6. Amblin - Steven Spielberg
There isn't a lot that can be said about Spielberg that hasn't already been said before. The father of blockbuster cinema is one of the greats when it comes to visual storytelling. Even while his movies have shifted tone in his later life, they have never stopped being impeccably put together films. But back in 1968, Spielberg was 21. He had been making short films since he was 12 but Amblin' was easily his most important. Having been living and breathing film at the Universal lots, he convinced a business man to give him $10,000 to make his short film about a boy and girl who meet while hitchhiking. The film features no dialogue which really shows Spielberg's desire to use the medium in its visual sense. The film is 25 minutes (a length I could never suggest to anyone), it never stops being interesting and shows a young director who would one day become one of the true masters of cinema. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6490M2uzzeg Spielberg has since been quoted as calling the film a "pepsi advert" and that he doesn't much care for the movie. However, he named his production company, Amblin Entertainment, after the film and there is no doubting that without it Spielberg wouldn't have gone on to make Duel in a few years later. Amblin' shows just where a short film can take you once you have it in the can and you can show it to other filmmakers.