Happy Birthday, Steven Spielberg

[filkertom]

On this date in 1946.

So, what's your favorite Spielberg film? If I had to pick only one, it would be Close Encounters of the Third Kind, a breakthrough on so many levels. If I got two, I'd throw in Jaws, a pretty much perfect film. And, bluntly, I want Spielberg at the helm for the final Harry Potter flick.

Comments

[redaxe.livejournal.com]

(deleted and reposted to fix italics)

Just one? Awww...

Raiders of the Lost Ark, by a hair over the pack.

Action, adventure, awesome hero, awesomer heroine, pretty damned awesome villain, and some of the greatest and most memorable lines in all of Hollywood's history ("Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?" and, of course, the duel that wasn't :-) And all of that in the form of an homage to an already mature (and, actually, by that time, moribund) genre within the movies.

And some rather pretty SFX, too.

I guess it helps that I saw it the first time in the very front row of the theater, and had nightmares about the rock for weeks afterward.

Second place also goes to Jaws here. (Of course, I had LOTS of reasons to like this one, even if it hadn't been scary as all hell. I was raised on Lawn Guy Land and was familiar with the area and types of people it was about -- and of course, the shark and I share a given name. Every so often, when I catch bits of it, I root, against everything I know, for the shark to win.)

[trdsf.livejournal.com]

CE3K and Jaws, sure. I saw Jaws probably five times in the theaters... of course, it was in the theaters for about three years running. Duel and Schindler's List, of course--I can't speak to Saving Private Ryan because I've never seen it... not big on war movies, however well shot. Poltergeist, which is essentially a Spielberg film despite having Tobe Hooper's name on it.

Hand's down, my least favorite is E.T. I appreciate that it's a director's job to manipulate the audience, but Steve didn't even bother hiding the prods, wires and pulleys. I'd rather watch Hook or 1941 than one more frame of E.T.

Hmmm... it's known that Spielberg is a MSTie... one wonders how he'd like a RiffTrax of something he's done. :)

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Oh, I think you could have a blast of a time MSTing some of his flicks... but not Schindler's List. As Anne and Les said when we went to see it: "You will not MSTie the Holocaust!"

I do recommend Saving Private Ryan. Like Schindler, it's unlike anything he did before. And, as previously mentioned in this LJ, I'm a big fan of Hook, so ARRRR! ;)

[trdsf.livejournal.com]

Yeah, Schindler's List is riff-proof, and I MST everything as a matter of course, even The Weather Channel. I have the DVD, and I think I've watched it only once because it's so emotionally draining--I kinda have to be in the mood for a good, prolonged cry to watch it. Ryan is just not a priority for me because I don't like war movies. *shrug*

And I must admit to this: I saw Hook in the theater. :)

[ladystarblade.livejournal.com]

Saving Private Ryan & Jaws run neck and neck, depending on what sort of mood I am. And I'll admit to having a soft spot for Indiana Jones & the Last Crusade, which, if perhaps not quite to the level of Raiders, was still a hell of a lot of fun!

[moony]

I'm with you on Close Encounters (when I was very small I used to go outside in the yard with my little electric piano and play the signal notes in hopes that someone might hear them, come down and take me up in their spaceship), but I think I'd prefer either Cuaron again, or Tim Burton for HP 7.

[fuuberry.livejournal.com]

I can't say anything about 7, but I think Cuaron put in his bid to get his hands on 6. Give it a nice, dark edge that'll make the wee ones pee themselves, it may be the first to turn out better than the book.

Anyway... I'm an Indiana Jones girl, through and through, so I'll have to go with Raiders... Although Hook is a close second.

I hate to admit it, but I was just an ittle baby when Jaws came out, and I've never watched it all the way through when it's been on TV.

[markbernstein.livejournal.com]

For "favorite", I guess I'd go with Raiders, though it's a tough choice. For the one I think is his best, I'd say Schindler's List.

[danruk.livejournal.com]

I know it's not a movie, but I know he was involved in the "Amazing Stories" Television Series, which I was always rather fond of myself.

[sdelmonte]

Jaws is at the top of the list. A great plot, great acting, amazing suspense, and a degree of rewatchability that few films have. Raiders (which is just as rewatchable) is a close second, but Jaws wins out for being grounded in reality in a way that few of his films have been.

I haven't seem all of his films, but of the ones I've seen, there isn't a bad one in the bunch. Never mind that as a producer, he's had a hand in some really good things, like Pinky and the Brain and Freakazoid! Few people have left such a mark on entertainment as he has.

Plus he deserves much praise for the oral history project under the auspices of the Shoah Foundation, born from Schindler's List's profits. Entertaining us? That's a good thing. Making sure that the experiences of those who survived the Holocaust are recorded (and can be used to refute the deniers)? That's a great thing.

[wildcard9.livejournal.com]

I know it will sound like I am just following the herd, but Raiders of the Lost Ark is definately my favorite. Yes, it has the same movie serial cliffhanger style as Star Wars did, but I loved it for having that style. The other two movies in the series do not hold up against the original (although Last Crusade came close).

Mooooo...!

[nimitzbrood.livejournal.com]

I too will have to go with Raiders of the Lost Ark. Seeing that in the theater kept me so engrossed in the movie that I didn't even have the urge to turn my head let alone do something like say...go to the bathroom.

Of course back then I wasn't drinking $10 coke buckets... :-/

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

Not a film, and he wasn't *directly* making it, but my favourite project Speielberg ever did was "Animaniacs".

