuanced and specific problems to address. It is up to all of us to stop the narrative from continuing to be relevant another 60 years from now.
There have been many great cinematic heroes throughout the decades. But the hero of Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones, left an impact that was unparalleled. In doing so he left a legacy that has yet to be matched in style, tone, or overall longevity.
Schindler’s List is a brutal movie. But the message it is conveying requires that brutality. If the movie wasn’t as harrowing, terrifying, and ultimately hard to watch as it is, then the movie would not have been as effective at telling it’s story.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
While a good director is one piece of the complex puzzle that is a movie, it is not the only thing that movie needs to be successful. The addition of a great crew is necessary to help create a masterful movie, as was the case with sound engineer Ben Burtt in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.
The reason that Saving Private Ryan succeeds is it pushes the pace of its nearly three hour runtime and knows how to keep the movie flowing. This pacing makes the movie feel shorter and therefore more captivating.
While Jurassic Park is truly a blockbuster, its secret to success is due to the intimate lens it displays its spectacle through. By keeping the focus on the characters experiencing the majesty and terror of the events, it allows the story to be more connected to its audience.
And that leaves the best movie by one of the best filmmakers of our time, which is…
The secret to E.T. is the emotional connection between all the characters. It not only allows them to find a connection with each other, but extends to the audience so we too feel all of there are feelings, just like E.T. and Elliot do in the movie.
This has been a fun watch/rewatch, and now that I’ve done 5 broad overviews, I want to do something more specific. So we’re going to be breaking down a series of movies that showcase a phenomenal talent in one area. I’ll reveal more about that soon but know it’s coming.
It’s gonna be a couple weeks while you’re waiting for that to get started though. So in the meantime feel free to check out my Youtube channel and my podcast for a different look at movies. You can find it all here: Ploominator
Thanks again for joining me on this journey and until next time, thanks for taking the time to get Ploominated.
Ploominate 