Steven
Spielberg Director's Collection (1971 - 1997/Universal Blu-ray
Set)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B+ Extras: B+ Films: (listed below) range from
B- to A+
Fresh
off the success of their Universal's Monsters box set last
month (reviewed elsewhere on this site), we have one of the year's
most treasured releases in the Steven Spielberg Director's
Collection Blu-ray set which contains eight films from the
Director's career, a 58-page book entitled Steven Spielberg: A
Journey In Film, and highly collectible hardcover digi-book
packaging that is a must for any film buff's collection and features
colorful stills and quotes from the films and director.
Surprisingly
enough, I think this is the first time a Spielberg box set has been
available on any format and with the superior sound and picture
quality in this release and the fact that half of these films haven't
been available on Blu-ray yet, it really makes this set a homerun.
Spanning over 40 years, Spielberg's career began as a teenager when
he made his way onto the Universal backlot and befriended studio
executives.
His
passion and talent quickly developed, allowing him to direct an
unprecedented number of blockbuster films. The Steven
Spielberg Director's Collection showcases a selection of
the Academy Award winner's unforgettable movies filmed for Universal,
including his very first TV feature, Duel, and his first
theatrical release, The Sugarland Express, epic comedy 1941
and blockbusters such as Jaws, E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial
and the first two Jurassic Park films.
In
many ways, these movies preserve Spielberg's image as a populist
filmmaker and an entertainer rather than a serious artist. That's
why Schindler's List is not on this box set, even though it
was made by Universal. Instead, this collection is served to
introduce Spielberg to a new generation of adolescents or
re-introduce him to long time fans that may not own these films on
the Blu-ray format and making available some titles that have never
been available on Blu-ray before now.
Films
on the set include (arranged in the set by year):
Duel
Sugarland
Express
Jaws
1941
E.T.
The Extra Terrestrial
Always
Jurassic
Park
The
Lost World: Jurassic Park
Duel
(1971)
Film:
A-
Starring
Dennis Weaver
Available
for the first time on Blu-ray, Duel is one of the most intense
thrillers I have ever seen and is really one of Spielberg's best
movies. The film was so good that it put him on the map as a
director and grew from ABC-TV movie of the week (a format the network
and Universal Pictures invented) to a theatrical release overseas in
the 1970s. What is also astonishing is the fact that the highly
complex production of the film was shot in a mere twelve days, which
really shows how dedicated and talented he is as a filmmaker.
The
concept of the film is simple: a cat and mouse game with a deadly
(and frightening) truck that is out of control and a desperate man
(Dennis Weaver) who is trying to outrun it. What works in the film
is the fact that from frame one the tension starts to build like a
Hitchcock film and it doesn't let up. You are in the car with Weaver
the whole time, sweating as you look in the rear view mirror and see
an unstoppable force slowly moving in on you. It brings to life
thoughts of death, claustrophobia, and rattles your nerves - which is
why I love it!
Extras
for Duel:
A
Conversation with Director Steven Spielberg
Steven
Spielberg and the Small Screen
Richard
Matheson: The Writing of Duel
Photograph
and Poster Gallery
Trailer
Cast
and Filmmaker Production Notes
Sugarland
Express (1974)
Film:
B
Following
in the success he had with Duel, The Sugarland Express
is another chase movie but with a totally different tone. Goldie
Hawn gives a fine performance as a mother wanting to fix her family
and reunite her child. The amount of extras and cars that they got
for this production is staggering (though the wailing sound of sirens
grows taxing.) While the film is dated, it's still a fun original
concept and has great production value and tone.
In
May 1969, Lou Jean Poplin (Goldie Hawn) visits her husband Clovis
Michael Poplin (William Atherton) to tell him that their son will
soon be placed in the care of foster parents. Even though he is four
months away from release from the Beauford H. Jester Prison Farm in
Texas, she forces him to escape to assist her in retrieving her
child. They hitch a ride from the prison with an elderly couple, but
when Texas Department of Public Safety Patrolman Maxwell Slide
(Michael Sacks) stops the car, they take the car and run.
