The Fabelmans

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Re: The Fabelmans

Post by Ben » January 31st, 2023, 4:22 am

Yeah, it was the comments on the Fabelmans I was agreeing with more, other than the "flop" comments. I really enjoyed Ready Player One as a throwback to the kinds of films Steve used to make. And that’s the thing: those kind films have somewhat become "old" to newer generations. I cringe when I hear things like "does Raiders still stand up?", or "Jurassic Park has dated effects"…! You could say that about any film from any age, but the important thing is that do they weave their spell over you for their duration and connect on some level emotionally? And with that his films are a big yes, natch, even if the "dumbing down" and "speeding up" of big commercial filmmaking can ironically be traced back to the likes of Spielberg and Lucas themselves. In a way, they took the brakes off and now can’t quite keep up.

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Re: The Fabelmans

Post by ShyViolet » February 26th, 2023, 11:16 pm

The movie was beautifully, beautifully made; and yet, I was expecting SO much more from it.
1.). The bullying that Spielberg faced through almost his entire childhood is barely touched upon (ditto for the anti-Semitism). The actual heartbreaking stories of the pain he went through (always being picked last, actually being booed during a school relay race when he was ten) are nowhere to be found. We pretty much see only ONE bully (that he meets in his senior year of high school) and he ends up basically making friends with the guy (sort of) by the end of the film. The deep pain contained in the real-life Sammy Fabelman’s eyes we often saw in interviews is nowhere to be found. :(

2.). The stuff with his parents/family secret was compelling and lovely, but unfortunately not much else. As with Sammy’s/Steve’s experiences, so much raw pain is alluded to, but only expressed in the most perfunctory of scenes (tears and occasional angry words, but, as said before, not much else).

3.). Judd Hirsch is a great actor but his character just wasn’t deep enough. What were his real feelings on Sammy and the family in general, other than Sammy’s movie “hobby”? We never really find out. Just a very arbitrary character that could have been played by many other actors and have come off more or less the same.

4.). Seth Rogen’s “uncle” character was actually kind of interesting, but mostly under-developed. Also, Paul Dano was MARVELOUS: hands-down the best thing about this film. Such a great performance.


5.). The shadow of the Holocaust that Spielberg’s family lived in (many relatives murdered, Spielberg bonding with the ones who survived) is nowhere to be found. I guess he didn’t want the film to be too depressing, but I think he could have incorporated it anyway.

6.). He went from confused teenage filmmaker winning contests to up-and-coming star director (who actually meets John Ford) WAY too quickly!! What about dropping out of college? Being rejected from USC film school? Sneaking onto the Universal Studios lot? “Yes, you too can become a young hot director: all you need is a super-cool camera and an in with the popular kids at school! Presto!”

7.). I really did enjoy watching this film, but the blood, sweat and tears spilled by the one who actually lived this biopic were nowhere to be found.
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

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Re: The Fabelmans

Post by Ben » February 27th, 2023, 4:24 am

Xactly, Vi. I’m not the only one who is somewhat "glad", after the initial "little Steve has put his early life on film" buzz that saw it almost become an auto-award nomination, that the first reactions have given way to a more balanced and reserved approach that sees the film as a pretty empty, rose-tinted movie life version of things, without any real connection to the outside world. As I said above, and what you allude to, pretty privileged kid asks for camera, gets camera, makes films, becomes a director, the end. If only it were that easy. Thus the film is an artifice that doesn’t reflect any kind of reality, which is why it is ultimately failing to connect with audiences. As much as the first half may be entertaining enough, we ultimately did not need a film — and an overly long one at that — to tell us this story. There just isn’t enough meat on the bones for it to be anything but a curio for film fans who know more about this stuff already that Spielberg seems willing to show. There’s a reason it’s dropped off the awards radar at this point…

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Re: The Fabelmans

Post by ShyViolet » March 5th, 2023, 11:11 am

This excellent essay hits the bulls-eye:

https://thewire.in/film/the-fabelmans-steven-spielberg

Btw, when it comes to the whole divorce issue, in some ways E.T. had a sharper, more profound outlook. In Fabelmans everything has this “softened” feeling. :?


