Ranking Spielberg

diebitter · #1 08-30-2007, 04:54 AM

Dom,

I agree he's very talented, and when he picks the right script, he's masterful. The problem he has is in script picking and maybe doctoring. He just lets some of his movies get a little shaggy, and of course sentimental.

I mostly agree with your list, but I'm move both SPR and Schindler's List down a few notches, and put Raiders as the #1. I'd also move the second Indy film next to the 3rd one, but otherwise it's sound.

I like the comparison of Stephen King as writer and Speilberg as director, I think there's a lot in that (however, I do think King will rank alongside Dickens in terms of stature in the future).

John Cole · #2 08-30-2007, 10:35 PM

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like the comparison of Stephen King as writer and Speilberg as director, I think there's a lot in that (however, I do think King will rank alongside Dickens in terms of stature in the future).

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No! In thunder.

CharlieDontSurf · #3 08-30-2007, 11:08 PM

His early films as a whole are far better than his later ones.
Age seems to have mellowed him out and he now is known as the guy who can never correctly end a movie.

Overall he is a fantastic director top 10-15 all time.
He and M Night are two of the best at creating suspense/tension.

Speilberg is obv his best when paired with a great script/writer...Zaillian, Scott Frank etc

Zeno · #4 08-31-2007, 02:55 AM

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like the comparison of Stephen King as writer and Speilberg as director, I think there's a lot in that (however, I do think King will rank alongside Dickens in terms of stature in the future).

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No! In thunder.

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A wiser head prevails - A rarity on this cosmic ball of space vomit. And Oliver Twist needs another bowl of gruel.

Anyway, I wanted to make a comment in this thread so my name could be associated with it; not because I would make any meaningful contribution to it - Sort of like Stephen King's contribution to literature. Poe still rules or even that Italian guy that wrote The Decameron, Boccaccio what's-his-even sillier first name suppose to be.

And what's all this talk of Spielberg? He makes movies, so did Roger Corman, so did Russ Meyers, so did A, B, C, and Z. It's not that important. Some people make apple pies with just the right amount of cinnamon, some people don't. But taste is subjective as is adding ice cream to apple pie or having just the correct amount of cinnamon.

Le Misanthrope

Dominic · #5 08-31-2007, 04:03 AM

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[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
like the comparison of Stephen King as writer and Speilberg as director, I think there's a lot in that (however, I do think King will rank alongside Dickens in terms of stature in the future).

[/ QUOTE ]

No! In thunder.

[/ QUOTE ]

A wiser head prevails - A rarity on this cosmic ball of space vomit. And Oliver Twist needs another bowl of gruel.

Anyway, I wanted to make a comment in this thread so my name could be associated with it; not because I would make any meaningful contribution to it - Sort of like Stephen King's contribution to literature. Poe still rules or even that Italian guy that wrote The Decameron, Boccaccio what's-his-even sillier first name suppose to be.

And what's all this talk of Spielberg? He makes movies, so did Roger Corman, so did Russ Meyers, so did A, B, C, and Z. It's not that important. Some people make apple pies with just the right amount of cinnamon, some people don't. But taste is subjective as is adding ice cream to apple pie or having just the correct amount of cinnamon.

Le Misanthrope

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as amusing as your post is, I take umbrage: art is important, and debating its merits gives us more to do with our time than eating, crapping and sexing.

DrewDevil · #6 08-31-2007, 07:18 AM

I think Spielberg must be listed among the top 2 or 3 directors of all time, and I don't understand the arguments by people who disagree.

Yes, it's true that SPR and a couple of his other movies *could* have been better if this, if that, etc. But taken as they are, they are still stunning works of film. Why is Spielberg denigrated because his superb films aren't perfect? That doesn't mean they aren't incredible. If you evaluate his films as they are, and not what they potentially could have been if directed by God, then you're left with the conclusion that no director has ever made more consistently spectacular movies than Spielberg.

As someone said earlier, when Raiders of the Lost Ark is your 4th best film, you're doing something right.

Zeno · #7 09-01-2007, 01:31 AM

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I take umbrage: art is important, and debating its merits gives us more to do with our time than eating, crapping and sexing.

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Umbrage? Are you Bertie Wooster?

And where Spielberg ranks in some list of filmmakers is unimportant, to me anyway. Obviously others can and will have a different take on it all. But whatever anyone's personal ranking; Raiders of the Lost Ark is a ball of fun and so is Jaws.

And eating, crapping, and sexing is the main occupation of the majority of mankind. Art is overrated; sex is not.

Tommy Hobbes said something about this and he is right.

Le Misanthrope

diamonddawg · #8 09-01-2007, 01:38 AM

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As strange as it may sound, I believe Steven Spielberg to be an underrated tyrant.

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FYP
FWIW, and this of course has little to do with his ability as an artist and much more to do with general persona (in our tabloid inflamed culture), I can tell you from hands on experience over several films that working with him is 24/7 tension convention.
Be that as it may, he has made some ++ flicks; Indie4 should be v exciting from what I hear from the trenches.

midnightpulp · #9 09-01-2007, 01:42 AM

Funny, most great directors are petulant, control freak tyrants.

I think Ebert once said that nice guy directors don't make great films. Of course he's generalizing, but a lot of the directors responsible for great films are indeed grade-A [censored] on set.

clownassassin · #10 09-01-2007, 01:46 AM

S.S. is IMO over rated. He'll find a way in every movie he makes to inject a "Spielberg" moment. It's the moment he makes a poor decision regarding the direction of the movie and it is cringe worthy.

Other than Jaws and the Indiana Jones movies, he is much better at directing movies that have a historical basis rather than stories of fiction. Schindler's List, SPR, Amistad are good movies. War of the Worlds is horrible.

Finally, his best work are those with a historic basis, in which he is a producer and not a director. Ex. Band of Brothers, Letters from Iwo Jima, and Flags of our Fathers.