Spielberg and Deus Ex Machina.

[Kraklen]

I know some of you consider it heresay to criticize Steven Spielberg's filmmaking abilities. The hell with it, I'm doing it any way.

With the exception of a few excellent movies: Jaws, Close Encounters, The Color Purple, and Schindler's List; nearly all of his works resort to the oldest and lowest sort of theatrical endings- Deus ex Machina.

Shall we go through a list? Alright.

Spoilers to follow.


Saving Private Ryan- our heroes are getting slaughtered one by one by a German advance, until the only people left are the protagonist, and Private Ryan who he's trying to save. In a last valiant effort, the hero empties his sidearm into a panzer, which immediately explodes. But only due to a P-51 Mustang (the Cadillac of the sky!) which suddenly swoops out of the sky and saves the story.

Jurassic Park- Heroes get chased by a tyranosaurus rex. Then at the end they get chased by velociraptors, they're trapped with no hope of survival. Until a tyranosaurus smashes into the museum and eats the velociraptors, allowing our heroes to escape.

A.I.- A film started by Kubrick, finished by Spielberg. The protagonist, always hoping to find his mother, ends up frozen under the ocean. A million billion trillion years later, he's dug out by alien robots, who having mastered seance technology, allow him to reunite with his long dead mother, but only for 24 hours for added tearjerking effect.

Empire of the Sun- OK, so it's not every day that the historical WWII Japanese defeat in China is considered Deux et Machina, but in the context of this film it is. Our protagonist, spending essentially all the war in a Japanese prison camp, is suddenly and gloriously liberated by a- yup, a P-51 mustang. Now, I like P-51 mustangs, their beautiful planes. I just don't think they should be used as such lousy plot devices, especially twice.

I could go on. Speilberg's better films have better endings, a sympathetic hero defying the odds and conquering the villians himself. In Jaws the water-fearing police chief valiantly stays on a sinking ship to kill the shark (however improbable), at least the shark isn't killed by a strafing P-51. In The Deul, the hero overcomes his panic to outsmart the mysterious villain. Etc.

Why am I bringing all this up? Because Deus ex Machina is a lousy way to end a film. And Spielberg relies way to much on it. And his version of War of the Worlds is coming out.

And H.G. Wells War of the Worlds ends with arguably the greatest case of Deus et Machina ever written. It actually works really well, the only example I can think of that does so. It's a surprise, but it works in well with the plot of the novel.

Aliens come from Mars, kick the crap out of humanity, then die from germs. How great an ending is that? There's a number of themese running through Well's novel: European colonization and exploitation of Africa, the ultimate insignificance of mankind, the nonexistance of God, and others. The latter two are significant. No matter what, humans are completely powerless to defeat the martians. Towards the end of the novel, the protagonist and a clergyman are trapped inside a collapsed house, forced to watch the evil progress of the martians, and ration their good. After several days the curate goes completely insane at the destruction of mankind and despairs, how could there be a God? The curate attracts the attention of a martian and is killed. Ultimately, neither humans or God defeat the martians, they succumb to disease. In that aspect it's sort of the literal opposite of Deus ex Machina. 1. because God's not involved, 2. because all of humanity is essentially wiped out, nothing left to save.

Then, following the release of the radio broadcast which doesn't really enter into this discussion, they made a movie in the mid fifties. This movie was an abomination. I understand that most people saw it when they were kids, and wax nostalgic for those silly spaceships, still, the movie was terrible. (I'm borrowing from A Stephen J. Gould critique of the film now) Here's why: they turned it from a nihilistic atheist story into cold war propaganda. Sure, the Americans can't defeat the menace from the red planet, but they sure have fun trying. Complete with the latest stock footage of flying wings and other military projects. And the ending is completely screwed. Yeah, it's germs again, but this time it's germs sent by God. The last of humanity is praying in a cathedral as a martian ship slowly approaches, sure to vaporize the lot of them. Suddenly the martion dies and everybody is saved. Then there's a shot of the cathedral surrounded by a halo with organ music playing. God saves the day.

