Spielberg (2017)

A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.

Director:

Susan Lacy

Stars:

Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Richard Dreyfuss

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steven Spielberg	...	Himself
Martin Scorsese	...	Himself - Director
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Himself - Actor
Bill Butler	...	Himself - Cinematographer
John Williams	...	Himself - Composer
David Edelstein	...	Himself - Film Critic
Michael Phillips	...	Himself - Producer
Nancy Spielberg	...	Herself - Sister
Anne Spielberg	...	Herself - Sister
Janet Maslin	...	Herself - Film Critic
Sue Spielberg	...	Herself - Sister
Leah Adler	...	Herself - Parent
Arnold Spielberg	...	Himself - Parent
J.J. Abrams	...	Himself - Director
Sid Sheinberg	...	Himself - Former President of MCA Inc. / Universal

Storyline

A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.

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Taglines:

Direct from the heart.

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Genres:

Documentary | Biography

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Certificate:

TV-MA

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

7 October 2017 (USA)

Also Known As:

Спилберг

Company Credits

Production Co:

HBO Documentary Films,Pentimento Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

147 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

16:9 HD

Did You Know?

Trivia

There is no reference to Spielberg's movie "Always" , except brief appearance of Holly Hunter.

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Goofs

A clip of "Wayne's World 2" (1993) that parodies "Jurassic Park" is incorrectly labeled as "Wayne's World" (1992). The first "Wayne's World" film could not have included a parody of "Jurassic Park," since "Jurassic Park" had not yet been filmed when "Wayne's World" was released in 1992.

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Quotes

Herself - Film Critic: He speaks cinema as if it's his native language.

User Reviews

The amazing life and times of Steven Spielberg

"Spielberg" (2017 release; 147 min.) is a documentary about the life and times of legendary film maker Steven Spielberg. As the movie opens, Spielberg describes in glorious detail the profound impression left on him when he saw "Lawrence of Arabia" in the theater in 1962, and again and again (much later in the documentary, Spielberg confesses he still watches that movie at least once a year). We then go to the "Bridge of Spies" movie set, where Spielberg is seen giving detailed instructions as a particular scene is being prepped. Next comes a lengthy passage about "Jaws", whose unexpected commercial success (in particular in view of the almost disastrous production) "changed my life", Spielberg comments. "It Was a free pass into my future". At this point we are less than 15 min. into the documentary.

Couple of comments: this documentary is directed by Susan Lacy, best known for being the Executive Producer of the American masters TV series. Here she presents a portrait of Steven Spielberg. While of course spending lots of time on Spielberg's key movies (none gets more screen time than "Schindler's List"), we also get a peek into Spielberg's personal life (reason that I refer to "the life and times"). "I am a child of divorce" could well easily have been the sub-title of the documentary, as Spielberg points out time and again how profoundly this has affected his film-making, and why there are so many "dissolution of family" themes in his films. We also get some fascinating 8mm footage from the Spielberg family when Steven was growing up (no mention, though, that Steven was born in Cincinnati--where I live). Lacy interviews a ton of people, including Steven's parents and three sisters, but of course also many contemporaries (in particular George Lucas, Brian de Palma, Martin Scorsese and Francis Ford Coppola). But in the end, the most fun remains watching the many highlights of Spielberg's most important movies, commentated by Spielberg himself. Counting his early 70s TV work, Spielberg has been making movies for almost half a century! It simply blows the mind. You may or may not like Spielberg's style of movies, but he undeniably has been one of the top directors in Hollywood for decades, and still is to this day. Can't wait for his upcoming movie "Ready Player One", to be released in early 2018.

"Spielberg" premiered at this year's New York Film Festival to good acclaim, and recently opened up on HBO, where I saw it a few days ago. While the documentary isn't "revolutionary" (and clearly was made with the blessing of the Spielberg family), I nevertheless quite enjoyed it and was amazed how quickly these 2 1/2 hrs. flew by. If you are a film buff, or a fan of Steven Spielberg, you cannot go wrong with this.