Weird Science
Out with the fellas tonight and we had to list off our Top 5 films of all time. Not really an accurate list for me as it is hard to do without careful thought, but I had Empire of the Sun (probably #1) and Saving Private Ryan on my list. Those are two Steven Spielberg films and I read this story earlier in the day, but I don’t think that influenced my choices! 😉
Anyway, is Spielberg turning into a sci-fi guy or what? Seems like a lot of his recent, and future, films lean that way.
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This post has 5 comments (now closed):
JFCC
Fri :: 16 :: Jun :: 2006 :: 12.08 pm
Can’t say I liked Saving Private Ryan that much. The opening sequence is definitely memorable for many reasons, but I found the rest of the film lacking. Just my opinion though, and note, I didn’t like The Matrix or Fight Club either, so…
As for Spielberg, I’d say at least half of his films are sf and always have been…Close Encounters, E.T., Jurassic Park and so forth. Even the Indiana Jones flicks had fantasy/sf elements.
I need to see Empire of the Sun. And The Color Purple, come to think of it.
Sean
Fri :: 16 :: Jun :: 2006 :: 10.47 pm
Well, I wasn’t saying he hasn’t done sci-fi in the past, but he used to mix in a lot of other genres as well. I don’t consider Jurassic Park or Indy flicks sci-fi either. When I say sci-fi, I mean the outer space and future tech kind of stuff and those are either just Adventure or Fantasy kind of stuff. Prolly just semantics.
My point is other than Munich, he hasn’t done much recently that wasn’t sci-fi and it seems he’s focusing there. Not that there is anything wrong with that, it’s just that I like the fact he can direct any kind of film and would like to see him continue to do so.
However, I guess that’s just because Minority Report, AI and War of the Worlds are fresh on the brain, but I forgot about The Terminal (didn’t see it) and Catch Me If You Can.
JFCC
Mon :: 24 :: Jul :: 2006 :: 08.48 am
Sean, it looks like you’re right: Spielberg Goes Interstellar
Sean
Mon :: 24 :: Jul :: 2006 :: 11.30 am
Interesting article. What does Sir Ed think of Koepp doing the Indy 4 script? Although, I guess it will really come down to what Lucas thinks of it.
I guess the Lincoln pic keeps him grounded to Earth a bit, unless Lincoln turned out to be an alien and that was why he was so tall and odd looking… like me.
Ed
Mon :: 24 :: Jul :: 2006 :: 11.57 am
Koepp is hit or miss with me. He’s good at building set-pieces (although I think Spielberg dips his hands generously in the batter when concocting those) but is not so great with the plotting. The War of the Worlds was a low for both guys – but they did handle JP together. Koepp on an Indy script might be fine – as the blockbusters are what he writes best. Still – I’d rather have the Darabont version (even if it would run 3 & 1/2 hours long and end up with Indy locked in prison.)