The Sugarland Express

Did a strong personal theme come through? Was 'Stevie' an auteur? Maybe not, but he was definitely a screen communicator. We feel very strongly for Goldie Hawn and William Atherton, even if Spielberg backs away from making a statement about injustice. Sheriff Ben Johnson's 1,001 prowl cars are an absurd harbinger of doom but not a critique of law enforcement. Playing a very foolish, stupid character, Goldie Hawn communicates frustration and panic, and Spielberg's expressive visuals do the rest. A traumatized mother throwing stuffed animals out of a getaway car should be corny as all get-out, but Spielberg pulls it off. When Spielberg revived Hitchcock's Vertigo smash zoom, he became the ultimate film student film director.

The Sugarland Express

One final note confirms Steven Spielberg as a class act, in terms of realizing the responsibilities of his chosen work. After performing some well-publicized digital alterations to E.T. for subsequent releases, he decided that maintaining the original film is more important and has restored the show to its 1982 release version. Those complex E.T. facial expressions are difficult to be sure of, but I saw firearms in the last scenes, and no added embellishments to the spaceship. Bravo!

As her husband, Atherton is just right, offering up a controlled portrait of a confused, fearful man who follows a path he does not understand and cannot change to his own ultimate destruction. His open-faced expression and youthful uncertainty is a solid plus for the film. 041b061a72