Steven Allan Spielberg is a Cinéaste and Producteur of American cinema , born the December 18th 1946 with Cincinnati (Ohio, the United States). It has with its credit some of largest financial successes of the history of the cinema, like E.T extraterrestrial the or Jurassic Park . Founder of the production company Amblin and cofounder of the studio DreamWorks SKG, it also created the foundation Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education , whose objective is to collect testimonys of all the survivors of the Holocauste, and to diffuse them with young people, with an aim of avoiding new a Génocide.

Biography

Despite everything its activities of financier or benefactor, he especially is known and recognized of the public for his activities of realizer. Director of the first Blockbuster ( Teeth of the sea ), he is the most popular scenario writer and most profitable of the history of the cinema. Indeed, rare are its achievements which were not covered with success. Its catalog of films is impressive so much it counts the successes and characters almost entered our cultural heritage.

This catalog of films is rather varied, and there is habit to divide it into two parts. The first relates to the cinema known as " of divertissement" , that Spielberg (which one calls besides the " king of the divertissement"), often treats in a way childish, whimsical, falling for certain too into violence and the cinema " commercial". One finds there the Teeth of the sea , the saga of the Indiana Jones , Hook or the Revenge of the Captain Hook , 1941 , Jurassic Park , Minority Report or three films on the extraterrestrial ones: Meetings of the third type , E.T extraterrestrial the , and lately the War of the Worlds .

The second category gathers films considered as more " sérieux" , more intimists, basing itself on actual facts. Spielberg films there the Second world war ( Empire of the sun , It is necessary to save the soldier Ryan ), the Shoah ( the List of Schindler ), the Esclavage ( the Color crimson , Amistad ) and more recently the israélo-Palestinian Conflit ( Munich ). All these films were the object of animated debates on the historical reality of works in question. Moreover, the Jewish origins of Spielberg do not arrange the things: one shows it for example not to be objective or to take party on subjects like Shoah or the israélo-Palestinian conflict. Spielberg is defended while affirming each time to develop a pacifist Cinéma . However, its success is not contradicted, of the million fans adulate it.

In addition to its own achievements, it produced several successful films like Gremlins , Retour towards the Future or Men in Black .

A creative and unhappy childhood

Steven Spielberg was born with Cincinnati, the December 18th 1946. It has three sisters. At the beginning of its existence, he lived in the New Jersey, then in Arizona. Small Steven was not a very good pupil. One can note that it undergoes as of its childhood the Antisémitisme of his comrades, and that it affirmed not to be Juif, its name being of German origin . Later, its diplomas did not enable him to enter easily the schools of Cinéma which it wished to attend. This is why it followed the courses of dramatic art of the school of Arcadia, with Phoenix. For the other elements concerning the Cinema, he is autodidact, carrying out very early films as an amateur.

He makes its first film in 1959 at the 12 years age, with the camera 8 mm of his father. It will be The Last Gun , a Western four minutes. It connects in 1961 with Escape to Nowhere and Battle Squad , two films of war. The first of these two films makes then already forty minutes, the following, Firelight , a film of Science-fiction which it turns in 1964, lasts a hundred and fifty minutes. This one will be strongly influenced by the Monster (The Quatermass Experiment) of Val Guest. Thereafter, it turns with Allen Daviau, future operator chief of E.T, Amblin' (which will become later the name of its production company), the history of two young people who go in Autostop of the Désert until the Pacifique without exchanging a word. This short film gains several prices and makes it possible Spielberg to obtain a seven year old contract with the studios of television Universal.

His/her parents divorce in 1964 what will deeply mark the Spielberg child, who will live this situation like a tearing. This separation will influence the future work of the realizer, where the search for a happy and marvellous childhood is confronted with the hatred and the chronic incomprehension of the adults.

Daring beginnings

Spielberg is then pointed out for its technical skills and forges a reputation. It directs Joan Crawford in the episode The Eyes of the series Night Gallery. It is about one of the three pilot episodes of this emission dedicated to fantastic, under the direction of Rod Serling. It connects with many other series, in particular the first episode (without counting the two pilots) Columbo : the pilot book .

