What's the big deal about Spielberg?

He made lots of good films and pretty much invented the Hollywood blockbuster along with Lucas. However, unlike Lucas, he's a much better filmmaker and one of the only ones to to achieve critical and popular acclaim. Having said that, he seems like his creative well has run dry. I had my hopes up for Ready Player One but that ended up being pretty bland.

You said it yourself - he’s made several good movies. That’s more than most.

All great: Duel, Jaws, Close Encounters, ET, Jurassic Park, Schindler’s List, Catch Me If You Can, Saving Private Ryan, War of the Worlds, Raiders of the Lost Ark.

This is not up for debate. x

He’s a case study in capitalism. He had some success and used that to get another project - which allowed him to get a bigger budget which allowed him to pay better talent and do more marketing which allowed him to have more success which allowed him to attract more money. He ends up being able to pay the best which tends to help create the best. Like Bloomberg’s campaign.

He most certainly has a vigorous, tireless in-house P.R. department to go along with his considerable talent.

I'd halve R2's list of films that were worthy of merit.

And I'd add Lincoln.

He's a populist director and he does that very well. Everyone has seen a ton of his films. ET was my first film (don't remember it I was a toddler). But my mom swears I was mesmerized. Don't worry, it was a drive in. She wasn't stupid enough to bring a toddler into a theater!

I don't think he'll be considered great Scorsese or Welles or even Tarantino. But I might be wrong.

It's hard to properly explain the impact he made in the late '70s/early '80s if you weren't there. No one could touch him.

And he belongs in movie history if, for another other reason, than he made both Jurassic Park and Schindler's List in the same year. Money and art; that's the holy grail right there.

Duel is the only Spielberg movie that I love, that I have no reservations about praising.

Duel is a masterpiece. And you can see the beginnings of Jaws in the way he films uses the truck as predator. So much of the paranoia and frantic behavior of the victim (Dennis Weaver) was duplicated in Jaws. One of my favorite Spielberg films is actually his biggest bomb: 1942. I love it -- particularly Treat Williams in the big dance scene.

He's a connected Jew with mediocre talent, this is totally normal by now, has been for decades in multiple industries.

R10 is troll, a very stupid troll.

Truth hurts.

I liked the episode of Columbo he directed: "Murder By The Book".

"Close Encounters" is a beautiful masterpiece.

[quote] One of my favorite Spielberg films is actually his biggest bomb: 1942. I love it

You love it so much you can't even remember its title. And Indiana Jones 5 is never happening; Spielberg dropping out of the project was just the final nail in its coffin. But Disney will reboot the franchise with someone else in the leading role sooner or later.

R2 I don't agree with War Of The Worlds being on that list.

Don't forget Poltergeist, which he more or less directed. Films like Gremlins, Goonies, and other iconic 80s films couldn't have been made without him either. Spielbergian has become just as overused as Hitchcockian to describe other peoples work. Very few directors, let alone living directors, have received that kind of recognition.

Like Scorsese, Spielberg ruled the '70s, '80s and early '90s. But their films from the last 10-15 years have been pretty dull.

The last Indiana Jones movie was horrible. They should have left it at Last Crusade.

He directed this: