Althouse: "All 29 Steven Spielberg Movies, Ranked from Worst to Best."

October 15, 2015

"All 29 Steven Spielberg Movies, Ranked from Worst to Best."

At New York Magazine.

I've never seen #1. Or #4.

90 comments:

campy said...: I've missed 21 out of the 29.; 10/15/15, 12:28 PM
Sebastian said...: I enjoyed Duel and Lincoln, found Schindler's List irritating, saw bits of E.T. and Jaws on TV once without ill effect.

Then there's this:

"Munich is his Unforgiven, boldly condemning both sides of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict for its unending cycle of violence and retribution." Yeah, sure, that's "bold."; 10/15/15, 12:31 PM
Thorley Winston said...: I've seen 13 of the 29 and four of those had "Indiana Jones" and only one had "Jurassic" in the title.; 10/15/15, 12:33 PM
Temujin said...: I'm one of that segment that thinks 'Empire of the Sun' was one of his very best. But what strikes me is that, when seen in full, the list of his movies is amazing. Still, I have to say Lincoln was almost unwatchable for me. Maybe I was in a bad mood. Just came off a week of pillaging.; 10/15/15, 12:33 PM
MadisonMan said...: 1, 2, 4, 8, 11, 12, 15, 19, 21, 27 ( I think ), 29.

So I've seen 11 of them.; 10/15/15, 12:35 PM
Unknown said...: War Horse was awful. Yeah, the barbed wire fence scene was moving, but the rest of the movie was so transparently manipulative that even that felt dirty.; 10/15/15, 12:37 PM
Etienne said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/15/15, 12:40 PM
Leeatmg said...: I admit to being confused how one could see the other three Indiana Jones films and not the first.; 10/15/15, 12:40 PM
David said...: Munich is his best film. By far. I did not see it as "condemning both sides." It was about what the struggle does to people who are engaged in its hard work. A film about people not politics.

I thought "Lincoln" was a missed opportunity, good as parts were. I had a stronger emotional reaction to Amisted than any other film I have seen. The opening of that film was as good as any opening can be.

That's a pretty broad range of subjects and techniques. The man is no one trick pony.

I did not know until recently that Duel was one of his films. I'd never seen anything quite like it when it came out. Lonely are the Brave, maybe, but Duel is a gem.; 10/15/15, 12:41 PM
MadisonMan said...: I'm not sure I can trust a list, by the way, that says Temple of Doom is better than The Last Crusade.

At our house call Indiana Jones #2 Indiana Jones and the Woman Who Screams, because that's how Kate Capshaw communicates in the movie. Ugh.; 10/15/15, 12:50 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: ET- By far his most overrated. Unmitigated dreck.; 10/15/15, 12:50 PM
rehajm said...: I'd put 4 before 2. Can't imagine what kind of metric for inflation they could use to alter that.; 10/15/15, 12:51 PM
Thorley Winston said...: I admit to being confused how one could see the other three Indiana Jones films and not the first.

I agree that the first movie is my favorite of the franchise but if you’re a more casual movie watcher who primarily watches movies that are broadcast on cable; it’s likely that you had more chances to see the last three than the first movie.; 10/15/15, 12:52 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I've seen:

28. Hook (1991)

21. The Color Purple (1985)

19. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

18. Amistad (1997)

17. Empire of the Sun (1987):

13. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

12. Jurassic Park (1993)

8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

7. Minority Report (2002)

6. War of the Worlds (2005)

5. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

3. Schindler’s List (1993).

2. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

I was glad at the time that I took the trouble to see:

21. The Color Purple (1985)

19. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

17. Empire of the Sun (1987):

13. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

12. Jurassic Park (1993)

8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

7. Minority Report (2002)

2. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Looking back, trying to think if I really liked any of these, maybe:

19. Catch Me If You Can (2002)

17. Empire of the Sun (1987):

8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

7. Minority Report (2002); 10/15/15, 12:52 PM
Ann Althouse said...: The one I enjoyed the most at the time was, without question "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."; 10/15/15, 12:54 PM
Ann Althouse said...: My favorite single thing in all the Spielberg movies I've seen was Richard Dreyfuss making Devil's Head Mountain out of his mashed potatoes and saying "This is important. This means something."

