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Post by UT on Apr 3, 2018 12:41:17 GMT
Jurassic Park was #6 on my list. I remember seeing it the theater when I was in high school and I was blown away. I was a huge fan of dinosaurs as a kid and Jurassic Park made my inner 8 year old squeal with joy. One small downside of the movie was that I could have gave two fucks any of the human characters. No investment in them whatsoever. I like the main three human adults , Jeff Goldblum is funny , Laura Dern is sassy and Sam Neill has a decent little ark. The kids get too much shit but really aren't that fleshed out. The whole Wayne Knight stuff could be completely cut from the movie though and I would be totally fine with it. I get that they needed something to set the dinosaurs free but that whole bit is kind of lame and his character is just stupid.
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Post by UT on Apr 3, 2018 12:42:51 GMT
Didn't submit a list because when I was going through the wiki I realized I had hardly seen enough of Spielberg's work. Like up until now I have yet to see a single one on the list. If I had JP would've been my #1 for sure. So I'm kinda disappointed it's the runner up. You're a weird cat , Ness. Far be it from me to tell someone to open their horizons but Spielberg is the one director where it's REALLY weird to say you haven't seen some of his best movies. He touches too many genres and generations.
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Post by Big Pete on Apr 3, 2018 15:47:20 GMT
JP was my #1 movie. Saw it in theatres as a 3-year-old, it terrified me and rocked me more than any movie has since. The movie does an excellent job of showing the appeal but also the deadly consequences of messing with the ecosystem. While there are some serene moments where we get to see the Brachiosaurus' in their habitat while Williams' A+ score is playing in the background, those scenes with the T-Rex and Velociraptors are nightmare inducing. What particularly got me as a kid was those Dilophosaurus' with the frill necks that can spit venom. I never knew such dinosaurs existed and couldn't believe how persistent the buggers could be. The fact the movie took liberties with them made it especially worse because the unknown makes it that much worse. I could see arguments for other Spielberg movies being more ground-breaking or better, but in my mind, this is what a Spielberg picture is. It's a larger than life experience that gets you go to the theatres. At times it can be sweet and sentimental, then the next you're confronted with bloodshed and violence.
Saving Private Ryan was my #4. I really need to read into this movie more because so many scenes look so real they have to be from actual accounts. Sometimes war movies glorify combat, but I think Spielberg did an excellent job of conveying the horrors and the cost.
ET was my #3. It's been ages since I last saw ET, I'm talking clam-shell VHS era long-time, but there were so many iconic moments through out that it had to feature highly. It seems like Spielberg would agree as well since he used an image from the movie and used it as his logo. I need to see it again because I feel like Real LT it wrong on this one.
However, I 100% agree with him on Raiders. Hands down the greatest action-adventure movie of all-time with some wonderful set-pieces, thrilling action and a pace that keeps the film moving. It would be one thing if it was all action, but the characters are really well written as well. Indi is the classic everyman with a warped moral compass, Marion is world-weary who's been around the block enough times to know how to survive and Belloq is a really good villain. He isn't that different from Indi at all, he just doesn't like getting his hands dirty and isn't afraid to partner up with Nazis to make ends meet. Even the monkey is a memorable character in it's role and it still bums me out it dies in the movie. Again, when I think about Spielberg I think of these larger than life adventures with relatable moments (Why did it have to be snakes?), heroes we want to root for, villains we hope get their comeuppance and memorable action sequences.
I find the 'holding up' debate interesting. I agree the film doesn't have the same beats of a modern movie, so certain aspects of the film aren't emphasised like we're used to. On the other hand, the modern style of film-making has it's own share of flaws and I don't necessarily believe that film form has improved over time.
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Post by SM on Apr 3, 2018 16:59:47 GMT
Jurassic Park was my #1. Just a perfect film. Can still picture being 6 and sitting in the theater watching it with my brother and dad. Everything about it is great from the characters to the set pieces to the score and everything else.
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Post by Ness on Apr 3, 2018 17:09:47 GMT
Yeah and it felt like FOREVER from the theatrical run until it came out on VHS. I was still a kid and had no idea how that stuff worked, so every time a new movie came on HBO or something I was convinced... this time it'll be Jurassic Park. As a 8 or 9 year old who was obsessed with dinosaurs this was the perfect recipe for me. It also didn't hurt that my neighbor's Dad might as well have been Jeff Goldblum.