So, now Speilberg's made another one. What's he going to do? Everybody knows how it's going to end, it's got to be germs. Is he going to spice it up a bit? Are these going to be germs engineered by scientists working for the government? Can't use a "computer virus" that twist has been taken. Is it going to be just regular germs? In that case, it's just going to be two hours of Tom Cruise and stuff getting blown up. Is the film going to be about the utter insignificance of humanity, in a Speilberg movie? Of course not. I can think of numerous things that Speilberg could do with the film.

None of them are good.

[sui generis]

1. not heresy at all

Spielberg is the king of contrived endings, but you have to cut "big" stories some slack here:

For the most part if your protagonist is going to save the world, then the world must be in danger. Global catastrophe is not averted by simple means, and often subtle interplay of social forces is less credible than a memorable authorial "intervention".

"Deus ex machina" is a term left over from baroque theatre where a deity would be lowered in some bizarre mechanical contraption like a "flying chariot" to save the day and set all accounts to right.

Anyone who thinks Spielberg fiction is real literature is heretical; however that doesn't mean that you can't enjoy a good Spielberg journey now and then if you relax your standards a bit.

[tomreedtoon]

2. Spielberg's films vary based on intentions.

You've forgotten Spielberg's bottom-dweller movie, "1941." The one with John Belushi flying a fighter plane down Hollywood Boulevard? The one where the father tells his loyal daughter that there's a war on, so put out for the servicemen at the dance? (Didn't know if the father was a Republican or not.)

That film was such a disaster that Spielberg was literally forced to stop making junk films for a while. That started the "serious Spielberg" with "The Color Purple" and "Schindler's List." Those well-intended, standard-brand Hollywood-liberal movies got him his Oscar. And they are also not much fun, wearing their morals on their sleeves instead of developing them through good screenwriting.

At the same time, Spielberg was making more entertaining material. But you didn't see it, because you probably never saw "Tiny Toon Adventures," "Pinky and the Brain" or "Freakazoid!" With nothing at stake, especially not his rep among Hollywood powers-that-be, Spielberg executively-produced some of the funniest and SMARTEST animated shows of the late 20th century.

(All right, Spielberg's involvement in the animated drama "Invasion America" was a disaster, but it wasn't his alone.)

Moral: When Spielberg has to impress people in the establishment, his films have deus-ex-machina endings. When he just wants to have fun, so do his audiences.

[Felix Mala]

3. Don't forget Amistad, it's a masterpiece. And Raiders?

So he has some misses. Can you name another working director who hits as much. And I wouldn't cut Jurassic Park and Saving Private Ryan just for their endings. A lot goes on before that is worthwhile.

[El Fuego]

4. I decided I hated Spielberg

When I saw AI. Then I knew I really hated him when I saw Minority Report. He spoiled a great Philip K. Dick story by infusing it with all this emotional ickiness.

Spielberg is box office poison as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure "War of the Worlds" will have the usual spielbergian sappy emotional undercurrents that will make me want to puke. :puke:

[DerekG]

5. I take exception with your inclusion of A.I.

First, Kubrick did have that ending in mind, as evidenced by the storyboards he crafted prior to his death.

Second, the ending is hardly maudlin. The robots--there is nothing "alien" about them, no one seems to understand this--initially seek to exploit David for the purpose of finding a link to their creators (fitting, since David was created to be exploited). However, they take pity on the "child" and grant him the illusory love that gives his "life" (which is, again, illusory) meaning. By putting David down like a dog (by way of a great lie) the robots doomed their own quest for meaning; the irony is that both they and the image of Monica they fashioned harbored more tenderness, more compassion, than any of the film's human characters.

There is an elemental tragedy to this and it is, just as important, a fitting capper to all that had transpired heretofore.

[bleedingheart]

7. I cried and cried during that movie

and yes..you are correct the robots had more sympathy and compassion for him than the humans who created him....

[DerekG]

8. A.I. is the first, and only (thus far), sci-fi masterpiece of this century

Just as with "Blade Runner," it will take a decade for the fan community to acknowledge this wonder.

[Swede]

6. Let's face it,Spielberg is a genius.

I'm really looking forward the "War of the Worlds" The 1950's version was one of the best sci-fi movies ever.