The New Critical Underground Guide to Steven Spielberg
- Night Gallery (1969): ****
- Duel (1971): *****
- Something Evil (1971): ***
- Columbo: Murder by the Book (1971): *** 1/2
- Savage (1973): ** 1/2
- The Sugarland Express (1974): ****
- Jaws (1975): *****
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977): *****
- 1941 (1979): ** 1/2
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981): *****
- E.T. The Extra-Terrestial (1982): *****
- Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983): ***
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): ****
- The Color Purple (1985): **** 1/2
- Empire of the Sun (1987): *** 1/2
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989): ****
- Always (1989): *** 1/2
- Hook (1991): ***
- Jurassic Park (1993): ****
- Schindler's List (1993): *****
- Amistad (1997): *** 1/2
- The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997): ***
- Saving Private Ryan (1998): **** 1/2
As decided by the New Critical Underground...
Our rating system:
***** - A masterpiece; these are rare.
**** 1/2 - An excellent work of art, good enough that even people who usually hate the genre or main artists involved will still probably enjoy it.
**** - A very good work; people who hate the genre / artists involved may not care for it, but almost anyone else will.
*** 1/2 - A fairly good work, but will probably only be embraced by fans of the genre / artist.
*** - A barely good work; only diehard fans need apply.
** 1/2 - An average work; probably won't excite even diehard fans.
** - A below average piece of art; non-fans will hate this work.
* 1/2 - A bad work that few people are likely to enjoy and many are likely to hate.
* - A truly awful work; nearly everybody will hate this.
1/2 - One of the worst works of art ever; like the 5 stars, these are also rare.
Way too many five stars for this guy. ET and Close Encounters are ok movies but please there are flaws all over them. I love Duel but "A masterpiece; these are rare" I dont think so.
Just my opinion. Jaws and Raiders are his best.
While I actually believe Duel and Close Encounters to be two of his greatest films, I wholeheartedly agree. I also believe there are entirely too many 5 stars up above.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
Maybe "entirely too many" is a bit harsh. What I really mean is that I could probably trim 1 or 2 5-stars from above and not lose any sleep over it.
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs
The thing is that he's an emotional director. He makes some people completely fall in love with his movies. Plus he has made some GREAT movies.
I agree. He has made some GREAT movies. The funny thing running the New Critical Underground is seeing how much people disagree as to which of his films are the Great Movies and which aren't!
Shalom, y'all!
L. Bangs