Note: I know I’m starting early but I wanted to get a head start on this. War of the Worlds is one of three films I’m mostly looking forward to this summer and I wanted to get out all of my feelings toward Spielberg and his works before it arrived. I’m hoping to do one of these columns every so often and cover as many of his movies from Duel to The Terminal as I can. I was going to actually start these columns with Raiders of the Lost Ark, but since it’s Oscar week, I’d thought I’d start out with Spielberg’s big Academy triumph. Happy reading!
In 1993, Steven Spielberg was a man adored by audiences and ignored by the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. For all the director’s success with audiences, Oscar had done whatever it could to elude him. Was this some sort of backlash for Spielberg achieving so much box office success? Perhaps he was seen as a showman and entertainer rather than a real artist. No director had achieved more box office and critical success, and yet all that success would fall on the Academy’s deaf ears.
The trend began in 1976 with Spielberg’s thriller masterpiece Jaws. The movie broke box office records, taking in $470 million at the box office worldwide and was single-handedly responsible for changing the way Hollywood looked at movies in the summer. Come awards time, the film took home three technical Oscars for Best Film Editing (Verna Fields ) Best Original Score (John Williams ) and Best Sound (Robert L. Hoyt, Roger Heman Jr., Earl Madery, John R. Carter) but the film failed to win for Best Picture which was only the other category it was nominated for. None of the film’s performances received a nomination. On top of that, Spielberg himself was not nominated for Best Director, when so much of the film’s success can be relayed back to him.
The trend continued in 1978, with Spielberg finally getting nominated for Best Director, but his film Close Encounters of the Third Kind was shut out of the Best Picture race entirely. The picture won only one award for Best Cinematography (Vilmos Zsigmond) but went home empty handed in seven other categories. Much of this can be attributed to the film coming out the same year as Star Wars. The trend did not stop here.
Four technical Oscars were awarded to Raiders of the Lost Ark in 1982 and E.T in 1983, but once again the big awards would escape his grasp. Best Picture and Best Director nominations must have been nice, but being turned away from Oscar’s glance again surely hurt. Looking back on it, is there anyone that would still snub E.T. for Gandhi? Gandhi is a tremendous experience, but it seems to have aged much more than E.T., which seems to just get better and better each time I see it. Still undeterred and unappreciated, Spielberg would soldier on.
The zenith of Oscar’s disdain for Spielberg came in 1986. Spielberg’s attempt at creating a serious picture for adults only was met with ten Academy Award Nominations. But when awards night came The Color Purple went home empty handed. Not only that, for the second time in his career, Spielberg was passed over for Best Director even after Spielberg had won the Director’s Guild Award and his film was nominated for Best Picture.
Three of his next four films were a disappointments critically and to audiences. Reviews for Empire of the Sun,Always and Hook all lambasted these films and none of the three garnered a single Oscar. Spielberg’s only real success during this time period was Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but even it was not looked upon favorably when compared to the reception received by Raiders of the Lost Ark.
In 1993 Spielberg had found a project that would change all that. The film maker decided to flex his box office muscle and then woo the critics back to his side. Spielberg had a one two punch that few other film makers could pull off in a single year. Big summer films and Oscar would never be the same.
Jurassic Park Starring Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum. Directed by Stephen Spielberg.
Spielberg’s big summer movie splash involved billionaire entrepreneur John Hammond, played by Richard Attenborough, bringing several scientists to his new theme park in hopes they could be convinced to endorse it . The experts include mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), and palaeobotanist Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern). Luring the experts out to his remote island, Hammond reveals that he has created dinosaurs and plans to market them to the world.
Hammond explains how his company has reconstructed dinosaur DNA and created a new ecosystem for the bio-engineered creatures to live in. The scientists are skeptical, knowing full well the destructive power of nature and that the dinosaurs may not be able to be contained. Hammond does convince the trio to take his tour of the island though. Joining them on the tour are Hammond’s grandchildren, Tim and Lex Murphy (Joseph Mazzello and Ariana Richards) and a lawyer representing Hammond’s investors, Donald Gennaro, played with real sleaze by Martin Ferrero.
Problems begin to occur with the park when a gigantic storm invades the island, making the situation very dangerous. Matters go from bad to worse when disgruntled employee Dennis Nedry (Wayne Knight) attempts to make off with stolen dino embryos to sell to a rival company. To make his escape, Nedry shuts down all security measures in the park, leaving the members of the tour helpless and marooned in the middle of an amusement park filled with live dinosaurs.
As you can imagine, a Spielberg film of these proportions is filled with enough thrills and action to make three movies. One of Spielberg’s big cinematic influences had always been King Kong. He had always wanted to create huge set-pieces similar to those used in the fight between Kong and the Tyrannosaurus Rex. For all intents and purposes Jurassic Park is Spielberg’s Kong.
Much like its influential predecessor JP was able to turn a major corner in special effects. By combining life-like animatronics and computer generated imagery, Spielberg was able to make his dinosaurs come to life. The movie is filled with one amazing effects sequence after another, from the T-Rex chase to amazing final sequences as our heroes try to escape the Velociraptors. For the first time in film history dinosaurs appeared on screen and seemed absolutely real. Even twelve years later, the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park look absolutely terrific. Jurassic Park‘s special effects wizards at Industrial Light and Magic and Stan Winston Studios were able to take visual effects to a whole new place and the film industry has never looked back.
