Spielberg on Spielberg

Spielberg on Spielberg (2007)

*** 1/2 (out of 4)

Richard Schickel's "documentary" on Spielberg is in the same vein as his 2002 film Woody Allen: A Life in Film and 2004's Scorsese on Scorsese. Like those two documentaries, this one here doesn't run nearly long enough but it's nice hearing from Spielberg on some of his lesser known films, although there's way too much time spent with a couple of the later day projects. The Jaws talk is kept very slim, which is good since there are countless documents on this subject. The one thing I was really letdown by is that, unlike the other two films I mentioned earlier, this one here doesn't really give Spielberg the time to discuss his favorite films as a child or the films that influenced him the most. Schickel's documentary Watch the Skies! actually has Spielberg talking about older films so with that in mind I wish some of that footage would have made it in here.

I'm not quite sure why the credits state that this was "written by Richard Schickel" because STEVEN SPIELBERG does all of the talking without notes, seemingly from the top of his head, and they seem to be his own words, not the words of a writer.

He begins telling how he made home movies as a boy, and as a young man took one of those bus tours to the Universal studio where he hid out in the men's restroom and waited until the tour left before he began his own walking tour of the various buildings. After meeting one of the department heads, he was lucky enough to get a three day pass that enabled him to return day after day for further inspection of the premises and to get familiar with the various aspects of film-making. He even returned on the fourth day, hoping the studio guard would recognize him and let him in. He did, and Spielberg spent the rest of his summer vacation on the Universal studio lot.

He dropped out of college in his sophomore year to direct and thereby began his career behind the camera, first in films for television (his first TV film starred Joan Crawford and Barry Sullivan), and then for the major studios.

He has some fascinating tidbits to tell about his reasons for making all the films on his resume--everything from early films like DUEL and SUGARLAND EXPRESS, to his triumph with JAWS and CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND. He even had to learn from his failure with 1941 (Pauline Kael had warned him what a difficult time critics would give him once he had a failure).

But then came RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK, E.T. and JURASSIC PARK, all of which benefited from his unbridled imagination and enthusiasm.

He discusses his darker films too, declaring that THE COLOR PURPLE was his first adult drama; that EMPIRE OF THE SUN was told from a boy's point of view, always looking upward at the freedom of flying; SCHINDLER'S LIST was the portrait of a very ambiguous man and a very difficult period for the Jewish people.

He talks too about SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, A.I., MINORITY REPORT, WAR OF THE WORLDS, MUNICH and AMISTAD, and why these projects captured his imagination and were important projects for him to do.

Any film buff would be interested in this documentary on a great filmmaker.

Richard Schickel, who always does excellent film documentaries, has again given us an insightful interview with a director. This time it's Steven Spielberg. Spielberg talks of the films he made in childhood, his entry into show business, his first forays in directing, and his many accomplishments. The interview is interspersed with film clips of Spielberg's teen efforts, the TV movie he directed, "Duel," as well as "Jaws," "Schindler's List," "E.T.," "Close Encounters" et al.

It's obvious from listening to Spielberg talk that he's a man of tremendous energy and passion whose ambition early on led him to take risks and ask for what he wanted. I doubt very much if his success was ever in doubt among those who knew him. A dedicated family man, he says that he wouldn't end "Close Encounters" the way he did originally, that now, as an older and committed husband and father, he knows the value of family in a way that he didn't back then. He also speaks of the formation of his Shoah Foundation, an offshoot of his work in "Schindler's List." At 60 years old, Spielberg speaks with the excitement of a man years younger and with the rapid speech of a teenager. We can expect much more interesting and varied work from him in the years to come.