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Post by marianne48 on Mar 12, 2017 1:36:05 GMT
No. I think some of his early TV work and films, such as Jaws, were very good, but his "Peter Pan" period (his inner child films) grew tiresome. Then he tried to grow up by tackling adult material such as D-Day (Saving Private Ryan) and the Holocaust (Schindler's List), but both of those films not only are derivative of earlier, better WWII films but come off as showy, self-consciously "cinematic," and ultimately exploitative of their subjects, so much so that I find them distasteful. Yes, the D-Day landing was extremely violent and traumatic, and the experiences of concentration camp prisoners at the hands of the Nazi brutes (and they were indeed evil, despite what another poster on this thread is attempting to claim), but Spielberg's ability to show this on film doesn't make him a great filmmaker; he was just lucky enough to have CGI on his side. I'll stick with any number of works about the Holocaust, such as the TV miniseries Holocaust from the 1970s, and The Story of GI Joe, made way back in 1945, if I want to be moved about these subjects, instead of pretending that Spielberg discovered them.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2017 1:36:06 GMT
Ignoring the denier and addressing the actual topic...
I don't know that I'd describe Spielberg as a "great" director as such. He can rise to greatness - Schindler's List is probably a good example of that, as is Jurassic Park. But he is a little too sentimental, I think. And he's rather lost his nerve in the last decade or so. The guy who was willing to have a shark eat a little kid in Jaws turned into the guy who replaced guns with walkie talkies in ET because he didn't want the kids threatened.
But he's certainly a very competent director, and a highly influential and successful one.
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Flynn
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Post by Flynn on Mar 12, 2017 3:25:20 GMT
Okaaay...well, back in 1993, he made this little movie you apparently never heard about called 'Schindler's List'. It was supposedly a 'true story', but 'ole Stevie just had to 'up' the evil when it came to portraying Nazis, and showed them doing things that never even happened. Make more money that way. Also, as a producer, he made many documentaries on the subject, one of which, 'The Last Days', had horrifying 'eyewitness testimony' that has since been debunked as pure bullshit. And it won an Oscar. Spielberg vilified Nazis, not Germans. There's a big distinction. I can understand why he did that, though. He's Jewish, and the Nazis treated the Jews very badly. Spielberg was clearly working through his feelings about Nazis. That's part of being a good filmmaker, and I don't hold it against him. Did he portray Nazi's wrong? Honestly, I don't know. I would have to do more research, but regardless, his goal was to make a fictional film. That always involves diversions from reality for purposes of tighter narratives and better motivation. That has been done in supposedly true stories since the beginning of films based on real events. "True stories" are never completely true, not a single one of them. As for the discrepancy in eyewitness accounts of the events, this woman was around the age of 10 when these events happened. Her memory is no doubt fuzzy by now. Just because her accounts aren't consistent doesn't mean she is intentionally lying. You can hold these things against Spielberg if you want to, but personally I think it's a little harsh. In any case, none of this has anything to do with Spielberg's abilities as a director. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2017 3:27:33 GMT
He sure is great at making money from the holocaust and vilifying Germans. Nazis suck. |
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flasuss
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Post by flasuss on Mar 12, 2017 3:39:22 GMT
Depends on what you consider all time great. Top 100 of all time? Yeah! Top 50? Sure. Top 25? Heh...maybe? Top 10? HELL NAW!
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2017 3:39:48 GMT
Absolutely. He's made so many seminal movies. He's had his share of dreck too, but enough outstanding films to easily count as one of the greats.
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Post by mslo79 on Mar 12, 2017 3:44:56 GMT
I am sure he's a established name so that commands some level of respect on that alone.
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Post by petrolino on Mar 12, 2017 3:45:58 GMT
For sure.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2017 4:07:39 GMT
Agreed. So do many other nations/sects. The Allies initiated the air bombing of cities, culminating with little dandies like Hamburg and Dresden. The US rounded up citizens of Japanese decent and put them in camps. The Eisenhower camps with German non-combatants...etc...etc.... where's all the movies about these subjects? Nobody sucks as much as Nazis. |
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Post by LaurenceBranagh on Mar 12, 2017 4:10:04 GMT
I have seen 26 of his films.
Average Rating: 8.42
I'd say so.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 12, 2017 4:22:09 GMT
Nobody sucks as much as Nazis. That's a good little brainwashed myopic. Okay, thanx for attempting to derail the thread. Steven Speilberg is a brilliant director, one the greats of all time. |
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