Your favourite Steven Spielberg movie?
 

As Spielberg has made about twice as many films as there are options in the poll I've had to condense it by putting sequels together and what I imagined would be less popular choices together. If one of the last two wins I guess that will show I should have worked it out differently!

I have a feeling the old ones will be a lot more popular than the new ones. So things to discuss are: does Spielberg suck now? Hasn't he done so for a while? Why? What's his WORST film? What do you love about Spielberg (even if it's just the old one)? What annoys you about Spielberg? What would you tell/ask him if you met him? Thanks for contributing.

For me it's, hands down, Raiders of the Lost Ark. This film changed my life. No hyperbole there either... After seeing that film, I realized for the first time in my life that people make a living making movies. I decided I wanted to work in film and television.

Now I do.

I'd have to say that Duel is my second favourite. The main reason for that is it showed me, at a very young age (I saw it when it first aired on TV), that you don't need a lot to tell a very good and gripping story. I still use it as a touchstone when I need to talk about keeping things simple in storytelling.

Has Spielberg lost his touch? I don't think so. I think he still tells great stories. If anything, I think we, as viewers, have changed. Our expectations are different, different in part because of the strides that young filmmakers like Spielberg took in filmmaking and storytelling. We want different things now. Things that younger filmmakers on the cutting edge are making for us.

Close one between Raiders and Saving Private Ryan. I think ultimately SPR is the best on the list though hands down.

I voted ET - before walkie-talkies - because I love cute little aliens.

Actually, I wish Spielberg had kept up with writing movies. Close Encounters, Poltergeist, Goonies... all three are great movies that he has story and/or screenplay credits on.

Charlatan may be right that we demand different things from movies now, but I do find myself less interested in Spielberg's more recent movies. I enjoyed Minority Report, but it didn't have the magic of ET, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, etc. It was also inferior to the short story it was based on, but that's to be expected.

I'm withholding judgement until I see The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Unicorn.

I was torn between Indy and SPR, but chose Indiana since its more than 1 movie of badass.

Well, which do you want, because the thread title says favourite but the poll says best.

My favourite is hook, but I wouldn't be daft enough to assert it as the best film Spielberg has ever directed.

Good point Hektore, I voted favorite.

Jurassic Park was the first movie that completely blew me away. I enjoy many of the films listed, but Jurassic Park holds a special place in my heart. Is it his best? No. I'm torn between Schindler's List and The Color Purple as being his best. I know a lot of people think SPR is his best, but I just didn't care for it.

Of all the films listed, A.I. stands out as the most memorable one. I know there are many people who disliked the movie, but I liked it a great deal.

Also, I watched Saving Private Ryan after watching The Band of Brothers several times, so it didn't really have an impact on me as it did on those who watched it first.

I think I've only seen about half of these. I decided to vote "Which movie would I rent tonight if I wanted to see a Spielberg?", so I voted for 1941. Nothing deep, but it is a fun fun film.

It should be your favourite rather than best. I don't think I can change it now. Also, Empire of the Sun has been accidentally omitted.

I think there's only two or three I haven't seen on the list but there's lots I haven't seen for a long time - Close Encounters, Catch Me If You Can, AI. All the same even if I watched them all back to back now I think I'd still be torn, as I am now, between Jaws and ET. Jaws was my favourite for a long long time because of the characters and dialogue, the technical innovation/grandstanding and its spot-on pacing (starting slow - building up and up and up to a shattering climax - then ending, quickly, on a high - hardly any films seem to do this effectively). When I get into a conversation with someone about Jaws and they start griping about the shark I have to bite my fist, walk away and cool down for a bit.

But after dillydallying for a bit I picked ET because it still brings a tear to my eye whereas Jaws doesn't frighten me any longer. I can appreciate Jaws but I've worn it out by watching it too often and researching it too comprehensively. Spectacular and amazing as it is, Jaws has become a box of tricks whose mechanics and surprises I know inside out. ET on the other hand seems to have an emotional depth I cannot ever quite get to the bottom of. Frights and shocks can and are (and should be IMO) picked over and analysed whereas you really can't do that to the uncomplicated but devastating sorrow and heartache in ET - at least I can't, and wouldn't want to, which is why ET retains its magic and the top spot on my Spielberg list.

As for his others, Jurassic Park and its almost-as-good sequel are next, then Schindler's, SPR, Munich, AI and so on. I have a deep and persistent dislike of Indiana Jones ("Indy" to his friends - not me!) who'll probably win, dammit - should have split his films up so he wouldn't! ...I can't get into that here and now. Having said that and thought about it I suppose this thread's the perfect place for that but I'm hungry so maybe later.

I do hope you come back and tell us why you hate Indy so much, I'm very curious to know why.


I picked Indy myself. I really like a lot of the movies in the poll, but I guess I like Indy the most, I watch it most often. I'd probably watch E.T. more, because I LOVE it just as much as Indy, but I don't have a copy anymore. :(

There's a few on that list I haven't seen before, but now I'll take the time to watch.