And yeah if his whole role in the new movie is just the scene in the trailer, aka a glorified cameo Ima be pissed.
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Post by Shootist on Apr 3, 2018 21:21:18 GMT
Also interesting to note , and to continue blowing Spielbergs greatness: This came out the same year as Schindler's List. Just bananas. As I mentioned earlier Spielberg was doing post production on Jurassic Park while filming Schindler's List. In the HBO doc Spielberg they get into more detail, it was a very interesting part of the documentary to say the least. Plus early in the filming of Jurassic Park they had to endure a hurricane that hit Hawaii. Not only were their technical challenges but mother nature threw a wrench into things. Anyway Jurassic Park was number 3 on my list. In the same way as Saving Private Ryan Jurassic Park broke new boundaries and set a new standard for both practical and CG effects. It's amazing that this technology devised in 1992 still holds up today. Also, like any other youngster at the time, I was awed by seeing dinosaurs on the big screen. It still rates as one of my favorite theater experiences. I agree about the human characters. I felt an attachment to both Sam Neil and the boy as I, like many others my age, were interested in Dinosaurs so I had a genuine interest in their connection. Goldblum was great as the voice of reason and his lines are still quotable to this day. In the book they flesh out the Nedry character much more but I'm glad they kept it in the movie. He's a big part of proving Malcolm's Chaos Theory as being correct.
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Post by mikec on Apr 3, 2018 23:55:08 GMT
Jurassic Park was an easy number one for me. It’s probably the first movie I ever thought of directing, specifically for the drop of water in the cups for every stomp.
Turns out I don’t love a ton of Spielberg, but I LOVE Jurassic Park.
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Post by RT on Apr 4, 2018 1:21:12 GMT
Jurassic Park was #4 for me.
The obvious #1 was my #2. As good as Jurassic Park is, the directing in the #1 movie is just undeniably amazing. It's perfect.
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Post by RT on Apr 4, 2018 1:22:49 GMT
Since we all know what #1 is I'm just going to throw up my list:
1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind 2. Jaws 3. E.T. 4. Jurassic Park 5. Hook 6. Saving Private Ryan 7. Raiders of the Lost Ark 8. The Terminal 9. Catch Me If You Can 10. Schindler's List
#8 was the movie I was talking about that I think is sorely underrated. I was curious if it would make the top ten or not, or if anyone else even voted for it. I think it's a great film that a lot of people don't think of when they think of Spielberg.
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Post by 🤯 on Apr 4, 2018 1:37:04 GMT
Since we all know what #1 is I'm just going to throw up my list: 1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind 2. Jaws 3. E.T. 4. Jurassic Park 5. Hook 6. Saving Private Ryan 7. Raiders of the Lost Ark 8. The Terminal 9. Catch Me If You Can 10. Schindler's List #8 was the movie I was talking about that I think is sorely underrated. I was curious if it would make the top ten or not, or if anyone else even voted for it. I think it's a great film that a lot of people don't think of when they think of Spielberg. Never seen Terminal but would be willing to give it a shot. Willing to give it a sales pitch to help bump it's priority up in the watch list queue?
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Post by RT on Apr 4, 2018 2:02:06 GMT
Since we all know what #1 is I'm just going to throw up my list: 1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind 2. Jaws 3. E.T. 4. Jurassic Park 5. Hook 6. Saving Private Ryan 7. Raiders of the Lost Ark 8. The Terminal 9. Catch Me If You Can 10. Schindler's List #8 was the movie I was talking about that I think is sorely underrated. I was curious if it would make the top ten or not, or if anyone else even voted for it. I think it's a great film that a lot of people don't think of when they think of Spielberg. Never seen Terminal but would be willing to give it a shot. Willing to give it a sales pitch to help bump it's priority up in the watch list queue? Tom Hanks is from some eastern European country that doesn't exist. He lands at JFK in New York and is denied entry to the United States. Before he can be sent back to his country, it falls into civil war and he can't fly back there. So he's stuck in a terminal at JFK. It's got some funny moments, but it's mostly a really unique drama, with a little romance sprinkled in, and Tom Hanks kills (as usual). I've watched it a few times and I've enjoyed it on every watch.
