Steven Spielberg On Working With François Truffaut (1978)

Steven Spielberg came to AFI in 1978 for a seminar with AFI Fellows. In this clip he talks about working with François Truffaut.
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[@athensinrome]

It is so cool that Truffaut is the scientist in Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

[@marioa-b5345]

RIP Mr Spielberg, thanks for sharing your gifts with the World.

[@nukliozz]

@@marioa-b5345 ??

[@andrewhovermale2731]

@@marioa-b5345 Do you mean RIP Truffaut?

[@biffsorenson693]

I hated that movie

[@jondstewart]

François Truffaut played himself in Close Encounters. He wasn’t acting when he needed an interpreter. Actually, he spoke English a lot better than he thought he did, just like Andrei Tarkovsky that thought he spoke only Russian, but actually semi-fluent in English.

[@KingdomcgmPictures]

Long live Jules et Jim!

[@projetsgroupeactif]

Intéressant

[@teamcrumb]

no one can be on top forever. everybody peaks. but we love him so we abide in him.

[@ElTuco84]

I love Godard, but his movies are for film scholars and intellectuals. Truffaut and Spielberg films are for everyone.

[@nycsp]

Nope, his movies are about love. I watch since I was 8! Love both.

[@LibertyValence.]

That's not true his pictures are about passions and are a commentary on the world. It's art and going in a museum is not only for intellectuals so watching bergman or dreyer or godard are for every human being on this planet and beyond.

[@felixthelmocevallosmorales41]

Steven Allan Spielberg (Cincinnati, Ohio; 18 de diciembre de 1946) es un director, guionista y productor de cine estadounidense. Se le considera uno de los pioneros de la era del Nuevo Hollywood y es también uno de los directores más reconocidos y populares de la industria cinematográfica mundial. 76 años. (77)

[@inrwizards]

@lactoseme lol! it really shocked me too. this is the man that answered rats to whats your favorite curse word on inside the actors studio

[@shortfilms5667]

the only other time I ever heard this legend curse was on the old JAWS dvd making of where he says f*ck

[@teamcrumb]

exactly. i adore Weekend, but all of that beauty and processing of ideas is unable to capture the stunning qualities to be found in people, everyday people, you and me and we're part of the story. just as important as Mozart in a farmyard.

[@pliskinn0089]

0:50 TRUTH

[@Serai3]

Was this filmed up at the old IH campus? I can't remember what year AFI took it over.

[@ElTuco84]

If you didn't find Spielbergs love for classic cinema in Warhorse or his sense of filmaking joy in Tintin, then that's why you don't get it.

[@BernardoPOR]

@drstranglove79 how I understand you...

[@Firithfenion]

At first, from the side, the young Spielberg looks a bit like a young Bill Gates. However, back then, probably everyone looked like the young Bill Gates.

[@AA-sn9lz]

Then later he looked a bit like Steve Jobs.

[@JohnWesleyDowney]

I've read through some of the comments on the page, and I'm sorry to say this guys, but arguing over Spielberg's stature in world cinema became a moot point a very long time ago. Except for a tiny handful of idiots like Godard and Gilliam, SCHINDLER'S LIST is pretty much recognized on every continent on this earth as a cinematic masterpiece. It won virtually every film award given that it was eligible for and rightly so. It permanently cemented Steven's stature as a master film artist in complete command of the medium. He's made many, many great films and he's shown staggering range through the decades. But Schindler's List towers above the rest as a definitive statement about both evil and good. Taking a true story from one of the darkest chapters in mankind's history, it demonstrated that even in the depths of an industrialized system designed to exterminate people in mass numbers, somewhere among the evil doers, one man whose ambition was pure profit, instead shined as an example of altruism and common decency. A greedy and selfish man who became heroic and enlightened in the darkness. Spielberg renders this story masterfully and artfully. Case closed.

[@FantasticOtto]

While I may be a bit late in my response, I thought I'd offer my perspective. I would never call the likes of Gilliam, Kubrick, and Lanzmann idiots when it comes to their devaluation of 'Schindler's List.' But it seems evident that they failed to understand the film's underlying purpose and its significance in contemporary culture. Steven Spielberg never claimed to have the ambition of creating the 'definitive Holocaust film' or a definitive portrayal of mid-war Europe. His mission was a simple one: to recount the life of a man whose most important years happened to coincide with the backdrop of World War II. The roots of this narrative can be traced back to the influence of Poldek Pfefferberg, portrayed by Jonathan Sagall in the film. Pfefferberg, who owed his life to Oskar Schindler, was so profoundly indebted to him that he dedicated himself to ensuring Schindler's story would be told to as many as possible. His efforts included both the creation of 'Schindler's Ark' and advocating for the film adaptation. His sentiment was in his own words: 'Schindler gave me my life, and I tried to give him immortality.' 'Schindler's List' was never meant to be more than this, yet it still transcended its original intent. It captured the unthinkable horror of the Holocaust and presented it to the world. I cannot, for the life of me, understand why Gilliam and others saw this movie and felt it 'wrapped everything up in a nice bow.' While it is conceivable that the film could have been more explicit in its depiction of the brutality that transpired, such graphic realism would render the film unwatchable. Spielberg wisely chose to unveil just enough, leaving audiences worldwide to exit theaters with tears in their eyes and a commitment never to forget. The film became a standard viewing in educational institutions, teaching future generations the importance of never letting something like that happen again. In summary, spurred by the pleas of a man who lived this story and understood it needed to be told, Spielberg set out on a mission to teach the world about a man who demonstrated that even in the darkest brutality, a glimmer of hope can persist. What emerged was one of the most important films ever made, imparting a profound lesson to countless people of our generation and those yet to come. 'Shoah,' as important as it is, could never do that.