Strictly from films he directed, gotta give the nod to "Raiders of the Lost Ark", possibly the most perfect action film ever made.

I will probably never watch "Schindler's List" again, but it's a masterpiece.

And finally, I've always thought "Hook" was underrated and misunderstood.

E.T. belongs in a double feature with "Best Little Whorehouse In Texas". But that's a personal thing.

[gaelbrady.livejournal.com]

"Close Encounters of the Third Kind" was always my favorite as well!!! You're the only other person I know who has said that. YAY!

Although "Duel" holds a soft spot in my heart as well.

I collect Spielberg's films...not that I'm a fan or anything. *smirk*

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

I don't have them all, but I have a lot of them. Lessee... A.I., Catch Me If You Can, Close Encounters, Duel, E.T., Hook, Jaws, Jurassic Park (only the first one, the other two abominations will never enter my house), Minority Report, Saving Private Ryan, Schindler's List. At some point I need to pick up Always, War of the Worlds, and The Color Purple, and the Indy Jones movies (I have hesitated buying the set because I Just Don't Like Temple of Doom). And one of these days I really should see Amistad, Empire of the Sun and The Terminal.

[ladysoapmaker.livejournal.com]

I personally don't really care for temple of doom myslef however I did buy the box set and the last dvd of the making of and behind the scenes is worth it. But then again I did devote a whole day for the making of the LOTR dvds because I'm just a geek that way.

[fuuberry.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten that The Terminal was his.. Dang, now I wanna change my answer.

Glad to see I wasn't the only one that liked A.I., too.. Although I tend to stop watching before the actual ending.. >.>;

[gaelbrady.livejournal.com]

I have Always...and most of the other ones. I'm missing only a select few...and it's just because I can't afford to buy them right now. They did make it onto my Christmas list though. LOL! He is an amazing director!! When I wanted to be a filmmaker, I was determined I was going to be the next Steven Spielberg.

[hanabishirecca.livejournal.com]

Jurassic Park. It was magical to me.

[filkertom.livejournal.com]

Word. In that first sequence with the Brontotherium, Sam Neill sells those dinosaurs. Exactly the reaction all of us (i.e., us fannish types) would have, up to and including [a] stammering, [b] collapsing, and [c] noting their natural habits.

[ladystarblade.livejournal.com]

*the Sam Neill fangirl gives a thumbs-up of agreement*

My favorite part in the whole movie...Ellie Sattler's immersed in the leaf, muttering to herself...then Grant reaches down and twists her head around...the snatching of the sunglasses and the dropped jaw...pitch perfect.

Spielberg's always been the master of finding and capturing moments of wonder.

[ladysoapmaker.livejournal.com]

well, it is very hard to choose. Though I think I would choose Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Of the movies I remember watching as a kid, the Speilberg movies I have the most fond memories. The time my parents took all 4 of us and the 3 neighbor kids because their mom was in labor to see E.T. and my dad telling "oh we just manage" the teller after she says "7 kids, how do you do it?" and mom glaring at him.

Being the only ones in the theatre laughing at the "he's so deep he's unfathomable" line from Hook.

Mom letting me play hookie from school so we can go see The last Crusade at the theatre with out the rest of the family and having trouble who to drool over the most. (in my case it was all three, River Phoenix, Harrison Ford and Sean Connery) (can you tell I was a teenager then *grin*

going on a first date to See Schindler's List. Not a good first date movie, way too depressing. But the cinematography was amazing and the wonderfull use of black and white with the hints of color.

Unfortunely haven't had the opprtunity to watch too many of his other films.
Jen

[youngcurmudgeon.livejournal.com]

I'm gonna have to go with Raiders of the Lost Ark. One of the few Spielberg movies I was brave enough to watch as a child (I didn't see E.T. until I was 15; Jaws till I was 18; still haven't seen Schindler's List; shut up, I KNOW I'm a wimp), and it started an entire new genre of movies. How many filmmakers can say that?

And I'll pick Munich as my second, because after War of the Worlds I was so scared he'd lost it. But it turns out he just needed money to make Munich, which was amazingly well-done.

[danceswithlife]

Hm. I'd forgotten about Munich--pretty intentionally. I would say that it is his most depressing film--much more so than either Schindler's List or Saving Private Ryan. But in typical Spielberg fashion, some of the scenes pop very vividly into memory when I think of the film--just, not, alas, happy scenes.

I didn't see ET until I was an adult (the most recent run of it in the theaters a couple years ago), and I liked it more than I thought I would.I don't generally see scary movies so I didn't see Jaws or Poltergeist. I want to see The Terminal, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe to celebrate when I finish the papers I'm working on for grad school this quarter.

My favorite would have to be Raiders of the Lost Ark. I saw it in the theaters eight or ten times, dragging everyone I knew to see it. But I also agree that his best film was Schindler's List.

[rdmaughan.livejournal.com]

He has done some great work.

I heard that he was in discussion with JKR to do the first HP film and she basically said over my dead body. The story was that he wanted to relocate the story to the USA and work with a largely american cast. I do not know if this is true and even if it is the existence of the previous films would make it impossible now. However if true it does not bode well for his ability to handle the project sympathetically.

[james-rayner.livejournal.com]

Very close. Dead tie between Raiders and Saving Private Ryan. I couldnt pick between them if I tried.

There's a good reason Steve's already gotten his Lifetime Achievement award, He is - without a question - the very best the business has to Offer.