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'Spielberg' lets director speak for himselfThere's an ongoing debate, in entertainment-critic circles, over whether there's better-quality fare these days in the movies or on TV. And it isn't hard to make the case that, pound-for-pound, TV is better -- richer, deeper, more ambiguous, more consistently entertaining. "Spielberg on Spielberg," the TCM documentary that airs tonight , makes an unintentional case for what movies can do and television can't. Steven Spielberg may have started his career directing TV shows such as "Columbo," but he is absolutely a movie director; he requires the size and scope of the medium. You can see it in the clips: these are big, bombastic events that put the small screen -- and even the bloated home theater -- to shame. This 90-minute special, directed by film historian Richard Schickel , is filled with clips; for the most part, it's the movies and Spielberg himself, talking with the air of an athlete recalling his triumphs. He tells a striking early story about filmmaking ambition: As a high school student visiting cousins in Los Angeles, he took a bus tour of the Universal lot and, during a sanctioned bathroom break, hid in a stall until the bus drove away. Then he roamed the soundstages on his own and charmed a company employee into giving him a three-day pass. When that expired, he'd go to the lot every day, wave at the security guard , and walk on in. That's the sort of drive that wins you a directing contract after your sophomore year in college; Spielberg must be as hard-charging as they come. Still, waxing nostalgic in a pink shirt and leather jacket, he manages to come off as a mensch. He's generous with credit, delivering tributes to screenwriters and, notably, composer John Williams. But he also understands his significant power as a filmmaker. After praising the screenwriter of his first full-length TV movie, a thriller called "Duel," he says, "I think that was the first time I realized, 'Hey, if I have a good script, and I'm a good director, I can make a pretty terrific movie.' " It's defining "good director" that's the trick, and Spielberg's stories suggest some common threads in his work: an attraction to childlike expressions of emotion, an impeccable visual instinct, a willingness to trust himself. (The D-Day opening sequence in 1998's "Saving Private Ryan"? He made the whole thing up as he went along.) He learned the value of spontaneity early, when his mechanical shark sunk to the bottom of the sea during the early days of filming 1975's "Jaws." He had to improvise, creating tension without showing the threat itself, and he's well aware of how the results affected his career. "That shark not working when we needed it to work," Spielberg says, "probably added $175 million to the box office." That's the other trick to Spielberg: His commercial sensibility isn't far removed from his artistic center. "Jaws" is reviled, in some circles, for launching the age of the summer blockbuster; "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "Jurassic Park" helped to make the world a little too safe for sequels. But Spielberg talks about money as if it's an unabashed good. "Jaws," in his view, bought him freedom. "Schindler's List" bought him the chance to create the Shoah Foundation, which collects first-person testimonials about the Holocaust. Then again, Spielberg doesn't seem the type to have many regrets, and his detractors won't find much satisfaction in Schickel's film. This is a first-person account, so we have to rely on the director -- and the clips -- to speak for Spielberg's critics. The celluloid tells its own story; Schickel includes one of my least-favorite Spielbergian images, the "When Dinosaurs Ruled The Earth" banner falling amid the chaos in "Jurassic Park." For his own part, Spielberg addresses some complaints with a good-natured brand of defensiveness. He stands by the moral questioning of "Munich," saying that he knew it would draw outrage in some circles. He wouldn't change the sappy end of "Saving Private Ryan," saying it was a tribute to his father's generation. He sounds especially brittle defending his honor over 2001's "AI: Artificial Intelligence," insisting it was Stanley Kubrick's idea to attach that third act set 2000 years into the future. (It's unclear whose idea it was to make the ending quite so maudlin, but we can guess.) Spielberg wouldn't change much, it turns out -- save, tellingly, the ending to 1977's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind." He says that today, as a father, he wouldn't let Richard Dreyfuss board the spaceship and leave his family behind. The documentary doesn't get to everything; it ignores "Amistad" and "Catch Me if You Can," and, in an act of kindness to its subject, skips completely over "Hook." Still, a few duds aside, it's hard not to look with awe at how many of Spielberg's films have endured. Criticize the man's penchant for happy endings, his love of the schmaltzy image and the schmaltzier coda, his laser-guided aim at viewers' heartstrings. But give him this: His movies are still reaching people. TCM, in fact, is airing "Close Encounters" and "Jaws" after the documentary. But they won't be quite the same on that little TV screen. Joanna Weiss can be reached at weiss@globe.com. For
more on TV, go to viewerdiscretion.net.
lets go Long treasured by the children of the Seventies for its trippy vibe, The Magic Roundabout is returning to cast its bewildering spell on a new generation let it be (music video and lyrics): Is it Lennon/McCartney or Lennon vs. McCartney? lets get it on Ego trip and more clips. ANGIE STONE GOT CLOSE TO GAYE 1097 let me love you 1000 let go 902 lets get it started 894 lets get ready to rumble 874 lets ride 832 let it rain 779 lets go trick daddy 744 let it go 730 beatles let it be 728 mario let me love you 708 let 645 never let go 641 let it ride 622 let it be beatles 603 never let you go 592 let her cry 590 lets get some shoes 566 let the drummer kick 562 let me borrow that top 553 let love in 527 let me buy you a drink 516 lets get married 492 let me hold you 488 trick daddy lets go 476 don't let me be misunderstood 476 frou frou let go 425 let it be me 425 let the music play 419 lets dance 407 time won't let me go 400 let me go 382 let it be mp3 377 love dont let me go 373 let the sunshine in 373 the beatles let it be 359 let me entertain you 359 let the good times roll 352 you never let go 349 let it die 336 lets get retarded 336 marvin gaye lets get it on 333 let there be rock 329 atb let u go 328 shannon let the music play 326 lets make love 324 goo goo dolls let love in 319 let go frou frou 315 love don't let me go 312 let me love you down 308 let it burn 305 don't let the sun go down on me 292 let them be little 291 3 doors down let me go 282 lets start a riot 280 don't let me get me 278 let me in 278 third eye blind never let you go 278 who let the dogs out mp3 276 lets get physical 276 lets groove 264 never gonna let you go 262 lets talk 255 don't let go 250 let me be your wings 250 lets go lil jon 248 let freedom ring 245 let you down 243 top let back 239 let it be the beatles 239 lets get it on marvin gaye 236 lets get away 236 the game lets ride 231 let the river run 223 lets fighting love 222 pink don't let me get me 215 let me out 213 let the sunshine 209 let there be peace on earth 208 let it snow 206 let it bleed 206 lets get loud 206 lets hear it for the boy 204 cant let you go 202 don't let me down 197 avril lavigne let go 197 let me love you mario 197 lets get drunk 195 david bowie lets dance 194 dont let go 192 let u go 188 time wont let me go 186 dont let the sun go down on me 186 mark oh let this party 185 let love in goo goo dolls 185 three days grace let you down 181 she let herself go 1, 1222.767, 14451, 2294, 170786, bullet for my valentine 2, 815.030, 164, 26, 33, west chicago illinois homes for sale 3, 760.500, 78, 12, 8, guilford county nc real estate listings & valuations 4, 695.963, 6578, 1044, 62173, cute is what we aim for | ____________________
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