I don't really like bigness!; 10/15/15, 12:56 PM
Birches said...: War of the World is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I can't understand how it comes in at #6.

I agree with MadisonMan. Kate Capshaw is annoying; we rarely watch #2, but love Raiders and Last Crusade.

Tin Tin is highly underrated. We watch it all the time.; 10/15/15, 12:57 PM
Sigivald said...: ... you ... never saw Raiders of the Lost Ark?

What?; 10/15/15, 1:01 PM
mccullough said...: Raiders of the Lost Ark has been my favorite movie since I saw it at the theater when I was 10. I really like Minority Report as well. Spielberg has made a lot of great movies.; 10/15/15, 1:02 PM
Birches said...: We also just watched Hook with our kids a few months ago. I thought it held up very well. Of course Dustin Hoffman overacted; that was the whole point. Kids liked it a lot.; 10/15/15, 1:05 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "... you ... never saw Raiders of the Lost Ark?"

No. We looked down on that sort of thing at the time. Too commercial. Never been interested enough to bother in subsequent years. I've never read anything about the story that makes it sound interesting to me, and I'm not looking down on pure entertainment. I just see no reason to hope that it would entertain me. Never saw Jaws either.; 10/15/15, 1:08 PM
Ann Althouse said...: I was 30 when Raiders came out. 30, with a new baby, graduating from law school. Think about it: why would I go out and see "Raiders of the Lost Ark"?; 10/15/15, 1:10 PM
Ann Althouse said...: We did figure out a way to get out and see "ET" the following year. Everyone was going out to see that movie. It was mildly entertaining, nothing I remember caring about.

"Close Encounters" appealed to me most because the story of a man becoming engrossed in something seemingly foolish and destroying his whole life over it then ultimately finding meaning... that worked on me.; 10/15/15, 1:12 PM
MountainMan said...: I have seen 22 of the 29. My favorites would be "Raiders", "Crusade", "Jaws", "Private Ryan", and "Duel". Of the ones near the bottom I have to agree that most are pretty weak to bad. I remember seeing "Hook" with my kids when they were little and I thought it was awful.; 10/15/15, 1:16 PM
abby said...: It's not Devils Head Mountain, it's called Devils Tower. It's in Wyoming and was the first national monument.; 10/15/15, 1:21 PM
JSD said...: Jaws was the only movie that made me go “wow!”. The rest of them are good, but not great. Shaw, Dreyfuss and Scheider playing three trapped men on a boat. It compresses all the classic hallmarks of conflict, tension, humor and drama. It might be more of a guy flick, but so is the Treasure of Sierra Madre.; 10/15/15, 1:22 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: It should be noted that this is a list of the movies he directed

He also wrote Poltergeist, which came out in 1982, the same year as ET. ET sucks in comparison.; 10/15/15, 1:25 PM
lgv said...: Blogger Birches said...
War of the World is one of the worst movies I've ever seen. I can't understand how it comes in at #6.

Ditto. It was so meaningless, like I stepped in the theater a half hour after it started and left a half hour early.

Jaws is worth a visit. Raiders has only aged so-so.

I'm one of those that found Empire of the Sun one of my favorite Spielberg movies. I will watch again.; 10/15/15, 1:26 PM
traditionalguy said...: Empire of the Sun @17 is Spielberg's best and one of the all time best films of any Director in the Twentieth Century. It is taken closely from the novel of the same name by a writer who lived it out.

Spielberg was able to insert marvelous visuals to convey the author's message of the Twentieth Century life: That an orderly life in an Empire is good until another Empire takes over followed by extreme chaos that requires extreme survivor skills until another Empire takes over that requires extreme survivor skills again.

The author's British point of view on Americans is interesting. But the highlight is Christian Bale giving his first of many award winning performances.; 10/15/15, 1:27 PM
Known Unknown said...: "Never saw Jaws either."

