SPIELBERG: THE WHOOPI GRAIL

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A BIGGER BOAT: THE COLOR PURPLE AND INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE

THE COLOR PURPLE (1985) was Spielberg's first big swing at the legitimacy he so desperately craved after a series of certified sensations (plus 1941).  Adapted from Alice Walker's best seller, the legendary cast of future all-stars was a middling critical and commercial success. In 1985 you could have a movie based on a book by a black woman about specific black experiences, directed by a white guy from Arizona and adapted by a white guy from *checks notes*, um, The Netherlands, and it would garner only minor criticism. Not exactly the "good old days". Allen Daviau (who also lensed E.T. and Empire of the Sun) shoots one of Spielberg's best-looking movies but... is this really the story to make abject poverty and abuse look like a banking ad with sunsets and gently fluttering spores?  A lot of the material is maybe mismatched with the way the movie is made and scored. It's a cosmic gumbo, for sure. How does it hold up in 2022?

Then 1989's INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE, Spielberg's final Indiana Jones adventure (don't argue) and beloved by many fans. Connery plays dad to Harrison Ford. Do you need a roadmap why this works? A delightful send-off to a fine trilogy of films (don't argue).

This week Jack and Thomas are joined by Shannon to work out why both of these films stand out in Spielberg's decade of dominance, for better or worse.

THEME SONG: WEIRD A.I.

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Ken: Ken Koral
Jack: jackk1096