Minority Report was one of the best short stories I ever read. It felt a little butchered with Cruise as the lead character. Even so, I really enjoyed it.

Jurassic Park opened up my imagination to the impossible as a kid, and Hook looks like so much fun! I remember being jealous of every kid that got to be in that movie. I'm grateful for Spielberg's imagination and vision for these two movies to be what they are. I never tire of them. They'll always be in my movie list.

I think there is another force at work here... age.

I am just realizing that many of you were very young, or not even born when movies like Raiders of the Lost Ark and Jaws came out. Your experience of these film will be coloured by discovering then on video rather than during their original release (and all the trappings and expectations that go with an original release - eg when Jaws came out it was a cultural phenomenon).

Okay, I give up. I'm not waiting until Tintin.

It's Raiders of the Lost Ark, all right? At the time of its release, it was absolutely movie magic, capturing the hearts of every adventurous girl and boy. It stands the test of time, but back then? It was epic, iconic, and absolutely mind-blowing. I mean, we're talking about 1981 here.

Indiana Jones!

He's has some really good movies in the last decade. Catch Me If You Can was great. AI gets better every time I watch it. Munich, which didn't appeal to mr personally was loved by critics. War of the World and the Indy flick aren't in my top 10 but really, they're still better than many other flicks.

Man, I can't wait until The Pacific comes on next week....

I voted for the last because "Minority Report", "War of the worlds" and "catch me if you can" are movies I liked. I would have voted Jurassic park but it's not the movie script that was good, it was the 3d effects and story.

Pretty much the same for me.
Indiana Jones was nice when I was a kid, but looking back on it now, I'm not as much of a fan.
"Catch Me if You Can," now that's an excellent film.

Indy got my vote.
I would've voted E.T. and Empire of the Sun, too, if I could've.
I still get shivers when Christian Bale sings his song.

I don't much care for Indy. Even with the fact that the films are set in the 30's, they still manage to look dated.


Hands down for me is Schindler's List. I also think Catch Me If You Can is better than the Indy films. Best knock knock joke ever.

I enjoy all of his films equally and have no favorite among the list you displayed.

However, I do have super high expectations when a film is released and it is directed by Spielberg. Why? Probably because he has made such excellent films in the past that I expect the story, special effects and the characters to be far better than other movies released.

Since I have been disappointed with movies in the past due to me having such a high expectation because of the hype and constant advertising that I have decided to go in with super low expectations for every movie I see in the theater. That way I am not upset or disappointed after viewing the film

i feel churlish but i really dislike steven speilberg's films. they're big and stupid. i feel like i'm being talked down to by some oaf. i tried to make myself like them, but it didnt work. et was the tiresome story of squat ugly jesus. raiders et al had that awful john williams music that made me want to drive needles into my forehead. schindlers list....ok so we're watching a film about the warsaw ghetto and speilberg assumes that we're not emotionally involve enough so he puts the little girl in red in... this goes on and on. the quinessential hollywood mainstream director who makes the lamest of loud dumb entertainments. i'd rather have a beer.

but i liked duel.
i kinda like empire of the sun.

Wow, that's a great summary, roachboy. I can't say I'm much of a fan of his work, really, which is why I didn't need to think long on the poll. I was a child when I watched the Indiana Jones movies...so the music of John Williams was exciting to me.

I think a lot of arguments can be (and have been) made for Raiders. Jurassic Park was also phenomenal, but I'd give Michael Crichton the credit for that - it was an excellent book. JP was more of a CGI triumph than a good interpretation of storytelling.

I voted for Saving Private Ryan, though, because I don't think any movie affected me on so many levels - I mean, has anyone seen anything that comes close to its first 15 minutes? That was film-making at its finest. The only negative thing I can say about SPR was that Vin Diesel was in it, but at least they had the good sense to kill him off first.

EDIT LATER: BTW, I know that, as in Band of Brothers, Spielberg & Hanks are producers, not directors - but I'm really looking forward to The Pacific starting tomorrow on HBO.

Completely agree. In fact, my answer to the main question is kind of a cheat: Poltergeist. He executive produced it and basically directed it by proxy -- word has it that he micromanaged Tobe Hooper to no end.

The shoot might have been frustrating, and the lives of certain castmembers were unfortunate, but the movie really stands the test of time. The first half of the movie is a brilliant slow burn and doesn't rush straight to the ghost money shot. This is actually my favorite aspect of classic Spielburg -- the guy knew PACING. Jaws, ET, Poltergeist...these movies took their time building characters with the small scenes. You can't beat the scenes with Brody at the table with his son or Elliot showing off his action figures to E.T. Yeah, they don't really service the overall plot, but it wouldn't be the same movie without them.