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Post by thereallt on Apr 4, 2018 3:35:32 GMT
1.Schindler's list 2. Raiders of the Lost Ark 3. Saving Private Ryan 4.The Color Purple 5.Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 6.Jurassic Park 7.Amistad 8.Jaws 9.Minority Report 10. Empire of the Sun
I voted Jaws #8 mainly out of respect for it's impact and influence on cinema. It inspired TONS of imitators and literally had people afraid to go swimming at the beach. But we were just talking about movies that do not age well and Jaws is more guilty of this than any other movie on this list. So I couldn't rank it any higher than 8 on my list.
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Post by Shootist on Apr 4, 2018 4:48:38 GMT
Since we all know what #1 is I'm just going to throw up my list: 1. Close Encounters of the Third Kind 2. Jaws 3. E.T. 4. Jurassic Park 5. Hook 6. Saving Private Ryan 7. Raiders of the Lost Ark 8. The Terminal 9. Catch Me If You Can 10. Schindler's List #8 was the movie I was talking about that I think is sorely underrated. I was curious if it would make the top ten or not, or if anyone else even voted for it. I think it's a great film that a lot of people don't think of when they think of Spielberg. The Terminal just missed my list, it would have been 11 with Hook at 12 i think if I extended my list. 1. Jaws 2. Raiders Of The Lost Ark 3. Jurassic Park 4. Saving Private Ryan 5. Schindler's List 6. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind 7. ET 8. Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade 9. Munich 10. Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom Jaws also taps into my childhood interest in sharks. It was just a great adventure with the best script Spielberg ever worked with. Brody, Quint and Hooper were three amazing characters that you could invest in and were so well defined. It is a treasure trove of quotable lines and even the shark doesn't look that awful (unlike Jaws 3). It's really not in the movie that much anyway and they did use real shark footage for some shots which is why I disagree that it hasn't aged well. This kind storytelling dates back to Moby Dick and really overshadows any kind of technical flaws. It was Spielberg's trial by fire and he still considers it the hardest film he ever had to make. Just wonderful POV shots with the swimmers combined with a timeless score to immerse you further into that world and enhances the suspense factor. This movie changed the way films were distributed and started the summer blockbuster craze. All these factors combine into making it my second favorite movie of all time.
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Post by Lionheart on Apr 4, 2018 6:17:10 GMT
E.T.
Saw this as a kid and wasn't very interested in it. Haven't seen it since.
The BFG
I've been wanting to check this out for some time. It always looked like it might be good.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
I already made my opinion of this known in whatever list it last popped up in. I don't like it very much.
Saving Private Ryan
This was my number 3. Another film I saw when I first started getting into movies. I was really impressed by this one, and although it may not have been as good as Schindler's List, it is definitely more accessible / widely liked. And, like Schindler's List, it also generated a very hopeful and inspiring feeling that warmed my heart. Just a crazy awesome movie.
Jurassic Park
I saw this movie for the first time around three years ago. I did not like it. I assume the special effects were really extraordinary for their time since everyone always mentions this movie was revolutionary in that regard, but I was more than exposed to seeing such special effects when I watched it so it just seemed like normal stuff to me. The dialogue was really bad, I didn't like any of the characters, it seemed to be weirdly sexist, and I was just pretty bored watching people running and screaming. It still confounds me to this day that the same man who directed this also directed Schindler's List...and in the same year no less.
Jaws
I haven't seen this yet but I have been wanting to and I have a feeling I will really enjoy it. I was confused when whoever said the #1 film was obvious when I read that post, but I gathered it must be this after I looked at some of the lists people posted. I always thought this film was kind of thought of as a funny and more sort of silly movie to watch with your friends than a seriously good film, so it surprises me a little that it is #1 over some of the other possibilities. But maybe it is really good so I guess I'll find out whenever I watch it.
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Post by Emperor on Apr 4, 2018 8:26:17 GMT
Oh so we're all talking about everything before the #1 is announced? This disturbs my sense of order, but OK, we're here now.
Saving Private Ryan doesn't quite pack the emotional punch of Schindler's list, but it's in the same ballpark, and it's a much more watchable film, one that I could see myself watching again.
