Favourite Spielberg Film

[Lee909]

His best film is Schindler's List but my favourite film is Raiders Of The Lost Ark

 

 

One of my favourite shows

[YOUTUBE]-TptEU_605s[/YOUTUBE]

 

Forbes magazine places Spielberg's personal net worth at $3.0 billion

 

What a career

Academy Awards:

 

1978: Best Director (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, nominated)

1982: Best Director (Raiders of the Lost Ark, nominated)

1983: Best Director (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, nominated)

1983: Best Picture (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, nominated)

1986: Best Picture (The Color Purple, nominated)

1987: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award (won)

1994: Best Director (Schindler's List, won)

1994: Best Picture (Schindler's List, won)

1999: Best Director (Saving Private Ryan, won)

1999: Best Picture (Saving Private Ryan, nominated)

2006: Best Director (Munich, nominated)

2006: Best Picture (Munich, nominated)

2007: Best Picture (Letters from Iwo Jima, nominated)

BAFTA Awards:

 

1976: Best Direction (Jaws, nominated)

1979: Best Direction (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, nominated)

1979: Best Screenplay (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, nominated)

1983: Best Direction (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, nominated)

1983: Best Film (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, nominated)

1986: Academy Fellowship (won)

1994: Best Film (Schindler's List, won)

1994: David Lean Award for Direction (Schindler's List, won)

1999: Best Film (Saving Private Ryan, nominated)

1999: David Lean Award for Direction (Saving Private Ryan, nominated)

Cannes Film Festival

 

1974: Best Screenplay (The Sugarland Express, won)

1974: Golden Palm (The Sugarland Express, nominated)

Critics Choice Awards:

 

1999: Best Director (Saving Private Ryan, won)

2003: Best Director (Catch Me If You Can and Minority Report, won)

2006: Best Director (Munich, nominated)

Directors Guild of America:

 

1976: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Jaws, nominated)

1978: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, nominated)

1982: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Raiders of the Lost Ark, nominated)

1983: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, nominated)

1986: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (The Color Purple, won); this was the first time a director won this award without receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Director.

1988: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Empire of the Sun, nominated)

1994: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Schindler's List, won)

1998: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Amistad, nominated)

1999: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Saving Private Ryan, won); this win makes Spielberg the only individual to win this award three times.

2000: The D.W. Griffith Award for Lifetime Achievement

2006: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures (Munich, nominated)

Golden Globes:

 

1976: Best Director (Jaws, nominated)

1978: Best Director (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, nominated)

1978: Best Screenplay (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, nominated)

1982: Best Director (Raiders of the Lost Ark, nominated)

1983: Best Picture – Drama (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, won)

1983: Best Director (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, nominated)

1986: Best Director (The Color Purple, nominated)

1994: Best Picture – Drama (Schindler's List, won)

1994: Best Director (Schindler's List, won)

1998: Best Director (Amistad, nominated)

1999: Best Picture – Drama (Saving Private Ryan, won)

1999: Best Director (Saving Private Ryan, won)

2002: Best Director (AI: Artificial Intelligence, nominated)

2006: Best Director (Munich, nominated)

2008: Cecil B. DeMille Award (won)

 

Primetime Emmys:

 

1986: Outstanding Directing in a Drama Series (Amazing Stories for episode "The Mission", nominated)

1991: Outstanding Animated Program – One Hour or Less (Tiny Toon Adventures for episode "The Looney Beginning", nominated)

1995: Outstanding Animated Program – One Hour or Less (Tiny Toon Adventures: Night Ghoulery, nominated)

1996: Outstanding Animated Program – One Hour or Less (A Pinky & the Brain Christmas Special, won)

2002: Outstanding Non-Fiction Special – Informational (We Stand Alone Together, nominated)

2002: Outstanding Miniseries (Band of Brothers, won)

2003: Outstanding Miniseries (Taken, won)

2006: Outstanding Miniseries (Into the West, nominated)

 

Producers Guild of America:

 

1994: Motion Picture Producer of the Year (Schindler's List, won)

1998: Motion Picture Producer of the Year (Amistad, nominated)

1998: Vision Award (Amistad, won)

1999: Motion Picture Producer of the Year (Saving Private Ryan, won)

1999: Milestone Award (won)

2000: PGA Hall of Fame – Motion Pictures (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, won)

2002: Television Producer of the Year – Longform (Band of Brothers, won)

2006: Television Producer of the Year – Longform (Into the West, nominated)

Saturn Awards:

 

1978: Best Director (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, won); tied with George Lucas for Star Wars

1978: Best Writing (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, won); tied with George Lucas for Star Wars

