Best Steven Spielberg film

Me, I'm torn between Temple of Doom (a seminal filmgoing experience for me) and Empire of the Sun (far and away his best 'adult' film).

it might be more fun to pick the worst

That's not a bad point actually. Feel free to start a rival poll.

I <3 Last Crusade

raiders

I have always loved Saving Private Ryan, so I voted for that one, but when you see them all together, it's amazing what a wide-ranging film-maker he is. I always kind of associate him in my mind with the more entertainment-oriented adventure / sci-fi stuff.

what about his columbo episode?

not a bit of doubt in my mind which is the best, but second is probably between raiders and jaws.

im sort of excited to see how this poll turns out!

Ryan you're not going to drop your favorite on us?

ET but i actually have big love for The Color Purple. i may be on my own there.

are these just

It's Jaws, you maniacs.

ROTLA in a landslide

return of the loser army isn't spielberg

Raiders

jurassic park

In Jaws, plastic barrels of air become scary. A perfect example of how to leave things offscreen, something Spielberg became increasingly worse at as his budgets got bigger. Also, he takes this simple, almost archetypal adventure story and puts real and large personalities in it, larger than Indiana Jones even, because he's just a 30's comic book hero, but the characters here are human-scaled. Especially Robert Shaw, whose character would be hilarious in any other movie, but is oddly believable in this one. It's a perfect balance of everything Spielberg tried later, and overdid.

Wow, I never realised until this moment just how much I truly dislike Speilberg movies. I voted for Jaws.

Jaws is the one. His most minimal and most effective film. What Kenan said, basically.

in order

raiders
jaws
close encounters
sugarland express
schindler's list
catch me if you can
e.t.

and it drops off from there.

AI is really great, if you interperet it as a cold, cynical, kubrickian movie. maybe even really great the other way, too.

raiders

i think raiders, temple of doom, jaws, minority report, jurassic park and war of the worlds are great, too.

but i voted for close encounters, which is just ... totally awesome

i agree with kenan, jaws is one of the best films of the 70s. it also has one of my favorite scenes ever: robert shaw's speech about the u.s.s. indianapolis:

a shark's got lifeless eyes, black eyes, doll's eyes...and when he comes at ya, he doesn't even seem to be livin', till he bites you...and you hear that horrible high-pitched screaming...and they come in and tear ya to pieces.

we watched it in a film class of about 200 people and that scene sucked all the air out of the room. incredibly intense.

Yes, exactly, until a few seconds later the shark starts attacking the boat again, which makes that speech seem like it was a reprieve, which it wasn't. It was just more bait for the shark.

Man, what a good movie.

so was The Terminal as bad as the trailer suggested?

never seen it. Jaws for the win

I heard that Shaw scripted that story himself? Not sure how true that is.

the most cringing thing ever was when Jaws The Revenge tried to recreate the scene with the kid copying his dad at the dinner table, with Michael Caine.

i don't like jaws.

wh3rd

http://cineclap.free.fr/retour-vers-le-futur-2/retour-vers-futur-2-01126.jpg
http://www.sharkacademy.com/images/films/loc46.jpg

tempted to add a 'sup' caption to that first pic but won't.

DUEL

E.T. no question.

DUEL

I voted this, maybe just because it's really fresh in my mind having just watched it for the first and second time in the past month. Also because it is totally kickass.

Can I vote for HOOK as the worst? Because good god it is.

so was The Terminal as bad as the trailer suggested?

Worse. Spielberg can't resist turning what should have been a quirky, slightly surreal little film into a full-on schmaltzfest.

I saw Duel for the first time a few months ago and was bored senseless. Now I use it as evidence that Spielberg ain't no good as a "pure action" director as lots of his detractors claim.

it's btwn ET, Empire of the Sun and Munich and that's all I'm sayin.

if you interperet AI as a cold, cynical, kubrickian movie, you don't understand it or kubrick.

1. It's his first film, he got better at doing action 2. You are wrong about it being boring.

xpost

AI is shit however you interperet it, I reckon.

RAIDERS

Temple of Doom is the only Jones movie in Steve's ten best.

i only saw 4 of these in the cinema, including (gaah) Always.

Every 'serious' film he's done seems to have a ten or twenty minute coda where he tells you exactly what you're supposed to be feeling. Thanks, Spielberg.

yeah, w/ most beloved contemporary directors, you feel nothing.

Empire of the Sun is rare amongst his work for not really having that kind of blatant emotional signposting. Also, I think it's no coincidence that his best film for grown-ups is about a child.

Duel is an excellent film! Just not as good as Jaws

Jurassic Park.

i know! and in really odd places, too. every time a vehicle door slams shut you can hear an x-wing racing by.

and they totally looped Chewie's voice over at least 30% of John Rhys-Davies' dialogue.