A shame. Neither or the two best scenes in the film feature the shark.; 10/15/15, 1:42 PM
Known Unknown said...: "Raiders has only aged so-so. "

Bite your tongue. It is the go-to for any writer or director looking on how to create compelling action sequences.; 10/15/15, 1:43 PM
Bill Peschel said...: I was so fortunate that I didn't realize what Raiders was until I went into the theatre. I was walking down the street in Chapel Hill, in college, saw the poster and thought, "OK, I'll see that."

It was like the time a few years before when my sci-fi geek co-worker said I HAD to see this movie called "Star Wars."

I suppose that's why I'm ho-hum over the new Star Wars movie. I can feel the strings being pulled, so I'll pull back. Then there's J.J. Abrams getting his grubby mitts on it. I might see it just to find out what you get if JJ + Kasden - Lucas = ?

As for the rest of the list, I loved Tin Tin, Minority Report, the first Jurassic Park (but not the second, which I didn't realize he'd directed until I saw the closing credits). Empire of the Sun was fabulous.; 10/15/15, 1:43 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: EMD said...

A shame. Neither or the two best scenes in the film feature the shark.

1) Quint describing the sinking of the Indianapolis
2) ?; 10/15/15, 1:44 PM
Birches said...: He also wrote Poltergeist, which came out in 1982, the same year as ET. ET sucks in comparison.

Poltergeist is one of the scariest movies I've ever seen. I can't sleep after watching it, even as an adult.; 10/15/15, 1:55 PM
Static Ping said...: Damnit, Ann, I haven't seen #1 or #4 yet either. STOP STALKING MY SOUL!; 10/15/15, 1:56 PM
chuck said...: I've seen 3 1/2 of them -- walked out on AI -- and thought Duel and Raiders of the Lost Ark the best of those, although the comic book Nazis of Raiders got old fast.; 10/15/15, 2:13 PM
Baelzar said...: Who the hell hasn't seen Raiders of the Lost Ark or Jaws?! Are you Amish?

Well now you CAN'T see them - I forbid it. By the time this thread is over, your expectations will be too high to give them a fair shake.; 10/15/15, 2:15 PM
CJinPA said...: "Duel" has always been a favorite of mine. A simple story that probably couldn't work today in the era of cell phones (maybe), but for a 10 year old kid, it was quite compelling. Quite different.; 10/15/15, 2:17 PM
'TreHammer said...: ET was re-released not too many years ago. The scene where Elliot and ET escape by flying/levitating over a road block guarded by men armed with rifles was modified to have the men "armed" with walkie-talkies. wtf? BTW, I really enjoyed Minority Report and A.I.; 10/15/15, 2:19 PM
CJinPA said...: Like Ann, there are many famous movies I haven't seen. If you don't see them when they come out, and they become overhyped, you feel you already know enough about them to pass. That happened to Ghostbusters, The Godfather, and others for me.; 10/15/15, 2:20 PM
Known Unknown said...: 1) Quint describing the sinking of the Indianapolis
2) ?

Either the "Give me kiss. Why? I need it" with Scheider and his son, or the "What to do with the shark" scene where Quint is first introduced.

Also, the beginning to the Indianapolis scene was the "drunken scar comparison" dialogue.; 10/15/15, 2:21 PM
CJinPA said...: The scene where Elliot and ET escape by flying/levitating over a road block guarded by men armed with rifles was modified to have the men "armed" with walkie-talkies.

He has since restored the guns. Like many folks, he got caught up in the anti-gun paranoia.; 10/15/15, 2:22 PM
Known Unknown said...: There's a lot of E.T. backlash (that has nothing to do with the colossally stupid anti-gun CGI) by people who forgot what it's like to be a nine year old boy. These same people don't understand what Leave it to Beaver was all about either.; 10/15/15, 2:25 PM
Qwinn said...: The Amy Farrah Fowler critique of the first Raiders is pretty devastating to the plot though, to wit: Nothing Indy does in the entire movie makes a damn bit of difference in respect to how things ultimately wind up. Pretty funny when you think about it.