Its first large success will be telefilm, Duel , which tells the history of an alarming truck, whose driver will remain invisible with the spectators, continuing without slackening an employee of trade. In spite of its minimal budget, work immediately creates sensation for its setting in scene and gains in particular the Grand Prix of the festival of Avoriaz. Its success on television will be such as film will leave in long version in the cinemas. The capacity of Spielberg with Hollywood starts to grow.

In 1974, Spielberg is seen entrusting the realization of its first Feature-length film for the cinema, it will be Sugarland Express . The film, drawn from a true story, tells the adventure of two marginal (interpreted by Goldie Hawn and William Atherton) and of their hostage, continued by a carnavalesque deployment of police officers and journalists. The film will be a total failure with the boxoffice, Universal not wanting to make a large production of it, considering the subject too difficult. According to other information, Universal would have sabotaged its exit to privilege the exit of Swindles It , with Robert Shaw and Robert Redford. Note amusing: Robert Shaw belongs to the casting of " Jaws ". This film marks also the beginning of a single collaboration in annals of the cinema: John Williams signs the first of his 22 compositions for a film of Steven Spielberg.

The first world successes

Some considered the career of the realizer then finished, but the chance will decide some differently. Once at his place, it devoured the book and decided to make the film adaptation of it. The failure of its preceding film carries damage to him but he will manage to join together a budget of twelve million dollars to make his work. According to the rumor, he refused for the role of the hero immense the Marlon Brando, estimating that the suspense as for the survival of the character would be sullied. And, having brought together less known actors (Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Roy To cob), turning could finally start; and it will be, it says it itself, the worst turning of its career. The Anecdotes of turning of the Teeth of the sea are many and not very enviable: one hundred fifty-five days a hard turning, one of the three mechanical sharks always does not function very well (it is besides why one almost never sees the frightening animal at the beginning of film), of the technicians wanted only one thing: that the project ceases, similar for the actors, and Spielberg itself was said discouraged, the whims of the weather and the ocean not arranging the things. At the conclusion of this hard turning, the fear of the water which had Spielberg was transformed into true a Phobie. But these Dents of the sea left in room and, against any waiting, the film was a success exceeding by far the most optimistic forecasts of the studios. In fact, for the first time the receipts of a film exceeded the hundred million dollars to finally reach the two hundred and sixty million.

Extremely of this success, Spielberg launches out in another great project, which he dreams to carry out since strong a long time. It is about a history of Extra-terrestre S peaceful, unloading on Ground, to meet the man there. Scientifically, such a contact is called “Rencontre of the third type”, expression which will give the name of this film left in 1977. And, surfant on the wave the Star Wars , work is a commercial success, the public being pressed to see this new film of Science-fiction. The performances of Richard Dreyfuss and François Truffaut to which Spielberg, its admiror, entrusts a role, will give place to a meeting worship.

In 1979, Spielberg will know its second reverse after Sugarland Express . The film 1941 , in which both play Blues Brothers, will be regarded as a failure as well on the artistic level as commercial. Being held during the Second world war, the film treats Paranoïa which the California knew after the attack of Pearl Harbor by the Japan board; the west coast thought of being it also the target of a new attack of their share.

The “Spielberg Era”

Spielberg ardently wished to carry out an episode of James Bond, but the realization of an episode implied British nationality. His/her friend George Lucas, extremely of the success of the Star Wars , re-examined old films of adventures of the the Thirties, with the Fritz Lang. Thus the two accomplices had the idea to create their own character, hero of large a saga, mixture of rocambolesques adventures and characters colourful: Indiana Jones had been born. The first mission of this hero interpreted by Harrison Ford, will be to find the Ark of the Covenant Hebrew before the Nazi S, in the film the Adventurers of the lost arch (1981), which was an enormous success.

Presented to the fence of the Cannes festival of 1982, E.T extraterrestrial the (with Dee Wallace, Drew Barrymore, Henry Thomas, inter alia) is one of films of the realizer now universally famous. The history of this small catch, biologist, come from a benevolent planet, will have moved by the million spectators and will have left some counterparts worships. With this film, Spielberg has the record of the best American receipts, than it will beat in 1993 with the film Jurassic Park . This success also enabled him to create, with Kathleen Kennedy and Frank Marshall, its own studio: Amblin Entertainment .

