FREE ESSAY ON STEVEN SPIELBERG

STEVEN SPIELBERG

It is hard to imagine a person who has not heard of Steven Spielberg. He is one of the
most renown, if not the most renown, American filmmakers of the century. His films have
captivated and helped develop imaginations of contemporary society and remain among the
most successful films ever made.
Spielberg was born in Cincinnati on December 18th, 1946. His father was an electrical
engineer, and his mother a concert pianist. Steven seemed to get the best elements from
both of them. Spielberg had an early fascination with cinema and began making amateur
films at a very young age. At 13, he won a local contest for his 40-minute film, Escape
to Nowhere. Ironically, Steven was unable to get into a film school, so he settled for
majoring in English Literature at California State University. After graduation, he set
out to Hollywood, where he was determined to be successful. In 1974, he received his
first break for The Sugarland Express. The film went on to win a Cannes Film Festival
Award for best screenplay. The following year saw JAWS explode. This very successful
horror film, depicting a man-eating shark, captured the attention of the world and has
become part of contemporary pop culture. The movie was nominated for Best Picture at the
Oscars and won several Oscars for technical categories and for its very distinctive
score. 
JAWS was not the only film of his to make the 100 best films of the century list by the
American Film Institute. Many of Steven Spielberg's works have been placed on that list,
and many are so timeless, they will live in the hearts of generations to come. Such films
as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T., Indiana Jones, and Jurassic Park have become
legendary. In Spielberg's down time, he stringed together a personal little film about a
suburban boy who befriends an earthbound alien, also known as E.T. for Extra-Terrestrial.
It hit theaters in 1982 and became an instant classic and is still the defining film of
his landmark-filled career. This magical and exceedingly sentimental film surpassed even
George Lucas' Star Wars to become one of the biggest domestic moneymakers of all time. He
has the unparalleled talent of capturing people's imagination and dreams, but at the same
time tapping into humanities darkest nightmares.
In 1993, Spielberg made Schindler's List, a haunting epic that showed the Holocaust in
its ugly truth. The film would eventually win him a Best Picture Oscar. It has now become
part of the regular curriculum in many schools and is considered by many to be the most
significant film of this generation. In 1998, Spielberg came out with Saving Private
Ryan, which captured war in gory and shocking detail as his soldiers stormed the beaches
of Normandy. This again shows his willingness to deal with larger, more serious issues. 
Further profiting as a producer of other directors' its like Poltergeist, Back to the
Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Spielberg became one of the richest and most powerful
players in Hollywood. In 1984, he founded Amblin Entertainment and used the E.T. logo as
its trademark. While this was doing well, Spielberg wanted more control over his projects
and did not want any other studios interfering with his work. In 1994, along with several
other industry hotshots, they created the first new movie studio in Hollywood in over 75
years- Dreamworks. The company covers all its bases and produces live action and animated
movies, music, computer games, arcades, television productions, and distribution.
Spielberg owns approximately 22% of Dreamworks and he is worth around 1 billions dollars.
His average salary is $238 million a year!
A defining characteristic of a Steven Spielberg movie is the elaborate costs of making
movies, huge box office returns, and many award nominations. For example, Jurassic Park
was a special effects-laden adaptation of Michael Crichton dinosaur disaster novel of the
same game that cost $70 million to make. But, it grossed $100 million in nine days on its
way to completely shattering his own record in E.T. Schindler's List finally earned
Spielberg his long-awaited Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture. 
Most people know that Steven Spielberg is a director, but not all know that he is an
amazing producer and writer with endless movies and shows under his belt. Some examples
of movies he directed are: JAWS (1975), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), E.T. (1982),
Twilight Zone: The movie (1983), Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana
Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), Hook (1991), Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World
(1997), Amistad (1997), and Saving Private Ryan (1998). 
There are too many shows and movies to state in this paper that Spielberg has either
produced or written. Some of these movies are: Poltergeist (1982), Gremlins (1984), Back
to the Future (1985), Goonies (1985), Cape Fear (1991), Twister (1996), Men in Black
(1997), Deep Impact (1998), and soon to be released in the Summer of 2001, Jurassic Park
3. Steven Spielberg has also written and produced many cartoon shows like Animaniacs that
are still entertaining children five years later. Many of his movies have been cartoons
such as: An American Tail (1986), The Land Before Time (1988), Who Framed Roger Rabbit
(1988), and Fievel Goes West (1991). No matter if a person is 5 or 50, every generation
can find a Steven Spielberg movie that is to their liking. 
If a person watches a Spielberg film carefully, one can see many defining characteristics
that are basically present in every movie. The storylines never cease to be interesting
and deep. He will usually choose characters that the general public can relate to and
issues that large groups of people have dealt with. For example, my grandfather fought in
World War II and received a Purple Heart for being a POW. He is an avid fan of old war
movies and can usually watch them with no problem because he says, they are not realistic
enough. I went with my grandfather to see Saving Private Ryan in the theater and after 20
minutes, he starting shaking and crying and said he couldn't bear to watch because it was
bringing back far too horrible memories. Many of his other war buddies had a similar
reaction and stated that Saving Private Ryan was the most accurate depiction of the
invasion of Normandy they had ever seen. 
Spielberg has a talent of recreating an event perfectly, right down to the exact set and
even perfect gun replicas. The sets from Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Indiana
Jones, and Schindler's List are extremely elaborate and enormous and cost millions of
dollars. Archaeologists and prehistoric experts were brought in to oversee the miniature
models of the dinosaurs and even the plants to ensure that they were as close to the
truth as possible. Spielberg also uses a variety of camera angles to invoke moods and
feelings in his viewers. He is famous for his head shots during an emotional scene and
also letting you see through the eyes of various characters in his films. This makes the
audience feel more involved in the movie and can keep the audience on the edge of their
feet when something unexpected happens.
Personally, I can't imagine what movies and television would be like if Steven Spielberg
hadn't burst onto the scene some three decades ago. My first movie that I ever saw in the
theater was E.T. when I was barely two years old. I can not begin to remember how many
times I watched such classics like JAWS, Goonies, Gremlins, The Land Before Time, and An
American Tail while growing up. Some of my fondest memories as a child was sitting with
my two-year-old brother on my lap and watching little Petrie and Sarah in The Land Before
Time. I would explain to him that Sharptooth wasn't really real and that he didn't have
to hide under the covers at night. I used to ice skate when I was younger and chose theme
songs from Spielberg films like Somewhere Out There from American Tail and the main song
from Indiana Jones.
In conclusion, Steven Spielberg is arguably the most famous and most recognized
producer/writer/director in the world. His list of films is endless, as well as the
awards he as been nominated for or won. My generation has grown up with his films and no
matter what age a person may be, there is a Steven Spielberg movie out there for them to
watch and love. 
Bibliography
References
Taylor, P. (1992). Steven Spielberg: The man, his movies, and their meaning.
Continuuminternational.
Powers, T. (1996). Steven Spielberg: Master Storyteller. Lerner Publishing Company.
Brode, D. (1994). The Films of Steven Spielberg. Carol Publishing Group.
Crawley, T. (1990). The Steven Spielberg Story. Morrow, William & Company.
McBride, J. (1997). Steven Spielberg. Simon and Schuster Trade.
Knight, B. (1998). Steven Spielberg: Master of Movie Magic. Silver Burdett Press.