Architect of awe: How Steven Spielberg built modern cinema
What makes Steven Spielberg run? With the release of his latest blockbuster, Disclosure Day, Steven Vagg reflects on the legacy of the undisputed architect of modern cinema – and how he just ‘keeps trying to find those mountains’.
Is there a more influential filmmaker in history than Steven Spielberg? That is one of those impossible, yet fun, questions to ask.
Sure, you could argue for D.W. Griffith, Akira Kurosawa, Martin Scorsese, George Méliès, Alice Guy-Blaché or …
But I do not think anyone could deny there is a solid case to be made for Steven Allan Spielberg, Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (awarded in 2001).
And that’s because so many of Spielberg’s films have not just been commercially successful and well reviewed, they have become cultural touchstones.
For instance, it’s almost impossible to discuss shark attacks without thinking of Jaws, or aliens without touching on ET or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. And you can make similar claims for the Holocaust (Schindler’s List), D-Day (Saving Private Ryan), dinosaurs (Jurassic Park), booby-trapped Peruvian tunnels (Raiders of the Lost Ark),and truck drivers who tailgate you on the motorway (Duel).
‘It is a career almost unparalleled in terms of its success, depth, breadth, content and impact’
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In addition to the 30-odd feature films Spielberg has directed, there is also the episodic television, telemovies and documentaries, along with his work as a producer, studio head and “friendly advice giver” that has encompassed everything from animation and theme park rides to video games and Broadway shows. It is a career almost unparalleled in terms of its success, depth, breadth, content and impact.
Fellow filmmaker John Milius – a friend and collaborator of Spielberg’s (Jaws, 1941, I Wanna Hold Your Hand) – once declared, “Everybody thinks that they know what’s commercial. I’d say everybody but Steven Spielberg doesn’t know anything. But he does. He does know what’s commercial.”
Mind you, Milius said that back in 2001 when Spielberg was at his commercial peak. Since then, the impact of his work has been less: The Post, Ready Player One, West Side Story, The BFG, War Horse, Meet the Fabelmans …
That is not to say the movies have been without quality or popularity, far from it – some of them have been among the best things he’s ever done – but their cultural footprint has been lesser. This has coincided with the decline of the motion picture over the past two decades in terms of omnipresence, as its place in our society and economy has been overtaken by social networking and video sharing platforms.
Nonetheless, he’s still Spielberg, so there’s considerable interest in Disclosure Day, the director’s first big fat four-quadrant blockbuster in a decade. And what’s more, it’s not based on pre-existing Intellectual Property, but an original story by the filmmaker, who returns to the world of aliens that served him so well in Close Encounters, ET and War of the Worlds (we might skip over Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull).
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Does Spielberg still retain his unique ability to connect with mass audiences? Or has he gone into terminal creative decline the way so many directors tend to do towards the end of their career when they become too old and rich and lose the fire (thinking Alfred Hitchcock, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Woody Allen)?
Like most artists, Spielberg was originally driven by a combination of youthful arrogance, love of his art form, a ferocious work ethic, familial connections and personal trauma (his parents’ divorce, antisemitism, a family full of Holocaust victims).
He started filmmaking incredibly young and chalked up his 10,000 hours of practice relatively quickly, mostly by making his own 8mm movies. By the time Spielberg was 24 he had already directed perhaps the greatest telemovie in history (Duel) and the pilot to a legendary series (Columbo) – accomplishments most directors will never achieve in a lifetime.
He hasn’t needed to work for financial reasons since Jaws. Schindler’s List gave him the Oscar he craved, for so long. He set up his own studio and conquered Broadway. There are hardly any other mountains for him to climb.
Yet he keeps trying to find those mountains. After Disclosure Day, he is planning to make a Western and wants to direct a Broadway show. He keeps going, trying new things, exploring fresh projects and remaining (from all accounts) remarkably open-minded, curious and non-insane, especially considering he is a billionaire.
I think that’s because Spielberg has a strong, healthy sense of history and his place in it. When it comes to movies, he’s highly aware he is walking in the footsteps of John Ford, David Lean, Stanley Kubrick and others – and that while Spielberg has a place in that history, he knows he’s not the centre of it.
He also grew up extremely conscious that many of his relatives died in the Holocaust, so he has always known there’s other things that are important in life apart from movies.
Thus, if Disclosure Day isn’t the blockbuster it is being hyped to be … well, he’ll just make another film and keep making them as long as he can. After all, it’s only movies. But what fabulous movies.
PS: And anyway, Disclosure Day looks awesome.
Disclosure Day opens in cinemas on June 11.
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