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Bridge of Spies FILM discussion


mrbellamy

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Schindler's List would have been a brilliant film if not for its last 10-15 minutes where it succumbs to Hollywood melodrama. Up until then, it's a great.

Karol

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It does Hollywood melodrama even before that but i don't think that's a burden. The cumulative effect of those 180 minutes still is overwhelming and maybe the only way you could present this for a broad audience is within those confines. I saw hour-long documentaries on the subject and they're insufferable and usually allow for no catharsis.

Though i could have done without the final Neeson outbreak i understand its function at this point. It's Spielberg's GREAT DICTATOR speech and it's as corny as that but would probably feel strangely incomplete without it.

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Though i could have done without the final Neeson outbreak i understand its function at this point. It's Spielberg's GREAT DICTATOR speech and it's as corny as that but would probably feel strangely incomplete without it.

It could have been a smaller moment.

Karol

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It could have come in an more intimate scene with just Itzhak Stern, right before the moment he leaves the camp.

Yeah, that's what I mean.

Karol

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For a John Williams forum, this place is surprisingly cold or lukewarm when it comes to Steven Spielberg....

Am I really the only hardcore fan in here?

For what it's worth, I don't think I'd give any of his movies lower than a 5/10 and IMO probably about half of his filmography is either in masterpiece territory or circling around it. I love him to death. As publicist said, virtually all of his movies are reliable for at least one brilliant sequence, usually several. We can probably look forward to the same with this one. I actually think he's been having a really good run this century.

I'm also with croc that I think we're just trying to be aware of our fandom and honest about the possible flaws in the work or the approach...I do think that sometimes we try too hard to be objective or play Devil's Advocate and it goes too far into outright bashing territory, when probably none of us truly feel that way. That can take the fun out of it for me, but I think it usually results in good discussions about both Williams and Spielberg. Also we all have our favorites and lesser favorites, so while some of us say "Yay" to ET or Jurassic Park and "Nay" to AI or Munich -- or whatever combination -- others feel the reverse. That just gets spread out among all the threads to make it feel like we're all mixed on whether or not Spielberg is a great director when I don't think we really are (but maybe we need a poll ;))

More than anything, I feel like some of us are just frustrated that he's not made a movie as great as [insert favorite Spielberg movie] in awhile, when the evidence points that he's capable of doing so, judging by the inconsistent but still pretty frequent bursts of incredible filmmaking that he's displaying. Lately to me it seems more like weak material and/or lower sustained energy overall that's holding his movies back.

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I mean, I too think Spielberg would get more interesting results by limiting his resources. We know he has the raw talent to make do without all the toys. Sometimes I wish he would just drop everything, make a short film on his iPhone and post it on YouTube. Still, I'm not apologizing for the guy but his name isn't synonymous with studio filmmaking by accident.

He did cement the concept of studio filmmaking, and that's obviously his bread and butter. I don't fault him for chasing his dream and fulfilling it, he's living comfortably doing something he loves on his own time. Not everyone can boast that.

I think Spielberg could really 'recharge' his batteries by doing a small indie film, and then go back to studio filmmaking with more enthusiasm and willingness to try different things. Right now, all he does is mainstream family entertainment or glossy Oscar bait drama... it's getting boring. Would love to see him direct a homage to film noir or even a horror film.

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The trailer for this says Academy awards not boxoffice friendly.

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For a John Williams forum, this place is surprisingly cold or lukewarm when it comes to Steven Spielberg....

Am I really the only hardcore fan in here?

I idolise Spielberg, but I do think he went off the boil after Schindler's, like John Williams. I don't necessarily like everything he does.

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How could any of you call yourselves Spielberg fans without loving every movie he's directed?

You're like those so-called "fans" of Star Wars who only like half the series or less. If you don't like the prequels, you're not a true fan of SW.

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I think having a critical sense is crucial (if 20 years at the university taught me anything, it's that). If someone liked everything Spielberg had done -- without exception -- I, too, would be very skeptical. But at the same time, I'm a believer in looking at things at their own terms. I don't see the point in judging a MUNICH against a JAWS. They are films with decades apart, with different agendas and styles -- yet they are both brilliant for what they are. I'm also a believer in finding the good stuff INSIDE things that may not be so good overall. I mean, even INDY 4 has a lot of nice stuff in it despite all the flaws. Even 1941, although the noisy nature of that film tends to overshadow all the qualities within. A third thing I'm a believer in is trying to distanciate oneself from whatever nostalgic relationship one has to a certain period in a filmmaker's career. I'm not saying that's the reason for why some of you are so lukewarm or even cold to Spielberg's latest output, but it's a general view I hold. It's an attitude thing, first and foremost.

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I think that Spielberg is as skilled as ever, as far as his ability goes. Perhaps even more efficient than before.

But, as Terry Gilliam once said, he seemed to have lost an ability to create to a "whole film". It's just very well directed sequences stapled together.

Plus, he isn't really interested in probe and explore any subject matter, no matter how serious. That is a real problem here.

As much as Spielberg is surely an auteur, I think he still looks at people like Michael Curtiz and William Wyler (and also John Ford) as his true role models, i.e. not auteurs in a "Cahièrs du Cinema" sense, but pure Hollywood directors who made mainly popular films in a wide variety of genres during their long careers. He feels comfortable working within these boundaries of Hollywood filmmaking style, but at the same time he seems able to put his own personal stamp on the movies he does. It's probably a very old-fashioned and nostalgic approach in this day and age, but that's who he is, imho.

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Hey, Bridge of Spies still has every chance of being a great movie.

But the trailer is selling me "Tom Hanks defends some guy because of The Constitution Of AMERICA, FUCK YEAH!"

Surely, there must be more to this film that can make it appealing to an audience?

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That's what i meant with 'vanilla'. Though i can't believe simple speechifying will do in the labyrinthine world of Cold War spying. There must be more about it.

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Exactly. There must he more to it. Which is why I'm not dismissing this film yet. But the trailer is a poor advertisement for international audiences.

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That's what i meant with 'vanilla'. Though i can't believe simple speechifying will do in the labyrinthine world of Cold War spying. There must be more about it.

You mean that you think Hanks is only pretending to be the angel of goodness?

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No. It would make more sense that he starts out as Goody Two Shoes and must learn that the world ain't as b/w as the american public was told back then.

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Chief CIA: "Let's not waste any time and kill this fracking spy right now!"

Tom Hanks: "No, America is above that. Let's send him back to his mother country."

Chief CIA: "What?! Well, okay."

End Credits. Tim Morrison plays Williams' solemn trumpet theme

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End Credits. Tim Morrison plays Williams' solemn trumpet theme

Not any more man, not any more! How dare you twist that knife in the wound when it still so fresh!

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Chief CIA: "Let's not waste any time and kill this fracking spy right now!"

Tom Hanks: "No, America is above that. Let's send him back to his mother country."

Chief CIA: "What?! Well, okay."

End Credits. Tim Morrison plays Williams' solemn trumpet theme

ROTFLMAO

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  • 2 weeks later...

How could any of you call yourselves Spielberg fans without loving every movie he's directed?

You're like those so-called "fans" of Star Wars who only like half the series or less. If you don't like the prequels, you're not a true fan of SW.

true Star Wars fans only recognize 3 films.

That said This film looks Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Well, that was much better than the first trailer. I'm down for seeing this in the cinema.

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

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