Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the ... Read allGrowing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Nominated for 7 Oscars
- 32 wins & 297 nominations total
Mateo Zoryan
- Younger Sammy Fabelman
- (as Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
Lynch's last role, that's why I wanted to see it. For some reason, the film didn't get carried away at the release. I like to make mistakes and discover such amazing paintings after a while.
A movie about cinema and love for it.
Throughout the life of the main character, the movie goes along with him to one degree or another. At first, it amazes him as a viewer, but very soon he starts filming it himself. If in childhood it could be called a hobby, then it develops further to the vocation of a lifetime.
He makes short films, then full-fledged films, which, although they are shot for his own money and shown only to the participants in the filming, still touch the audience.
In fact, each film shot inside the film reflects the gradual development of the hero as a director and personality.
He is going through a drama in his family, relationships with peers and a girlfriend, but only cinema and the craving for it as the meaning of life helps to overcome all this and eventually succeed.
Also, the film is beautifully shot in terms of technical components, and every acting job pleases the eye and you, as a viewer, empathize with all the characters. They are prescribed and you believe in their problems.
A movie about cinema and love for it.
Throughout the life of the main character, the movie goes along with him to one degree or another. At first, it amazes him as a viewer, but very soon he starts filming it himself. If in childhood it could be called a hobby, then it develops further to the vocation of a lifetime.
He makes short films, then full-fledged films, which, although they are shot for his own money and shown only to the participants in the filming, still touch the audience.
In fact, each film shot inside the film reflects the gradual development of the hero as a director and personality.
He is going through a drama in his family, relationships with peers and a girlfriend, but only cinema and the craving for it as the meaning of life helps to overcome all this and eventually succeed.
Also, the film is beautifully shot in terms of technical components, and every acting job pleases the eye and you, as a viewer, empathize with all the characters. They are prescribed and you believe in their problems.
I have been interested in this film since the moment I heard about it. As a kid whose first memorable movie theater experience was E. T., no filmmaker has more influenced the way I experience movies than Spielberg...and nothing influenced those movies more than his parents' divorce. So I was 100% ready for a personal tale, an origin story without capes or superpowers. No CGI. No motion capture. Just a movie about the power of families and stories through the eyes of a kid. It is just that... But it is more too. There's a generosity in the way that Spielberg makes sense of his own story after the fact. Nobody is a villain or hero. They are just people choosing between happiness and responsibility while realizing slowly and painfully that it may not have to be either/or. There were scenes that worked better than others (and I am still sorting through the third act), but it was fun to see him tell a story like this, whether it was his own or not.
When I first found out that Steven was making a movie about his life my first reaction was "wow, that's a conceited thing to do" so, I really wanted to dislike this film even before watching.
So, I skipped it at the theaters, did read some reviews and there were a lot of mixed ones. Watched the trailers and I admit those made it look half good. I figured I'd just wait till it streaming then I'd give it a go.
This afternoon I did just that, sat down in my rocking chair and watched 'the Fabelmans' and after it had ended and the credits were rolling my first thought was 'I apologize Steven'
I now know that it wasn't out of some conceited place or Steven trying to pay tribute to his own career. Instead it's a film about his family and it's dysfunctions and milestones that would eventually lead Steven to be the wonderful filmmaker we all love.
It's obvious now that Steven was the only one that could of written and directed this film.
Now, I can understand if there's questions on 'why' he made this film. Why expose his family's dirty laundry? Why stir up controversial moments but all these things led to Steven becoming the filmmaker he is.
In the end I was very pleasantly surprised by this film. I laughed, I was aggravated and at times very moved and inside all of those emotions we have tidbits on Steven falling in love with filmmaking. It's always present in the film but really it's not the focus. It's his family, the love he has for them and those struggles to keep it all together.
Good job Steven and thank you for such a wonderful career and so many great memories you have given to me and my family.
So, I skipped it at the theaters, did read some reviews and there were a lot of mixed ones. Watched the trailers and I admit those made it look half good. I figured I'd just wait till it streaming then I'd give it a go.
This afternoon I did just that, sat down in my rocking chair and watched 'the Fabelmans' and after it had ended and the credits were rolling my first thought was 'I apologize Steven'
I now know that it wasn't out of some conceited place or Steven trying to pay tribute to his own career. Instead it's a film about his family and it's dysfunctions and milestones that would eventually lead Steven to be the wonderful filmmaker we all love.
It's obvious now that Steven was the only one that could of written and directed this film.
