From Jaws To Saving Private Ryan

June 20, 2025 by • Entertainment, History, Religion, Society, Success, Television • 0 Comments

CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER OF SPIELBERG’S MOVIES.  1975 – 1998.

Movies involving Spielberg’s creative input.  (Excluding movies in which Spielberg was only the Executive Producer)

  • 1975  Jaws
  • 1977  Close Encounters Of The Third Kind
  • 1979  1941
  • 1981  Raiders Of The Lost Ark (…opening the ark)
  • 1982  (…at the Holiday Inn) / (…followed by a failed 1986 sequel)
  • 1982  E.T.  The Extra-Terrestrial  (Will churches phone home?)
  • 1983  Twilight Zone.  The Movie.
  • 1984  Indiana Jones & The Temple Of Doom
  • 1985  The Goonies
  • 1985  The Color Purple
  • 1987  Empire Of The Sun
  • 1989  Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade
  • 1989  Always
  • 1991  Hook
  • 1993  Jurassic Park
  • 1993  Schindler’s List
  • 1997  The Lost World
  • 1997  Amistad
  • 1998  Saving Private Ryan

 

Spielberg & God. (1981-1982) ….Back-to-back-to-back hit films.  Will churches phone home?

Summer Movies…& Their Film Composers

June 20, 2025 by • Entertainment, History, News & Media • 0 Comments

“So what’s your story?”

1975-2002:  From Jaws to Signs

  • Jaws …John Williams
  • Star Wars  …John Williams
  • Alien  …Jerry Goldsmith
  • The Empire Strikes Back  …John Williams
  • Raiders Of The Lost Ark  …John Williams     “It’s important, Marion.  Trust me.”
  • Raiders Of The Lost Ark…sticking it to the media
  • Raiders Of The Lost Ark…sticking it to A.I.
  • E.T.  The Extra-Terrestrial  …John Williams
  • Return Of The Jedi …John Williams
  • Ghostbusters …Elmer Bernstein
  • Gremlins …Jerry Goldsmith
  • The Karate Kid …Bill Conti
  • Back To The Future …Alan Silvestri
  • Aliens …James Horner
  • Predator …Alan Silvestri
  • Who Framed Roger Rabbit  …Alan Silvestri  
  • Die Hard …Michael Kamen
  • Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade …John Williams
  • Batman …Danny Elfman
  • Terminator 2:  Judgment Day …Brad Fiedel    “So what’s your story?”
  • Unforgiven
  • Jurassic Park …John Williams
  • The Fugitive …James Newton Howard
  • Forrest Gump …Alan Silvestri
  • Braveheart & Apollo 13 …James Horner
  • Saving Private Ryan  …John Williams
  • The Truman Show…Burkhard Dallwitz & Philip Glass
  • The Sixth Sense …James Newton Howard    “How does the story end?” /  “I don’t know.”
  • Signs  …James Newton Howard

ALSO…

  • Jerry Goldsmith and James Horner (same weekend of 1982)
  • James Horner (1984)
  • Hans Zimmer (2008)  “Some men just want to watch the world burn.”

Jaws & Lies

June 20, 2025 by • Entertainment, History, News, News & Media, Politics, Religion, Society, Television • 0 Comments

MASTERFULLY-TOLD LIES

  • “The shark looks phony.” –from a bizarre list of so-called “100 Must-See Movies”.  (Since that’s a subjective statement, this lie is a masterful one.   And calling that list of movies “must-see” is a definite lie in itself.)
  • The lie that Jaws put Spielberg on top of Hollywood as its most successful director.  Simply not true, according to at least three different sources.  At least.  This includes Variety July 1977, Wikipedia’s biography of Robert Stevenson and the list of his many movies from 1957 thru 1974… along with The Hollywood Reporter Book Of Box-Office Hits, 1996 by Susan Sackett.  Feel free to do the homework.  
  • Excluding Raiders Of The Lost Ark from a list of “The 50 Biggest Summer Blockbusters”.  (Although this isn’t really a masterfully-told lie.   It’s just a flat-out lie.  Likely one of many told in that day’s edition pushing at least one social contagion.  Well, maybe it was a masterfully-told lie, the way the list was rearranged by the editor’s subjective opinion, clouding the lie.)
  • Replacing the original sound effects from the theatrical version with laughable sound effects and a diminished score for the 2000 DVD release…and not announcing it.  And presenting it to an entire generation for 25 years as the actual Jaws experience.
  • Inserting laughable musical cues never used in the movie on the Jaws OST at YouTube.  (Additionally, leaving off actually used musical cues.)

Jaws & Television…(A two-fold connection)

June 20, 2025 by • Entertainment, Financial, History, Religion, Society, Television • 0 Comments

SPIELBERG’S EXTRAORDINARY SUCCESS (1975-1982)

Jaws was the first of three hit movies for director Spielberg that helped put him on top of Hollywood in 1981, as God wasted no time in using him to show us all what to do with our TV’s once he became king of Hollywood.

