"Schindler's List", "Saving Private Ryan", "Jaws", "E.T.", "Raiders of the Lost Ark", are just some in the list of movies that Steven Spielberg made as a director. They are great films in their own right yet somehow they don't seem suited for the director. "Schindler's List" and "Saving Private Ryan" seem too intense for the director who made "E.T." and yet "E.T." seemed like it had a rather adult theme not suited for younger children. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" is a standout among his most creative works. It was made when he was younger and in a time when his creativity meant success. A fantastic fantasy that has something to offer for everyone and special effects used to dazzle and not to overwhelm.
This is the film which truly should be considered his greatest for it expresses the director's talents and doesn't show them off. Spielberg's honest ideas seem ridiculously simple minded in "Saving Private Ryan" and too complicated to be understood by the target audience of "E.T.". The speeches and mannerisms of the soldiers during the quiet moments in "Ryan" feels out of place and takes away feelings of distress that the battle scenes had. The whole adults versus kids routine in "E.T." feels right but gives a negative view of adults to the children watching.
"Close Encounters" is by no means a perfectly executed film. The scenes with Richard Dreyfuss' character's family seem uneven and unexplained. Nevertheless it is Spielberg's best work for it's amazing depth and wonderous nature.
This is the film which truly should be considered his greatest for it expresses the director's talents and doesn't show them off. Spielberg's honest ideas seem ridiculously simple minded in "Saving Private Ryan" and too complicated to be understood by the target audience of "E.T.". The speeches and mannerisms of the soldiers during the quiet moments in "Ryan" feels out of place and takes away feelings of distress that the battle scenes had. The whole adults versus kids routine in "E.T." feels right but gives a negative view of adults to the children watching.
"Close Encounters" is by no means a perfectly executed film. The scenes with Richard Dreyfuss' character's family seem uneven and unexplained. Nevertheless it is Spielberg's best work for it's amazing depth and wonderous nature.