In 1983, Spielberg took part in a collective film directed by John Landis, the Fourth Dimension , where it directed the second episode: history of an old people's home, in which certain Mr. Bloom relearns childhood with the old men, who find their appearance of formerly.

The second Indiana Jones leaves finally in rooms, Indiana Jones and the cursed temple , in 1984. The film is a new triumph for the Spielberg-Lucas couple, even if the fans reproach him a too violent and too hard side. It is true that the whipped children, the torn off heart of the body living of one of the characters and the soldiers devoured by crocodiles can not be very public. The realizer will say itself not very not to appreciate this film in his catalog of films. It is however on this turning that it will meet his future wife and mother of her children: Kate Capshaw .

In 1985, Spielberg has its first child (born from its first marriage with the actress Amy Irving) and its catalog of films will tackle different subjects after this birth, less directed towards the said cinema, often pejoratively, " of Entertainment " , and more centered on the History: the Color crimson (1985) and Empire of the sun (1987), two works which respectively tell the life of a black family to the the United States of the beginning to half of the 20th century, and ventures it of a young British taken in the storm of a war.

In 1989 will leave the third opus the series of the Indiana Jones: Indiana Jones and the last Crusade . This last shutter in date, at the rate/rhythm increasingly more unrestrained, tells the crusade of the famous archeologist to recover legendary the Graal before the Nazis.

Between intimism, commercial cinema and dedication

Commercially, the Years 1990, contrary to the Eighty, do not start extremely for Spielberg. In 1990 leaves in rooms Always , a Remake of a man named Joe of Victor Fleming (1944 with the cinema). In spite of the presence of Richard Dreyfuss (already seen in the Teeth of the sea and Meetings of the third type ), the reception will be mitigated. But, as of 1991, the assiduous scenario writer launches out in another project which he dreams since always realizing: an adaptation of Peter Pan. It will be Hook . There still, profiting however from famous actors (Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts…), the film will be certainly childish, whimsical and will have a honourable career near the spectators, but criticism does not find there the magic side of the famous tale.

These the last two films are regarded as minor works in the catalog of films of the realizer, but, at Spielberg, its “failures” often precede by more appreciated films. By analyzing the career of Spielberg, one notes that its settings in the most recognized scenes are often preceded by films considered as disappointing, and it is precisely the case in 1993. Indeed, Spielberg still increases its domination on Hollywood by carrying out Jurassic Park , a film which marks a turning in the history of the special effects (conceived by the company Industrial Light & Magic). This history of Dinosaur S with Sam Neill and Jeff Goldblum will quickly become the largest success of the Histoire of the cinema, paying more than 900 million dollars and thus beating the record up to that point held by E.T extraterrestrial the .

In this same year 1993, Spielberg carries out what one often regards as his greater performance: the List of Schindler . On bottom of Shoah, the film tells us how an industrialist Nazi (Oskar Schindler) saved a little more than one thousand of human beings of the camps of death. A work that the American Film Institute class like the ninth larger American film of the History in its Signal 100 recognized. On the contrary, Jean-Luc Godard in his Histoire (S) of the Cinema will say with bitterness that with this film the " never that radical of the post-war period " (with in particular films of Roberto Rossellini) transformed itself into a " it is always ça" very agreed. Exploiting the sobriety of the black and white and the sequences of emotion, this Liste of Schindler gains a multitude of price and, in particular the Oscar of the best realizer and that of the best film, distinctions which had been refused since always with the realizer for twenty years by the prestigious academy.

In 1994, it and its two associated Jeffrey Katzenberg (the former head of the department animation of Walt Disney Pictures) and David Geffen (the founder of Geffen Records ) found an immense production company and of distribution specialized in the Cinéma, the Musique and the programs televised: DreamWorks SKG (Spielberg-Katzenberg-Geffen). It is as in this year as it creates Shoah Foundation Institute for Visual History and Education , which collects testimonys of all the survivors of the Holocauste, and diffuses them with young people, with an aim of avoiding new a Génocide. The foundation already collected 8700 testimonys in Israel. Spielberg will carry out later (in 1997) the continuation of Jurassic Park , still polishing the special effects. Le Monde lost: Jurassic Park will be still a success.