To understand just how successful Jaws was, Jaws was the first movie to gross over $200 million at the domestic box-office, as it ended up grossing $260 million.  The previous box-office champ at the time was The Exorcist, a movie that grossed $165 million at the domestic box-office. That’s quite a jump…from $165 million to suddenly $260 million.

Jaws nearly put Spielberg on top of Hollywood, but it didn’t.  Robert Stevenson held that title at the time, according to Variety in July of 1977.  Soon after that George Lucas would obtain that title with the success of 1977’s Star Wars ($322 million) and his American Graffiti from 1973.

The combined success of the three Spielberg films Jaws, Close Encounters Of The Third Kind, and Raiders Of The Lost Ark put him on top of Hollywood in 1981.  Spielberg has been Hollywood’s financial leader ever since, even though he hasn’t been nearly as successful since after 1998. 

And he is not the same person he was before 1999.  Before 1999, Spielberg was about making movies the best he could.  Since 1999, it’s been about him taking credit.

 

FIVE MOVIE FRANCHISES WITH FAILED SEQUELS THAT ATTACKED GOD…& 1986

The failed 1987 sequel to Jaws was one of five failed sequels connected to 1986, a year that revealed a revelation about what to do with our TV’s. 

1986:

  • Two failed sequels to hit movies with critical scenes involving people checking into a motel, thus the revelation about ditching the TV.
  • Two successful sequels Aliens and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

After 1986: 

  • The failed sequels that immediately followed Aliens and Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.
  • The 1987 sequel Jaws: The Revenge.

June 20, 2025

June 20, 2025 by • Entertainment, History, Success • 0 Comments

June 20, 2025

SPIELBERG’S WAR SINCE 1999 AGAINST HIS CLASSICS

Spielberg & The Oscars…1976, 1986, and 1999.

After Spielberg’s clash with the Academy once again in 1999 (as he had experienced in 1976 and 1986), perhaps Spielberg had realized how much of his success was due to others, like John Williams and so many sound mixers and sound effects editors.

1999…Spielberg was in a bad mood after Saving Private Ryan failed to win Best Picture and the new Star Wars movie wasn’t quite what the earlier movies were.  His friend George Lucas was getting hammered by some folks online.

Saving Private Ryan was Spielberg’s 6th movie to win an Oscar for sound effects editing.  (This doesn’t include the Emmy that Duel won.)  No other category had won as many Oscars for Spielberg’s films.  Five of his movies had won for sound mixing.

Perhaps Spielberg became aware of what was going on…that his success in his career had so much to do with the help from other people.

Around 1999, movies were starting to come out on DVD.  Spielberg, not in the best of moods, decides to begin the process of preparing to release his classics on DVD.  But with a twist.  He decides to switch out the sound effects and messes with the volume of the score from Jaws.  Jaws was released on DVD in 2000.

He then begins the process of putting E.T. under the knife in much the same way his friend George Lucas had done in 1997 with the original Star Wars movies.  E.T.’s new version was released in movie theaters in 2002.

Having gotten away with tampering with Jaws, he begins doing the same with his movie Duel, completely switching out the sound of the truck and so much more.  Duel’s DVD release was in 2004.

Four years later he creates the dreadful Indiana Jones sequel in 2008, a movie that tries to mock Raiders Of The Lost Ark in at least one scene.  In interviews leading up to the release of 2008’s The Empty Skull, he talks trash about the 1981 classic.

And with the DVD release of Schindler’s List, he creates the DVD chapters with two of the chapters opening with R-rated material…making it almost impossible to miss when anyone tries to navigate through the movie on the DVD.  For a movie that wanted to document evil, Spielberg sure made it hard to miss.

Spielberg is not the same person he was before 1999.  Before 1999, Spielberg was about making movies the best he could.  Since 1999, it’s been about him taking credit.

HELPING SPIELBERG

So earlier I listed my subjective ranking of what I considered to be eight movies with the greatest sound effects ever.  Three of those eight movies were directed by Spielberg.  (Most people think of John Williams and many visual effects specialists when they think of those who have helped Spielberg between 1971 and 1998, but one of the most significant and consistent categories of filmmaking that assisted Spielberg during that 27 year period was the department of sound effects editing.)  I removed that subjective list of movies because I prefer to list irrefutable facts rather than my subjective opinions.

 

No Social Contagions

June 18, 2025 by • Crime, Education, Entertainment, Financial, History, Law, Politics, Religion, Society, Television • 0 Comments

  • NO SOCIAL CONTAGIONS
  • NO WRECKLESS TAX CUTS  (After all, B-2 bombers are expensive.  Nor are they or ever should be on the radar of DOGE’s list of expenses to eliminate.  Get it?  On the radar of DOGE’s list.  Get it? On the radar.  Get it?)
  • NO TV  (Conservatives frustrated with all the social contagions going on for the past ten years and not having anyone to vote for President in November since after 2012, this one’s too easy to remedy.  Nobody’s forcing conservatives to keep their TV’s.)