In my house we call Indy #2 "Indiana Jones and the Unwilling Suspension of Belief". I'm not hard to please. I can suspend disbelief about a guy pulling a still beating heart out of another man's chest, but when a rickety mining cart loaded down with 2 people jumps a huge chasm, lands perfectly on the other side and keeps going as if nothing happened is when I as a kid learned how important it is to maintain Willing Suspension of Disbelief. At that point I couldn't make myself forget that every danger he faced was a complete con. I can watch Superman with greater apprehension for his fate than for Indy now.

Minority Report was a great movie.

Loved Star Wars and Empire as a kid. But between ewoks, jar jar and mitochloriens, never again.; 10/15/15, 2:26 PM
CJinPA said...: Quint describing the sinking of the Indianapolis

There's a great "Making of Jaws" on YouTube. Quint/Robert Shaw was actually drunk when they first filmed that scene and it didn't work. He did it sober the next day and nailed it.

Show me the way to go home(bum, bum) I'm tired and I want to go to bed...; 10/15/15, 2:26 PM
Known Unknown said...: I have not seen Bridge of Spies or The Terminal. I have seen all of the others.; 10/15/15, 2:29 PM
Anonymous said...: EMD said...
1) Quint describing the sinking of the Indianapolis
2) ?

Clearly The drunken tales scene is the winner.

I'll nominate the Town Council meeting as a distant second

(admittedly there is a chalk shark); 10/15/15, 2:32 PM
Sydney said...: I would have put Duel at number 1 and Lincoln at 29.; 10/15/15, 2:34 PM
Beorn said...: ET- By far his most overrated. Unmitigated dreck.

Absolutely! I love the "Spielbergisms": schmaltzy overdramatic crap that he adds because he can.; 10/15/15, 2:35 PM
Scott said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/15/15, 2:35 PM
Scott said...: 26. Always (1989): And what's wrong with a sentimental film with airplanes?

21. The Color Purple (1985): There was a lot of criticism of Quincy Jones' score, but I thought its expressiveness was not overdone. Jones is one of America's most underrated composers.

17. Empire of the Sun (1987): To make a film epic with the lead character a 13 year old actor is incredibly daring. And it works.

13. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001): He doesn't have Kubrick's edge. Jude Law's character was the one I remember most.

12. Jurassic Park (1993): I never liked any of the JP movies. This is the only one I saw in a theater. When I come across them on cable, I switch the channel.

10. Munich (2005): Fascinating and icky. Calling it a "true-life drama" is pushing it, as he didn't have much documentary evidence to work with in the post-Olympic Village story. The toymaker-turned-bomb maker metaphor was cloyingly contrived -- a Spielberg signature.

8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): I loved Spielberg for casting Francois Truffaut. What was the rest of the movie about?

7. Minority Report (2002): This one didn't look like a Spielberg film. I liked it a lot.

5. Saving Private Ryan (1998): Ponderous as fuck.

4. Jaws (1975): I never liked it.

3. Schindler’s List (1993): The most stylish concentration camp movie ever made. The elaborate shower hall headfake was another Spielberg signature move (setting up your expectations and then doing something different), and uncalled for in a movie like this.

2. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982): Forgettable. Number 2? Really?

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): Fun film. At the same time, this is Spielberg to wretched excess. Makes me think of Pauline Kael's takedown of Andrew Sarris where she essentially says that the auteur theory is crap because it tends to lionize directors who favor formulaic dramatic elements. And indeed, she thought Spielberg in the 1980s was a very bad director.; 10/15/15, 2:37 PM
Anonymous said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 10/15/15, 2:38 PM
Anonymous said...: Show me the way to go home(bum, bum) I'm tired and I want to go to bed...

