[Borges]

Vertigo is a ludicrous script, it’s also one of Hitchcock’s worst movies.

Priceless.

Great technique in telling a bad story makes a bad movie, and bad technique in telling a good story can still make good movie

He proves he should stick to writing. I don't find Jerry Lewis all that funny as a writer or comedian but he's still a brilliant filmmaker.

Not all films are primarily concerned with narrative. ('Last Year At Marienbad', 2001). And 'story' doesn't just come from script it comes from structure, form, editing rhythym. My point about E.T. was that the choice of that subject matter at that time was considered a commercial risk. It's unexpected success opened the floodgates on tons of bad imtiations.

[discostu]

I realize the critics worship Vertigo, but I hate the movie, my absolute least favorite Hitchcock. Partly because the story is so horrid, and frankly I thought his directing of it was clumsy especially for him, any time the “vertigo effect” happens I’m completely thrown out of the moment, my temporary suspension of disbelief is crushed. Give me Rear Window or Rope any day.

Sorry using a weird foreign film to defend a Spielberg summer blockbuster is just plain disingenuous. WOTW was a film primarily concerned with narrative, not some funky art picture questioning the nature of reality, and as a film primarily concerned with narrative pointing out the fact that the narrative was pathetic and subsequently the movie could not possibly be better than pathetic is valid.

They spent 10.5 million dollars making ET, maybe they considered it risky but it was not a low budget movie not intended to make money. It was a mid-budget movie that made more money than they expected. Part of the problem with the floodgate of bad imitations of ET is how many of them Spielberg has made.