Now, I can understand if there's questions on 'why' he made this film. Why expose his family's dirty laundry? Why stir up controversial moments but all these things led to Steven becoming the filmmaker he is.
In the end I was very pleasantly surprised by this film. I laughed, I was aggravated and at times very moved and inside all of those emotions we have tidbits on Steven falling in love with filmmaking. It's always present in the film but really it's not the focus. It's his family, the love he has for them and those struggles to keep it all together.
Good job Steven and thank you for such a wonderful career and so many great memories you have given to me and my family.
It's watching Steven Spielberg grow up from a child terrified by the train crash in THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH, to an adolescent film maker. He's pretty up front about the family issues and his parents' break up. I suspect he has realized that being an adult is a tough thing and is willing to forgive.
At 150 minutes, it should feel self indulgent, but it never does, thanks to terrific performances by Michelle Williams as the mother and Paul Dano as the father. No one seems to be acting, which is half the Spielberg magic. There are also great cameos by Judd Hirsch as the profane uncle who was a lion tamer, and David Lynch as John Ford.
Some of the characters seem sketchily drawn, particularly the sisters, but that serves to emphasize Miss Williams, Dano, and Gabriel LaBelle as the Steven Spielberg character. Spielberg and his frequent collaborator Tony Kushner, have drawn a fine portrait of a Jewish post-war family, when things were supposed to be so very bland... but really, people were living their own odd lives.
At 150 minutes, it should feel self indulgent, but it never does, thanks to terrific performances by Michelle Williams as the mother and Paul Dano as the father. No one seems to be acting, which is half the Spielberg magic. There are also great cameos by Judd Hirsch as the profane uncle who was a lion tamer, and David Lynch as John Ford.
Some of the characters seem sketchily drawn, particularly the sisters, but that serves to emphasize Miss Williams, Dano, and Gabriel LaBelle as the Steven Spielberg character. Spielberg and his frequent collaborator Tony Kushner, have drawn a fine portrait of a Jewish post-war family, when things were supposed to be so very bland... but really, people were living their own odd lives.
Steven Spielberg made some of the best movies ever made. Now he made one about his early life, his way of becoming a filmmaker. And this is not his best film and not his most important one, but his most personal one.
The story is fascinating, especially the way filmmaking is portrayed here is extraordinary. This is a love letter to cinema and you will be moved watching it, if you are a cineast like me.
Everybody who's dreaming about becoming a filmmaker some day has to watch this picture. It was made for you, by Mr. Spielberg with love and the hope of inspiring the next generation as he was inspired by directors from his time.
The story is fascinating, especially the way filmmaking is portrayed here is extraordinary. This is a love letter to cinema and you will be moved watching it, if you are a cineast like me.
Everybody who's dreaming about becoming a filmmaker some day has to watch this picture. It was made for you, by Mr. Spielberg with love and the hope of inspiring the next generation as he was inspired by directors from his time.
Did you know
- TriviaSteven Spielberg said his parents had been "nagging" him to put them on the big screen prior to their deaths. "They were actually nagging me, 'When are you going to tell that story about our family, Steve?' And so this was something they were very enthusiastic about," he said. He also shared what finally prompted him to make The Fabelmans: "I started seriously thinking, if I had to make one movie I haven't made yet, something that I really want to do on a very personally atomic level, what would that be? And there was only one story I really wanted to tell." He also said The Fabelmans is "the first coming-of-age story I've ever told." "My life with my mom and dad taught me a lesson, which I hope this film in a small way imparts," he told The Hollywood Reporter. "Which is, when does a young person in a family start to see his parents as human beings? In my case, because of what happened between the ages of 7 and 18, I started to appreciate my mom and dad not as parents but as real people."
- GoofsYounger Sammy Fabelman's eyes are blue, while the older Sammy Fablelman's eyes are brown.
- Crazy creditsTwo dedications to Spielberg's real life parents Leah Adler and Arnold Spielberg appear after the closing credits.
- SoundtracksThe Greatest Show on Earth
from The Greatest Show on Earth (1952)
Written by Victor Young, Ned Washington
Performed by the Paramount Studios Band
Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Language
- Also known as
- Los Fabelman
- Filming locations
- 12908 Bailey Street, Whittier, California, USA(Monte's camera shop: Bennie tries to offer Sammy a film camera)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- $40,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $17,348,945
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $161,579
- Nov 13, 2022
- Gross worldwide
- $45,614,213
- Runtime2 hours 31 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content