Xixax Film Forum

Film Discussion => News and Theory => Topic started by: Spike on April 15, 2003, 03:24:55 PM

Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Spike on April 15, 2003, 03:24:55 PM
What's in your opinion the worst Steven Spielberg-film?
I didn't saw "Sugarland Express" but I think "Hook" is by far his worst.  :twisted:
What do you think?

Spike
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Alethia on April 15, 2003, 04:06:44 PM
just to get this straight: i am not a spielberg hater.  i think he is a brilliant filmmaker.  but he is still not without his mistakes.  overall, i think hook is his worst (but if hook is ur worst film, then you dont have too much to worry about).  i dont think it would have killed him to skip the lost world (altho i do enjoy some sequences) or 1941 (which i dont think is as bad as its reputation), or hell even temple of doom.  thats about it, methinks.

oh and u havent seen sugarland express?  i have.  its one of his very best films.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: xerxes on April 15, 2003, 06:37:05 PM
lost world
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Ghostboy on April 15, 2003, 07:41:26 PM
Quote from: ewardor hell even temple of doom.  

But Temple Of Doom is brilliant!

I was really young when I saw Hook, and I loved it back then. I see no reason to ruin the memory with a current viewing.

I was trying to think of which of his movies weren't very good, but then I realized there are a huge number I haven't seen. Always, Color Purple, 1941, Sugarland Express and....Jaws. I know, I know, that last one is unforgiveable. On the flip side, I have seen this obscure TV movie he did called Something Evil.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: mindfuck on April 15, 2003, 07:58:45 PM
C'mon guys. Hook was a great kids movie. RU-FI-OOOOOOOOOOO. Seriously.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Kev Hoffman on April 15, 2003, 08:51:40 PM
Quote from: xerxeslost world

Dead on.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: phil marlowe on April 16, 2003, 04:34:32 AM
Quote from: Kev HoffmanDead on.
totally.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Pubrick on April 16, 2003, 07:39:54 AM
Quote from: Phil Marlowetotally.
indubitably.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Duck Sauce on April 16, 2003, 10:17:41 AM
Lost World was the worst IMO, nothing about it was too great to me. On the other hand I loved Hook, creative set.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Grand Epic on April 18, 2003, 05:38:34 PM
I haven't seen 1941 all the way through yet, so I guess I'd have to say The Lost World. It was such a disappointment for me when it came out. I was hoping that Spielberg wasn't losing his touch, but then he made up for it the next year with Saving Private Ryan.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Cecil on April 18, 2003, 08:26:59 PM
i really HATED amistad, lost world, and most of saving pvt ryan
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Teddy on April 27, 2003, 04:15:09 PM
Quote from: cecil b. dementedi really HATED amistad, lost world, and most of saving pvt ryan

Saving Private Ryan is one of his best films.  How could you hate it?

Anyway, I agree with all of you who said THE LOST WORLD was the worst.  It is the worst, but its still not bad.  I think HOOK is brilliant, by the way.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Cecil on April 27, 2003, 04:18:51 PM
Quote from: TeddySaving Private Ryan is one of his best films.  How could you hate it?

the opening war scene is amazing, and the end war scene is not that bad, but since the first is so perfect, it makes it seem boring. all the crap in the middle i didnt like. and that stupid bookend thing with old matt damon was just terrible. thats why i hate it
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Keener on April 27, 2003, 04:24:10 PM
Halloween 5: The Curse of Michael Myers. He ain't fooling me with that Dominique Othenin-Girard alias.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Ghostboy on April 27, 2003, 04:33:16 PM
Cecil's pretty right about Saving Private Ryan. Incredible beginning, great ending, and a handful of really good sequences in between. The rest of the movie is okay, but nothing really special, and those godawful book ends leave the entire movie in a bad light. I cringe just thinking about them.

The Thin Red Line was the best war movie that year. And possibly one of the best of all time.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: phil marlowe on April 27, 2003, 04:45:20 PM
Quote from: GhostboyThe Thin Red Line was the best war movie that year. And possibly one of the best of all time.
totally. i really dont understand all the talk of it failing badly and that its one of the greatest cinematic disapointments ever. for me it is THE war movie. its one of those very few movies of the genre that doesnt seem fake to me, maybe because it operates on such a psykological level. many of the movies who often is being referred to as masterpieces, such as private ryan and platoon, doesnt get to me. i dont believe the movie is showing war action, i believe the movie is showing actors who run around pretending to be in war action.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Keener on April 27, 2003, 11:20:01 PM
I loved Platoon. I haven't seen SPR since it came out. I didn't like it then aside from selected scenes. This is the first time I'm not alone. I really should give it another chance, though. I was friggin' 13 at the time.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: aurora on May 08, 2003, 08:12:56 PM
Quote from: Ghostboy
The Thin Red Line was the best war movie that year. And possibly one of the best of all time.