Excerpt:
But the bigger problem here is the protagonist himself. It’s one thing to be a great filmmaker; it’s quite the other to be a compelling character. I won’t waste your time talking about the former, but Sammy without his camera – much like his parents and a portion of this film – is insipid. While analysing my thoughts on the movie, I pondered its poignant moments. Would Sammy discovering his mother’s affair through his camera have the same effect on me if, say, he were totally fictional and not based on a legendary director? I have my doubts.
Spielberg’s best films: even the deeply dramatic and devastating ones like Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, are not just great films, but great EXPERIENCES. They take hold of you and don’t let go, even after you’ve left the theater. In some ways Fabelmans IS a great movie, but not a particularly memorable experience.
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

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Re: The Fabelmans

Post by Ben » March 5th, 2023, 5:52 pm

"Insipid" is a spot-on word.

It’s funny, because we re-ran Catch Me If You Can recently, not long after Fabelmans (not for any connection, it was totally spontaneous), and I basically sat through the whole movie thinking "this is, explores and explains the Spielberg father-son experience so much better than Fabelmans".

Many of his films and their characters portray bits of his life better than the actual movie he made about his life!

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Re: The Fabelmans

Post by ShyViolet » March 5th, 2023, 8:14 pm

Yeah, even this brief family scene in E.T. feels more compelling and genuine than pretty much everything in Fabelmans:

https://youtu.be/ewkroL1cP_Q
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Re: The Fabelmans

Post by Ben » March 6th, 2023, 2:06 am

I was thinking of ET exactly as I wrote my post above! :)

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Re: The Fabelmans

Post by ShyViolet » May 9th, 2023, 5:22 pm

Interview on the issue of revising film because of changing culture/societal taste:

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/a ... movie-edit

Interesting how he now feels that editing the scenes of E.T. by replacing the guns with walkie talkies was a big mistake.

EDIT: Oops, it’s blocked. Here’s a cut/paste version:
Steven Spielberg has criticised the idea that older films should be re-edited to appease modern sensibilities.
Speaking at Time’s 100 Summit in New York City, the 76-year-old film-maker expressed regret over taking out guns from a later release of his 1982 sci-fi blockbuster ET: The Extra Terrestrial. In the 20th anniversary edition, agents saw their firearms replaced with walkie-talkies.
“That was a mistake,” he said on stage. “I never should have done that. ET is a product of its era. No film should be revised based on the lenses we now are, either voluntarily, or being forced to peer through.”

In 2011, Spielberg had already explained that the guns would be returning for the 30th anniversary release, explaining that he was “disappointed” in himself.
This week he added: “I should have never messed with the archives of my own work, and I don’t recommend anyone do that. All our movies are a kind of a signpost of where we were when we made them, what the world was like and what the world was receiving when we got those stories out there. So I really regret having that out there.”
Spielberg was also asked about the controversial re-editing of Roald Dahl’s work which has included changing words like “fat” to “enormous” and “ugly and beastly” to just “beastly”.

Initially he joked that “Nobody should ever attempt to take the chocolate out of Willy Wonka! Ever!” before adding “For me, it is sacrosanct. It’s our history, it’s our cultural heritage. I do not believe in censorship in that way.”
Other authors whose work has recently been tweaked for modern readers include Agatha Christie and Ian Fleming.
Spielberg’s most recent film, autobiographical drama The Fabelmans, received seven Oscar nominations. The director’s next project is yet to be confirmed but he has been attached to a drama based around the lead character from 1968 drama Bullitt with Bradley Cooper set to star.
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Re: The Fabelmans

Post by ShyViolet » July 26th, 2023, 9:42 pm

John Ford
scene in The Fabelmans vs. Spielberg telling the actual story.
(a bit of swearing)

https://youtu.be/hHHBdKUqj6U
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Re: The Fabelmans

Post by Ben » July 27th, 2023, 4:58 am

True story. ;)

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