About King Solomon

June 16, 2025 by • Books, Entertainment, History, Religion, Society, Television • 0 Comments

  • “I charge you:  Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires.” –from the Song Of Songs
  • KING SOLOMON’S 700 WIVES…& HIS 300 CONCUBINES

 

Admiral Ackbar & Christian TV owners:  “It’s a trap.”

  • Christians reading & quoting Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and The Song Of Songs…for over 2,000 years.
  • Christian TV owners since 2009…or since 1986…or since 1982…or even 1993…depending on how you look at it.

About King David

June 15, 2025 by • Books, Entertainment, History, Religion, Society, Television • 0 Comments

  • “I lack nothing.”  –from the 23rd Psalm
  • DAVID’S MANY WIVES…David saying he lacked nothing.  How true.  How true.  And quite funny.

 

  • “I shall not want.”  –from a different version of the same verse from the 23rd Psalm
  • DAVID’S MANY WIVES…David saying he shall not want.  Quite funny.

 

Admiral Ackbar & Christian TV owners:  “It’s a trap.”

  • Christians quoting Psalms for over 2,000 years.
  • Christian TV owners since 2009…or since 1986…or since 1982…or even 1993…depending on how you look at it.

The Late 1960’s/Early 1970’s

March 3, 2025 by • Books, Crime, Entertainment, Financial, History, Law, News, News & Media, Politics, Religion, Self-Improvement, Society, Sports, Success, Television • 0 Comments

  • Americans walking on the moon.
  • America losing a war.
  • America’s only president who would be forced to resign winning presidential elections.
  • Historical events that would play a major role in Americans turning on their presidents who had won their last elections in landslides.
  • Construction of the World Trade Center twin towers in New York City.
  • New York City plagued with various strikes by public employees.
  • New freedoms for Hollywood thanks to the MPAA’s new classification system.
  • Martin Scorsese begins his film career as a director.
  • Early development for Hollywood’s disastrous disaster movies (from Airport to The Towering Inferno).
  • The American movie industry struggling for economic survival.
  • The movie industry’s future king working in television.
  • Construction of the Magic Kingdom at Disney World, the world’s most visited theme park.
  • The first seven years of the Superbowl, an annual sporting event that has since dominated the record books for the “All-Time Most Watched TV Programs”.
  • Historic Middle East conflicts of the 20th Century between Israel and the Arab world.
  • Nixon’s vice-president and legal problems with his income taxes.
  • The birth of a new social movement.
  • William Peter Blatty heading towards winning an Oscar.
  • Pete Maravich lighting up college basketball’s record books.
  • Coach John Wooden leading UCLA to seven consecutive NCAA tournament championships.
  • The first printing of two published books from Christian author Og Mandino containing The Ten Great Scrolls.
  • And finally, Mario Puzo creating a cultural phenomena with “The Godfather”.

The 25th Anniversary

January 26, 2025 by • Uncategorized • 0 Comments

MANY CLOSE ENCOUNTERS WITH GOD FOR A FAITHLESS IMBECILE…

At least three while watching The Sixth Sense for the first time in a hotel room by myself.  (All within the first 65 minutes of the movie.) …

  • Film music during the opening credits that let me know the movie was going to be one of those exceptional movies that had marked most of the years of my life, dating back to 1975. A pattern I had first noticed in 1996 (and kept alive by Titanic and Saving Private Ryan) that had continued into 1999 with The Sixth Sense.  I felt as if Hollywood was following me.  Very creepy feeling.
  • Words from a Latin-speaking soldier early in the movie. I had been told by an uncle that something happens early in the movie that was connected to a big twist revealed at the end of the movie.  Thinking that the Latin words might have something to do with the big twist, I stopped looking after that scene where Bruce Willis looked up the translation of those words.  That scene would take on a whole new meaning in January of 2003, when I saw The Sixth Sense for the first time since the theatrical release of Signs.
  • Shopping for an engagement ring. When the fiancé opened his mouth, what he had to say somehow didn’t surprise me, as if I expected him to say what he said.  (I had displayed a similar attitude from just a few weeks earlier.)  This should have been even creepier than the feeling I had during the movie’s opening credits.  But I was so clueless back then.

There were many other close encounters that year, four of which include:

  • Noticing a billboard that read “Don’t make me come down there. –God”.
  • Realizing that I needed God during my wedding ceremony…but that I wasn’t sure if there was a way I could know that He was actually real.
  • Upon learning that my six year-old cat had cancer, I vocalized for the first time in my life my belief in God as I believed He was punishing me for my sins.
  • In a newly updated version of The Exorcist…two priests talking to each other while taking a break from performing an exorcism. The 1973 version had them sitting in silence in a very brief scene.  So when they started speaking in the updated version, I was very much surprised.  One of the priests answered as to why the enemy was doing what it was doing by saying “To reject the possibility that God could love us.”
1 2 3 4