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Tom Hanks in "Saving Private Ryan."
Close your eyes and picture an iconic character from a Steven Spielberg film. Do you see Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones? Richard Dreyfuss in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"? Roy Scheider in "Jaws" or Tom Hanks' war-weary gaze in "Saving Private Ryan"?
Chances are if you see the faces of these or any other Spielberg characters it's because the director has mastered a signature technique. Matt Patches at ugo.com first offered up a great essay on the subject and now Kevin B. Lee over at Fandor.com has compiled the video attached below. From Lee's own description:
If there is one recurring image that defines the cinema of Steven Spielberg, it is The Spielberg Face. Eyes open, staring in wordless wonder in a moment where time stands still. But above all, a child-like surrender in the act of watching, both theirs and ours. It’s as if their total submission to what they are seeing mirrors our own.
The face tells us that a monumental event is happening; in doing so, it also tells us how we should feel. If Spielberg deserves to be called a master of audience manipulation, then this is his signature stroke. You can’t think of the most iconic moments in Spielberg’s cinema without The Spielberg Face.
It's kind of amazing to watch the video and see so many instances of the technique from so many recognizable films. That Haley Joel Osment kid in "A.I." seemed destined to be captured in no other way.
Spielberg is set to bring "War Horse" and "The Adventures of Tintin" to theaters soon and we'll have to be on the lookout for the face.
In the meantime, share your thoughts on Spielberg's work. What's your favorite film by the director?
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I cannot say enough good things about Steven Spielberg, a director in the same league as Hitchcock, Kubrick, Welles, Scorsese, Bergman, Kurosawa, etc., etc. I can't wait for War Horse, Tintin and next year, Lincoln!
Add Luc Besson and you would have the UN of directors
On the other hand, I cannot say enough bad things about Spielberg; he is a horrible director.
Feh. Save me from this guy.
The guys over at MST3K labeled this years ago. They called it "people looking".
love it!
Numerous directors utilize the face shot. To me, Spielberg's signature shot is a zoom in toward a character while the character then looks back over their right shoulder at whatever is behind them.
Steven is my William Wyler who was the greatest director in my book......Steven is not far behind. I can't wait for War Horse.
The man has been screwed by the Oscars way to many times.
How Shakespeare In Love, undeniably an excellent movie, beat Saving Private Ryan, an absolutely unforgettable movie, for Best Picture Oscar is still beyond me. The initial scenes of the assault on Omaha Beach alone should have sealed it. That was truly a travesty.
Another signature of Spielberg is great stoytelling and originality. Something that is severly lacking in Hollywood these days with reboot after reboot do we really need another Spiderman!
In my opinion, his best movie was Saving Private Ryan. I remember going to the movie and after wards I had plans to go drinking and dancing at a club. Well, I remember at the end of the movie, I was crying (one of the only movies to ever make me cry) as I left the theater. My buddy and I looked at each other and just based on that look I could tell he was blown away by the movie like I was. I've never been in the military or anything, but I always thought I could handle war if I ever had to go to combat. After watching that, I wasn't so sure. Anyway, later that night at the club I couldn't stop thinking about the movie. I had a crappy time at the club because I wasn't in the right frame of mind to enjoy a few drinks that night because of the movie.
To this day, no movie has ever made me feel like that and it gave me a real appreciation of our veterans that I never had before. To me, this was by far his best movie.
Which is why I will wait for War Horse to come out on DVD.
There is nothing worse than a grown man sobbing at a movie!
as an 80s child I have no choice but to bow down to Speilberg who directed and or produced so many favorite films from my childhood. For his later fair I prefer Minority Report to Private Ryan but to each their own. My favorite movie that he wrote could be Poltergeist or Goonies. My fave that he directed? Hard to say anything better than Raiders