"you know, a drink?"

all we needed was Palpatine flying out of the Ark, blasting Nazis with Sith lightning.

deleted scene.

"Top...men"

pretty much a perfectly structured screenplay. zero fat.

great Wilhelms

"you know, a drink?"

I love how bizarre Karen Allen's accent gets in that last scene.

Four other people lived A.I. and I love these four other people.

aherm...LOVED A.I.

"Gigolo Joe, what do you know?"

Four other people lived through it?

(dammit, x-post!)

Too slow.

I can't believe one person actually voted for Hook! I love Peter Pan, and I have nothing against fresh reinterpretations (the French Peter Pan comic that started around the same time is great), but the way Spielberg butchered the story is unforgivable.

"AI" was a big bag of moldy cock.

I am kind of surprised that neither "The Color Purple" or "Amistad" got a vote until I remember that I am posting on ILE.

Morbz is always reppin for Amistad tho

I sort of like The Color Purple, but I'm thinking the music might have a lot to do with that. And Oprah/Harpo.

Really, the only choice I hate on this poll is He has never directed a halfway decent film.

cmon Dan Dere, for starters the Purple house was the size of Versailles. And softpedaling the lesbian stuff, dud.

I'm just saying, if my wife and her friends posted here, those two movies would have gotten votes. I mean, I didn't vote for either of them, either!

pretty much a perfectly structured screenplay.

What about that part when Indy rides for miles hanging onto a German submarine? And then beats it into port!

amistad is a boring and sucky movie, and my high school crush can be seen hanging out the window of the colonial town at the beginning.

sober, my favorite is is jaws; drunk, its raiders of the lost ark; stoned, its AI.

pretty much a perfectly structured screenplay.

What about that part when Indy rides for miles hanging onto a German submarine? And then beats it into port!

Yeah, and what about those evil spirits that come out of the box? Everyone knows evil spirits don't exist. The screenwriter should've done a bit more research.

but you're an evil spirit

snap

Anyone see the new doc? It's really good.. I had no idea about all the family stuff (estranged from his Dad for years, horrible divorce, Mum leaves Dad for his best friend etc..). I

This one
https://www.hbo.com/documentaries/spielberg

Hook is one of the worst movies i've ever seen. i love war of the worlds so much. way more than dumb AI. AI is dumb. that kid is one creepy drip though. i'll give him that. omg, jude law. lol. so sad. poor jude law. after AI he was in road to perdition which i prefer to AI. that might be the last tom hanks movie i liked too. (and the only sam mendes movie i've ever liked? could be.)

I had no idea about all the family stuff (estranged from his Dad for years, horrible divorce, Mum leaves Dad for his best friend etc..). I

Once you become aware of it it's pretty much everywhere in his work.

one long-ass search for dad.

My daughter's school held a screening of E.T. in the gym the other night. The kids were mostly running and goofing around and the movie seemed (to me) stagey and hokey, but she's been miming E.T.'s finger and saying "Phone home" for days. The movie definitely has iconic power.

E.T. is awesome.

Realizing I kinda really like Steven Spielberg was one of the worst days for my cineast cred :( I'm agnostic on ET though, so that's good?

War of the Worlds is the most underrated by this poll, amazing film

Terrifying though, don't know if I can watch it again.

I'm agnostic on ET though, so that's good?

Not really; it's among his best.

E.T./Poltergeist the yin/yang ideal of suburban something or other. so great. both of them. 1982 was a helluva year.

throw in Tootsie for the yang of Dustin

Did you mean wang?

also The Wang of Khan

Did you mean wang?

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-y1nxeV9hiE0/TrVSZK6xT3I/AAAAAAAAUDQ/valAlDv9ayk/s1600/Tootsie_182Pyxurz.jpg

Spielberg gets hated on for sentimentality but it's often overlooked at how he's such an excellent director of creepy and terrifying and grisly moments. some of the most horrifying shit i've ever seen in a film has been in a Spielberg movie. i guess because i saw a lot of it when i was a kid!

The article! The accursed article!

Yeah, and what about those evil spirits that come out of the box? Everyone knows evil spirits don't exist. The screenwriter should've done a bit more research.

― Tuomas, Wednesday, June 13, 2007 2:37 AM (ten years ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

but you're an evil spirit

― g-kit, Wednesday, June 13, 2007 3:55 AM (ten years ago)

xp here it is, icyc: https://thebaffler.com/the-immediate-experience/spielbergs-children-sturgeon

did you have to

Well, Kevin wanted to see it and probably agrees with it, so.

I've said it elsewhere but up to the point about halfway through where he stops trying, War of the Worlds is easily one of Spielberg's best films.

Kevin only visits the board when he needs an Oscars stream

Would that be a golden shower?

shame on you, you macho shithead!