In this same year 1997, Amistad (with Morgan Freeman, Anthony Hopkins and Djimon Hounsou), its new realization, will not move crowd. It should be said that the bearing subject on the Esclavage was difficult, in the direction where it approached without turnings a neuralgic point of the Histoire of the United States of America, at one time when the American people seem to feel badly at ease with this past, taken between the sincere remorses and the need for forgetting to advance; the more so as Spielberg deforms, according to certain historians, historical truth.

In 1998, leaves another film. It is once again about a historical film in spite of the failure of its last work. It is necessary to save the soldier Ryan , turned for 70 million dollars, tells the history of a unit of American soldiers, charged with saving only one man, with the danger of their life. The history occurs during the end from the Second world war, during the Opération Overlord. Tom Hanks, Matt Damon and Barry Pepper is distinguished, and will contribute there to the business success and critical of the film, which will gain some rewards, of which the Oscar of the best realizer for Spielberg (the second of its career).

A return on the science fiction and the comedy

In 2001, Spielberg carries out AD INTERIM Artificial intelligence with the child-star Halley Joel Osment and Jude Law, a taken again project of the late realizer Stanley Kubrick. The film will have beautiful commercial pursuits, but this Pinocchio modern (and even futuristic), will receive a mitigated critical reception, some finding it splendid, others too long and tedious. More generally, this film constitutes a return to the Science-fiction for Spielberg, a kind which he had forsaken since E.T extraterrestrial the .

Steven Spielberg continues its period of Science-fiction in 2002, by carrying out a futuristic film, Minority Report , according to a news of Philip K. Dick. Tom Cruise plays there a police officer trapped in the logic of a penal system (and policy) authorizing the arrest of the murderers before which they did not make their crime. Spielberg with the complex scenario, founded on the stepping of the " témoignages" of trinomial of soothsayers, where topics of the ancient tragedy (of which the idea of the destiny ) find an echo particular in the setting in scene of an ultramodern world, but not outrancièrement futuristic. This film marks the first collaboration between the realizer and Tom Cruise (before the War of the worlds in 2002).

A new collaboration between Tom Hanks and Spielberg, a first between Leonardo DiCaprio and the realizer, Arrête me if you can is a humorous and tender film. True story of impostor Frank Abagnale Jr., which helped with the writing of this biographical work, and which took part of this fact in this business success which had warm welcome near criticisms.

Two years later, Spielberg carries out another film whose joviality and humor however do not mask the engaged side, it acts of the Terminal . With two famous actors, Tom Hanks and Catherine Zeta-Jones, history of an immigrant wedged in an airport.

The newspaper Le Monde describes Spielberg like “maniaco-depressive”, able to pass in one year of a comic subject on a difficult subject. Between 2004 and 2005, it will carry out two films: initially, the Terminal , then the War of the worlds , film in which “beings come besides” try purely and simply to exterminate the human race. This adaptation of the novel of Herbert George Wells was awaited. The film is an immense business success. Spielberg milked there by extraterrestrial interposed September 11th, while a mini-polemic is born in connection with the resemblance disconcerting from the poster from film to the cover from the book The Invaders Plan from Ron Hubbard, Gourou of the Église of Scientology. And, the shortly after the American exit of work, Steven Spielberg launched out in the realization of its next film: Munich . It is about an eminently polemical subject since he gives a subjective sight of the black operations of a member of the Israeli secret services acting in an autonomous way to assassinate the silent partners of the tragedy taken hostages of OJ of 1972; Spielberg is put at the tuning fork of its public, since the exit of such a subject is not possible that in the context of the Guerre against terrorism such as it is defined by the capacity in the White House.

