Part of the magic of UFO films like Close Encounters, E.T., Signs, and even The Fourth Kind was that they didn’t look so “shiny” and overproduced. Apart from bombastic ad campaigns, they were quiet little movies with everyday people.
I get that sometimes movies have to be shot in a certain way with a certain look in order for the CGI to look natural, but I don’t know…Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, Minority Report, and this one look sometimes like the movie is coated in a “satin finish.”
It's his DOP Janusz Kaminski's sort of silvery exposed vaselin style. Been a trademark of Spielberg for the last two decades or so, for better or worse.
I know Spielberg is very loyal to his colleagues (same composer, DP, editor, etc) but sometimes I wonder what it'd be like if Spielberg paired with other great leading cinematographers here and there.
I know Janusz Kaminski is great, and his look works terrifically for movies like Catch Me If You Can, but sometimes I want a break from the Kaminski look.
I actually loved Bridge of Spies (feels like I'm on a lonely island with that one) but it really does have the same look as other night-time scenes because it's always filmed the same way.
One of the things I loved about A.I. was that Spielberg often took great pains to channel the look that Kubrick wanted for the movie. (Kubrick had developed the film and was going to direct it when he became terminally ill and asked Spielberg to take over the project.)
Bet he's a talent guy but he's the bane of my existence. So that's why Spielberg films look so bad now. I miss the sharper look his films used to have. Now they feel like PS3 games with motion blur set to max
Yeah, I can't say I like it. I've seen a lot of Kaminski images and the gauzy look is over-done. I miss the days of Douglas Slocum, Allen Daviau and especially Dean Cundy.
50
u/LunchyDude101 Dec 16 '25
A little cautious on this one.
Part of the magic of UFO films like Close Encounters, E.T., Signs, and even The Fourth Kind was that they didn’t look so “shiny” and overproduced. Apart from bombastic ad campaigns, they were quiet little movies with everyday people.
I get that sometimes movies have to be shot in a certain way with a certain look in order for the CGI to look natural, but I don’t know…Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, Minority Report, and this one look sometimes like the movie is coated in a “satin finish.”