![Inception (4K Ultra HD) [4K UHD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91pXXQipyYL._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg)
![Goonies, The (4K Ultra HD + Blu-ray) [4K UHD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81v9kAgiOaL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Inception (4K Ultra HD) [4K UHD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/91pXXQipyYL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Director's Cut) [Blu-ray] [4K UHD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81Be0epPfBL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![The Fugitive (4KUHD+DIG) [4K UHD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71JB+qugXPL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Godzilla (1998) 25th Anniversary 4K Ultra HD SteelBook [Blu-ray]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/913jiETDvXL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
As a kid who grew up in the late 70's and 80's watching films like ET, Jaws and Close Encounters I was destined to enjoy this movie. For me to say that Super 8 is a nostalgic and entertaining movie would be true. To say that Super 8 is a J.J. Abrams tribute to Spielbergian cinema would be partly true. Partly. There are so many parallels to story, characters, time period and genre that's it near impossible not to immediately start making connections to which Spielberg film is being referenced in any particular scene.
That said, before I get into Spielbergia I must give J.J. Abrams his due as an original artist. Anyone who has watched American television the past decade knows Abrams can deliver solidly on story and character with series like Alias, Lost and Fringe under his belt. However, until now his feature film career has been rooted in existing properties like Mission Impossible III and the new Star Trek. Both highly entertaining and visceral films in my opinion. But with Super 8 being his first original screenplay for a feature film, in some ways this was uncharted territory for Abrams. But with someone like Spielberg as his collaborator and producer and Abrams litany of experience in film-making and storytelling its hard to imagine his first original feature being anything but what we would come to expect from him. Emotional, well plotted, well acted, funny and just plain entertaining.
Now that we've gotten that out of the way lets get to the fun part - the Spielberg parallels! Here's the ones I spotted, in no particular order:
1. The "catalyst" into Act 2 is a spectacular train crash. Any coincidence that the 1st movie Spielberg remember's seeing as a child was 'The Greatest Show on Earth', which also contains one of the biggest train crashes in movie history? In fact, that train crash is said to be what inspired an 8 year Spielberg to shoot his first film; 2 toy trains crashing into each other (also as a way to get away with seeing his toy trains crash over and over without getting them taken away by his father.) Notice the discussion in Super 8 about filming the toy trains crashing into one another, which ultimately they do.
2. The obvious MILITARY parallel of Alien Life in Close Encounters being covered up by a staged viral outbreak that kills anyone or thing that breathes it causing town evacuation. This VS. the Military coverup of Alien Life in Super 8 being a staged grass fire that causes town evacuation.
3. In JAWS the scariest thing about the shark is the NOT seeing it. Same is true in Super 8, we don't fully see the monster until the film is almost finished. Builds suspense much more effectively.
3. Any coincidence the place that that the Alien in Super 8 makes his final takeoff into space from a water "tower". In Close Encounters the Alien Mothership arrives and takes off from Devil's "Tower", Wyoming.
4. The town hall meeting in Super 8 is very reminiscent of the town hall meeting in Close Encounters. All citizens EXCEPT the sheriff seem to be clueless and way off base about whats really going on.
5. The sound that the Alien makes is VERY similar to the sound of the T-Rex in Jurassic Park (as well as the sound of the dying truck in Spielberg's 1st feature 'Duel'.)
6. The main kid, Joe doesn't make good grades, as evidenced by him throwing his C+ papers aside when the Alice sees them (this could easily be a J.J. Abrams childhood connection too however.)
7. In ET & CLOSE ENCOUNTERS the alien makes a "psychic" connection of some kind with the people it interacts with. In ET its Elliott "feeling" what ET feels (i.e. classroom scene with frogs & Elliott getting drunk & Elliott getting sick when ET gets sick, etc.) In Close Encounters its Richard Dreyfuss and Melinda Dillon being obsessed with the image of Devil's Tower, which ultimately draws them to it. In Super 8 every human the Alien touches "sees" what the alien feels and has been through, thus sympathizing with it.