Jurassic Park would have been my easy #1 had Jaws not shafted it at the final moment after I watched it for the first time. It's a flawed film but the pros far outweigh the cons. The first time you see the dinosaurs is one of my favourite scenes ever. You first see the awestruck characters, then the camera pans to the giant creatures, and you can't help but share in their wonder. It's magic. The characters are somewhat hit and miss, but the main characters all work for me. Even the kids, who seem to annoy most people. The enthusiasm of the adult palaentologists is infectious, and Goldblum does a great job in offering a more grounded rationale with his unique charisma. I don't understand all the hate Lost World gets. It's obviously not as good as Jurassic Park, but it's still a pretty run ride in my book. The story goes a bit off the rail, but a watertight plot is not the goal of the series, it's mainly to offer spectacular dinosaur experiences, and the sequel provides a lot of novelty in that respect.
Jaws is brilliant. Going in, I was expecting something a little hokey in the vein of Jurassic Park. Instead I witnessed a masterpiece that is one half riveting terror-in-the-seas suspense, the other half a thrilling adventure sequence. The three main characters are wonderfully cast, wonderfully written, and play off each other so well. Nothing bad to say about this movie.
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Post by Ness on Apr 4, 2018 10:05:02 GMT
I don't understand all the hate Lost World gets. A little girl killed a raptor.
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Post by UT on Apr 4, 2018 13:31:31 GMT
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Post by UT on Apr 4, 2018 13:33:17 GMT
Emperor summed up the movie well and concisely , it's an American classic for a reason. It fell behind ET and Minority Report because I tend to visit those more often but I can't take anything away from what is practically a flawless movie that also created the summer blockbuster. Also the anecdotes on set about how this whole movie ended up being a happy accident is fun to think about.
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Post by UT on Apr 4, 2018 13:40:41 GMT
And now for the runner ups:
The Last Crusade
Bridge of Spies
The Terminal Lincoln
The Color Purple
Always
Munich
War of the Worlds
The Post
The Lost World: Jurassic Park War Horse Amistad
Empire of the Sun
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
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Post by Lionheart on Apr 4, 2018 15:41:38 GMT
I don't understand all the hate Lost World gets. I was about to comment on this, but then I realized Lost World is different from Jurassic World. I have not seen Lost World. As for Jurassic World though...while it wasn't anything amazing, I thought it was better than the original.
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Post by Emperor on Apr 4, 2018 15:44:18 GMT
I don't understand all the hate Lost World gets. A little girl killed a raptor. If that didn't happen, you'd have zero problems with Lost World?
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Post by Emperor on Apr 4, 2018 15:50:17 GMT
1. Jaws 2. Jurassic Park 3. Saving Private Ryan 4. Bridge Of Spies 5. Schindler's List 6. Catch Me If You Can 7. The Lost World: Jurassic Park 8. The Terminal 9. Raiders Of The Lost Ark 10. Minority Report
I think of The Terminal as a slightly more adult version of Big. In both Tom Hanks is a fish out of water character who more or less carries the whole film on his own. This is more evident in Terminal which is like 95% Hanks, while Big is closer to 80%. Like in most of his other films, Hanks' character in Terminal is infinitely lovable, plus his Eastern European accent is pretty convincing. It's a nice light-hearted movie with some funny moments. Not the greatest drama/comedy ever made, far from it, but it's not a bad choice if you want to kick back and relax for a couple of hours.
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Post by Ness on Apr 4, 2018 16:01:08 GMT
A little girl killed a raptor. If that didn't happen, you'd have zero problems with Lost World? As a kid I loved it because well, it's not hard to do that. Did Dinosaurs eat people? FIVE STARS! I don't hate it even as an adult, but that kinda had me rolling my eyes. Otherwise it was and is my second favorite of all of them. Jurassic World almost took that spot.
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Post by Emperor on Apr 4, 2018 16:04:57 GMT
I thought that gymnastics sequence was cool as fuck when I was a kid. Yeah, it's stupid, but it's the good kind of stupid. I also enjoyed how velociraptors became more prominent in Lost World. Running around in the tall grass, leaping and jumping on people. They rule.
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Post by Lionheart on Apr 4, 2018 16:09:49 GMT
1. Always This is the one movie I watched in preparation of making this list since I didn't like any other Spielberg movies I had seen. I thought it would probably go in the remaining tenth slot, maybe nine or eight but probably not since Minority Report is pretty solid. Obviously, it completely overshot any expectation. While Schindler's list is a technically better film, I just loved everything about Always and felt I had to put it first. It was a charming romantic comedy right from the start and had just enough action thrown in. Dreyfuss totally nailed his character and immediately came off as a lovable ass, which sounds contradictory but was exactly what they were going for. His constant barrage of old-fashioned jokes were really entertaining and then you throw John Goodman in there as the best friend and you're set. I was a little upset because I read the one sentence description on Rotten Tomatoes and it completely spoiled a major plot point, so I recommend not reading anything about this movie if anyone plans to watch it. But the movie is definitely not your traditional rom-com and takes an unusual turn to say the least.
