Empire of Dreams : The Science Fiction and Fantasy Films of Steven Spielberg

Empire of Dreams is the first definitive look at all of the science fiction (S.F.), fantasy, and horror films directed by Steven Spielberg, one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in the world today. In the 1970s and 1980s, along with George Lucas, Spielberg helped spark the renaissance of American SF and fantasy film, and he has remained highly productive and prominent in these genres ever since. S.F., fantasy, and horror films form the bulk of his work for over thirty years; of the twenty-six theatrical features he directed from 1971 to 2005, sixteen are of these genres, a coherent and impressive body of work. His films have become part of a global consciousness and his cinematic style part of the visual vocabulary of world media. Introduction: "I dream for a living" Duel (1971): paranoid style Jaws (1975): hydrophobia Close encounters of the third kind (1977; rev. 1980): unidentified flying object relations E.T. (1982): a fairy tale Poltergeist (1982): divorce American style Raiders of the lost Ark (1981): totem and taboo Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984): bad medicine Indiana Jones and the last Crusade (1989): raiders of the lost father Always (1989): the eternal triangle Short films: "Kick the can" (1983) and "The mission" (1986) Hook (1991): Peter Pan syndrome Jurassic Park (1993) and The lost world: Jurassic Park (1997): Jaws on land A.I. (Artificial intelligence) (2001): separation anxiety Minority report (2002): Oedipus redux War of the worlds (2005) and trauma culture Conclusion: moving toward the light. Empire of Dreams is the first definitive look at all of the science fiction (SF), fantasy, and horror films directed by Steven Spielberg, one of the most popular and influential filmmakers in the world today. In the 1970s and 1980s, Spielberg, along with George Lucas, helped spark the renaissance of American SF and fantasy film, and he has remained highly productive and prominent in these genres ever since. SF, fantasy, and horror films form the bulk of his work for over thirty years-accounting for sixteen of the twenty-six theatrical features he directed from 1971 to 2005. His films have become part of a global consciousness and his cinematic style part of the visual vocabulary of world media

Empire of Dreams is the first definitive look at all of the science fiction, fantasy, and horror films directed by Steven Spielberg, one of the most popular and influential contemporary filmmakers. Spielberg helped spark the renaissance of these genres in the 1970s and 1980s and remains productive and prominent in them today. Following most of Spielberg's oeuvre as well as his audiences' reactions, this book shows that his appeal as a storyteller is primarily visceral and emotional_for he has found ways to tap into his own feelings and to evoke profound emotion in audiences.

In the 1970s and 1980s, along with George Lucas, Spielberg helped spark the renaissance of American SF and fantasy film, and he has remained highly productive and prominent in these genres ever since. SF, fantasy, and horror films form the bulk of his work for over thirty years; of the twenty-six theatrical features he directed from 1971 to 2005, sixteen are of these genres, a coherent and impressive body of work. His films have become part of a global consciousness and his cinematic style part of the visual vocabulary of world media. --from publisher description A look at various science fiction, fantasy, and horror films directed by Steven Spielberg, one of the contemporary filmmakers