Jurassic Park Anyone?

My policy is I don't see 3-D revivals of old movies. Don't encourage them !!!

Though it's been my lifelong dream that mainstream multiplex would be in the habit of devoting one screen to older films -- a way of giving something back to the art we love so much -- I didn't foresee it happening in this way and I'm not too happy about it since 3D is a cheap (okay, expensive) gimmick and not the way these films were originally shot and therefore impure (like colorizing black & white movies).

But you know, if they must do it, this one's maybe the best choice. Don'cha think? Maybe I should make an exception just this once.

Most people love Spielberg unreservedly. Alas not I. But I do love some of his pictures so I thought I'd do a top ten. But it turns out I only have five. They are...

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)... aka the second best picture of 1981
2. Jaws (1975) ...a member of maybe the best best picture lineup ever
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) ...the only one I've written about recently
4. Schindler's List (1993) 
5. Jurassic Park (1993)

All the others I have minor or major quibbles with. But those five? Pass the popcorn! Extra butter.

Oscar Horrors: A Shark in the Edit Suite

Oscar Horrors looks at nominated contributions to this non-Oscar bait genre. Here's Craig on Jaws.

HERE LIES... a beautifully cut shark by the name of Bruce. Oscar-winning editor Verna Fields did the celluloid slicing and dicing...

Spielberg made it a star of fearful proportions. John Williams gave it an iconic theme tune. Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw obsessively stalked it. And Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown looked on, clutching the purse strings, as they all went about their blockbusting business. But the person who gave Amity Island’s Great White unwanted visitor fierce presence and a sinister personality most could arguably be the editor Verna Fields. Alongside Spielberg and Co. she was instrumental in terrorizing the world with Jaws, summer 1975’s maiden blockbuster movie. She manoeuvred the shark’s arrival and departure – in tandem, of course, with Williams’ score – helping to create cinema’s scariest PG-rated, non-human villain.

Fields worked wonders with Jaws’ spatial particulars. The film is a feast of horizontal expanse and vertical depth cut with sharp attention to the terrors evoked by the mysteries of distance. When poor Chrissie (Susan Backlinie) – in the instantly memorable and terrifying first, post-titles, scene – feels the pull of (mechanical) death on her water-treading legs, we vicariously retract ours. The endlessness of the ocean is reason enough to inspire terror, but Fields mercilessly positions us alongside, then below, Chrissie to establish instant fear: she’s a gliding silhouette on the surface, Bruce’s first victim; a meal. And we’re right there with her.

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Yes, No, Maybe So: On "Lincoln" and Trailer Premieres

Four score and seven years ago One hour and some minutes ago our Spielberg brought forth, upon this internet, a new trailer, conceived in Marketing, and dedicated to the proposition that all biopics are created equal.

LINCOLN will arrive in theaters on November 16th, 2012, a mere ten days after the election when everyone will undoubtedly be exhausted by politics (if they aren't already). And for reasons unbeknownst to The Film Experience Lincoln became the first movie to have its trailer premiere in this Google Hangout fashion with immediate commentary from fans afterwards. A sober presidential biopic isn't a natural fit for "OMG!" Insta-Reactions that fanboys pics can bring in trailer form as you'll see if you watch. You can watch the event (non-live) right here.

There is some hedge-betting from Steven Spielberg with which I personally great sympathize. The much beloved filmmaker hasn't bought in 100% to this new frightening world where trailers and not movies are the things that get people talking en masse.

Strathairn worries, Nathaniel doubts, and the trailer after the jump

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Lincoln: The Teaser

Michael C. here.

The full trailer for Spielberg's Lincoln doesn't arrive until Thursday, but good news for those of you who can't wait that long without at least a few glimpses of Lincoln surveying the troops. I present you the teaser for the trailer.

Over the course of its 43 seconds it features everything from the back of Lincoln's head to the sound of a ticking clock to the word LINCOLN in big letters, all set to an excerpt of the Gettysburg Address...spoken by someone who isn't Daniel Day-Lewis. I don't take much else from this besides Lincoln's obviously top-notch production values and a somewhat muted, somber tone. How were those 43 seconds for you?

Have You Ever Seen "Jaws" On the Big Screen?

If not, don't miss your big chance Thursday night!

Bruce & Steven. True Love Always

Many readers think I'm anti-Spielberg -- when you're critical of any sacred cow people think you hate him/her -- but I love the early stuff as much as anyone. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is amazingly "open" in a way too few films are, Raiders of the Lost Ark is about as fun as adventure films can be, and the blockbuster that created Summer Movie Season, Jaws, is impeccable.

Cinemark's Classic Series is a Thursday night moviegoing option in dozens of cities, large and small (sadly it doesn't play in Manhattan though I can't really complain about our access to revivals). The fall series, which you can buy individual tickets to or in bulk for $30, features:

• August 23rd, Jaws
• August 30th, High Noon
• September 6th, Doctor Zhivago
• September 13th, Chinatown
• September 20th, The Bridge on the River Kwai
• September 27th, The African Queen

Oscar buffs will need to have seen all six at some point, so if you haven't, why not cross them off your list ASAP? I hate The African Queen (yes, it's true) but the rest of the series looks delicious and the films have been digitally restored for the occasion. Jaws, Chinatown and Doctor Zhivago in particular strike me as perfect options to seek in revival houses or in screening series like this because they're all slow boil movies paced in a way that pays off enormously in the long haul but is absolutely unlike how movies play out these days so it's best to see them on the screen without the interruptions that you'd get at home.

I wish I could see Jaws tomorrow night! 

It may have scarred me as a child (even though I didn't see it until the 80s) but I love it anyway. See it for me tomorrow night! Or for yourself if you've never seen it all blown up real good.