2. Schindler's List 3. Saving Private Ryan 4. Catch Me If You Can
5. The Terminal I really like this one. Emperor basically said it all already. I thought it was way better than Big though. It wasn't trying to be the best drama or best comedy, rather it was a unique blend of both. I wouldn't write it off as just a silly movie to waste time on though. It does what it intended to do really well.
6. Hook 7. War Horse I don't recall much of this to be honest except for the basic plot, which was a cool story, and that it had great imagery. If I think hard enough, I can still recall some glorious shots of the horse. 8. Bridge of Spies I don't recall the story of this one at all, but I remember liking the movie.
9. Lincoln Daniel Day‑Lewis doesn't really make bad movies and although it was an unusual film topic (I guess it's becoming a trend now that we have Darkest Hour), this was a very engaging and enjoyable drama. As far as Lincoln movies go though, the film Young Mr. Lincoln is miles better.
10. Minority Report Tom Cruise is awesome and this movie has a ton of awesome and cool shit. Although it's number ten, it's tons of fun and more of one I would want to rewatch compared to a lot of the others above.
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Post by Big Pete on Apr 4, 2018 17:24:09 GMT
I can't argue with Jaws.
Put Spielberg on the map and changed cinema as we know it. I had it in my Top 5, and just went with other movies for being more awe-inspiring and family friendly, which I feel are elements of Spielberg's work.
It's been ages since I've seen Lost World, but I just remember it wasn't as good as the original and the characters by large were poorly written. The gymnastics sequence stands out since everybody was making fun of that scene when it came out but I'm short on details. To the film's credit, I remember the opening sequence really getting to me with the little girl getting devoured by a bunch of tiny dinosaurs. It was similar to the Dilophasaurus sequence, except it happened to a character that wasn't Newman.
I didn't mind World, but it aped a lot from the original and came off unimaginative. I don't think military/ex-military characters make for interesting protagonists, especially when the events play out so similarly.
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Post by UT on Apr 4, 2018 18:03:34 GMT
I don't think I seen any of the sequels , heard such bad things about them that I just skipped it all together. Might reconsider after some of the opinions in this thread. It's a shame that Spielbergs two biggest franchises ended up being sort of butchered with Jaws and Jurassic Park. I guess you could throw Indy in there too with the opinions I've heard on Crystal Skull - but that entire franchise is the shits - amiright thereallt.
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Post by Emperor on Apr 4, 2018 18:23:33 GMT
Speaking of Indy, what's the general consensus on Last Crusade and Temple of Doom? Not as good as Raiders but still good, or just terrible?
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Post by Big Pete on Apr 4, 2018 18:42:02 GMT
The Temple of Doom is looked at as a sophmore slump. They tried to make it more kid-friendly which made it goofier and like a lot of sequels, the characters weren't as fleshed out as the original. It still feels like an Indiana Jones movie, but it deviates from the original enough to distinguish itself.
Last Crusade is a return to basics, but with more of everything shoved in. Usually it can be a recipe for disaster, but I feel the movie is so polished it gets away with it's lack of imagination.
The Red Letter Media review of Crystal Skull is more entertaining than the movie. Even then, it wasn't the worst movie I saw in 2008...that distinction belongs to Hancock.
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Post by thereallt on Apr 4, 2018 19:42:17 GMT
Speaking of Indy, what's the general consensus on Last Crusade and Temple of Doom? Not as good as Raiders but still good, or just terrible? 1. Raiders 2. Last Crusade 3. Temple of Doom 4. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. I think Temple of Doom gets a bit of a bad rap. It's not quite up to the level of Raiders or Last Crusade but still a very good movie in it's own right. Certainly better than the pale imitation that is the National Treasure franchise. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull on the other hand is SHIT. Great practical effects are traded for bad CGI, strong supporting characters are traded for friggin Shia LeBeouf and the story takes so many nonsensical turns. The best parts of the movie are the parts that reference the previous films, all the newer stuff is pretty much garbage.
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