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Steven Spielberg has had quite a good year. He's had quite a few of them, actually.
That said, the director spent the bulk of 2012 putting the finishing touches on his upcoming epic, Lincoln. Coming to a theater near you on November 9, the film stars Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role, alongside Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Hawkes, James Spader, Tommy Lee Jones, and countless others. However, Spielberg has also seen a resurgence in many of his older works (JAWS, E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, and all of the Indiana Jones movies), thanks to a slew of recent Blu-ray releases.
Now, critic/writer Richard Schickel is shining a spotlight on those efforts with Sterling Publishing's Steven Spielberg: A Retrospective. This authorized look combines Spielberg's work into 280 pages of glossy goodness that should get film buffs salivating.
Although Schickel drives the boat here, Spielberg did write the book's forward. As he points out in that section, this isn't a comprehensive bio. It's not about his life – just his life's work.
However, Steven Spielberg: A Retrospective does kick off with a bit about the director's humble upbringings, with photos to match. From there, it goes through Spielberg's resume with a fine-toothed comb, making each of his films its own chapter. Don't expect to see sections devoted to his input on Poltergeist or Super 8. The book strictly covers Spielberg's directorial efforts. However, all of them are here, from 1971's Duel through last year's War Horse. There's even a short blip on Lincoln, but it's brief. Frankly, someone had to stop this freight train at some point. Spielberg is always working and always evolving, and this book provides a lot of detailed evidence to support that.
Although it's not an actual biography, Retrospective comes pretty close. Schickel appears to have had a lot of access to Spielberg over the years, and was able to cobble together this book using a lot of interviews and Spielberg's blessing. It doesn't cover every nook and cranny, but it covers enough of them to keep the reader riveted.
If we're going to get picky, the book does have a few errors. As one Amazon review points out, the Close Encounters picture of Melinda Dillon on page 57 is listed as Teri Garr. Also, on page 72, 1941's Christopher Lee is recognized as Robert Stack. It has to make you wonder if there are other errors in the book, but I'm going to chalk those two up to bad proofreading on someone's part. The rest is really fascinating and a lot of fun.
Besides all of the juicy little tidbits (yeah, he wasn't crazy about Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, either), there are countless pictures of Spielberg with George Lucas, Harrison Ford, Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Liam Neeson, Leonardo DiCaprio, E.T., Bruce (a.k.a JAWS), and more. The recognizable films and faces make this the ultimate coffee table book. I just can't imagine guests not picking this thing up; it's just a ton of fun to flip through.
If Spielberg can stop working for five minutes, he may finally write that memoir one day. Until then, this peek should keep you plenty busy. Steven Spielberg: A Retrospective is a wonderfully detailed look at a stellar film resume and something fun for film buffs to keep out on the coffee table.
I received this book for review purposes.
