Spielberg's endings of late

[Rottedfreak]

Who's idea do you think it was to have the son survive in War of the Worlds and to have the guy released and present new found evidence to clear him in Minority Report?
Is Spielberg going sentimental or is that Cruises doing?

[_liam_]

i have no idea, spieler is a bit of a mushy one though, so maybe he thought the picture was too dark.

i was certainly impressed with everything about war of the worlds, apart from that ending.

some of it is plain terrifying...although his daughter is SO annoying.

i thought the whole idea of his son dying was to prove that even though he cruiser's character was a flake and a bum, he had what it takes when it counted,whereas his dumbass son with all of his "this is your space" rubbish was superficially a better person but lost reason when it came down to it.

...buut he survived so i guess not.

[capncnut]

Spielberg's endings have always been sentimental and mushy.

[_liam_]

bugger...just remembered that amistad was on tonight. Ah well. did that have a mushy ending?

his twilight zone: the movie segment made me want to throw up.
he nearly managed a downbeat ending with jurassic park, but nah.

[Eyebiter]

How would the public have reacted to Saving Private Ryan if the wrap around scenes of the graveyard in France had been omitted?


I'd say Steven Spielberg understands the use of Catharsis in film making.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catharsis

"a sudden emotional breakdown or climax that constitutes overwhelming feelings of great pity, sorrow, laughter or any extreme change in emotion that results in the renewal, restoration and revitalization for living."

[_liam_]

(Um, yes i know what "catharsis" means, thank you.)

indeed he does, and the ending of ryan did occur to me, but the thing is he seems to doggedly ensure there's a happy ending even when it detracts from the overall dramatic impact of the film.

don't get me wrong, i love his movies.

[ProfessorChaos]

I agree about the crap ending for War of the Worlds. I was about to add it to my DVD collection until I saw that completely impossible ending. That little bastard would have been vaporized about thirty seconds after he ran over that hill. And how about the nice cozy neighborhood Grandpa and Grandma lived in? You would've thought it was Thanksgiving Day on that street without those couple of broken down cars in the road.

Way to go, Stevo.

[Danny]

funny that i was inspired to get into making films by this guy but he deos seem to do nothing in films but mushy ended films for universal, cus hes there bitch, now his tv series like taken and...i think he did band of brothers were pretty damn good.

id allways like to see films like jurassic park if theyd been directed by someone with less input in the film industry so theyd take more risks like stephen king or rob zombie.

[coma]

funny that i was inspired to get into making films by this guy but he deos seem to do nothing in films but mushy ended films for universal, cus hes there bitch, now his tv series like taken and...i think he did band of brothers were pretty damn good.

id allways like to see films like jurassic park if theyd been directed by someone with less input in the film industry so theyd take more risks like stephen king or rob zombie.
Stephen King directed MAximum Overdrive. Do you really want to see more of that?!:lol:

Speilberg is the king of schmaltz. He cannot help himself, though he has gotten world better in the last Few years. AI was a big bag o' schmaltz. I dont think he's anyone's bitch. Its his style. He manipulates you in a cheesy yet masterful way that even when you kinow he's being heavy handed and chessy you still get sniffy.

I dont think Speilberg directed Band Of Brothers. He was the producer I think.

[MikePizzoff]

Spielberg's endings have always been sentimental and mushy.

Right. I was going to list off a ton of movies but I don't feel that it's necessary; most people know he's always had "uplifting" endings.

[bassman]

I can understand why you think his newer films have been "mushy" but he's had plenty older films that weren't. If anything, they're sort of uplifting in a way(as mike stated) but they're not mushy.

Thinking back, the only films I can think of at the moment that don't have a full-on happy ending are "Empire of the Sun" and "The Color Purple".

As far as "War of the Worlds" goes, I think it has alot to do with the studio. From what I've heard, Spielberg had originally envisioned an epic movie that he wanted to spend alot of time and thought on, but the studio basically said, "squeeze it in your schedule now or you're not going to do it". He basically came straight from "The Terminal" in 2004, to doing back-to-back films in 2005 with "War of the Worlds" and "Munich"(which I believe is much better than "War")

[_liam_]

aye, i'm not saying he always reaches for the slush puppy, but more often than not.i thought munich was excellent.

[Tricky]

Aye,he must not like the idea of people leaving the cinema with a heavy heart!i like a good ending,but not a mushy one,especially one that feels like it was rushed in to wrap the film up!

[coma]

He basically came straight from "The Terminal" in 2004, to doing back-to-back films in 2005 with "War of the Worlds" and "Munich"(which I believe is much better than "War")
Nothin' sappy about munich. It is way better, but it would've sucked if TOm Cruise was in it. God, I really hate him. He is always the same

[_liam_]

he always plays a snappy little man dog with a glazed expression.
did you see mi:3? i nearly crapped myself when simon pegg (shaun of the dead) turned up!

[coma]

he always plays a snappy little man dog with a glazed expression.
did you see mi:3? i nearly crapped myself when simon pegg (shaun of the dead) turned up!
If he was in War of the worlds in stead of Ol'tom, that movie would've rocked. I liked everyhting about WOTW though, except the end, Tom Cruise, Tim whathisface and the screaminglittle girl.
I guess that leaves the Aliens and explosions

[Mutineer]

A happy ending does not mean it is mushy; especially with all of the pain it took to get there.

[_liam_]

yeah but if the incidences that provide the happiness of his ending stretch belief too much, ie his son somehow suriviving what looked like a blanket airstrike w/o a scratch on him, and then somehow making it to his grandparents on foot just as fast as the cruiser did, then it feels contrived, unrealistic and i leave feeling a bit cheated & patronised.

[capncnut]

Stephen King directed MAximum Overdrive. Do you really want to see more of that?

Aw, leave Maximum Overdrive alone. It wasn't that bad. :lol:

[Mutineer]

yeah but if the incidences that provide the happiness of his ending stretch belief too much, ie his son somehow suriviving what looked like a blanket airstrike w/o a scratch on him, and then somehow making it to his grandparents on foot just as fast as the cruiser did, then it feels contrived, unrealistic and i leave feeling a bit cheated & patronised.


Oh I do concur ! The ending of WoW was a let down; I was referring to many of Steve's film's that some may find mushy; most are not (Munich, Schindler's, SPR, Amistad, The Color Purple, Empire of the Sun .... )

[Geophyrd]

That ending almost got me to the point where I wasn't going to go to Speilberg's movies anymore. Invest that much time for that crap ending...jeez louise

[bassman]

Some of his movies that definitely have a great ending are the Indiana Jones flicks. True, they're up-beat....but that's what Indiana Jones is supposed to be. The "warm feeling" and camaraderie between the characters at the end of all three films continues the adventure for the audience and fits in perfectly with the flick.

[Danny]

Aw, leave Maximum Overdrive alone. It wasn't that bad. :lol:

yeah damn straight, and it aint cus im a king fan either....

*buries nose back into "the stand"...*:D