07 April, 2010

Total Badasses: Steven Spielberg


When you think of a total badass, you don't usually think of a middle-aged bespectacled Jewish man. But that's just what Spielberg is. A badass. And an absolute motherfucken titan of cinema.

Just what makes Spielberg such a genius? I think it's his range. You know how some directors are known for making a certain kind of movie? Like, John Woo makes high-octane "gun"-themed action movies. Wes Craven makes horror movies, etcetera. Spielberg's theme must be "good" movies or something, because he doesn't really have a theme.

He'd be all like, "Okay, I'm gonna make a fantastic family movie about an alien" then he'd be like "Okay, my next one's gonna be an amazing archaeology adventure". He's the only guy who can probably say he went from making an incredible special-effects laden movie about freakin' dinosaurs, to a heartwrenching, beautiful film about the Holocaust.

Trivia time: Spielberg didn't accept any paycheck from making Schindler's List, because he said it would be like taking "blood money". Totally awesome gesture.

He just keeps going -- jumping between themes and genres effortlessly. Modern adaptation of Peter Pan? Check. A wicked re-telling of a H.G Wells classic? Check. Spielberg is the man.

Some cinemaphiles might argue that the greatest director of the modern era is someone a bit more arthouse, like von Trier or van Sant or Gondry or something, but for me, its fucken Spielberg. His movies are timeless entertainment, and there is art behind them -- the art of effortlessly telling a wonderful story, be it an amazing adventure, terrible true-to-life historic heartache, a colourful re-telling of a classic fable, or an encounter with something from another world.

Steven Spielberg. Absolute genius.

For more total badasses, click here.

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