Happy 70th birthday to Steven Spielberg. To think he initially turned down the offer from Zanuck and Brown...
27. Mind-boggling.
Spielberg is a living, breathing legend. Hats off to him :)
Aerosmith and My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fan
well at 27 having already made a few films he was certainly a late bloomer, as good as Jaws was it's not exceptional.. not for a directors perspective anyway.
shareYou'll have to explain what you mean by "as good as Jaws was it's not exceptional...not for a director's perspective anyway."
Even if you meant "from" a director's perspective, please elaborate -- just so I know where you're coming from.
totally wrong
shareHhmmmm... what? Seriously? Seems quite an achievement to me.
shareI was amazed when I read this. Nowadays, filmmakers at that age are fresh out of film school doing shorts or small independent movies, that is if they are lucky enough to get financing.
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I don't get why people think because you're young it's very unusual to be good at directing...or anything else. Actually the 20s for most people is their peak in performance, energy, sharpness, health, etc. Spielberg's first direction was Night Gallery with Joan Crawford (1969). He was 22 and Joan defended him saying "I want everyone to give him the same respect as you would DeMille". In any case he born Dec.18th, 1946, so since Jaws was filmed in 1974 OP is correct.
shareBut it's not mind-boggling. Not really.
1. "Jaws" is a popcorn munching, summer monster movie. "Citizen Kane" it is not.
2. Spielberg had an editor who made him look much better than he really was. The editing was so good, in fact, that it won an Oscar.
3. The now infamous mechanical failures of the shark forced him to be more indirect in depicting the shark's presence. That depiction is what gives those scenes their tension.
Yes, it's a fun movie. Yes, he did a fine job at a young age. But it is most certainly not a mind-boggling accomplishment.
1. Apples and oranges. Jaws is more influenced by Hitchcock than Orson Welles. Just because Psycho is a horror movie and not a political drama doesn’t make it any less of an achievement.
2. So now we have some revisionist bullshit that Jaws was “saved in the edit” apparently. What proof do you have of this? The movie is great because of Spielberg’s direction, in addition to all those other variables. Not in spite of.
3. Yes, and another example of his great directorial decisions by taking advantage of a setback and using it to service the film. In fact, the production of Jaws was so difficult and fraught with problems that it’s a miracle it even turned out as good as it did. The fact that this film shot on water was helmed by a 27 year old on his first big production is all the more impressive. Not to mention Spielberg’s inherent knowledge of cinematic medium and groundbreaking use of perspective.
And there's still all these homeless people in America. That's horrifying.
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