Spielberg's Best

Rating: 9/10 (16 October 2012)

This film is a very solid offering from a not so solid director, Spielberg, who made some solid films, such as E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark, but never managed to attain greatness, until this film. Easily the best film he ever made, Spielberg showed that he is also able to direct serious stuff besides escapist adventure films. I would put this film among my top 50 favorite films.
This film is technically flawless and shows how sophisticated Hollywood filmaking had become by the early 1990's. Though I would question the use of black and white in the film: color is good and the Pianist showed it can be used in a WW2 tragedy film. However, this film is not the best WW2 film ever made either, Grave of the Fireflies, by Isao Takahata, a film detailing the suffering of two children to survive in Japan in the final months of WW2, is easily superior to this one and if you think this film is sad, thy watching Takahata's masterpiece.