Steven Spielberg stated to want to take a little rest after having turned back-to-back the War of the worlds and Munich . It would have benefitted from this respite to develop a project of filmed biography of Abraham Lincoln, project which has been due to him in heart for a few years (and whose character appears in Caméo in Minority Report). In parallel, the scenario of nearest the Indiana Jones, after having undergoes a long stage of preparation and many rewritings, is currently in the course of turning and should leave during 2008. In 2007, he is producer of film drawn from the universe of the toys Transformers. Spielberg has also the project to propose with the public a new adventure of Tintin, celebrates it character of Cartoon created by Hergé. This project seems to be confirmed in March 2007, with Mr. Spielberg with the production, but no estimated date is available to date.

The art of Spielberg

Recurring characteristics

One notes in the majority of films carried out by Spielberg a certain number of recurring characteristics:
  • All the films of Spielberg having a relationship with the Extraterrestrial S, in other words of Science fiction, are not held in another Galaxie as at George Lucas, but on our planet. In its first work of this kind, Meetings of the third type (1977), the extraterrestrial ones are invited in our world. In 1982, E.T , is found lost on Ground and, lately, in the War of the worlds , the Ovni S come to invade our world to exterminate any form of life there.
  • When Spielberg treats a tragic scene which must move the spectator, it does not use like other scenario writers a dark and worrying environment. Spielberg places its actors in a place where a dazzling light illuminates the scene strongly. While placing this lighting, returns to unconscious of the spectator, the memory which according to some Psychologue S would be the first great traumatism for each living being: moment of the Birth. This moment when one is born for the first time is a shock, because us are torn off maternal belly and a light is inflicted to us that it us was never yet given to see.
  • In the cinema spielberguien, the relation between the son and the father, or more generally between the child and the adult, is often an important subject, which rhyme sometimes with confrontation. In E.T extraterrestrial the , the children collect the Extra-terrestre, and hide it with their parents, whom they consider it unable to love famous the small being. In Jurassic Park , Allan Grant, the Paleontologist played by Sam Neill, hates the children, at the beginning of film. Or, in the War of the worlds , Ray, main character, is badly at ease vis-a-vis its role of father, and often enters in conflict with its elder wire. Otherwise, the relation father-wire is conflict, on the contrary (some see at the origin of this phenomenon the Divorce of the parents of Spielberg, having had like consequence the absence of father for the future realizer).
  • the settings in scene of Spielberg proceed mainly in American families representative of the Middle-class, living in Banlieue and not having true story, if not the banality of the lives of the members who compose them. Then, they fall into the storm from the stories from the realizer and, like often, childhood holds an important place to with it.

A commercial scenario writer?

Spielberg is regarded by certain as a commercial realizer. It is sometimes reproached to him for having revolutionized the Cinéma only from one point of view economic, and this by carrying out some of largest successes of the history of the cinema, for example the Teeth of the sea , which gave place to many continuations ( Teeth of sea 2 {{E}} left , etc). Its cinema is sometimes regarded as violent one, and the commercial cinema is precisely fond of delicacies of violence. To finish, it happens that Spielberg realizes continuations of its clean films (what some do not regard as a very artistic step), as with Jurassic Park .

However, behind its settings in popular scenes reflections hide on various political or social subjects complex, such as the Terrorisme, the Clonage, the drifts sedentary American, the Esclavage, the Racisme, or the Guerre. In addition, in the majority of its films, Spielberg defends its vision of a peaceful world , and this same in its works more general public . Some even affirm that Spielberg is a realizer intimist, insofar as his films often begin in modest American families, inhabitants of the suburban suburbs.

