Steven Spielberg can do it all

Not just the king of popcorn flicks
When “Jaws” broke box office records and thrust Spielberg into the heady realm of Hollywood whiz kid, it also branded him as an impresario of popcorn flicks. That reputation was to follow him on pictures like “Close Encounters” through “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “E.T.” It should be noted that one of his few duds occurred during this period, the World War II comedy, “1941.” It illustrates that no matter how dexterous a director may be, occasionally something comes up that he can’t do. In the case of Spielberg and “1941,” it was comedy, although that was really his only try, and there is an abundance of wit in his other works, notably the “Indiana Jones” series.

Finding a touch of humor in the bleakest of stories is an indication that a filmmaker has endured enough life experience to realize that comedy and tragedy are intertwined.  An example can be seen even in “Schindler’s List” when Liam Neeson’s Oskar Schindler temporarily convinces the despicable Goeth that great rulers of the past spared those who ran afoul of their authority, then watched as a comically vain Goeth attempts to change. That character transformation was understandably short-lived, but it provided a much-needed and brief departure from the relentless brutality.

When a filmmaker reaches the latter stages of his career, the tendency is to avoid risk and stick with the types of pictures that have helped carve a place in the industry. Perhaps because he has nothing to prove and his status in Hollywood is unassailable, Spielberg continues to take on projects that are challenging and distinct. After “War of the Worlds,” he is slated to direct pictures about Abraham Lincoln, the massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics and a fourth “Indiana Jones” installment.

If he were a director for hire under the old studio system, he wouldn’t be nearly as wealthy or as famous. But his credits would probably look exactly the same.

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