Spielberg’s Bio

Steven Allan Spielberg was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on 18th December 1946. From a young age, Spielberg loved to make home movies with his father’s camera and go to the cinema. After several relocations and his parent’s divorce Spielberg began studying English at California State University. Having been rejected from Southern California’s film school.

While studying, he produced Amblin’. This short impressed Universal’s vice-president Sidney Sheinberg and he offered Spielberg a TV directing job. After directing several TV projects he directed the TV movie Duel. Which attained cinema distribution overseas and widespread critical acclaim. Spielberg then made his feature debut with Sugarland Express. Which marked his first collaboration with composer John Williams. His next film, Jaws, was the first film to gross over $100 million, was the highest-grossing film ever at the time and was Spielberg’s first film nominated for the Best Picture Oscar. Close Encounters of the Third Kind followed and earned Spielberg his first Best Director nomination.

In the 80s Spielberg continued directing hit movies. He also founded Amblin Entertainment with Frank Marshall and Kathleen Kennedy in 1981. The company produced many of Spielberg’s movies as well as many other classic films. Throughout the 80s and 90s, Spielberg also began making adult-focused stories. Such as The Colour Purple, Schindler’s List (which won the best picture oscar) and Saving Private Ryan, among others. The prior two won him Best Director Oscars. Additionally, in 1993 his film Jurassic Park revolutionised CGI implementation in movies. And he created DreamWorks Pictures in 1994 with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen.

2001 saw Spielberg release A.I. Artificial Intelligence in tribute to his friend Stanley Kubrick. And, at the time of writing, since 2002 he has directed 14 critically acclaimed films in varying genres. All this work has made him the most financially successful director of all time.

 Spielberg’s Style

Several recurring themes and cinematic techniques have become trademarks of Spielberg’s filmography. His stories often showcase ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. And often focuses on how parents, affect their children and sometimes themselves. These elements make his films feel more grounded and relatable.

Spielberg also loves moving his camera. Whether it’s a smooth dolly shot, shaky cam or sweeping long takes Spielberg’s films use active cameras to make the audience feel more involved. Spielberg also uses the camera to express a character’s perspective. Either directly, through POV shots, or through perspective shots designed to elicit a feeling in the audience similar to what the characters are feeling. His films also often have reflections as a thematic/dramatic element and feature bright colours and light to draw the audience’s attention to a specific point and emphasise something mysterious.

Spielberg’s Best

So what are Spielberg’s best films?

Duel

A tight thriller with effective simple characterisation and masterfully tense direction.

Jaws

A horror masterpiece elevated by John Williams’ terrifying score, brilliant camerawork, and Roy Scheider’s, Richard Dreyfuss’ and Robert Shaw’s fantastic performances.

Raiders of the Lost Ark

Harrison Ford is a perfect hero, the plot is fun, the score iconic and it features some of cinema’s best moments.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

A touching story, great child performances, brilliant effects and a beautiful score. E.T. is cinematic magic.

Catch Me If You Can

A brilliant character study and the perfect amalgamation of escapist fantasy and grounded adult storytelling.

Also Read: Quentin Tarantino Directing A Star Trek Film? Here’s What It Would’ve Been Like

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1. Netflix Original Sci-Fi – Okja

A corporation sends 26 creatures, which were developed as a food source, across the world as a PR stunt. However, when they take one of the creatures (Okja) away, Mija (Seo-Hyun Ahn), sets out to get her back. What makes Okja special is its direction, which mixes many different elements (Science fiction, horror, comedy) together without feeling tonally confused, and Seo-Hyun Ahn’s performance which easily invests us in her struggle to get Okja back.

2. Hard Sci-Fi – The Martian

Mark Watney (Matt Damon) becomes stranded on Mars after his expedition team evacuates. Mark has one goal, survive. Thankfully, the world’s space agencies begin mounting a mission to rescue him. The Martian is great sci-fi. The entire cast makes their characters and the technical dialogue feel very natural. The special effects really sell the experience. And, it does a great job making the science feel accurate.

