Opening title from the TV version of Duel, broadcast as part of ABC’s TV Movie of the Weekend series Guest writer Caleb Allison compares the original TV and theatrical versions of Steven Spielberg’s masterful debut feature film. The April 1971 edition of Playboy featured a story by screenwriter, novelist, and regular Playboy fiction author Richard… Read more »
This June, Establishing Shot will feature a miniseries we’re calling Here’s Looking at You, 2002 as we take a look back at films celebrating their 20th anniversary this year. Up first, we have Jesse Pasternack’s appreciation of a Steven Spielberg classic that deserves a reappraisal. It might seem strange to describe Catch Me If You… Read more »
“What makes a man leave bed and board And turn his back on home? Ride away, ride away, ride away.” — Stan Jones, theme song from The Searchers “Face to face…with something commensurate to his capacity for wonder.” — F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby Steven Spielberg loves The Searchers (1956). He has repeatedly cited… Read more »
When Jurassic Park (Steven Spielberg, 1993) was released, critics and audiences heaped praise on it for its “realistic” depiction of its star subjects: dinosaurs. Janet Maslin of The New York Times characterized them as “Amazingly graceful and convincing, they set a sky-high new standard for computer generated special effects.” Likewise, Kenneth Turan of The Los… Read more »
Six years ago today Indiana University Cinema launched its first season with an unforgettable screening of Lawrence of Arabia—officially transforming the University Theatre from its origins as a live performance space to an amazing place for film. I was finally seeing the film as it was meant to be experienced—beautifully projected on the big screen.