Spielberg in the 80's

Many bitched about the sappy films Steven Spielberg was involved in during the 1980's.
Myself definitely among them. It got sickening. Corny, family-friendly sci-f lite.

Now, years later, I look back on those days with fondness. It was a more innocent time. Simpler, at least for me.

This weekend I watched Twilight Zone: The Motion Picture for the first time in a long time. A lot of people hated this movie, but I always loved it. Still do. I always found it to be a witty and affectionate homage to Rod Serling's influential series.

It made me think of the days when Spielberg was producing a lot of stuff. Looking back, I now miss the days of fun little movies like Innerspace, Gremlins, Back to the Future, Harry and the Hendersons, The Goonies, Young Sherlock Holmes, and Who Framed Roger Rabbit. Heck, even batteries not included is starting to look good. And as slight as that last movie is, I'd take it over schmaltzy crap that Spielberg directed, like the insufferable Always.


Then there was Amazing Stories. This ambitious TV show came with much anticipation, but it disappointed most viewers. Still, despite how lame a lot of the episodes were, I remember them fondly. Amazing Stories was most certainly a product of its time, which is not a bad thing as far as I'm concerned.

The times have changed and I don't necessarily think for the better. The goofy, optimistic sense of wonder in the old Spielberg productions seems to have waned away.