Mission: Imposspielberg Vol. 2: Hats and Aliens

Having defined what we now know as a blockbuster in Jaws, Steven Spielberg was starting to establish himself as a bankable and talented director; a money machine for the studios.  From 1977 to 1984 he would cement this reputation and in doing so make a series of unforgettable films which defined many a childhood.  He also made 1941 but for the purposes of this, we’ll pretend that didn’t happen.

Close Encounters Of The Third Kind was a favourite of mine when I was a kid, but having watched it again as a 35 year-old kid, something has occurred to me: this is the strangest blockbuster I’ve ever seen!  A Richard Dreyfuss’ Roy Neary sees a UFO and this leads him to have an epiphany/mental breakdown, alienate (pun intended) and drive away his family by sculpting large mountains in and around his house, before turning his back on his planet by leaving with the aliens.  In terms of narrative, it’s pretty far from a classical structure; there is no villain or obstacle per se, save the obstructive  military; the hero, a compelling, driven, obsessed character, is kind of a dick to his family and we forgive him for it.

That said, it’s a wonderfully constructed film with a brilliant performance from the underrated Richard Dreyfuss.  There are classic Spielberg moments: the lights that float over Neary’s car instead of driving around; the mashed potato sculpting; the lost aeroplanes in the desert; that John Williams riff; the mothership.  From the oppressive chaos that marks every scene with Neary’s family to the terrifying abduction of Melinda Dillon’s son, Spielberg captures the feelings many of us cling to from our childhoods: wishing that you could see an alien, and they would come to Earth just for you.

I decided to omit 1941 from my little Spielberg project, because 1941 kind of sucks and I don’t own a copy.  It’s silly, slapstick and farcical, and not in a good way.  Much better suited to the manic energy of stars Dan Ackroyd and John Belushi than the visual imagination of the director. 

Luckily, he moved on and gave the world the gift that keeps on giving in Raiders of the Lost Ark.  The 1930s setting has helped ensure that this film simply does not get old.  The hero, too rough hewn and road worn to be a James Bond type but just as indefatigable and  resourceful, is just flawed enough to be real and could not have been cast more perfectly (although was nearly played by Tom Selleck).  The set pieces are still timeless and classic after classic: the temple and boulder roll; the Tibetan bar fight; the Cairo market; the Well of Souls escape (snakes…); the aeroplane fistfight; the truck chase (my personal favourite); and the climactic Nazi melt.  These are peppered with charm and imagination and drive a juggernaut plot, with by the ultimate MacGuffin.  Aside from Indy, it’s filled with great supporting characters (Karen Allen’s tough Marian is still his best companion) and fiendish villains (anyone who says they don’t want to punch Ronald Lacey’s SS officer Toht is lying).  Indiana Jones is not so much a classic and classical cinematic hero, he’s a legend and his first outing still feels like it was made yesterday.

By now established as Hollywood’s go-to guy for blockbusters, Spielberg decided to make something aimed squarely at the kids.  Developing ideas from Close Encounters but instead of obsession, themes of friendship, family and coming of age are the order of the day.  1982’s E.T. is still incredibly sweet, despite the world hardening around it for the ensuing 34 years.  Yes, there are parts of it that haven’t aged terribly well, such as the flying bikes, and the 2002 digital augmentation that blights my copy looks like absolute crap, but E.T. is still steeped in the amazement and awe that have become Spielberg’ hallmark.

The trademark broken family unit is at the forefront here, essential to Elliot’s (Henry Thomas) relationship with E.T., who fills a gap in his life left by an absent father.  Dee Wallace is brilliantly ineffectual as the mother, demonstrating how unnecessary authority figures are to a world where only Elliott and his bond to the alien matter.  It’s a simple story, full of plot holes and silly moments, but as an uncynical film about the joys of being a child and desperately wanting to cling to it even as it flies away, it is absolutely peerless.

With such mileage in the character and following the huge success of Raiders, Indiana Jones was resurrected in 1984 for Temple Of Doom.  Unlike today, sequels were not a given at the time and films like Jaws, Back To The Future, Ghostbusters and Indiana Jones started the trend that now blights cinema: almost any successful film will be given a sequel.

It’s still a cracking film but watched so soon after Raiders, you can tell it’s not quite in the same class.  The ‘Anything Goes’ opening is Spielberg’s homage to classic Hollywood musicals.  Jones’ introduction, white tuxedo and lady on his arm (kind of…), is pure James Bond, mixed with Jones’ slapdash chaos.  Temple is driven by another Macguffin, although much like the rest of the film it’s not quite up to the standard of the first; magic rocks don’t quite carry the same cache as the Ark of the Covenant.  Setting the film a year before Raiders is also a strange move; while the setting is too brief and inconsequential to really impact the film, with hindsight, it takes away some of the edge.

That said, Temple gives some great peril, to the point that the film is actually quite dark.  The plane crash escape, the spike-trap room, the attempted sacrifice of Willie Scott (Kate Capshaw, more scream than character), the conveyor belt fist fight, and the rope bridge escape.  All hugely memorable and loads of fun.  It also offers some of cinema’s great skin crawl moments with the infamous meal and bug cave scenes.  The supporting characters also aren’t as strong as in Raiders, with Mola Ram (Amrish Puri) looking cool and evil but not really doing much; from an audience point of view, I suppose Thuggee cultists aren’t as scary as Nazis.  Willie Scott isn’t fit to polish Marian Ravenwood’s medallion and becomes very grating as the film goes on.

Compared to about 90% of other films, Temple Of Doom is more fun, more exciting and just better.  The only disadvantage is that it had to follow Raiders Of The Lost Ark, which is an impossible feat.  Top men would struggle. Top men.