Fuck yeah. Easily. That movie is so great. The score is amazing. Best score ever.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: MrBurgerKing on May 08, 2003, 08:26:49 PM
Thin Red Line is still shrink wrapped on my shelf. Perhaps on a cold sunday night I can pop it in the DVD player while drinking a cold can of orange soda? I believe Badlands and Days of Heaven are masterworks, and The Thin Red Line is probably a masterwork as well.

While we're on the topic, I'd say The Lost World is his worst as well. At least with Hook, he was trying to make a movie for little kids to enjoy.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: MrBurgerKing on May 08, 2003, 08:37:13 PM
While we're on war films, I'll always make the case that The Deer Hunter is the best war movie ever. Finally, a war film without much war and combat.

I know, it's kind of like a cheesesteak without cheese, but at least the beef is really good, and the bread is baked to perfection.. soft and fluffy.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: xerxes on May 08, 2003, 09:06:38 PM
i don't care what any of you say... well, that's a little mean and not completely true... but i hated the thin red line... with an all consuming passion, which has since died down, but that may be because i refuse to watch it again.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: godardian on May 12, 2003, 06:15:57 PM
So many, many to choose from...

...at this point, I'll only cop to even sort of liking Temple of Doom. Low on sap and "seriousness," high on energy and pulp. That's what he's good at.

The crap, in order of craptacularity:

Saving Private Ryan
Always
A.I. (a desecration)
Amistad

[/i]
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: SoNowThen on May 12, 2003, 06:23:18 PM
Does picking one mean I think he actually has Good Films? If so, I will say EVERYTHING except Jaws.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: SoNowThen on May 12, 2003, 06:31:12 PM
Actually, y'know what, that's mean. I shouldn't rip the guy in his own section; this is where the fans are. So I'll just say I liked Jaws... and leave it at that.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: modage on May 17, 2003, 05:35:47 PM
1941.

i thought it was painfully unfunny and terribly long.  im not sure i ever made it to the end of that one.  
the lost world atleast had a few cool suspense sequences.  (c'mon the truck hanging off the cliff, with julianne moore pressed up against the breaking glass, was cool. admit it).
i havent seen temple of doom in atleast 10 years although i remember liking it better than the first one when i was younger.  then again, kids usually like sequels because theyre more suited towards the slower attention spans of kids.  (back to the future 2 comes to mind as another one i liked better (cause the future was cool).)  
i loved saving private ryan although its a bit too spielbergesque for some.  

amistad didnt really do anything for me though.  a bit boring and by the numbers historical type thing, just wasnt my bag.  cool cinematography in the opening boat sequence during the storm though.  
( havent seen always, sugarland express or duel).
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: markums2k on May 20, 2003, 03:30:02 PM
Worst by Spielburg: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

I'm still waiting for a decent alien/abduction movie (i.e. does NOT take place in space).  I guess I'll just have to make it myself.  It will be truly wonderful, people.  Believe me.

Also, The Thin Red Line is an overrated piece of garbage.  I couldn't even make it to the end.  I cut it off in the middle of a battle sequence (in some shallow river), I just couldn't take anymore.  So, nobody better tell me, "Oh, that's when it starts to get GOOD!" because it was already two hours into the damn thing.  And the only war movie worse than Red Line was Windtalkers... but somehow I made it all the way through Windtalkers.

Sorry for the OT.  :roll:
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Mesh on May 27, 2003, 04:37:25 PM
Quote from: markums2kWorst by Spielburg: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The fuck? I mean, what? No.

Quote from: markums2kAlso, The Thin Red Line is an overrated piece of garbage.  I couldn't even make it to the end.  I cut it off in the middle of a battle sequence (in some shallow river), I just couldn't take anymore.  So, nobody better tell me, "Oh, that's when it starts to get GOOD!" because it was already two hours into the damn thing.  And the only war movie worse than Red Line was Windtalkers... but somehow I made it all the way through Windtalkers.

Have you ever seen any movies?
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: markums2k on May 28, 2003, 03:22:42 PM
Quote from: Mesh
Quote from: markums2kWorst by Spielburg: Close Encounters of the Third Kind

The fuck? I mean, what? No.

...

Have you ever seen any movies?

I guess what I said was so wonderful that it just all had to be said again...

Okay, I like how you just completely avoid making any sort of point in your post.  I mean, other than, markums2k doesn't have any idea of what he's talking about.

I stand by my statement.  Close Encounters... it's awful.  In my opinion.  Sorry to burst your bubble.  I don't think it's a masterpiece by any stretch.  I've seen it 4 times.  All being attentive, deliberate viewings, and I hated it more everytime.  I'm even biased in favor of the subject matter, and I still hate it.  To this day.

And no.  I have never seen any movies.  I don't even know who Steven Spielburg is.  Funny how that works.   :?
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Mesh on May 28, 2003, 03:43:12 PM
Quote from: markums2k
Okay, I like how you just completely avoid making any sort of point in your post.  I mean, other than, markums2k doesn't have any idea of what he's talking about.

That's pretty much what I was going for.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Mesh on May 28, 2003, 03:46:12 PM
Quote from: markums2k
And no.  I have never seen any movies.  I don't even know who Steven Spielburg is.  Funny how that works.   :?

Dude, your two worst War Films of All Time are Windtalkers and The Thin Red Line.

Do you realize how ridiculous that sounds?
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: modage on June 02, 2003, 10:51:42 PM
wow. i just rewatched HOOK and THE LOST WORLD for the first time in years, (since they are pretty consistently thought of as BAD, but my memory is liking them when they came out).  boy they are both SO TERRIBLE.  i had no idea.  HOOK is so dated in the early nineties.  the look and special effects is so fake.  and everything about it is just pandering to kids.  its such a misfire, (but spielberg has admitted to that).  and the LOST WORLD as well.  just not good at all.  i remembered liking it, but its hardly watchable.  he has also said that it was the most boring experience he ever had making a movie, cause he was so disinterested with making that movie, but since he wouldnt give audiences ET2, he made this one for the "public".  it shows.   :x
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: chainsmoking insomniac on June 03, 2003, 08:32:44 AM
Well said.  AI too....didn't like that one too much.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Alethia on June 03, 2003, 09:15:47 AM
for every bad flick he has tho he has about four good to great ones.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Dtm115300 on January 19, 2005, 03:18:31 PM
gotta be Lost World. That story was only meant to be told once.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: bonanzataz on August 24, 2005, 04:16:49 PM
it's the terminal. oh my god it's the terminal. wow, that was so bad. oh my god, it was awful, i wanted to cry.

Quote from: modagewow. i just rewatched HOOK and THE LOST WORLD for the first time in years, (since they are pretty consistently thought of as BAD, but my memory is liking them when they came out).  boy they are both SO TERRIBLE.  i had no idea.  HOOK is so dated in the early nineties.  the look and special effects is so fake.  and everything about it is just pandering to kids.  its such a misfire, (but spielberg has admitted to that).  and the LOST WORLD as well.  just not good at all.  i remembered liking it, but its hardly watchable.  he has also said that it was the most boring experience he ever had making a movie, cause he was so disinterested with making that movie, but since he wouldnt give audiences ET2, he made this one for the "public".  it shows.   :x

Well I just rewatched HOOK and it's STILL fucking awesome, so all you haters can eat it!
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: modage on August 24, 2005, 06:40:40 PM
well i just rewatched The Terminal on HBO and it was mostly good!
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: jigzaw on September 09, 2005, 10:01:52 PM
Got to agree with Bonanz, The Terminal was one of the worst things I think I have ever seen, and I love Spielberg's work.  Sitting through it was actually painful.  I wanted to leave so badly throughout the whole thing, and of course I didn't because I just felt I had to see the whole thing since it was a Spielberg film.  But, my god, I kept waiting for a point to this boooooring booooring idiotic story, and it never came.  The antagonism of Tucci's character was so unmotivated and tried painfully hard to be "light" and "funny".  Staring at the airport set which got more press than anything else in the movie (and rightfully so, since the boring terminal set was better constructed than the script) made my head ache.  

Oh my god, my god my god, The Terminal was interminable
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Myxo on September 09, 2005, 11:43:40 PM
Terminal was bad but at least it was honest.

A.I. felt like a total fraud. I hate that movie with a passion.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: RegularKarate on September 10, 2005, 02:27:11 PM
It's funny because almost the exact opposite is true.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: jigzaw on September 10, 2005, 07:11:19 PM
Agreed, except I wouldn't say AI was bad.  I thought it was pretty fantastic.  I can't speak for the above post because Myxo may already know this, but I've found that most people who hated A.I. didn't get that the creatures at the end were robots and not aliens.  I didn't like it either till I figured that one out.  
It later occured to me that the entire film was not even necessarily supposed to be "true" but was actually a fairy tale for the robots who longed to know more about us, their long-gone creators, and the story of David was actually just a fairy tale that these robots tell their young.  Just a theory.
Title: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: killafilm on September 11, 2005, 02:47:45 AM
Always.  Plain and simple.  

Even though JP:2 was a super waste of talent.
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: ddmarfield on November 14, 2005, 11:31:11 PM
Quote from: Keener on April 27, 2003, 04:24:10 PM
Halloween 5: The Curse of Michael Myers. He ain't fooling me with that Dominique Othenin-Girard alias.

Hilarious  :yabbse-thumbup:
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: soixante on November 16, 2005, 12:44:10 AM
Temple of Doom
Color Purple
Last Crusade
Always
Hook
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: diggler on November 16, 2005, 01:19:27 AM
Quote from: mindfuck on April 15, 2003, 07:58:45 PM
C'mon guys. Hook was a great kids movie. RU-FI-OOOOOOOOOOO. Seriously.

i second that. good form!
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: mutinyco on November 16, 2005, 01:33:43 PM
I wasn't aware that there was any room for debate. 1941.
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: sickfins on November 24, 2005, 08:11:30 AM
Quote from: bonanzataz on August 24, 2005, 04:16:49 PM
it's the terminal. oh my god it's the terminal. wow, that was so bad. oh my god, it was awful, i wanted to cry.

you get the award for making me choke on my special k
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Pozer on November 24, 2005, 11:10:44 AM
Worst line in a Spielberg flick-
"You turkey!" - Richard Dreyfuss in Close Encounters of the Third Kind after being cut off by another automobile.

And there's my one and only Thanksgiving post.  Happy Turkey Day, Richard Dreyfuss.
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Gamblour. on November 24, 2005, 03:24:59 PM
"That doesn't look so scary....more like a six-foot turkey!" - The fat kid in Jurassic Park
Then Alan Grant proceeds to scar him for life by describing how a velociraptor would disembowel him. HAPPY THANKSGIVING, especially Canada.
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: killafilm on December 06, 2005, 09:50:32 PM
What's wrong with Close Encounters?
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: modage on December 06, 2005, 09:59:18 PM
Whats wrong with E.T.?
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: MacGuffin on December 06, 2005, 10:04:31 PM
What's wrong with crying?
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Pubrick on December 06, 2005, 10:28:36 PM
it's what's wrong with garam.
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: 72teeth on December 07, 2005, 12:13:14 AM
he watches Oprah...
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Alethia on December 07, 2005, 12:30:13 PM
but the cute kids say swear words!  its endearing!
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: Anonymous Joe on December 07, 2005, 01:56:10 PM
Catch Me If You Can made me wanna steal stuff.
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: grand theft sparrow on December 08, 2005, 09:42:40 AM
This thread should have been locked the day The Terminal came out.
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: ©brad on February 05, 2006, 12:15:11 PM
Quote from: hacksparrow on December 08, 2005, 09:42:40 AM
This thread should have been locked the day The Terminal came out.

i personally don't see a need for it anymore. from A.I. on, spielberg has gotten better and better with each movie he makes.
Title: Re: The worst Spielberg flick?
Post by: godardian on February 05, 2006, 12:22:48 PM
Quote from: ©brad on February 05, 2006, 12:15:11 PM
Quote from: hacksparrow on December 08, 2005, 09:42:40 AM
This thread should have been locked the day The Terminal came out.

i personally don't see a need for it anymore. from A.I. on, spielberg has gotten better and better with each movie he makes.

Actually, I think I might agree with you, here. I'm a longtime Spielberg-doubter, but I was surprised at how much I enjoyed Catch Me if You Can, The Terminal, Minority Reportand even much of Munich (I realize that list isn't in order). I personally agree with J. Hoberman about Schindler's being Spielberg's nadir for various important reasons. But Munich was quite something in lots of sections (though that parallel-action sex scene should be in the dictionary under "pretension," and that's coming from someone who will sit through any impromptu Antonioni marathon you'd ever care to put on). Brilliant costumes/locations/international-espionage glamor, and not a total political brain-sieve like I've so often found Spielberg's "seriousness" to be (do we have Tony Kushner to thank for that?).