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Schindler is an easy out for Spielberg fans because almost no one can deny its accomplishments. But I was pleasantly surprised to find that Spielberg, whose voice is the only one heard in the doc besides those in film clips, affirmed arguments I have made in defense of some of his films. For instance, just about everyone agrees that the bookends in Saving Private Ryan don't work. They're one of the first things detractors of his schmaltzy tastes point to. But upon reflection and repeated viewings, I decided that what Spielberg wanted to do was to bring the story into the present, to make the audience realize that the bulk of the film was not something that we are totally detached from, but something our parents and grandparents endured. And in the doc, he says that he knows he's taken criticism for those portions of the film from critics, but he's also been told that they mean the most to veterans he's spoken to. So maybe it doesn't work the way he intended it. But maybe it wasn't for us.
A.I. is another movie I've taken heat for defending, especially the strange fourth act that jumps ahead 2,000 years. But he points out that it was not some invention of his to give Kubrick's original story a happy ending, but in fact exactly what Kubrick intended and outlined in a 95 page treatment and over two thousand story boards. And lord knows that no one ever accused Kubrick of being saccharine. He also shed some interesting light on the scene. I, and most everyone I've spoken to, always assumed that the creatures that defrost and reanimate David are aliens, because of their appearance. But in fact they are Mechas, evolved over thousands of years and having replaced, as the curators of the Flesh Fair always feared, us humans. I may have to watch the film again to see how this revelation affects the impact of the film.
And finally, Spielberg revealed one thing in this doc that really impressed me. I've always admired Minority Report more than I've really liked it, and never felt much need to revisit it. But truly, whenever it comes up in conversation (which is more than you'd think), I have always mentioned one moment in particular that I absolutely love. It comes near the end of the film, after Tom Cruise has rescued the psychic 'precog' played by Samatha Morton and is carrying her through a crowded mall. Her ability to see a few moments or more into the future proves endlessly helpful in their escape from the policemen chasing them, but also to those she passes as they make their way. At one point, she grabs a lovely Asian woman passing by. She looks her intensely in the eyes and says only: "He knows. Don't go home." Again, it's hard to articulate what is so awesome about that moment, accept that he doesn't linger on the moment a second too long, and doesn't tell you any more than will simply wet your appetite. I have thought that there is a whole movie to be made around that woman, and what happens to her before and after that moment.
Oh yeah. And Spielberg improvised the line on the spot while they were filming.
Bottom line- even in his lesser films he's trying for more than most directors do in their commercial films. I think Spielberg feels a responsibility to his audience to try and communicate something, even if it's just child-like awe and wonder, and it's a desire that hasn't been corrupted by his enormous financial success. I can't think of any other director about whom that can be said.
But I guess that's what the comments section is for.