Steven Spielberg 

Spielberg films are often regarded as over sentimental. Can this be regarded as an signature style?


Item 1
ET(1982):

I have chosen this as my focus film it is the closest to an autobiographical film on Spielberg therefore proving Spielbergs tendency to be sentimental. The central family are already in a state of separation and struggling with the fallout which directly relates to Spielberg's own  parents marriage break-up. His understanding of the social situation and it's thematic use in his other works makes this a distinctive trait.   


Item 2
Catch me if you can (2002):

This  film focuses on an ordinary character that has become extraordinary. Once again there is a central situation of a marriage break-up which is the catalyst to the plot. Spielberg treats this issue  with great care and sentimentality, making it an ideal film to discuss in relation to my study.

Item 3 
Saving Private Ryan (1998):

This film displays the development of a ordinary man through extraordinary and challenging circumstances. We see men go through regular emotions such as fear and loss to then overcome or succome to these emotions in extraordinary ways that create a gripping view.The action is spectacular through great special effects and camera work, creating a sense of reality, which emphasises the emotions making them easier for the audience to be immersed. This focus on emotions creates a sense on sentimentality in brutal circumstances. Another trait that this tackles is Spielbergs tendency to re create a historical event.  


Item 4 
Channel 4 Documentary:

This documentary is  useful as it provides a visual timeline of Spielberg's work. A short analysis of each film is provided, with a small amount of background information on the process of the film making providing reasons for certain elements and choices of the film. This documentary is particularly useful as it provides an interview with Spielberg allowing a personal response and meaning as to why he chose to input certain things into each film he makes. It becomes evident that sentimentality and emotion is a key reason. I will use some quotes from this  for my presentation.

Item 5 
Slide Share: 
http://www.slideshare.net/rebeccawarboys/auteur-project-second-draft

Similar to me this  slide show uses ET as its focus film .It has good grasp on the theme of childhood which is a great contribution to Spielbergs sentimentality.  There is exploration of the miss en scene and cinematography for ET speaking about the use of low angles to potray a childs point of view.  I cant necessarily take any quotes from this presentation but i could use it as a template for a good and effective presentation. There isnt much that I could                         


Item 6 
Pocket Essentials,Steven Spielberg - Jame Clarke:

This was the first piece of information I read on Spileberg. It was useful as it provided the basics that i needed to know in order to develop into further and deeper reasearch.Another good trait of this book was that it had a lot of information on my focus film ET, it made comparisons to Spielbergs life and the film. As it provides information on each film Spielberg has created , I will use this to determine whether each film is sentimental or not, in order to see if it is a recurring theme which Spielberg uses which will then make him an autuer. 


Item 7 
Inside the Actors Studio Interview :
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZJdjxYlhKU

This is an in depth and personal interview.Full of Spielbergs  childhood stories and talking openly about how his parents split  effected him. This is useful as  by knowing his past i can begin to find reason for Spielbergs tendency for sentimentality. Throughout the interview James Lipton keeps referring back to the split of Spielbergs parents.As this interview is so long (1:31) it helps me to find out what Spielberg is like as a person , to see if he is  a sentimental person or if it just something he puts into his films in order to please an audience. 

Item 8 
http://www.slashfilm.com/steven§-spielberg-discusses-career-inspiration-and-criticism-in-1990-video-interview/

This interview is useful in answering my question because just  7 minutes in Spielberg acknowledges he use of sentimentality. I need to explore whether his acknowledgement is valid and if his want to apply sentimentality actually makes him an autuer.  He  gives  his own personal response to how each film he creates has an element of sentiment. We also get a background to how his own company "Amblin" is ran. I intend to use quotes from this item to strengthen my argument and prove his auteur status.

Item 9 
http://vimeo.com/47105733

This video asks the question , "What accounts for his unparalleled success?" This video is very much focused on the  shots and camera movement that Spielberg uses. It explains how he is a great story teller with  the use of a gallery of techniques that all draw up emotions.  The video also mentions  directors that Spielberg has been influenced by such as John Ford. This video will help me to show how Spielberg technically stirs emotions  such as  focusing on the zooming in and out shot, talking about how Spielberg focuses on the face for emotions. 

Item 10 
http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc45.2002/robnik/index.html

This is an extremely in depth essay on the film Artificial Intelligence as  redemptive memory of things. Also this Focuses on the film A.I there is mention to Saving Private Ryan which is one of my focus films. This article compares Spielberg and Kubricks work , saying that Spielbergs work can be seen as simple minded and Kubricks work is very much intelligent. This could be seen as an unfair comparison and maybe even insult, however I believe that is why Spielberg is so successful as a blockbuster director  he creates 'simple' films packed with emotions that your everyday audience can relate to. This provides me with another reason to see Spielberg as an auter.

Item 11 
http://sensesofcinema.com/2006/great-directors/spielberg/

This is a very detailed article  that speaks about every film Spielberg has created up to  War of the Worlds. This one of the few articles I have looked at that  includes some of his recent films such as Catch Me If You Can.  A substantial amount of information is provided all of my Films that I am studying. This is particularly useful for ET as it speaks of the choice of location as a 'superficially bleak suburbia" this could reflect Spielberg's past. Technical aspects and choices made by Spielberg in Saving Private Ryan  are explored for the opening scene. I will use this mostly to discuss Saving Private Ryan and how Spielberg created such a gripping opening for the film. 


Item 12 
Movie Makers, Iconic Directors - Ian Freer:

This book will help me answer my question because  it provides information on most of the films that he has made.Referance is made to Spielbergs good friend and composer John Williams. I could use this to explore his use of music in his films and maybe even lack of it, in order to stir emotions. This is useful as an auter is a 'Creator of a film' and in order to create a whole film Spielberg will have had to had great input into the choice of music. This book seems to think so .                                                 

Item 13 
A cinema of Loneliness- Robert Kolker: 

With a large chapter on Spielberg I decided to focus on a particular section that discusses how Spileberg manipulates the viewer with all aspects of the film , the narrative, the mis en scene and how his places the audience through the camera shots. The book talks about how his success in all these elements guarantee the audience to surrender themselves to the narrative emotionally,thus creating sentiment. 
      
Item 14 
Adventures in the Screen Trade - William Golberg:

This is a useful book to provide a contradiction to the Auter theory.The writer discusses how it takes many different people to create a film and to say that the director is the 'author' is wrong as they can't of had that much power over how the other people work. Golberg seems to be bitter about the auteur theory saying it is 'deaming to the rest of us.' My response is that it is true that not every director deserves to be called an 'auteur' but occasionally  there is that one  genius director that deserves to have a status and be respected as an auteur. Whether Spielberg is that special director is what I intend to find out through my research.

Item 15
Teach Yourself Film Studies- Warren Buckland 





Rejected Items

Schindler's List 


I feel that this film  is too focused on recreating history in a respectable manner giving it a documentary feel, because the narrative is so shocking and emotional anyway, it could be said that Spielberg does not need to apply too many of his techniques and choices as the satiation itself is so sentimental. 


Steven Spielbergs Wikepedia Page 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Spielberg

This page is too focused on the information on Spielberg and not on his film making.I feel this page is dedicated to Spielberg as a celebrity speaking of all of his awards ect and not focusing on his directing style.



Steven Spielberg IMBD Page 
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000229/

 This page provides a biography of Spielberg's work, it is more of a professional biography and hardly mentions the personal life of Spielberg or his choices for each film. This means that I cannot explore his sentimentality due to the lack of personal information.