Spielberg on Spielberg (2007) (TV)

Director:

Richard Schickel

Writer:

Richard Schickel (written by)

Release Date:

9 July 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography

Plot:

Considered to be one of the most respected film critics in the country, as evidenced by his work with Time magazine...

Plot Keywords:

Filmmaker | Film Director

Cast

Steven Spielberg

...

Himself

Runtime:

86 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Company:

Lorac Productions

Movie Connections:

Features Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)

Spielberg talks enthusiastically about his films...

I'm not quite sure why the credits state that this was "written by Richard Schickel" because STEVEN SPIELBERG does all of the talking without notes, seemingly from the top of his head, and they seem to be his own words, not the words of a writer.

He begins telling how he made home movies as a boy, and as a young man took one of those bus tours to the Universal studio where he hid out in the men's restroom and waited until the tour left before he began his own walking tour of the various buildings. After meeting one of the department heads, he was lucky enough to get a three day pass that enabled him to return day after day for further inspection of the premises and to get familiar with the various aspects of film-making. He even returned on the fourth day, hoping the studio guard would recognize him and let him in. He did, and Spielberg spent the rest of his summer vacation on the Universal studio lot.

He dropped out of college in his sophomore year to direct and thereby began his career behind the camera, first in films for television (his first TV film starred Joan Crawford and Barry Sullivan), and then for the major studios.

He has some fascinating tidbits to tell about his reasons for making all the films on his resume--everything from early films like DUEL and SUGARLAND EXPRESS, to his triumph with JAWS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. He even had to learn from his failure with 1941 (Pauline Kael had warned him what a difficult time critics would give him once he had a failure).

But then came RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, E.T. and JURASSIC PARK, all of which benefited from his unbridled imagination and enthusiasm.

He discusses his darker films too, declaring that THE COLOR PURPLE was his first adult drama; that EMPIRE OF THE SUN was told from a boy's point of view, always looking upward at the freedom of flying; SCHINDLER'S LIST was the portrait of a very ambiguous man and a very difficult period for the Jewish people.

He talks too about SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, A.I., MINORITY REPORT, WAR OF THE WORLDS, MUNICH and AMISTAD, and why these projects captured his imagination and were important projects for him to do.

Any film buff would be interested in this documentary on a great filmmaker.