1982: Best Director (Raiders of the Lost Ark, won)

1983: Best Science Fiction Film (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, won)

1983: Best Director (E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, nominated)

1985: Best Director (Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, nominated)

1994: Best Science Fiction Film (Jurassic Park, won)

1994: Best Director (Jurassic Park, won)

1994: President's Award (won)

1998: Best Director (The Lost World: Jurassic Park, nominated)

1999: Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film (Saving Private Ryan, won)

2002: Best Science Fiction Film (AI: Artificial Intelligence, won)

2002: Best Director (AI: Artificial Intelligence, nominated)

2002: Best writing (AI: Artificial Intelligence, won)

2003: Best Science Fiction Film (Minority Report, won)

2003: Best Director (Minority Report, won)

2006: Best Director (War of the Worlds, nominated)

2009: Best Director (Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, nominated)

 

Spielberg in White House, at the distributition of Kennedy Center Honors.Venice Film Festival:

 

1993: Career Golden Lion (won)

2001: Future Film Festival Digital Award (AI: Artificial Intelligence, won)

Writers Guild of America:

 

1975: Best Comedy Written Directly for the Screen (The Sugarland Express, nominated)

1978: Best Drama Written Directly for the Screen (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, nominated)

Other2009 Liberty Medal[142]

2006 Kennedy Center Honors

2001 Knight Commander, Order of the British Empire (Honorary)

2003 Knight Grand Cross Order of Merit of the Italian Republic

1998 Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

[Pidge]

Raiders just pips Jaws and Schindlers List for me.

[zigackly]

Hard to look past Schindler's List. He has made some gigantically good films though.

[The Dude Abides]

Schindlers List is probably his best, but Jaws is my favourite. And going to see Jurassic Park in the cinema was pretty special.

[Unrighteous]

Raiders of the Lost Ark, or The Last Crusade for me.

 

Those are the two most enjoyable for me. I went for Raiders... but it took me a few minutes.

 

The Last Crusade was a close one, because I saw it in the theater, and I've seen it the most of any of the Indiana Jones films, and truly enjoyed every viewing.

 

Oddly enough, I've seen Raiders the 'second' most often out of those films listed above, but its the better Film.

[silverlining]

Raiders of the Lost Ark, or The Last Crusade for me.

 

Those are the two most enjoyable for me. I went for Raiders... but it took me a few minutes.

 

The Last Crusade was a close one, because I saw it in the theater, and I've seen it the most of any of the Indiana Jones films, and truly enjoyed every viewing.

 

Oddly enough, I've seen Raiders the 'second' most often out of those films listed above, but its the better Film.

 

Ah, don't get all het up. All three films are FUCKING BRILLIANT.

[The Flâneur]

Only 54 people? we're going to need a bigger vote.

[Lucky Pierre]

I've only ever seen 6 of the above.

[manwiththestick]

Such a great catalogue to choose from; personal favourites are Duel, Empire of the sun and Close encounters but Jaws wins, terrifying film when i was growing up and even now i get a bit tense the the music starts.

[Guest Jon Snow]

Empire Of The Sun for me some of the cam work in that movie was a joy.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Empire Of The Sun for me some of the cam work in that movie was a joy.

 

Until very recently, that was Bale's finest performance imo.

 

And who wouldn't get a raging stiffy at a tanned and sweaty Miranda Richardson ?

 

Was that so wrong ?

[Carvalho Diablo]

You know what, just looking down the poll list of Spielberg's finest and comparing that to the recent poll list of Scorcese's finest films, one thing strikes me as very apparent :

 

Scorcese pisses all over Spielberg.

[Ziggy Stardust]

I've only ever seen 6 of the above.

 

I've only seen 7*, Jaws is one of my very favourite films though, so the others would have to be pretty special to surpass it.

 

*None of which are Indiana Jones films.

[Carvalho Diablo]

Fucking Hell, I've seen every one bar Sugarland Express.

 

Must get out more.

[Lee909]

You know what, just looking down the poll list of Spielberg's finest and comparing that to the recent poll list of Scorcese's finest films, one thing strikes me as very apparent :

 

Scorcese pisses all over Spielberg.

 

I dont think thats a fair comparisan to be honest.They took completley different paths to what films they make.I prefer Scorcese`s films myself but you couldnt sit the family down to many of them.He has been at his most succesfull when making films from the background he is from.Spielberg`s films on the whole are watchable for a far wider audience.

[Paul]

The amazing thing about Spielberg is that even in his lesser films there's always at least one genuinely brilliant moment. Jurassic Park: The Lost World is entertaining enough, but far from one of his greatest ever, for example. However, the scene where the Raptors close in on the fleeing hunters through the long grass is incredible. You don't actually get to see them but the speed and intensity of the attack are emphasised as well as the ferocity, simply by seeing the grass being trampled from multiple directions.