When
the car crashes, the two felons overpower and kidnap Slide, holding
him hostage in a slow-moving caravan, eventually including reporters
in news vans and helicopters. The Poplins and their captive travel
through Beaumont, Dayton, Houston, Cleveland, Conroe and finally
Wheelock, Texas. By holding Slide hostage, the pair are able to
continually gas up their car, get food via the drive-through, and
stay at motels. Eventually, Slide and the pair bond and have mutual
respect for one another.
The
Poplins bring Slide to the home of the foster parents, where they
encounter numerous officers, including the DPS Captain who has been
pursuing them, Captain Harlin Tanner (Ben Johnson). The climactic
last act is unforgettable and is pretty stunning considering the
film's meager $3 Million budget, even at that time.
The
only extra on Sugarland Express is a trailer.
Jaws
(1975)
Film:
A+
Two
notes defined the importance of a musical score to a film and helped
create a classic that no other film of its kind will ever be able to
match. Calmly enough said, Jaws is a masterpiece of cinema
and of terror. The release of the film in this set is identical to
the single disc Blu-ray that came out two years ago which is
satisfactory and really brings out an incredible transfer for the
Blu-ray format.
A
girl named Chrissie Watkins leaves a beach party at dusk on Amity
Island and goes skinny dipping. While swimming out near a buoy, she
is seized by something from below; it thrashes her around and drags
her underwater.
Chrissie
is reported missing and her remains are later found on the beach by
the Deputy of police chief Martin Brody. The medical examiner
informs Brody that she was killed by a shark. Brody plans to close
the beaches but is overruled by mayor Larry Vaughn, who fears that
reports of a shark attack will ruin the summer tourist season, the
town's primary source of income. The medical examiner consequently
attributes the death to a boating accident. Brody reluctantly goes
along with the explanation. The shark then kills a young boy
swimming at the beach. His mother places a bounty on the shark,
sparking an amateur shark-hunting frenzy and attracting the attention
of local professional shark hunter Quint, who offers to kill the
shark for $10,000. Marine biologist Matt Hooper examines Chrissie's
remains and determines that she was killed by a shark, not a boat.
A
large tiger shark is caught by fishermen, leading the townspeople to
believe the problem is solved. Hooper asks to examine its stomach
contents, but Vaughn refuses. That evening, Brody and Hooper
secretly open the shark's stomach and discover that it does not
contain human remains. They head out to sea to find the shark, but
instead find the wreckage of a boat belonging to local fisherman Ben
Gardner. Hooper explores the vessel underwater and discovers a
sizable shark's tooth protruding from the damaged hull before he is
startled by Gardner's corpse, causing him to drop the tooth. Despite
Brody and Hooper's protests, without evidence, Vaughn refuses to
close the beaches.
Many
tourists arrive on the Fourth of July. A children's prank causes
panic at the main beach while the shark enters a nearby estuary and
kills a man. Brody's son Michael, who narrowly escapes the attack,
goes into shock. Brody persuades Vaughn to hire Quint, and Quint
reluctantly allows Hooper and Brody to join the hunt. The three set
out to kill the shark aboard Quint's vessel, the Orca.
Extras
for Jaws:
The
Making of Jaws
The
Shark Is Still Working: The Impact & Legacy of Jaws
Jaws:
The Restoration
Deleted
Scenes and Outtakes
From
the Set
Storyboards
Production
Photos
Marketing
Jaws
Jaws
Phenomenon
Theatrical
Trailer
BD-Live
My
Scenes
Pocket
BLU App
1941
(1979)
Film
(B-)
1941
is a
wild and crazy movie that Spielberg quotes is like having your head
stuck in a pinball machine with someone hitting tilt over and over
again. While delivering epic scope and production value along with
great performances by John Belushi, John Candy, Christopher Lee,
Toshiro Mifune and Robert Stack and written by Robert Zemeckis and
Bob Gale (Back
to the Future)
the film tends to be one of Spielberg's weaker entries.
The
story involves a panic in the Los Angeles area after the December
1941 attack on Pearl Harbor with the Japanese forces threaten to
strike Hollywood.
Although
not as financially or critically successful as many of Spielberg's
other films, it received belated popularity after an expanded version
aired on ABC, and its subsequent home video reissues, raising it to
cult status.
