Steven Spielberg at 75

In the week I watched Mark Kermode interview Steven Spielberg, whose birthday falls today.

It’s in the nature of such things that, if you interview arguably the most celebrated film director of our lifetime, you do not ask too many aggressive questions.

Although Spielberg was not given a rough ride he was intelligent, articulate and  humble.

In his twenties, he jumped off a Hollywood studio tour bus, befriended a librarian who gave him a pass and set up in a deserted office.

His breakthrough film was Jaws and he developed a talent for making commercial successes which were films for kids which adults could enjoy like the Indiana Jones series.

Once established, he could branch out from sentimentality like ET and make films of humanity like Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan.  

He was highly respectful of Hollywood traditions and almost old-fashioned in his film production.

In casting he could use experienced actors like Robert Shaw and Sean Connery but also new talent, most recently in West Side Story the relatively unknown Rachel Zegler.

Perhaps because he knew Stanley Kubrick well his camera work is always impressive.

Yet, for all of this he only received one Oscar and remains more a popular director than an esteemed one.

One interesting feature of the interview was dress.

Kermode squeezed into a trendy black suit whilst Spielberg wore a T-shirt, chinos and loafers.

Kermode could not quite carry off this youthful look and in an early shot driving into Hollywood in Ray Bans and a open top red sports car looked faintly ridiculous.

For all of that he knows his films and the interview was always interesting.