..."screaming and some times the shark go way,... and sometimes he wouldn't...; 10/15/15, 2:39 PM
trumpintroublenow said...: You really should see Jaws. Fits with your "wild animals are mean" philosophy. And a great movie regardless.; 10/15/15, 2:42 PM
Shawn Levasseur said...: - Catch Me If You Can:

Wonderful film. Also worth reading the book (Frank Abagnale's autobiography). Loved how not only Spielberg stretched his range a bit here, but especially hearing the John Williams score, which was very different from is usual fare. I like how the article characterized this as Mad Men before Mad Men existed.

- A.I.

Not a good film. The meshing of the stark Kubrick style with the E.T. like cuteness that Spielberg brought was a bit off. The ending alone, shows that in spades. However I find it interesting in hindsight as I think having made this film, the things done right and wrong informed Spielberg on the way to his next big film...

- Minority Report

Here Spielberg meshes his action/adventure side with dystopic source material much better. I especially loved how he turned the drama / action pattern of most films on its head. The big action pieces come earlier in the film, and the philosophical drama comes later in the film.

I've long hated how films are structured as if they need to tease a "big finish". It's not like trying to hold an audience to get them to watch a maximum amount of commercials on TV. You've bought the ticket, you've rented the DVD, let the story flow as it must. And Spielberg does just that.

- Hook:

I loved this film. Never mind the haters. Claims of overacting miss the point. Hoffman & Robin William's were only "over-acting" in that these roles DEMAND over-acting. Take this too seriously at your peril. (Which from what I've heard is what the recent "Pan" did, to great failure.); 10/15/15, 3:01 PM
Shawn Levasseur said...: I'd criticize Althouse for not seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark, but at least she's seen Last Crusade. That's the one film out of the series that would be the one to recommend if one is only wiling to see one of them.; 10/15/15, 3:03 PM
MikeD said...: I'll only count the ones I paid to see in a theater; 1, 2, 4 & 8. If you don't leave the house, buy a ticket & sit trapped in a horde then, you're just watching TV.; 10/15/15, 3:09 PM
Virgil Hilts said...: I thought the first third of War of the Worlds was great (second half too much red stuff everywhere) and the 15 or 20 minutes from when Cruise is left alone with the kids to rushing up the freeway with the only working car some of the best cinematography and action story telling ever filmed. Rest of movie was disappointing though. I think movie critics remember those 15 minutes.; 10/15/15, 3:14 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "Fits with your "wild animals are mean" philosophy."

I don't think I've ever said "wild animals are mean." I have an "animals are jerks" tag. I think there's a pretty significant difference between being mean and being a jerk.; 10/15/15, 3:18 PM
Ann Althouse said...: "I'd criticize Althouse for not seeing Raiders of the Lost Ark, but at least she's seen Last Crusade."

But I haven't seen "Last Crusade." I don't even recognize the title.; 10/15/15, 3:19 PM
MadisonMan said...: - Catch Me If You Can:

Wonderful film.

Agreed -- for the reasons you write. I had even forgotten Leonardo diCaprio was in it. Not a fan of his, so it says something that I can like the movie and forget that he was in it. Maybe that means his acting was good.; 10/15/15, 3:20 PM
richard mcenroe said...: During the chase scenes in Duel, look at dashboard on Dennis Weaver's poor little Plymouth Valiant. The speedo.eter is flailing back and forth trying to reach 85 mph.

The gearshift lever is in park.; 10/15/15, 3:26 PM
Original Mike said...: "The one I enjoyed the most at the time was, without question "Close Encounters of the Third Kind."

I hated that movie. Saw it in a theater (unusual for me) and fell asleep. Never have seen the end.

The reason to see Raiders of the Lost Ark is Indiana Jone's swashbuckling character and Harrison Ford's performance of same. When he hops a ride on the submarine you know this guy is not wired like the rest of us.

Not to mention, if you haven't seen the movie you don't understand Top. Men.; 10/15/15, 3:37 PM
Paddy O said...: Shawn Levasseur, I entirely agree with you on those four films; 10/15/15, 3:37 PM
Original Mike said...: "At our house call Indiana Jones #2 Indiana Jones and the Woman Who Screams, because that's how Kate Capshaw communicates in the movie. Ugh."

