Do you think Steven Spielberg ruined film?!
Question: I respect the man and his accomplishments, but it was Jaws (the first blockbuster) that turned cinema from art to a revenue generating business.
Don't get me wrong I'm a capitalist and I think film should be made for monetary gain, but some of the mindless stuff that gets put out there now-adays shouldn't be allowed to call itself film. There are plenty of great movies out there that are really good and well done that arn't all that artistic in direction or cinematography, and I have no problem with those movies, but I like movies that make you think. Does that make me weird?
I feel like he's mostly to blame for the fact that films that win Oscars hardly ever gain popularity. Not enough people saw this year's nominees because they were too busy watching I Am Legend or Cloverfield.
What do you think? Am I going off the deep end or do I have a point? I don't mind if you don't agree, but please make a case. Thanks!
Answers: I respect the man and his accomplishments, but it was Jaws (the first blockbuster) that turned cinema from art to a revenue generating business.
Don't get me wrong I'm a capitalist and I think film should be made for monetary gain, but some of the mindless stuff that gets put out there now-adays shouldn't be allowed to call itself film. There are plenty of great movies out there that are really good and well done that arn't all that artistic in direction or cinematography, and I have no problem with those movies, but I like movies that make you think. Does that make me weird?
I feel like he's mostly to blame for the fact that films that win Oscars hardly ever gain popularity. Not enough people saw this year's nominees because they were too busy watching I Am Legend or Cloverfield.
What do you think? Am I going off the deep end or do I have a point? I don't mind if you don't agree, but please make a case. Thanks!
First of all, people don't miss the Oscar-nominated films because they're too busy. They miss them because they like movies that are, well, less challenging. Like the ones you mentioned. Perfectly legitimate entertainment, but not how I want to spend my time. I, personally, have seen the nominated movies.
In Spielberg's defense, his movies have the capacity to make one think. Particularly Amistad, Schindler's List or Munich. Obviously there are some less challenging pieces of work in his repertoire, and I usually don't see them.
You seem to seek some sort of purity in films, and let's face it, it's never going to happen in the U.S. People love to watch stuff blow up. I don't relate, but I get that I'm the one who's out of step.
Is it his fault or everyone who makes movies to be like him?
Personally, I think film is an art. If you want to make a film go for it. Do it because you want to make a movie, not becuase you want to make money. I don't like watching the blockbuster hits. I would rather watch the films no one else wants to watch.
So, yes, I do think Steven Spielberg ruined film.
I'm no film historian, but I'm pretty sure Hollywood has usually put business before art. You can't tell me that every movie pre-1975 was untainted by business concerns.
I don't blame Spielberg personally. Jaws wasn't a hit because it was marketed to be one; it was a hit because it was so well made. When the studio hired less accomplished directors to make the many inferior sequels to Jaws, that was the beginning of the decline of film as an art form. It was the studio executives, not the directors, who let greed take precedence over art.