Steven Spielberg
In Steven Spielberg we have one of the most
influential and supremely talented film makers ever. Duel,
the film he made in 1971 was well received and received some
critical acclaim. On the other hand, Jaws, a movie he directed
in 1975, was a massive creative and financial success. But
Steven Spielberg can write too. He wrote Close Encounters
Of A Third Kind, so like his friend, George Lucas, Steven
Spielberg is strongly attracted to SciFi themes, but in much
of Spielberg's work one can find a strong message, a philosophy
woven into the fabric of his films. Close Encounters Of A
Third Kind and the great classic E.T deal with mans first
contact with extra-terrestrials and offers an insight into how important it is for us to look in the mirror and ask some serious questions of ourselves before we are ready for that first encounter. But Spielberg is too great
a talent to be limited by genre. Steven Spielberg has challenged
and stretched his talent far beyond the pigeon-hole labels
of industry and critics. Steven Spielberg is the consummate
story-teller and he can tell a story about anything and spellbind
his audience with true magic. Look at The Color Purple, a
story about poverty, racism and sex discrimination, it only
takes Steven Spielberg to focus his imagination and the subject
matter becomes beautiful poetry. The Color Purple is a story about tragedy
and suffering, hope and inspiration. The audience sit in a
cinema before the screen and live the experience. I often
make the statement on Twitter, changing perspective will change
your mind. For me, true art always exposes us to a new perspective
and great art offers a perspective that pokes us in the eye.
Well, Steven Spielberg has done a lot of eye poking! He is
genuinely a very great artist indeed. His canvas is the wonderful
and awesome power of film. Using film Steven Spielberg bares
the soul of humanity. Let us consider Shindler's List: in
this film Spielberg focusses on the darkest heart of humankind
and yet, when the Spielberg magic is applied, Spielberg's
magic being his remarkable imagination, a light is shone into
that dark heart and the the evil simply evaporates
under the force of moral strength and courage beautifully
woven and defined by Spielberg's storytelling. Then we have
Saving Private Ryan, one of my favourite films - and I have
experienced war. Saving Private Ryan starts as a duty, becomes
a quest and ends offering us purpose. A great, great story.
A story we will never tire of experiencing. A true classic...
And I haven't yet mentioned Indiana Jones or
Jurassic Park, each now a classic in their own right with
the Indiana Jones series of films, original stories created
and written by George Lucas, now a genre in their own right.
And Spielberg has made a couple of films that haven't broken
box-office records, yet are beautifully crafted films that
offer an equally intense experience to the audience, films
such as Always, a deeply wonderful film and A.I. Artificial
Intelligence, a film that challenges the moral conscience
to reappraise what it means to be human when a child android
called David is programmed with the ability to love... I also
have to mention Steven Spielberg's TV series Band Of Brothers,
which is superb... but that has to be expected ;) Steven Spielberg has set an awesome standard and it is a standard only
he can live up to...
Tim Rees
Follow Tim Rees on Twitter
Raw Nerve
The novel they considered too controversial!
The black Governor of Georgia, Janice Mathias, is the leading contender in the race for the White House! The Ku Klux Klan plot an assination and much, much worse!
Gideon is the man who makes the difference when he tears the dark veil from the face of white supremacy!
The novel by Tim Rees, Raw Nerve, is now available on Kindle.
Recommended reading for everyone who loves a great thriller!
For a little over $5, which is £3 something, Raw Nerve is a serious page turner! |
|
