Description

Jason Solomans shines a light on the epic career of Steven Spielberg including his 28 feature films. Spielberg first picked up an 8mm camera he borrowed from his dad aged 12 and started to make short films in his native Arizona, some of them even won awards at local film festivals. Aged 19 he left for Hollywood to begin his career working in an edit suite at Universal. He was noticed by the head of Universal Sid Sheinberg who championed him, he was soon directing his first film, Duel 1971. His break out film was Jaws 1975 which changed cinema forever and invented the Blockbuster. Clip of Richard Dreyfuss in which he discusses the experience filming the production. Jaws transformed Spielberg's career, he was now a major player in the industry. Close Encounters of the Third Kind 1977 followed. Spielberg went from strength to strength with the film Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 but it was E.T 1982 that became the highest-grossing film of all time. The Colour Purple 1985 followed and was nominated for 11 Oscars. Empire of the Sun 1987 set in WW2 Shanghai during the Japanese invasion about a 12 year old boy caught up in the war played by a young Christian Bale is the next film discussed. Hook 1991 was plagued by onset fighting and production problems but was still profitable. Jurassic Park 1993 an extraordinary film, set a new bench mark in terms of special effects and set a new box-office record. Spielberg at the same time was filming Schindler's List 1993 about the Holocaust was praised for its documentary style realism. It featured towering performances by Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley (a clip of Ben Kinglsey discussing the film is shown here). Spielberg finally won an Oscar for Best Directer and the film has gone down as one of the most important in history. Its legacy is more than just awards though, Spielberg set up his foundation on the back of it called the Shoah foundation dedicated to recording and preserving stories from Holocaust Survivors, he considers this to be his most important work. Spielberg set up the Dreamworks studio in 1997 with Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen. Next up is Saving Private Ryan about the D-Day Landings in WW2 which is famed for its incredibly dramatic 25minute opening sequence. The film gained him another Oscar and a new calibrator - Tom Hanks, together they filmed the HBO TV series Band of Brothers 2001 to carry on the story. Spielberg goes on to make Sci-Fi films AI 2001 and Minority Report 2005 starring Tom Cruise, a brilliantly researched film depicting the future. Catch Me If You Can 2002 a period film about a con artist charmingly played by Leonardo DiCaprio. The Terminal 2004 sees another calibration with Hanks and War of the Worlds 2005, another Sci-Fi starring Tom Cruise. Spielberg roles out his films with ambition and precision. Munich 2005 received a muted reception due to its subject matter and its political standing. Spielberg then reprised his iconic Indiana Jones in The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull 2008. Lincoln 2012 starring Daniel Day-Lewis is discussed here, Day-Lewis won an Oscar for Best Actor for his extraordinary portray of the American President. Bridge of Spies 2015, is yet another collaboration with Tom Hanks who plays a lawyer instrumental in a successful 'prisoner exchange' in 1962 Berlin. The Screenplay was written by Matt Charman who discusses in a clip here what it was like working with Spielberg. BFG 2016 starring Mark Rylance a big family hit based of the famous book by Roald Dahl is the final film discussed. Spielberg continues to be a force of nature in the world of cinema, pushing boundaries with his ever expanding vision. 40 years covering all genres, pioneering spectacular visual effects and breaking box office records, a genius forever capturing the worlds imagination.

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