Sasha Stone - Springsteen Lashes Out After Biopic Flops...
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Many celebrities were pushed on the American public through hype so they could later be used to make timely political statements. If you put a group of 10 celebrities together, 9 of them will be overrated. One big example is Spielberg. He was pushed on us as a great filmmaker, but he had 4 duds for every hit. I can name 10 American born film directors who made movies in the same era as Spielberg, who are grossly under appreciated but put out a better filmography.
I'm putting aside the rumors of Spielberg and the little girl from Poltergeist for a second here ... I'm aware he may be a big scumbag ... it's made me lose respect for him overall. I don't know if they're true, but a lot of stuff I thought was bullshit as recent as 15 years ago has turned out to be completely true.
Being objective, I have to disagree with his 4 duds to a hit ratio ... at least in the 70s, 80s and 90s. I don't feel as if I was conditioned to like his work by external forces :-) ... I think a lot of his movies, especially his mid-late 70s thru the 80s, were outstanding.
His early work was incredible overall (Duel, Sugarland Express were solid films, but Jaws, Close Encounters, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. (though I didn't care for it much when I was a kid), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom/Last Crusade are all classics).
The only shitbombs he had up through the 80s were 1941 and Always in my worthless opinion. While I certainly despise Whoppi Goldberg, I can't trash "The Color Purple" outside of exaggerating history to fit the film's plot.
Many of his hits in the 90s were movies I didn't care for (Jurassic Park comes to mind ... dinosaurs do nothing for me), but I cannot discount them as anything but great films. Saving Private Ryan was a masterpiece in my worthless opinion. Schindler's List was another incredible film (though I suspect some here will consider it fiction ... I don't ... maybe some historical exaggerations, but I believe Hitler was a scumbag socialist and his fruitcake SS did murder many Jews for their sick pleasure much like the Soviets to their own people all over Socialist political nonsense).
I will certainly agree that he lost something from the 2000s on up ... while I dug his War of the Worlds remake, Minority Report, Catch Me If You Can, and Ready Player One, I can see your point as clear as a bell ... I merely enjoyed those films ... I wasn't blown away by them like I was by his 70s and early 80s stuff (that isn't nostalgia speaking either ... to this day, I downright love that era of his work).
FWIW, I am pretty sure that there are a hell of a lot more talented filmmakers I know nothing about from the 70s and 80s ... in fact, I am sure of that. Hollywood got caught up in the "make everything feel good/wonderful" after the success of Star Wars, and Spielberg was a perfect fit for that kind of movie ... I like gritty, raw films as much as I like those "feel good" ones ... I also think it takes a lot more talent as a filmmaker to make a gritty kind of film (like a lot of Clint Eastwood's work) that wins the public over.
TLDR : I do share some of your sentiment regarding Spielberg's work, but I think 4 duds to a hit ratio is a bit off ... especially from the 70s-90s :-) .
I recognize everyone has their cinematic opinions, but I felt only two of the Indiana Jones movies were any good. The first and the third. I also noticed that you didn’t mention Schindler’s List which I credit as one of his better ones though the film deviates from the novel which I read. Another you didn’t mention was West Side Story which pales to the 1960s original. And he had to throw in a trans character.
I’m glad you mentioned Clint Eastwood, who I would rate better than Spielberg. I can’t believe the body of work he directed while in his 70s and 80s. BTW, I admire him more as a director than an actor. If you want to judge a director by their body of work, check out Eastwood, Mann, Zemekis, and Mel Gibson. They didn’t make the big box office, but the quality of their overall work is outstanding.
I did mention Schindler's List :-) ... It was followed by a small rant about socialists and their killing sprees too :-).
Sorry, I guess I glanced past it. I, also, forgot to throw in Tarantino, Coppola, Hughes, and Rodriguez among great American directors.
Taylor Swift enters the room.