Professor Nigel Morris presents “Magisterial Juvenilia: Spielberg’s Early Work”
MSUM welcomes Nigel Morris from the University of Lincoln in the UK. Professor Morris will present “Magisterial Juvenilia: Spielberg’s Early Work” at 3:00 PM on Monday, December 7 in Library 103. The talk will cover works including Spielberg’s TV Movie of the Week Duel (1971), which was released theatrically in Europe to critical acclaim, as well as his impressive slate of ambitious amateur productions, including feature-length and 35mm projects, eleven television directing credits, as well as a 35mm commercially-funded theatrical short, Amblin (1968).
These early pieces demonstrate broad mastery of audiovisual rhetoric, based not on formal training but passion for, and encyclopedic knowledge of, classics from the history of Hollywood and world cinema, together with willingness to experiment, to assimilate, and to seek attention. The young cinephile approached assignments determined to widen his repertoire, hone skills, indulge delight in filmmaking, find creative approaches to potentially routine storytelling, and exhibit his talent wit the intention- evidently fulfilled- of marketing it to those able to hire him for the next one.
The lecture is open to all who are interested and is hosted by the Film, Graphic Communication, Mass Communication, and Music Industry departments and the Office of Study Abroad. Do join us!