A Companion to Steven Spielberg provides an authoritative collection of essays exploring the achievements and legacy of one of the most influential film directors of the modern era.

Offers comprehensive coverage of Spielberg's directorial output, from early works including Duel, The Sugarland Express, and Jaws, to recent films
Explores Spielberg's contribution to the development of visual effects and computer games, as well as the critical and popular reception of his films
Topics include in-depth analyses of Spielberg's themes, style, and filming techniques; commercial and cultural significance of the Spielberg 'brand' and his parallel career as a producer; and collaborative projects with artists and composers
Brings together an international team of renowned scholars and emergent voices, balancing multiple perspectives and critical approaches
Creates a timely and illuminating resource which acknowledges the ambiguity and complexity of Spielberg's work, and reflects its increasing importance to film scholarship

Autorentext

Nigel Morris is Principal Lecturer in Media, School of Film and Media, University of Lincoln, UK, specializing in film, television, and media, cultural and educational studies. He is the author of The Cinema of Steven Spielberg (2007).

Inhalt

Notes on Contributors x Acknowledgements xvii Film and Television Programs: Steven Spielberg (chronological) xviii 1 Introduction 1 Nigel Morris Part One Industry and Agency 25 2 Spielberg as Director, Producer, and Movie Mogul 27 Thomas Schatz 3 Producing the Spielberg "Brand" 45 James Russell Part Two Narration and Style 59 4 Magisterial Juvenilia: Amblin' and Spielberg's Early Television Work 61 Nigel Morris 5 Finding His Voice: Experimentation and Innovation in Duel, The Sugarland Express, and 1941 103 James Kendrick 6 Creating a Cliff hanger: Narration in The Lost World: Jurassic Park 122 Warren Buckland 7 Steven Spielberg and the Rhetoric of an Ending 137 Michael Walker 8 The Spielberg Gesture: Performance and Intensified Continuity 159 Steven Rybin Part Three Collaborations and Intertexts 173 9 Spielberg-Williams: Symphonic Cinema 175 Jack Sullivan 10 Spielberg and Kubrick 195 Peter Krämer 11 Spielberg and Adaptation 212 I.Q. Hunter 12 "A very cruel death of innocence": Notes Toward an Appreciation of Spielberg's Film of Empire of the Sun 227 Neil Sinyard Part Four Themes and Variations 241 13 "Who am I, David?": Motherhood in Spielberg's Dramas of Family Dysfunction 243 Linda Ruth Williams 14 Close Encounters of the Paternal Kind: Spielberg's Fatherhoods 258 Murray Pomerance 15 Spielberg and Rockwell: Realism and the Liberal Imagination 276 Frederick Wasser 16 Too Brave for Foolish Pride: Violence in the Films of Steven Spielberg 291 Stephen Prince Part Five Spielberg, History, and Identity 305 17 Morality Tales? Visions of the Past in Spielberg's History Plays 307 Sarah Barrow 18 "Britain's Secret Schindler": The Impact of Schindler's List on British Media Perceptions of Civilian Heroes 320 Erin Bell 19 The (M)orality of Murder: Jews, Food, and Steven Spielberg's Munich 336 Nathan Abrams and Gerwyn Owen 20 You Must Remember This: History as Film/Film as History 353 Lester D. Friedman 21 Violence and Memory in Spielberg's Lincoln 374 Robert Burgoyne and John Trafton Part Six Spielberg in the Digital Age 387 22 The Spielberg Effects 389 Dan North 23 Spielberg and Video Games (1982 to 2010) 410 Grethe Mitchell Part Seven Reception 433 24 Sharks, Aliens, and Nazis: The Crisis of Film Criticism and the Rise of Steven Spielberg 435 Raymond J. Haberski, Jr. 25 Spielberg, Fandom, and the Popular Appeal of His Blockbuster Movies 452 Lincoln Geraghty 26 Steven Spielberg and the Rise of the Celebrity Film Director 466 Kirsty Fairclough and Andy Willis Index of Film and Television Programs 479 Index 488