Need Help Remembering An Old Tv Special On Steven Spielberg

Do you remember the first time you ever saw a Steven Spielberg film?

Jurassic Park, I believe, when I was 10 years or younger. We were eating icecream while watching it. We have our own Home Theatre with a large beamer and projection in a painted-black room with surround sound systems. It was absolutely amazing and one of the movies that — like millions across the world — sparked my love for dinosaurs even more. I wouldn’t see Jaws until 6 years later along with Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan. I did see the Indiana Jones movies at this age and boy did I love those too. Especially the Last Crusade, my favourite indiana Jones movie. I watched those on an old dvd player but enjoyed them nonetheless. They are classics and all kids should see them. Except the fact that back in those times PG ratings didn’t mean babies but it meant pretty hardcore movies. Back in a time when children’s movies were pretty darn scary sometimes. I mean we all remember those Indiana Jones death scenes.

Who is a better director? Steven Spielberg or Christopher Nolan?

Hm, I agree with David Mullichs conclusion but not the way he achieved it.Comparing these two directors with the American Film Institute’s list (based on 2007) is in my opinion highly unfair. Christopher Nolan until 2007 only directed 5 movies, compared with 44 movies that were directed by Steven Spielberg until 2007.So there might be better suited scenarios and comparisons.Let’s for example take the IMDB rating (I know, not the best approach either) and compare the best 9 movies (since Christopher Nolan didn’t make more up to now).Christopher Nolan:The Dark Knight – 9,0Inception – 8,8Interstellar – 8,6The Prestige – 8,5Memento – 8,5The Dark Knight Rises – 8,5Batman Begins – 8,3Following – 7,6Insomnia 7,2Steven Spielberg:Schindler’s List – 8,9Saving Private Ryan – 8,6Raiders of the lost Ark – 8,5Indiana Jones and the last crusade – 8,3Jurassic Park – 8,1Catch me if you can – 8,1Jaws – 8,0ET – the extra terrestrial – 7,9Empire of the Sun – 7,8Both directors have amazing movies on top, but if you take a look at the “worst” 5 movies according to IMDB you get this result:Christopher Nolan:Insomnia 7,2Following – 7,6Batman Begins – 8,3The Dark Knight Rises – 8,5Memento – 8,5Steven Spielberg:Something Evil – 5,61941 – 5,9Firelight – 6,0Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the crystal Skull – 6,2Always – 6,4As you can see, Christopher Nolan has failed to make a bad movie yet, while Steven Spielberg has made some bad directing decisions.But let’s be honest, Steven Spielberg managed to make movies that made history (see the American Film Institute’s list of the best American films of all time) and that changed the way movies are made and perceived.I believe that Christopher Nolan is the better writer and his scripts are more intense than Steven Spielbergs (especially Memento and The Prestige are amazing from a storytelling point of view) but Steven Spielberg itself is the better director.

Do you think Steven Spielberg is embarrassed when he looks back at some of his old films?

Yes. He said in a recent interview that he’s embarrased by the theme of Close Encounters of the Third Kind. While it was a great movie - a real groundbreaker for its time, he says the subtext of the story about man leaving his wife and kids to go off into space forever is not something he would ever write about again.He states that the movie was a metaphor for his life at the time when he wrote it. He was an aspiring young writer, moviemaker who wanted desperately to break into Hollywood in a big way, so just like Richard Dryfus’ character in Close Encounters, he destroyed his small home with equipment, ignored his family, and eventually abandoned them in search of a “better” life among the stars.He says it’s embarrassing because his kids are all grown now and their relationship is strained and that he left behind a wonderful woman(his ex-wife). He’s full of regret over it. Says if he could go back to his 20s he would not make the same choices - he’s more mature now.But if he were a different man, one who loved and adored his wife and kids and didn’t care so much about making great movies, we wouldn’t have E.T. or Raiders, or Jaws, or Jurrassic Park. But I see his point.Another Quora member has pointed out to me that this post is incorrect. Spielburg didn’t base CE on his own life, he didn’t leave his family, he wasn’t married yet and didn’t have children. He later said about the movie’s ending that he wouldn’t have had the main character ditch his family and go off into space. Maybe he was basing it on George Lucas’ married life, who knows.