A TALE OF TWO STEVENS!
Article by Adam MastI worship at the altar of Steven Spielberg. At least 5 of this iconic director’s monumental cinematic efforts occupy a spot on my list of the Top 20 films of all time. One of those movies is most certainly RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. During a time when Spielberg was contemplating making a James Bond film, George Lucas convinced him to deliver archeologist Indiana Jones to the world instead. In short, history was made. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK would spawn one prequel, two sequels, and a t.v. series, and it would further solidify Spielberg’s status as one of the great storytellers of our time.
Article by Adam MastI worship at the altar of Steven Spielberg. At least 5 of this iconic director’s monumental cinematic efforts occupy a spot on my list of the Top 20 films of all time. One of those movies is most certainly RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. During a time when Spielberg was contemplating making a James Bond film, George Lucas convinced him to deliver archeologist Indiana Jones to the world instead. In short, history was made. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK would spawn one prequel, two sequels, and a t.v. series, and it would further solidify Spielberg’s status as one of the great storytellers of our time.
As fate would have it, Spielberg would touch the life of another genius Steven. I’m referring, of course, to the great Steven Soderbergh (SEX, LIES, AND VIDEOTAPE, TRAFFIC, OCEAN’S 11.) While Soderbergh’s resume doesn’t exactly scream populist film-maker, he’s still brilliant in his own right, and it’s clear that this auteur has great admiration for “the Beard” as is completely evident by this bold display of cinematic love and experimentation. It should be noted that Soderbergh freely admits that he shouldn’t be “allowed” to do something like this, but he did it for a very specific reason.
By going the black and white route, pulling the majority of the audio, and switching out John Williams’ brilliant score for music of an entirely different ilk, it is Soderbergh’s hope that this version of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK will challenge film admirers and film-makers to focus strictly on the staging and rhythm of Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece. While I thought I knew this movie inside and out (I’ve seen it well over 200 times), I must admit, watching the Soderbergh film school version was quite a new experience.
Again, this is for educational purposes only so before the purists get their panties in a bunch, recognize that this isn’t a Gus Van Sant remake of RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. It’s simply an exercise Soderbergh uses to further educate himself in the greatest art form in the world.
CLICK AND LET THE EXPERIMENT BEGIN; http://extension765.com/sdr/
