I'm planning on catching this tomorrow at the cinema. With the timings I have available - it was either that, or Plane and I haven't seen anything by Speilberg for quite a while now, and this is kind of based on his childhood and the birth of his drive to make films, so I am very interested.
For a while in my early cinema-going days, he could do no wrong.
There's an extended clip doing the rounds of the cameo appearance by David Lynch as director John Ford - and it's very good indeed. :)
I really enjoyed this, but don't think it is a "Best Picture" winner.
There are some truly sublime moments, and Michelle Williams as mother Mitzi stands out for particular mention amongst the very strong cast. There was one scene between teenage Sammy Fableman and his mother Mitzi that gave me damp eyes I am not ashamed to admit.
The film is split between Sammy's family life, and his early adventures in film-making - from re-creating the train crash from The Greatest Show On Earth as a very young boy (Spielberg would have been 5 or 6 in 1952?) to him and his Scout troupe making Westerns and War Films, including some of the ingenuity he/they used to create effects.
Well worth a watch, oh, and I really appreciated Steven Spielberg's thank you message prior to the start of the film. A very nice touch.
Overall: ****1/2
I was going to score it 4 stars, but then I remembered just how much I had a lop-sided grin on my face throughout the film. No mean feat these days.
Also - David Lynch does indeed put in a great performance as John Ford, but also look out for a masterful turn from Judd Hirsch as 'long lost' Uncle Boris. Terrific.
Just watched this, finally.
Reg as ever sums it up perfectly.
It's as classy in every department as you'd expect from the bona fide genius that is Steven Spielberg. He does have that habit of coming perilously close to schmaltz at times, but the overwhelming majority of it is perfectly pitched.
And that very last shot is utterly priceless. :)
Rating: ****