Extras
for 1941:
The
Making of 1941
Deleted
Scenes
Production
Photographs
1941
Comic Relief
The
Marketing of 1941
The
Reviews
Production
Notes
Cast
and Filmmakers
Theatrical
Trailer
E.T.
The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
Film:
A+
E.T.
is a true cinematic treasure and a film that will always be timeless
and mean so much to so many people, even its director. The concept
for the film was based on an imaginary friend Spielberg created after
his parents' divorce in 1960.
In
1980, Spielberg met Mathison and developed a new story from the
stalled science fiction/horror film project Night
Skies.
It was shot from September to December 1981 in California on a
budget of US $10.5 million. Unlike most motion pictures, it was shot
in roughly chronological order, to facilitate convincing emotional
performances from the young cast including Henry Thomas, Peter
Coyote, and an adorable little Drew Barrymore.
After
accidentally getting stranded on Earth, E.T. befriends a ten year old
boy named Elliot who finds him hiding in this tool shed. Dealing
with the divorce of his parents, Elliot and his two siblings befriend
the alien that ultimately changes their young lives. Once the
Government becomes wise that the younglings are housing this alien
being, they soon come on a mission to find and captivate him. It's
up to Elliot and his gang of bicycle riding friends to save E.T. and
help him return home.
Extras
for E.T.
Deleted
Scenes
Steven
Spielberg & E.T.
The
E.T. Journals
A
Look Back
The
Evolution and Creation of E.T.
The
E.T. Reunion
The
Music of E.T. : A Discussion with John Williams
The
20th Anniversary Premiere
Designs,
Photographs and Marketing
Theatrical
Trailer
Special
Olympics TV Spot
My
Scenes
D-BOX
BD-Live
Pocket
BLU App
Always
(1989)
Film:
B
Always
is a touching and emotional romantic drama starring Richard Dreyfuss,
John Goodman, and Holly Hunter. The story revolves around Pete
Sandich (Dreyfuss) who is an aerial firefighter, flying a war-surplus
A-26 bomber dropping fire retardant slurry to put out forest
wildfires. His excessive risk taking in the air deeply troubles his
girlfriend, Dorinda Durston (Hunter), a pilot who doubles as a
dispatcher, and is also of concern to his best friend, Al Yackey
(Goodman), a fellow fighter. On one flight, Pete makes one extra
drop, runs out of fuel, and barely manages to glide onto the runway.
Pete
shrugs off his brush with death and surprises Dorinda with a stunning
white dress for her birthday, although it turns out to be the wrong
day. Irate at first, she eventually puts on the dress anyway, and
the couple dance to their song, "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes".
Al
sits Pete down for a beer and likens their situation to wartime
England (Quonset huts, warm beer, and hotshot pilots flying bombers)
in order to emphasize the key difference: "Pete, there ain't no
war here. And this is why you're not exactly a hero for taking these
chances you take." Al suggests Pete take a safer job that has
just opened up, training firefighting pilots in Flat Rock, Colorado.
Pete flatly refuses to consider it. However, when Dorinda confronts
Pete and tells him that she hates worrying about him all the time, he
decides to take Al's advice.
Pete
takes one last mission, despite Dorinda's gloomy premonition. While
on a bombing run, Al's Catalina water bomber hits a burning tree and
an engine catches fire. When Al's fire suppression equipment fails
to put it out, it looks like he is doomed. In desperation, Pete
makes a dangerously steep dive to skillfully douse the engine with
slurry. He saves Al, but in trying to recover from his dive, his
bomber flies through the forest fire. Pete manages to pull up and
climb back up to a safe altitude beside Al, but a small engine fire
spreads to his fuel tank, and his aircraft blows up.
The
next thing he knows, Pete is getting his hair cut in a forest
clearing. His supernatural barber, Hap (Audrey Hepburn), explains
Pete's new role. Just as he was inspired when he needed it most, it
is now his turn to provide Spiritus ("the divine breath")
to others. As she puts it, "They
hear you inside their own minds as if it were their thoughts."
Six
months have elapsed in the real world. Pete is assigned to guide a
new firefighting pilot, Ted Baker (Johnson). To Pete's anguish, Ted
falls in love with Dorinda, and she begins to respond and recover
from her mourning. Pete selfishly tries to sabotage the growing
relationship. The next day, Pete wakes up, back in the forest with
Hap. She reminds him his life is over, and also he was sent back not
just to inspire Ted, but to say good-bye to Dorinda. The last act is
thrilling and romantic and not to be missed!