3. Sci-Fi Comedy – The Truman Show

Truman Burbank (Jim Carrey) slowly realises that his life is a TV show. He’s being filmed from every angle 24 hours a day. And lives inside the world’s biggest set. The Truman Show is a fantastic dark comedy that uses its sci-fi trappings to make great statements on humanity’s voyeuristic nature. In fact, with the continual expansion of surveillance technology, the Truman Show is more relevant now than ever.

4. Sci-Fi Action – Dredd

While on a training exercise Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) and rookie judge Anderson (Olivia Thirlby) get locked inside a futuristic skyscraper full of bloodthirsty gang members. With no retreat, the only option is to fight to the top to get out. Dredd’s futuristic setting explores many pressing issues such as the justice system and overpopulation, but it also facilitates some of the best action of the past decade.

5. Sci-Fi Horror – A Cure for Wellness

Lockhart (Dane DeHaan) goes to a remote wellness centre to retrieve his CEO. However, he soon becomes injured, meaning he can’t leave, and he begins to believe the facility is hiding something sinister. But what is happening and can Lockhart escape? A Cure for Wellness feels like a classic Universal horror film. Where the gothic atmosphere is thick and engaging. And the minor sci-fi ingredients greatly amplify the horror.

6. Sci-Fi Drama – Proxima

Sarah (Eva Green) is training to become an astronaut but she must try to balance her training with her family life, particularly preparing her daughter Stella (Zélie Boulant) for when she leaves. Proxima is an amazing look at the physical and emotional hardships astronauts go through to prepare for space travel, but it’s also an affecting family drama and an inspiring tribute to female astronauts. It’s also buoyed by Green and Boulant’s excellent performances.

7. Alien Sci-Fi – Close Encounters of the Third Kind

After Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss) has a mysterious encounter with an unidentified flying object he and the government begin investigating and trying to contact alien life. Close Encounters is a fantastic exploration of how obsession with the unexplainable can negatively affect people and can also be used to cross boundaries.

8. Steampunk Sci-Fi – Castle in the Sky

Sheeta (Keiko Yokozawa) holds the key to finding Laputa, the castle in the sky, and along with Pazu (Mayumi Tanaka), she must try to outrun the pirates and a government agent trying to find Laputa for greed and conquest. A touchstone of modern steampunk fiction, Castle in the Sky is a thrilling adventure with a fun story and wonderful characters who populate an inventive fantasy world that melds modern and primitive technology together beautifully.

9. Children’s Sci-Fi – Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

When Peter Parker dies Miles Morales (Shameik Moore) must become his world’s Spider-man and defeat the Kingpin with the help of the spider-people of several realities. Into the Spider-Verse is perfect kids science fiction because it’s full of great action, gorgeous visuals, and creative use of sci-fi concepts like alternate realities. But it’s also grounded by a fantastic lead, a great supporting cast, and a positive message about carving your own path.

10. Surreal Sci-Fi – Sorry to Bother You

Cassius (LaKeith Stanfield) begins losing touch with his roots after being promoted at his telemarketing company until he discovers a new project the company is working on. Sorry to Bother You is a vehicle for social commentary. This movie critiques capitalism, race, media and uses sci-fi elements to create a riveting dystopian portrait of contemporary life.

Those are just 10 great sci-fi movies available on Netflix. If you have any favourites we missed, let us know.

Also Read: The Future Is Now: How Sci-Fi Imagined the Future

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But don’t worry – it’s very good.

It was one of those “I really need to go see that” movies that I didn’t end up seeing on the big screen, so I had to settle for a much smaller screen at home when it came out on DVD and Blu Ray in July. And I’ve only just watched it, in August.

Anyway, preamble over. Let’s get to it.