Amen.; 10/15/15, 3:45 PM
Smilin' Jack said...: Minority Report is the worst movie I ever walked out on. A.I. was worse, but I was riveted to my seat by the way it kept plunging to deeper and deeper levels of jaw-dropping suckitude, ending only when it had reached a diamond-hard core of pure suck, and could go no further. In its way, a remarkable achievement.; 10/15/15, 3:46 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "Jaws" is brilliant. I don't even like that kind of movie, and it's brilliant.

One cannot understand children of the 80's without having seen "Raiders of the Lost Ark," one of the most formative movies of our childhoods. All of us (even the girls!) wanted to be Indiana Jones.; 10/15/15, 3:47 PM
Michelle Dulak Thomson said...: Hmmm. Of that list, I've seen:

Close Encounters
Jaws
Schindler's List
E.T.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Jurassic Park (original)
Minority Report
parts of Saving Private Ryan

Birches, re: Poltergeist, you can say that again. The scene that creeps me out more than any other is where the father goes into the bathroom and starts literally pulling his face apart. Compared to that, corpses popping out of the earth and filling the unfinished swimming pool, and even the ginormous Mouth of Hell at the end, are chickenfeed. For me, that scene is like two minutes of hell.

BTW: The little box that the canary (?) was in, that got exhumed by the people digging the pool? This is called "foreshadowing." They teach that in film school :-); 10/15/15, 3:49 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: 8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): I loved Spielberg for casting Francois Truffaut. What was the rest of the movie about?

Ha! That's mainly what I remember about it too.; 10/15/15, 3:50 PM
Shawn Levasseur said...: Althouse: "But I haven't seen "Last Crusade." I don't even recognize the title."

"Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" was the full title. #15 on the list.

I must have misunderstood you. You said, "'I've never seen #1. Or #4." I presumed that meant those were the only ones you hadn't seen. I take it that you were only highlighting what you hadn't seen in the top few.; 10/15/15, 3:50 PM
holdfast said...: Very unfair to Hook - a really fun and sweet movie.

Munich is typical lefty terrorist symp BS.

War of the Worlds is useless and incoherent.

Chrystal Skull - well, can't really express my thoughts on this PG-13 blog.; 10/15/15, 3:52 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: I've seen all of them except A.I., Always, and Bridge of Spies.; 10/15/15, 3:53 PM
rcocean said...: Its amazing how Film critics can't discuss any film without loading it up with Left-wing cant and jargon. Anything related to the the 50s will bring up Joe McCarthy, Repression, Xenophobia, etc. We and always get plenty of race/class/gender analysis.; 10/15/15, 4:44 PM
rcocean said...: Looking thru the movies I was surprised at how many i disliked or found dull. And I still find SS's mancrush on Richard Dreyfuss astounding.; 10/15/15, 4:46 PM
William said...: I've seen most of them. I liked the opening sequence of Raiders. Even if you weren't ten years old, it made you feel like you were ten years old. Karen Allen was the best heroine. My significant other at the time pointed out that she had freckles and that women with freckles were never represented among Hollywood leading ladies. Give Spielberg credit for diversity in casting and presenting a positive role mold for freckled women......I liked his pulpy movies better than those with High Seriousness, but they're all pretty good.; 10/15/15, 4:48 PM
rcocean said...: Close Encounters of the Third Kind - one of those movies large numbers of people love and I just find "Meh". As someone up thread stated, what was the point?; 10/15/15, 4:49 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: "Raiders" has, by far, the best love interest character of all the Indiana Jones films.; 10/15/15, 4:53 PM
Paddy O said...: Freeman, well the first and the last share the same love interest character if I remember. The characterization was certainly more interesting in the first movie.; 10/15/15, 5:06 PM
Birches said...: - Catch Me If You Can:

Wonderful film.

