TCM's new Spielberg interview

Last night, TCM premiered a new documentary about the films of Steven Spielberg, appropriately titled "Spielberg on Spielberg." The film is an edited interview with Spielberg, intercut with scenes from his films, lasting about 90 minutes.

I am a huge fan of Turner Classic Movies. I love that all of their films are telecast uncut and in their original theatrical aspect. And most films features brief introductions; sometimes, I will just watch the introductions to films to learn a little more about them. In addition to this, TCM continues to produce original interviews with famous actors, directors, and producers. Some of these interviews are fascinating, such as the 2006 interview with Angela Lansbury ("Private Screenings: Angela Lansbury").

This was a slightly different sort of interview. The interviewer, Time Magazine's long-time film critic Richard Schickel, does not appear on screen and his questions are never heard. Instead, Spielberg's comments are given film by film, usually in chronological order. I think that this was done to maximize Spielberg's comments in the film.

But I found the entire documentary rather hum-drum. I missed the interaction between interviewer and interviewee. Partially it made Steven Spielberg appear more as a talking head than someone having a converstion. But it also made the affair somewhat choppy, as the comments were clearly edited (for length) and then placed in context film by film. So there were few overall evaluations of filmmaking or Spielberg's career or the specific genres that he has been successful at. And few of Spielberg's comments were that surprising on a film by film basis. Perhaps they weren't very insightful; mostly they felt that they'd all been said before in previous interviews.

It would be hard to describe the documentary as a waste of time. Spielberg is one of the classic directors, and it is worthwhile to hear him comment on his films. But it would also be hard to encourage people to go out of their way to see it. So, on the whole, I would classify it as a disappointment.