The Steven Spielberg Retrospective Part 3: The 1990's - Jurassic Park (1993)

Jurassic Park

Release Date: June 11, 1993

Runtime: 127 Mins

Winner of all three Academy Awards for which it was nominated including Best Sound Effects Editing, Best Sound, and Best Visual Effects

Read our thoughts after the jump...

The Steven Spielberg Retrospective Part 2: The 1980's - Empire of the Sun

Empire of the Sun

Release Date: December 9, 1987

Runtime: 152 mins

Nominated for Six Academy Awards including Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Score, and Best Sound.

Winner of ZERO Academy Awards

Sean here.  J. Link viewed Empire of the Sun on her own and her thoughts on the film can be found below. I just wanted to throw in my quick two cents.  To me, this is Spielberg's most underrated film and one of his greatest accomplishments.  It is ultimately about the death of childhood and this was definitely the film that gave Spielberg the strength to go on and tackle Schindler's List. Empire of the Sun was Christian Bale's first screen performance and it is still his finest.  It's a shame that he has an Oscar for The Fighter instead of his superb work here.  The climactic images in the film are haunting as we see Spielberg putting the final nails in the coffin of leaving childhood behind.  He would try to return to the childhood realm with Hook, but would fail miserably.  If you want to see the turning point in Spielberg's career, for better or for worse, look no further than Empire of the Sun.

J. Link's thoughts after the jump...

The Steven Spielberg Retrospective Part 2: The 1980's - The Color Purple (1985)

The Color Purple

Release Date: December 18, 1985

Run Time: 154 Mins

Nominated for 11 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Actress Whoopi Goldberg, Best Supporting Actress Oprah Winfrey, Best Supporting Actress Margaret Avery, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Art Direction, Best Make-Up, Best Original Score, and Best Original Song.

It Won ZERO Academy Awards....

Read on after the jump...

The Steven Spielberg Retrospective: Siskel and Ebert - The Magic of Spielberg

By Sean Knight

I stumbled across this video a while ago and thought it might be fun to share on here as part of the retrospective.  Around the time of the release of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, Siskel and Ebert dedicated an entire show to dissecting the work of Steven Spielberg.  It's interesting to hear the parallels they find from film to film and also what they think his short comings are.  Later today we will be continuing our retrospective with The Color Purple.  Until then I figured you could enjoy the videos below.

The Steven Spielberg Retrospective Part 2: The 1980's - E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Release Date: June 11, 1982

Runtime: 115 Mins

Nominated for 9 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Editing and Best Cinematography

Winner of 4 Academy Awards including Best Original Score, Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects

Read on after the jump...

The Steven Spielberg Retrospective: Inside the Actor's Studio

JJ Here!

If you haven't seen Steven Spielberg on Inside the Actor's Studio I urge you to watch the video below. The clips have been edited out due to copyright but that's alright. Watch and enjoy!

The Steven Spielberg Retrospective Part 1: The 1970's - Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Release Date: November 16, 1977

Run Time: 137 Mins

Nominated for 8 Academy Awards including Best Director, Best Supporting Actress Melinda Dillon, Best Music, Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects

Won 1 Academy Award for Best Cinematography and 1 Special Achievement Oscar for Sound Effects Editing

Read on after the jump...

The Steven Spielberg Retrospective Part 1: The 1970’s – Jaws (1975)

Welcome to the first installment of The Steven Spielberg Retrospective.  How this will work is very simple - every post Sean will kick things off with his insights and new discoveries for the film at hand.  Then J.J. (Jeanette, Jamie, whatever you want to call her) will post her first time viewing reactions below.  You will be getting two different accounts on the same film.  We may not always agree, but it will be interesting nonetheless.  Without further ado, our first film of The Steven Spielberg Retrospective Part 1: The 1970's -  Jaws.

Jaws

Release Date: June 20, 1975

Nominated for 4 Academy Awards including Best Picture

Won 3 Academy Awards: Best Sound, Best Film Editing, Best Music

Read on after the jump...

Sean and J.J's Top 5 Most Anticipated Films of the Oscar Season

Below are our Most anticipated films of the Awards Season with commentary and trailers.  Enjoy!

Sean:

5. The Artist

Ever since The Artist’s debut at the Cannes Film Festival it has won numerous accolades and has steam rolled it’s way into the Awards Season.  Many are expecting the Academy to go for this in a big way, which would be slightly odd.  It is, after all, a French film about Hollywood in the 1920’s, it has a no name lead star, it was filmed in black and white, and to top it off it is a silent film.  But audiences have loved the film and it has managed to snag quite a few awards at various film festivals.  The movie is also backed by the Weinstein brothers, so you can bet that they are going to push this as far as it can possibly go.  Nobody plays the Oscar game better than the Weinstein’s.  Out of every film opening this season, this is the one that people need to watch out for.  I myself will be seeing the film this Thursday at an advance screening and will have my review out by the weekend. Trailer and the rest of our list after the jump...

Top 10 Most Anticipated Movies of 2011

By Sean Knight


Normally I write up this list to go along with my Knight Awards every year.  This year I decided to do a full blown post for the blog.  Read on after the jump to discover my top 10 most anticipated films of 2011 with commentary.