"I should have concurred" has become a catch phrase at our house.; 10/15/15, 5:28 PM
Freeman Hunt said...: That took me a minute. I forgot there was a fourth Indiana Jones.; 10/15/15, 5:40 PM
Kelly said...: ET had no advertising in the beginning if I recall right . We had no idea what we were going to see. I was a teen at the time and remember holding in the sobs. Schindler was a work of art if you ask me. I saw it while we were stationed in Germany and I remember driving home from the theater afterwards and looking at the elderly Germans and wondering how much they knew and how could people that I liked so much have done such a thing. .; 10/15/15, 6:19 PM
Michael K said...: I liked Close Encounters for the end scenes except the goofy one with the people returning. I did like the idea of the tonal language. Jaws was terrific. My partner would never go scuba diving again after that, Jurassic Park was great. The Raiders movies were OK. Both Munich and Saving Private Ryan had far too much of Spielberg's politics, in them. Duel was great.; 10/15/15, 6:36 PM
William said...: Schindler's List was a fine movie, but I've never known anyone who wanted to see it twice. If you liked Raiders or some of the other Spielberg films, one viewing was not enough.; 10/15/15, 7:04 PM
Phil 314 said...: I've seen almost all of them. I really like Speilberg but at the same time I see that his great skill with film technique gets the best of his. He knows how to play his audience.

I have to admit for all of its problems, "A.I" still haunts. The ending seen is deeply depressing. (Human existence becomes stored memory in a world of robots.); 10/15/15, 8:51 PM
CatherineM said...: Jaws. Watch that and Poltergeist once a year.

Jaws...nice hat Harry...the Indianapolis "like a doll's eyes ..." I think it was David Fincher who says he grades people based on where Jaws fits into their list.

Poltergeist is so Speilbergy (the dog, the kids) the rumor was always that he did direct it, not Toby Hooper. JoBeth Williams and Craig T. Nelson and Beatrice Straight were fantastic. So scary. So good. It's almost Poltergeist time again. It should be on the list.

Empire of the Sun. So. Good. If it loses people it's because it's long. It's like Home Alone While the World Ends.

ET. Hated it when I was 12. War of the Worlds...amazing effects. Love it in the beginning. It has shitty dialogue like the people weren't important and their struggle to survive should mattered to you, but I had no idea who they were other than they were annoying, so I didn't care. I wanted to kill them all during scene from after the aliens emerge and Tom is back at the house to grab the kids and go. For 10 min the dialogue is. "Dad? Dad? Dad! Daaaaad? What's going on? Speak to me." Tom can't say," I am not sure but let's get out of her and figure it out. Hate Tom Cruise (he's a longshoreman? Really?). I hate the kids even more. Dakota Fanning at her most obnoxious, almost like Amy Pohler's impression of her. Aholes.; 10/15/15, 9:24 PM
TWW said...: I agree with everything Smilin Jack said about Minority Report and AI except he was much too kind in his criticism of the latter. Think about the worst movie you have ever seen. Got it? AI is infinitely worse. I too walked out on Minority Report, it being unwatchable to an extent that I could feel brain cells dieing.; 10/15/15, 9:45 PM
chuck said...: I hate the kids even more.

All Spielberg kids are brats, I root for them to die. Unfortunately, they don't.; 10/15/15, 10:43 PM
Hunter said...: @TWW

Not real into hard sci-fi, I guess?

I thought Minority Report was excellent up until where it should have ended -- with Tom Cruise's character going into the vault. The rest felt cheap and tacked on, and certainly isn't how Philip Dick would conclude a story.; 10/15/15, 10:46 PM
Joe said...: Empire of the Sun is great; it's actually remarkably restrained and lacks a lot of Spielbergisms (once you see them, they drive you crazy.) The acting is nothing short of incredible.; 10/15/15, 10:59 PM
dbp said...: I was an early fan but that changed when the steaming pile of schmaltz, ET came out and I stayed away from his films for the most part after that.

Raiders and Jaws are classics: Entertaining, well made and you really need to see them just to see the source of so many cultural references.

I stayed away from Schindler and PVT Ryan due to having been already holocaust and WWII movied-out by then. I still think 1941 is a comic gem and it is one of the few movies with John Belushi.; 10/16/15, 1:05 PM