8. In ET a group of underdog kids led by Elliott "save the day" for ET. In THE GOONIES a group of underdog kids led by Mikey "save the day" for Mikey's families home which is about to be sold and bulldozed. Same here in Super 8 with Joe, the main kid taking one of the cubes which is close enough to the Water Tower to be drawn to it, thus creating a foundation for the Alien's ship to work from. Remember all the other cubes had been taken away by the government until the very end. And Joe is the one who tell the Alien to "GO" and that he understands and that bad things happen and its OK. This could be seen as the alien's motivation to leave. (my brother mentioned a parallel to 'Stand By Me' underdog kids, which is also true.)
9. Slight Spielbergian cinematography connections - 2:
a. The way both the gas station attendant and the airfare bus driver are "pulled away" feet first screaming by the Alien is very similar to the first death in Jurassic Park, where the gatekeeper is "pulled away" feet first screaming by the Velociraptor.
b. The side tracking dolly shots of the kids running through neighborhood "up and over" hills, fences, etc is very similar to side tracking dolly shots in ET of kids riding their bikes through neighborhood "up and over" hills, fences, etc trying to get ET to the forrest.
10. And here are a random sampling of other various connections I saw to Spielbergian cinema - the use of smoke and light, the conversational cadence of the kids interrupting each other & using cuss words poorly, loss of a parent, military being overly "big brother" in hiding alien, tracking and dolly shots, overhead shot of bus. I could go on and on.
Without question Super 8 has a multitude of connections and parallels to Steven Spielberg films but it is also good to keep in mind that good story elements are good story elements no matter when, where or who they are used by. Many times the good ones pop up over and over again, precisely for that reason, because they work. Overlap to previous archetypes or story mythologies is inevitable because the ones we like are the ones we like, whether they are set in space or in the old west. Good storytellers are drawn to these same archetypal stories, they just flavor them differently each generation. In summation, all of these parallels could simply be a MASTER STUDENT (Abrams) following his MASTER TEACHER (Spielberg) with such skill that it comes off as an omage, which it very well may be and does not keep it from being a truly original work.
BONUS!
#. Not a Spielberg omage but the name of the gas station KELVIN is the 2nd reference J.J. Abrams has made to his grandfather in a feature film, the 1st being the name of one of the spaceships in Star Trek (the "U.S.S. Kelvin") And of course all LOST fans know Kelvin is the name of the guy that was in the Swan Hatch before Desmond.
#. Also not a Spielberg parallel, but the kids zombie file "The Case" pays omega to George A. Romero, the godfather of zombie films by naming the chemical plant 'Romero Chemicals'. Loved that.
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
| Additional Blu-ray options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
|
Blu-ray
January 7, 2013 "Please retry" | — | 1 | $10.76 | $8.32 |
|
Blu-ray
December 12, 2011 "Please retry" | — | 2 | $10.88 | $9.73 |
Watch Instantly with 
| Rent | Buy |
Add a debit or credit card to save time when you check out
Convenient and secure with 2 clicks. Add your card
Frequently bought together
$8.99
Get it as soon as Thursday, May 16
In Stock
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Similar items that may deliver to you quickly
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
From the manufacturer
Paramount provides premium content to audiences across worldwide. We connect with billions of people. Our studios create content for all audiences, across every genre and format, while our networks and brands forge deep connections with the world’s one of the most diverse audiences. In streaming, our differentiated strategy is scaling rapidly across free, broad pay, and premium.
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
|
Reviews with images
Another one of Spielberg's/J.J Abrams under the radar gems.
I missed this at the theater, but that's ok because I had some popcorn and large coke on hand when I watched this. "Super 8" is one of Spielberg's movies that has for some time gone mostly unnoticed. Although J.J. Abrams wrote and directed this movie, you can see Spielberg's finger prints all over it. It stars are mostly unknown kid actors with the exception of Elle Fanning ( who is just fabulous ) and an early acting part by the now underrated Kyle Chandler, as the deputy sheriff father. And lets not forget a great turn by Ron Eldard as the drunk father of Elle Fanning's character. Won't go into the entire plot, but suffice enough to say it is a great "alien/ET" with a bad attitude kind of flick. Get this 4K version, which I thought was quiet good.
Top reviews from other countries
Mr. Stephen Kennedy
Wonderful homage to the movies of the late 70's, early 80's
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 20, 2012