I agree with that 100%. I also really rate Poltergeist: it fits in well with Close Encounters and ET. Proxy or not Spielberg could absolutely nail those domestic scenes.

My two main reasons for disliking Indiana Jones are the actor and the character. This applies equally to the first three films. I have not seen the latest one but I don't suppose it would make much of a difference. Be assured I'm not speaking from a position of ignorance: I've seen the three multiple times (as numerous peers have made subsequent efforts to try to change my mind about them) and I can remember them all reasonably well.

The actor: I don't like Harrison Ford. I can watch him easily enough, but I find him cold, rude, unnecessarily abrupt, smug and I hardly ever really care about the characters he plays. I like some of his films - Witness, Frantic, The Fugitive and the two Jack Ryan films - but scarcely because of him. It could just as well be Dennis Quaid playing those roles. I can stand him in Star Wars - even though all those adjectives apply - because the attention isn't always on him. The Indiana Jones francise is a one man show where the focus is relentlessly and exhaustingly on him.

The character: Indiana Jones is a selfish, callous, arrogant, childish and often cruel individual. He's so dislikeable. Watching these films I simply do not want him to triumph because he's unpleasant. Macho, rugged, tough and resplendent with adventuring and fighting skills though he is, Jones comes across, implicitly, as either impotent or asexual. It's very difficult to imagine an Indiana Jones sex scene: I suspect he'd burst into tears if it ever got that far. The absence of sex is a Spielberg trademark but nowhere does it make itself as conspicuous and incongruous as in these films.

If some other actor played a character similar to Indiana Jones, but he was less of a scowling, anti-social and perennially flaccid penis and more of a, you know, proper hero I could enjoy the films a bit more, I think. But still they're really too big, too dumb, too emptily extravagant and with too much loud and stupid shit going on for me to get much from. They're just hollow bluster and hot air. I saw bits and pieces of them on TV when I was much younger and as I mentioned, I've watched them more properly as an adult, several times - I've tried to get into them, to see the appeal. It's pretty lonely on this side: the only people I meet who seem to shared my sentiments are unthinking buffoons who can't concentrate on films that aren't The Fast and the Furious and whose so-called opinions are, to me, completely invalid anyway. I don't begrudge anyone who likes the films any more than I would fans of, say, Star Wars (not me) or Harry Potter (me); however if anyone wants to counter my arguments above and get a healthy debate going, I'm up for it.

Wow. You dis Dr. Jones. Shocking. Takes some balls to do that.

I don't even think we are watching the same films. To suggest he is asexual or impotent is way out there. The guy is sex in a leather jacket and fedora. Hell, I'd sleep with him and I don't swing that way. Given that the original three (I'd like to forget the latest instalment thank you) were meant as homage to films from the 30s and 40s, the hero is going to be represented differently. I suppose you would suggest that Humphrey Bogart was impotent and asexual because he never has sex on screen, or seems to be ignoring the ladies. Far from it.

Jones sleeps with all three of the ladies, most explicitly with the Nazi in the third one.

As for scowling and anti-social... I don't even know where to start. I suppose you might have preferred Alan Alda to play Indiana Jones. Jones is a man on a mission but he is on the right side of things and has a heart. Why would he befriend Short Round or Sallah or Marcus if he was heartless? Why would he bother to help Willie at all? Why return the Sankara stone to the village? His motivations are not sinister.

Is he gruff and abrupt? Sure. Does he warm up over time? Yep.

I suppose if you don't like Harrison Ford, you are already behind the eight ball on this but really... the character you've described is nothing like the one up on the screen.

I don't think I can lump all Spielberg's movies into the same category. There are too many genres there.

So:

Best Drama- Schindler's List
Best Adventure Film- Raiders of the Lost Ark
Best Sci-Fi/Fantasy- Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Worst? Harder to say.

AI. 1941. Hook. Munich.

I'm just not sure.

Schindler's List.

Spielberg has an annoying habit of putting a super happy smiley ending on everything he does, especially war movies. Schindler's List had the least offensive version of said ending

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Ok, I admit that I exaggerated about how much I don't like Indiana Jones. I knew it would be contraversial and I slagged him more than he probably deserves, mostly for the fun of it. That was a bad thing to do and I'm sorry. Actually I'm glad too because it prompted the excellent and very amusing suggestion of Alan Arkin as Jones.

But I disagree with this reasoning: that the films are sex-free because they're intended as homage to, presumably, Golden Age adventure films such as Gunga Din and King Solomon's Mines. Such films also didn't have sex in them, but they also didn't have the brutal and often excessive violence that the IJ films do. The IJ films sex-violence ratio is out of balance. Genre films that are as violent as IJ usually have fairly strong sex/sexual scenes, where appropriate. James Bond films, for example, are slightly more restrained in their violence yet Bond (whatever actor plays him) seems a far more virile character simply because we see him having sex quite frequently.

I think Indy's chastity can be explained thusly:

"Hey Dr. Jones, No time for love!"