Steven Spielberg's Style by Stealth

353 Pages·2018·11.972 MB·English

by  James Mairata

STEVEN
SPIELBERG’S
STYLE BY
STEALTH
James Mairata
Steven Spielberg’s Style by Stealth
James Mairata
Steven Spielberg’s
Style by Stealth
James Mairata
Charles Sturt University
Sydney, NSW, Australia
ISBN 978-3-319-69080-3 ISBN 978-3-319-69081-0 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69081-0
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017961868
© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018
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For Eli and Ish
Contents
1 Introduction: Setting the Scene 1
Part I Origin 21
2 Fundamentals of Classical Narration 23
3 Spielberg as Filmmaker 53
4 Continuity Editing as System 79
Part II Function 103
5 D eep Space Composition and Staging 105
6 S pace and the Wide Reverse Strategy 151
7 Th e Wide Reverse and Extended Variation 189
vii
viii Contents
Part III Effect, Affect and Precedent 239
8 The Wide Reverse, Cognition and Affect 241
9 Manifestations of the Wide Reverse in Mainstream
Narrative Cinema 275
10 Conclusion: Style by Stealth 331
Index 341
List of Figures
Figs. 4.1a-c Bridge of Spies (2015) 81
Fig. 4.2 Conventional shot, reverse shot 82
Figs. 4.3a-c Simulation, 4.3d/4.3b, Amistad (1997) 83
Figs. 4.4a-h Empire of the Sun (1987) 86
Figs. 4.5a-l Munich (2005) 91–92
Figs. 4.6a-b Th e Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) 95
Figs. 4.7a-b Detective Story (1951) 95
Figs. 4.8a-b Murder by the Book (1971) 96
Figs. 4.9a-d Jurassic Park (1993) 97
Figs. 4.10a-d Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) 98
Figs. 5.1a-b Eyes (1969) 113
Fig. 5.2a Murder by the Book (1971) 114
Fig. 5.3a Duel (1971) 114
Fig. 5.4a The Sugarland Express (1974) 114
Fig. 5.5a Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 114
Fig. 5.6a Minority Report (2002) 115
Figs. 5.7a-b Murder by the Book (1971) 116
Figs. 5.8a-b Always (1989) 116
Figs. 5.9a-c Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 116
Figs. 5.10a-d Murder by the Book (1971) 117–118
Figs. 5.11a-b The Sugarland Express (1974) 119
Figs. 5.12a-b Always (1989) 119
ix
x List of Figures
Fig. 5.13a Eyes (1969) 120
Fig. 5.14a Citizen Kane (1941) 121
Fig. 5.15a Duel (1971) 121
Fig. 5.16a The Color Purple (1985) 123
Fig. 5.17a Bezhin Meadow (1935) 123
Fig. 5.18a The Last Crusade (1989) 123
Fig. 5.19a Always (1989) 124
Fig. 5.20a Hook (1981) 124
Fig. 5.21a Schindler’s List (1993) 124
Fig. 5.22a Saving Private Ryan (1998) 124
Fig. 5.23a Amistad (1997) 125
Figs. 5.24a-b Minority Report (2002) 125
Fig. 5.25a Catch Me if You Can (2002) 125
Fig. 5.26a The Terminal (2004) 125
Fig. 5.27a Munich (2005) 126
Fig. 5.28a Lincoln (2012) 126
Fig. 5.29a Bridge of Spies (2015) 126
Figs. 5.30a-g Jaws (1975) 128–129
Figs. 5.31a-h Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 131
Figs. 5.32a-g Catch Me if You Can (2002) 132–133
Figs. 5.33a-e Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 134–135
Figs. 5.34a-c (enlargement of 5.34b) 136
Figs. 5.35a-b The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) 137
Figs. 5.36a-l The Sugarland Express (1974) 139–141
Fig. 5.37 P ortable toilet sequence. Overhead view, The
Sugarland Express (1974) 142
Fig. 6.1 Wide reverse coverage 152
Figs. 6.2a-e/f Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 154–155
Fig. 6.3 R oy Neary’s close encounter—overhead
view—initial shot reverses, Close Encounters of
the Third Kind (1977) 156
Figs. 6.4a-l Jaws (1975) 162–163
Figs. 6.5a-f Saving Private Ryan (1998) 166
Figs. 6.6a-c Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 169
Figs. 6.7a-d Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 171
Figs. 6.8a-f Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 172–173
Figs. 6.9a-e Production still Jaws (1975) 174
Fig. 6.10 F erry scene—overhead view—wide reverse,
Jaws (1975) 175
List of Figure s xi
Figs. 6.11a-f Empire of the Sun (1987) 176–177
Figs. 6.12a-c Saving Private Ryan (1998) 179
Figs. 6.13a-g The Terminal (2004) 180–181
Figs. 7.1a-c Murder by the Book (1971) 192
Figs. 7.2a-d Duel (1971) 193–194
Figs. 7.3a-b The Sugarland Express (1974) 195
Figs. 7.4a-b The Sugarland Express (1974) 196
Figs. 7.5a-c Jaws (1975) 196
Figs. 7.6a-c Jaws (1975) 197
Figs. 7.7a-c Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 198
Figs. 7.8a-c Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 199
Figs. 7.9a-f 1941 (1979) 201
Figs. 7.10a-f Schindler’s List (1993) 203
Figs. 7.11a-e Jurassic Park (1993) 205–206
Figs. 7.12a-c Jurassic Park (1993) 208
Figs. 7.13a-d Jurassic Park (1993) 209
Figs. 7.14a-e Jurassic Park (1993) 210–211
Figs. 7.15a-b Jurassic Park (1993) 212
Figs. 7.16a-f Duel (1971) 214–215
Figs. 7.17a-d A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) 216
Figs. 7.18a-d Minority Report (2002) 218
Figs. 7.19a-d Catch Me if You Can (2002) 219
Figs. 7.20a-d Munich (2005) 220–221
Figs. 7.21a-d Saving Private Ryan (1998) 222
Figs. 7.22a-g Empire of the Sun (1987) 223
Fig. 7.23 D r. Rawlins warns Jim – overhead view, Empire
of the Sun (1987) 225
Figs. 7.24a-f The Sugarland Express (1974) 226
Fig. 7.25 T anner speaks with Clovis—overhead view, The
Sugarland Express (1974) 227
Figs. 7.26a-i War of the Worlds (2005) 228–229
Figs. 7.27a-h The Terminal (2004) 230–231
Figs. 7.28a-c Munich (2005) 232
Figs. 7.29a-b War of the Worlds (2005) 233
Figs. 7.30a-b War Horse (2011) 234
Figs. 8.1a-b The End of Summer (1961) 247
Figs. 8.2a-k Jurassic Park (1993) 267–268
Figs. 9.1a-b Ladies Skirts Nailed to a Fence (1900) 277