The Breakdown

This didn’t feel to me like a Spielberg film largely because so much of it takes place in an entirely CGI-realised virtual reality world called the OASIS. Set in 2045, the protagonist (an orphaned teenager called Wade Watts, whose father was a comic book nerd, naturally) is one of millions of gamers making regular use of the OASIS to escape from their less-than-glamorous lives through their avatars. As his avatar Parzival, Watts experiences this unrestricted world where anything goes and anyone can be whatever they want; he spends most of his time there with Aech, a gaming buddy who he’s never met in real life.

If you’re a parent of online gaming teenagers, this element of the film will immediately strike a chord with you.

The OASIS was co-created by eccentric designers James Halliday and Ogden Morrow. After Halliday’s death, his avatar Anorak delivered a pre-recorded message to the users of the OASIS announcing that whoever locates the Golden Easter Egg hidden in the game will be granted full control of the company – gamers must find three ‘keys’ that unlock the gate to the Easter Egg, each of which are scattered somewhere in the OASIS and can only be found by solving riddles. Naturally, this attracts the attention of every gamer hooked into the OASIS, as well as Nolan Sorrento, CEO of Innovative Online Industries (IOI) and his “Sixers”, labourers forced to pay off debts by working for IOI within the virtual world. Parzival, Aech, and fellow egg-hunter Art3mis team up to find the keys and win the Golden Easter Egg, and ownership of the OASIS.

Phew! I’ve probably made that sound more convoluted than it really is – apologies if you’re lost/bored already.

Actually, Ready Player One is easy to follow, as long as you’re listening. There’s a lot of initial exposition by Watts (played by Tye Sheridan), but not so much that you feel bogged down in it. The film is well-paced with only a few main characters to worry about.

This is very much a movie for teenagers (the very occasional profanity throughout may rule out younger viewers), especially those who make heavy use of online gaming. However, the pop culture references constantly exploding out of your screen will appeal to a certain demographic of adults too.

Pop Culture Overload

And there are a lot of pop culture references in this movie. A lot. I can’t emphasise this enough, actually. Lots and lots.

If you like anything directed or produced by Spielberg in the 80s and 90s or connected with him in any way, this is the film for you. As a pop culture enthusiast, I found myself straining to take in every single movie and gaming reference on the screen. I was amazed that Spielberg – even Spielberg – had managed to acquire the rights to so many instantly-recognisable characters, vehicles and, for a particularly spellbinding portion of the film, sequences from classic works of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. He apparently spent years gathering them, and still didn’t get everything he wanted.

I had a lot of fun trying to take it all in, and I still probably only managed to ingest about fifty percent of it. If you’re like me and you know your DeLorean from your chest-bursting Xenomorph, I think you’ll really enjoy this film. If you haven’t watched a lot of movies, it may feel like a bit of an overload, however.

Technical Brilliance

Ready Player One is visually dazzling from start to finish. Industrial Light and Magic created the film’s extensive visual effects, expertly directed by Spielberg from a Zak Penn script. Sheridan’s lead is supported by Olivia Cooke (Art3mis), Ben Mendelsohn (Sorrento), Simon Pegg (Morrow) and the wonderful Mark Rylance (Halliday), who I loved in The BFG and Bridge of Spies. The actors slip easily between their “real-world” selves and their avatars, the seamlessness of which is a credit to them and their director.

My only real criticism of the film is its length. With a run time of 140 minutes, it can definitely feel long after a while, especially by the time the third act rolls around and you’ve already been blasted fairly relentlessly with dozens of pop cultural references and roller coaster CGI. In addition, adult viewers may sometimes find that the narrative and dialogue are aimed too squarely at the younger audience, who are likely to absorb the video game-like action sequences more readily.

The Bottom Line

But don’t let that deter you. Ready Player One is a totally immersive and entertaining experience as a film. I went into it not really knowing what to expect, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. You can view it as a commentary on contemporary gaming culture, in which people invest themselves to such a massive extent that their identities start to become transferrable between virtual reality and actual reality. Or you can just enjoy the visual spectacle and not worry too much about what it means.

Pop it into the Blu Ray player on your next available Friday night and let Spielberg take you with him on his own pop culture homage train – who better to go with?

Verdict: (4 / 5)

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