Anecdotes

  • His/her parents prénommaient Leah and Arnold.
  • One diagnosed the Syndrome to him To sprinkle.
  • It quotes the work of David Lean like having had a deep influence on its career.
  • It carried out the third episode of the series Columbo .
  • Gwyneth Paltrow calls it “uncle Morty”.
  • It never yielded with the exercise of the comment of its films on support DVD.
  • He is the godfather of Drew Barrymore, actress whom he directed child in E.T extraterrestrial the .
  • Voilà strong a long time that Spielberg works with the same people on its films. Since Sugarland Express it tied a close relationship with John Williams, which composed the music of all its films, hormi the Color crimson and the segment which it carried out for Twilight zone. Michael Kahn, is to him the assembler chief of the majority of films of Spielberg since Rencontre of the third type . To finish, Janusz Kaminski is its official Director of the photography.
  • the legend says that Spielberg was introduced into the studios Universal, a satchel with the hand, and squatté an office. By trail on the plates it would have been located, and would have finally had its chance when one entrusted an episode of series to him where it directed Joan Crawford.
  • Large admiror of Alfred Hitchcock, it used in the teeth of the sea a method of catch of sight created by the Master for Vertigo: the triple zoom reversed (the camera moves back on a rail during a rapid front zoom). It is told that it tried to meet the large scenario writer on his last turning, but that Sir Alfred would have made it leave the plate. Hitchcock did not like to have visitors on its plates. And perhaps he did not appreciate the audacity of the small wonder which, nonglad to borrow its technique, had improved it…
  • At the beginning of its career, whereas he worked for Universal Studios, one charged it with taking along to make the visit of the studio to a novelist who had just sold with the company the rights of one from his books. It appears that this guest was not other than Michael Crichton, whose Spielberg adapted later a few years the novels Jurassik Park and the World lost .
  • Before the exit of the Teeth of the sea , Spielberg had the idea to buy with some of his/her friends, to several thousands of specimens the book from where celebrates it film is drawn: Jaws of Peter Benchley. Thus the novel quickly became large a Best-seller, people being attracted by this book which was sold well (thanks to the purchases of the relations of the scenario writer). Consequently, the gigantic sales of the book made exit of film an event, which attracts, by definition the eye of the spectator.
  • the passion of Spielberg for the “beings come besides”, and more generally for the Science fiction, would come one night when his/her father awoke it like his mother. They left then, in a direction that only his/her father knew. Then they arrived in pre, surrounded by a multitude of other people, who looked at all worms the sky. At this point in time appeared through the clouds a multitude of large white trails; it was about a rain of Météorite S which looked at, stops bée, the Spielberg child. This night was for him the proof that the man was not alone in the universe, one can as say as this memory gave us some of most famous films of the realizer, such as Rencontre of the third type , E.T extraterrestrial the and, lately, the War of the worlds .
  • For its studies of cinema, Spielberg is registered in 1965 at the university of California (the California State University ) to Long Beach. But three years later, the future realizer stops, finding an employment at Universal. The career will follow which one knows… It is only in May 2002, which Spielberg took down its diploma of Cinéma. He declared thereafter: " I wanted to do that since years, to thank my parents who gave me the possibility of making studies and of making career, and to explain to my own family, and all the young people, who it is important to go until the end. I hope only that they will arrive there more quickly than me! ".

Spielberg in figures

  • Since the origin of the Cinema, seven of the ten films which made the most entries in the world were carried out by Steven Spielberg. On the whole, its films paid more than 2,17 billion dollars (1,67 billion euros in February 2007) receipts to the United States and more than 10 billion in the whole world. What makes of him the most profitable scenario writer of the history of the cinema.
  • the production company founded by Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg (DreamWorks SKG), would have ensured celebrates it realizer, producer and scenario writer for the sum record of 1,2 billion dollar (1,3 billion euros) in July 2001. This sum should cover the losses estimated by the company in the event of died of the scenario writer.
  • the greatest business success of the career of Spielberg is Jurassic Park (1993). Profiting at the time of the largest advertizing campaign of the history of the cinema (half of the budget), work brought back 920 million dollar S in the whole world, whereas the film cost of them “only” 63 million.
  • the film the Teeth of the sea was the first film whose receipts exceeded 100 million dollars, before reaching 260 million dollars in the United States. It is thus the first “Blockbuster” of the history of seventh Article
  • the film carried out by Steven Spielberg having had best starting is Le Monde lost: Jurassic Park . This work exceeded the bar of the 100 million dollars of receipts in 5 days.
  • In the Signal 100 of American Film Institute, which classifies hundred best American films of the history, five films of Spielberg are indexed, which makes of the Spielberg realizer the American scenario writer more quoted in this classification.

Catalog of films

Realizer

Cinema

Television

Producer

Scenario writer

Associate producer

Executive producer

Actor

Generally in Caméo .

Distinctions

Rewards

Nominations

See too

Related articles

External bonds

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