Where the film suffers is in its characters. Each character in the film is absolutely serviceable, but not a single performance is outstanding. Jeff Goldblum’s performance is very funny and he has some great lines, but his character is the “cynical scientist” cliches throughout the entire film. Sam Neill’s Dr. Grant is a good hero, but not of the Indiana Jones vein. The only growth in the film his character goes through is the development of his love of the kids. Richard Attenborough probably puts in the best performance in the film. Hammond never just comes off as a greedy billionaire, he really wants to give the world something wonderful and really entertain children. Hammond’s heartbreak seems genuine when his dream crumbles around him.
Jurassic Park was an absolute phenomenon at the box office. It broke world records overnight and is still one of the highest grossing films ever. Most directors would rest on these laurels and call it a day, but not Steven Spielberg. Next Spielberg would make his most serious film to date and get all the critics he had lost over the years back on his side. Then Spielberg would go after the Oscar glory that had eluded him for so long.
Schindler’s List Starring Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes. Directed by Steven Spielberg.
Spielberg’s most prestigious film ever stars Liam Neeson as Czech businessman Oskar Schindler. Schindler is a factory owner and war profiteer who begins the film trying to angle himself for more success as he schmoozes with Nazi Officers. As this is going on the Holocaust begins its early stages by moving Jewish citizens into ghettos and robbing them of their homes and dignity.
At this stage of the film Schindler begins his operations by opening a foundry and employing Jewish workers as slave labor. He hires Jewish Accountant Itzhak Stern, played by Ben Kingsley to oversee the books. Stern becomes Schindler’s right hand of operations in the plant. The plant is very successful because while Schindler is trying to make money, the workers of the plant see the factory as a refuge. As long as they seem essential to the war effort, their lives are as safe from the Nazi’s as they can be in these times.
Things become much worse for Jewish citizens of the Krakow ghetto as Nazi Commandant Amon Goeth arrives. Played by Ralph Fiennes, Goeth is a homicidal egomaniac and a sadist in the extreme. He takes great pleasure in ending the lives of random Jews and implementing Adolph Hitler’s final solution. Goeth is in command of a horrible massacre within the Krakow Ghetto in a horrifying sequence.
Sensing that he can have some influence over the lives of many of these Jews, Schindler goes from businessman to savior. Schindler takes great pains to save his workers from the death camp in Auschwitz, saving trainloads of people as they are to go to their deaths. To further dampen the war effort of the Nazi’s Schindler operates a munitions plant that produces only unusable ammunition as he saves lives in and out of the factory. Schindler saves over 1,100 people in his factories and keeps them in his employ until they are free to go where they want at the end of the war.
This is the most solemn work in Spielberg’s career. The film has been shot and written with great care. The holocaust is just such an immense subject, but Spielberg is able to convey the right scope for this project and yet tell one of his most personal stories. Great pains are taken to make the film seem absolutely authentic, from all the performances to giving the film a documentary feel by shooting it in black and white.
Spielberg did receive some criticism for making the film too Hollywood and perhaps giving it to upbeat an ending. One such sequence that is highly criticized was during the Krakow massacre in which a young girl is shown in a red dress. The sequence features the only bit of color in the entire film. Some looked at this portion of the film as patronizing the audience, but Spielberg is trying to get a real emotional reaction out of his audience. This girl is the picture of innocence in a sea of destruction and death. Her ultimate fate is a harrowing moment and a real turning point in Schindler’s character.
Speaking of Schindler, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley give the performances of their careers. Neeson’s character seems greedy, but not harsh at the beginning of the film. His turn to the side of good is a natural evolution. Neeson is the perfect example of confidence and stature as he leads his workers and leads the Nazis on to get what he needs done. Neeson’s final scene is as touching a moment as I have ever seen on celluloid. Fiennes’ Goeth is the personification evil. He is able to hide his tendencies under a shroud of duty, but Fiennes is a cold blooded killer in the film. Kingsley is the stalwart helper in this film and his Stern has many amazing scenes. Without Kingsley, “The list is life,” would not have its power. Schindler’s List is directed perfectly, but without these performances, the film would have fallen flat.
Spielberg had finally produced his most accomplished work and reached his full potential. On March 21, 1994 Spielberg’s film took in a combined 10 Academy Awards, finally adding the coveted Best Picture and Best Director Awards. Spielberg had finally overcome what would seem the last hurdle in his career, but he would not stop there.
Schindler’s List appeared on many lists as one of the greatest films ever made including the American Film Institute’s and Roger Ebert’s lists of the 100 greatest movies. Since then, Spielberg would go on to make epic battles, a biopic, sci-fi thrillers, and still has plans for more adventures with Indiana Jones. Spielberg may never have a one-two punch like these two films again, but someday perhaps these will be topped. On slate for 2005 is War of the Worlds which looks to be one of the highlights of the summer and then in the Fall of 2005, Vengeance, the story of the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, where Israeli athletes were kidnapped by a group of Palestinian militants. The future looks brighter all the time for this film maker and perhaps some day there will be no doubt that he was the greatest film maker ever produced in America.