 

Elaborating on my choice for a three way split, Jaws is my favourite and it remains one of the tensest films ever, in my view. Spielberg is better than any other director at manipulating the audience by the use of dramatic tension. I love the way he plays with the signature attack music for the shark, sometimes playing it as the shark attacks, sometimes playing it only to reveal no shark and then finally, once he's trained us to associate the music with an attack, ditching it altogether to shock us for the shark's reappearance.

 

The famous USS Indianapolis speech by Robert Shaw as Quint is genius in that it simultaneously creates a dramatic pause in the action whilst pushing the tension ever higher. The casting was crucial in getting that scene right because I can't conceive of another actor delivering those lines in quite the same way, poised between madness and expertise, with a cold dispassionate delivery that belies his (later revealed) terror at the beast they hunt.

 

Saving Private Ryan is in there for me because, despite the rest of the film being utterly brilliant with great moments of humanity and also action, that opening battle sequence is just about the most visceral piece of sustained film-making ever committed to celluloid. That he manages to keep the tension so ridiculously high whilst also introducing the main characters and does so over a 23 minute period is, again, genius.

 

The casting, once more, is just about flawless. Hanks as the everyman Captain Miller is perfect, but so too are Tom Sizemore as Sergeant Horvath, Barry Pepper as Jackson, Giovanni Ribisi as Wade, Ed Burns as Reiben and Adam Goldberg as Mellish. To be honest, Matt Damon's Ryan is almost incidental to the film's brilliance.

 

I love the film's balance between set pieces - Wade's death, Caparzo's death and the final battle to defend the bridge - and quiet reflection as the men indirectly ponder their mortality by recalling fond memories. Maybe the very end is just a tad overly sentimental, but in a film this great about a subject so indelibly emotional, I can forgive that.

 

As for Schindler's List, it's pretty obvious that the unflinching depiction of the Holocaust unfolding is, even now, a daring piece of film-making. However, once again, Spielberg's genius extends beyond the technical (even though I think he's technically better than any other director I've seen) in the way he injects so much humanity into the film. Particularly clever for me is the way he shows the gradual change in Schindler himself, making it seem like the "absolute good" he did with the list slowly crept up on him as he evolved from a selfish, self-obsessed man into a saint. Similarly, he emphasises the monstrosity of the commandant by showing how he evolves into a man now dimly aware of the humanity of his maid with the "I forgive you" scene and the conversation with Schindler about her future.

 

Beyond those three films, I also think that Raiders and The Last Crusade are genuinely brilliant, ET, Close Encounters, Temple of Doom and Minority Report likewise and then things like The Lost World, Empire of the Sun and Duel, which I consider to be middling in terms his work, blow the best things by most other directors out of the water.

 

In summary, Spielberg is unquestionably a genius; easily my favourite film-maker. That he's made only one dud in his entire career (the execrable fourth Indie movie - even War of the Worlds is better than that piece of shit) is almost unbelievable. It's amazing that he isn't even more acclaimed than he already is, in my view.

Edited July 17, 2011 by Paul

[Stu Monty]

Still no votes for The Crystal Skull then?

 

Come on, just think of Shia LeBouf swinging through the CGI jungle with those monkeys. It makes you want to change your vote surely?

[silverlining]

I've only ever seen 6 of the above.

 

What? HOW? Do you live in a cave?

[Hand Shandy]

Still no votes for The Crystal Skull then?

 

Come on, just think of Shia LeBouf swinging through the CGI jungle with those monkeys. It makes you want to change your vote surely?

 

*sits back and waits for Red Knight*

[Flying Pig]

Only 54 people? we're going to need a bigger vote.

 

Haha, I like it.

[RedKnight]

Fucking Shia La Beef coming in and ruining movie after movie. Indy? Ruined. Transformers movies? Ruined. Wall Street 2? Ruined.

 

And then what does he do? He says "yeah they were bad movies", throws them under the bus and then talks about how he was boning Megan Fox whilst she was seeing someone else. He's a fucking idiot, to quote Harrison Ford.

[Hand Shandy]

And there we go...

[Lucky Pierre]

What? HOW? Do you live in a cave?

 

Sorry, 7. I missed Hook.

 

And Jaws and ET were both over a decade ago, so I can only recall 5.

[Trumo]

Of all his films, the only ones I haven't seen are The Sugarland Express, 1941, The Terminal and Always (which is missing from the above list). First one I saw in the cinema is Jurassic Park.

[Paul]

Always is ace.