[@MultiPlayaaa]

there is only 1 man who will ever fill hes shoes..hes name is steven spielberg.......theres no1 ever who will be a better movie maker .period

[@Serai3]

I can guarantee you that when that better movie maker comes along, you will not recognize what you're seeing.

[@44eelz]

oh my god i started watching the video, and an advertisement comes on with another video and the volume is twice as loud, do you not want ppl watching ur videos or something???

[@Serai3]

Adblock is your friend.

[@thomaswall100]

I was picking my nose just before he mentioned nose picking.

[@geekyhippie7401]

Spielberg curses? Lol.

[@teamcrumb]

get a grip. this is steven talking as a young man. and now he is someone else. but everything he ever achieved is still his. jaws was a commercial movie. commercial means successful and widely received. ain't nothing wrong in that. a crappy commercial movie is another thing entirely.

[@ptomkevich89]

they are both talented and both are great artists. There is no single truth that says one is better than the other or more talented. but godard will always be terrible. haha

[@matteframe]

yet he will be remembered when you, your family and your children are dust. Explain that, Einstein.

[@19Edurne]

What a snob remark ! The director who put "The Color Purple" on film deserves any one who wants to work with him.

[@matteframe]

The director who put Harpo/Oprah on film deserves to be exiled

[@filmflim]

@PtAltmVansanTarr What a typical film snob remark. Spielberg was heavily influenced by Truffaut's work when beginning his career, hence why he asked him to be in Close Encounters. Truffaut, in turn, admired Hollywood filmmakers, especially Alfred Hitchcock, and the new generation, which included Spielberg. And what "god awful franchises" did he create? Indiana Jones? Those are classic movies, expect for the terrible Crystal Skull. You are really misinformed.

[@fergalhughes165]

IIRC, Truffaut didn't think much of Spielberg as a director and even said as much to him

[@Serai3]

@Inge Fossen Not true. Close Encounters is sentimental. It's sentimental about childhood, and wonder, and selfishness. About pretty things and a sense of adventure, and not caring about responsibility or indebtedness. It's very sentimental - it's just not terribly compassionate.

[@luismarioguerrerosanchez4747]

You're mixing Truffaut with Goddard.

[@gpapa31]

You’re confusing Truffaut with Goddard. Goddard had been resentful towards many filmmakers. I love his work but as a human being was very resentful. Same applies for Tarkovsky.

[@biffsorenson693]

both of them are vulgar non-entities. truffaut sort of makes me sick. spielberg way overrated.

[@ARMEN-wb7ve]

That French guy ruined the movie he was annoying to bad j Allen hynek didn’t have a bigger scene he was the inspiration for the movie

[@comptegoogle4313]

armen 05/12/66 🤔🤔

[@comptegoogle4313]

armen 05/12/66 ok american guy

[@Serai3]

LOL. I would say I feel sorry for you, but I think you've cemented yourself into your own cinema hell, and nothing's going to pry you out of it. Have fun being bitter and resenting whatever you can't instantly understand.

[@Hanomarkhan...]

Haha... you must have seen it in the dubbed French version, right? It's humor, a bit cynical, based on my childhood memories when I discovered the film. I had the same feeling when in each Truffaut's dialogue, the bearded man was just repeating the same thing with a slightly different sentence formulation, it was slightly boring the first time. That was before I saw it again in the original version, much more enjoyable for a Frenchman like me, but, surely not boring. And, the character of Lacombe is inspired by Jacques Vallée, it seems to me and, it's not Truffaut's fault, if it stole the spotlight from your Allen Hynek (the other ufologist)...

[@lamentate07]

Nice to see the Anglophones come to Spielberg's rescue! Pretty typical. It's not enough for him to be a billionaire is it? Now we must pretend that he is also a serious artist on the level of Tarkovsky or Bela Tarr too! The reason 'snobbery' exists in film is for the same reason it exists everywhere: artists are not equal. And recognising this inequality is actually the result of sophistication rather than 'ignorance', as many have foolishly claimed below. Without snobbery that is merely a by-product of this recognition of inequality, there is less reason for artists to strive for more. It is an absolutely necessary part of the creative process for serious minded artists. I WISH film buffs were snobbier than what they were because then better films would get made.

[@karlkarlos3545]

dios bananos Nice try, Godard.

[@victorkong82]

Holy shit Ayn Rand you're still alive? And you're a cinephile?!

[@matteframe]

Your argument is so convoluted... I can't tell if you like or dislike Spielberg. Ah well, you're probably just an anti-semite

[@PtAltmVansanTarr]

Spielberg didn't deserve to work with Truffaut, someone who created these god awful franchises. That bullshit didn't help cinema, it set Back.