Steven Spielberg explains what each of his first films taught him… and all the things he never wanted to do again

Steven Spielberg he’s had a rich and storied career that began with low-budget action films and moved on to blockbusters and classics that have gone down in history as fan favorites. In all of her early films, she learned a lot of tricks of the trade that she carried over into the subsequent films that she made. And even though what she learned was what she never wanted to do again, it was still all valuable, even if she found herself repeating the past…much to our amusement.

In an old November 1981 issue of American Cinematographer Magazine (via /Film), Spielberg wrote an article, outlining his experience making Raiders of Lost Souls Ark, in which he explained it Marauders it was essentially “the last time” for him. He regretted not having become smaller and would no longer create giant images in the studio. The existence of ET the extraterrestrial reveals that he didn’t stick to that belief, but that Spielberg was determined to eventually scale back.

He explained:

“Every movie has surprises. You can make all the ‘Jaws’ and ‘Star Wars’ in the world, but every special effects movie has something in it that teaches you something you probably wouldn’t want to do again.”

The director continued:

“I keep telling myself, after I finish a massive production, that I’m going to make my ‘little movie,’ and I never have. I said that after ‘Sugarland Express,’ which was huge in its day, and after ‘Jaws.’ ” I said I would never go underwater and I would never work with anything involving pneumatics or hydraulics; and after “Close Encounters” I said: “This is all about 70mm, optical effects and matte paintings “.After ‘1941’ I said, ‘No more miniatures and no more multiple plots.’ And I found myself back in the middle of all this with ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.'”

Spielberg didn’t explain what kind of “little movie” he wanted to make, and he sure went on to make plenty of other big hits, but perhaps his 2022 autobiographical film The Fabelmanswhich earned him two Golden Globes and seven Oscar nominations, has always been in his mind and heart, and I’m happy he was able to pull it off.

Whatever annoyances and frustrations Spielberg had to endure in each of his films, I’m so glad he did and kept moving forward. And I bet he’s happy too.