Extras
for Always:
Production
Notes
Cast
and Filmmakers
Theatrical
Trailer
Jurassic
Park (1993)
Film:
A+
Life
finds a way in Jurassic Park, which is easily in my top ten
favorite films of all time and a true treasure to behold on Blu-ray
disc. This was one of the first films I saw as a child that really
changed the way I watched movies and made me want to become a
filmmaker and film critic. The special effects hold up to this day
as if they were made last week, it really is astounding. Available
in 3D in a separate release (which is really worth checking out),
Jurassic Park is a film I can watch 100 times and never get
tired of!
When
an incident results in the death of an employee, Jurassic Park owner
John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) brings in three specialists to
sign off on the park to calm investors. The specialists,
paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill), paleobotanist Ellie Sattler
(Laura Dern), and chaos theorist Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), are
surprised to see the island park's main attraction are living,
breathing dinosaurs, created with a mixture of fossilized DNA and
genetic cross-breeding/cloning. However, when lead programmer Dennis
Nedry (Wayne Knight) shuts down the park's power to sneak out with
samples of the dinosaur embryos to sell to a corporate rival, the
dinosaurs break free, and the survivors are forced to find a way to
turn the power back on and make it out alive. The film also stars
Bob Peck, Martin Ferrero, Ariana Richards, Joseph Mazzello, and
Samuel L. Jackson.
Extras
for Jurassic Park:
The
Making of Jurassic Park
Early
Pre-Production Meetings
Location
Scouting
Phil
Tippett Animatics: Raptors in the Kitchen
Storyboards
Foley
Artist
Production
Archives: Photographs, Design Sketches and Conceptual Painting
Theatrical
Trailers Including Jurassic Park III
Dinosaur
Encyclopedia
Production
Notes
Cast
and Filmmakers
DVD-ROM
Features Including Live Web Events
The
Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
Film:
A
Despite
not following to Crichton's original novel, I feel that The Lost
World: Jurassic Park is one of the most underrated sequels in
movie history. Starring Jeff Goldblum (who returns as Dr. Ian
Malcolm), the film is full of intense action set pieces, wonderful
performances, high production value, and an incredible score by John
Williams.
When
a vacationing family stumbles upon the dinosaurs of Isla Sorna, a
secondary island where the animals were bred in mass and allowed to
grow before being transported to the park, Ian Malcolm (Jeff
Goldblum) is called in by John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) to lead
a team to document the island to turn it into a preserve, where the
animals can roam free without interference from the outside world.
Malcolm
agrees to go when he discovers his girlfriend, paleontologist Sarah
Harding (Julianne Moore) is already on the island, while at the same
time Hammond's nephew Peter Ludlow (Arliss Howard) has taken over his
uncle's company and leads a team of hunters to capture the creatures
and bring them back to a theme park in San Diego. The two groups
clash and are ultimately forced to work together to evade the
predatory creatures and survive the second island. The film also
stars Pete Postlethwaite, Richard Schiff, Vince Vaughn, Vanessa Lee
Chester, Peter Stormare, and a young Camilla Belle.
Extras
for The Lost World: Jurassic Park
The
Making of The Lost World
Deleted
Scenes
Illustrations
and Conceptual Drawings
Storyboards
Models
The
World of Jurassic Park
The
Magic of ILM
Theatrical
Trailers Including Jurassic Park III
Dinosaur
Encyclopedia
Production
Notes
Production
Photographs
Cast
and Filmmakers
Posters
and Toys
DVD-ROM
Features Including Live Web Events
The
transfers on these discs is stunning and captured in 1080p high
definition with anamorphic aspect ratios varying between 1.85:1
(Duel, the Jurassic films) and 2.35:1. All of the
films have been restored and upgraded to high definition and feature
stunning, lossless DTS-HD (Master Audio) MA 5.1 tracks that astound
and bring your home entertainment system to life. Sugarland
is still 2.0 Mono, though, but sounds good for what it is.
Again,
this set is not be missed and is a high recommendation!
-
James Harland Lockhart V
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv