Documentary Review: Spielberg (2017)

Release Date: October 5th, 2017 (New York Film Festival)
Directed by: Susan Lacy
Cast: Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma, Richard Dreyfuss, John Williams, J.J. Abrams, James Brolin, Bob Balaban, Tom Hanks, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote, Leonardo DiCaprio, Harrison Ford, Oprah Winfrey, Frank Marshall, Christian Bale, Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Robert Zemeckis, Cate Blanchett, Holly Hunter, Dustin Hoffman, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field, Tom Cruise, Eric Bana, Daniel Craig

HBO Documentary Films, Pentimento Productions, 147 Minutes

Review:

This was a pretty stellar documentary for fans of not just Steven Spielberg but filmmaking and film history in general.

It reminded me a lot of the 2001 documentary Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures, in that this spent a lot of time breaking down most of the key movies in Spielberg’s oeuvre.

Every segment here was rich, detailed and featured interviews with some major directors, actors and producers. But the film also gets into Spielberg’s personal life and how real life experiences influenced his movies.

This was a lengthy documentary, just as the Kubrick one was and rightfully so. In fact, this could have been the length of a ten part, two hour apiece Ken Burns documentary and I still would have been fully engaged.

Spielberg’s career has been long and full of at least a dozen classic films that will be remembered forever. Each segment could’ve been it’s own documentary film and it actually kind of sucks that a few films were mentioned but not given as much detail, most notably A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, the Jurassic Park sequels and some of his production work like Back to the Future.

Still, this is pretty thorough and there is so much to unpack and take away from this. It is one of the best documentaries on a filmmaker’s life and career.

Rating: 9/10
Pairs well with: other documentaries on specific directors but this reminded me a lot of Stanley Kubrick: A Life In Pictures.

Film Review: The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

Release Date: August 26th, 1992 (France)
Directed by: Michael Mann
Written by: Michael Mann, Christopher Crowe, John L. Balderston, Paul Perez, Daniel Moore
Based on: The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
Music by: Trevor Jones, Randy Edelman
Cast: Daniel Day-Lewis, Madeleine Stowe, Jodhi May, Russell Means, Wes Studi, Colm Meaney, Jared Harris

Morgan Creek Productions, 20th Century Fox, 112 Minutes, 117 Minutes (DVD Extended Cut)

Review:

“No! You stay alive! If they don’t kill you, they’ll take you north up to the Huron lands. Submit, do you hear? You’re strong! You survive! You stay alive, no matter what occurs! I will find you! No matter how long it takes, no matter how far. I will find you!” – Hawkeye

Daniel Day-Lewis is one of the greatest actors that has ever lived. So going back and seeing one of his early roles is interesting. He certainly had the chops, even as far back as 1992, but I wanted to revisit this just to see where he was at, at the time, and because I hadn’t seen this since it was in movie theaters.

Day-Lewis was solid but man, that really should go without saying. But he also had a great cast that carried their scenes quite well too.

Madeleine Stowe was superb and strong. She was a good choice to play opposite of Day-Lewis. Additionally, Wes Studi was as good as he always is and frankly, he should get more credit than he does for his performances. Hell, even as Sagat in that terrible 1994 Street Fighter film, he still had a good presence.

The film also features Russell Means, as well as Colm Meaney and Jared Harris before they became better known actors.

While this isn’t a true story from American history, it has a truly authentic feel to it. And maybe that’s due to the era of when the novel was originally written. I haven’t read the book and can’t compare the two but it does seem that the film is able to capture the spirit of the original work and the time it represents.

I can’t call this a masterpiece but it is a fine film that tells an interesting story with great acting and solid direction by Michael Mann.

I also love the film’s theme but I do have a problem with the picture’s score. You see, as good as the title theme is, it is the only piece of music that you notice in the movie. In fact, it is probably the only tune played within the film, as every bit of music is the same theme done over and over again, just in different keys with different instruments and at different speeds. As good as it is, it wears thin by film’s end and almost distracts from the big action finale.

But that’s really the only gripe I have about this great picture.

The Last of the Mohicans is worth your time if you like early American history and films with a western feel to them, even if this doesn’t actually take place in the Old West: geographically or chronologically.

Rating: 8.25/10
Pairs well with: Dances With Wolves and Thunderheart.