Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm amazed how much derision a Blu-Ray set could get just because some of everyone's favorite movies are not on the set. When it was announced that the Steven Spielberg Director's Collection was coming out on Blu-Ray, everyone threw a fit because it didn't feature "Schindler's List", "Munich", "Close Encounters of the Third Kind", "Lincoln" and the "Indiana Jones" movies. Like really, people? Do you guys even bother to do any research as to why they're not included? Well since everyone on the Net is too lazy to make an effort, I will explain the "glaring" omissions of some of their movies. First off, this Blu-Ray set is distributed by Universal, which means only the movies Spielberg made for this company (except for "Schindler's List", which I will explain in a little bit) are included here. Second, many of the other movies were distributed and financed by other studios (ex: before being bought by Disney, the "Indiana Jones" movies were distributed by Paramount) and it would cost a fortune just to get ONE of their movies on this set. "Munich", for example, thought distributed by Universal overseas, was actually promoted by DreamWorks in the United States, as were "Catch Me If You Can", "The Terminal" and "Saving Private Ryan", which is why THEY are not in this collection. "Close Encounters" is a Columbia movie and "Hook" was distributed by Tri-Star. And third, these movies were made to cash in Spielberg's image as a populist filmmaker, an entertainer rather than a serious artist. That's why "Schindler's List" is not on this box set, even though it was made by Universal. Instead, this collection is served to introduce Spielberg to a new generation of adolescents, young filmgoers who probably never heard of Spielberg before or have but never seen any of his pictures. Seriously, would you pick "Schindler's List" or even "Empire of the Sun" as the first choice to introduce your kid to Spielberg's work? They would probably groan at the mention of his name after seeing those movies and not give him a chance again. So what IS here? Well, "Schindler's List" and "Raiders of the Lost Ark" may not be here, but "Jaws", "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" and the first two "Jurassic Park" movies certainly are, which alone would make this a worthy purchase. But the real news is that four other Spielberg movies are also appearing on Blu-Ray for the first time: "Duel", "The Sugarland Express", "1941" and "Always". The news that "Duel" and "The Sugarland Express" are appearing on the set is a cause of celebration, as these two terrific movies showed that even before "Jaws", Spielberg was a filmmaker worth discovering, and haven't received a Blu-Ray treatment until now. In fact, some even feel that Spielberg never made a movie as good as "Duel" or even "The Sugarland Express" again, although I (as well as millions of people) would beg to differ. Also, "1941", Spielberg's fascinating train-wreck that nevertheless has a strong cult following, will be released with both the theatrical and the extended versions on the disc. So you're getting more than you actually bargain for here. It's one thing to criticize the product because of its flaws, but to nitpick over a set because it doesn't feature your favorite movies and not look at the big picture is a genuine mistake. Those movies are already out on Blu-Ray; even "Hook" came out on a Blu-Ray + DVD Combo Pack. In a perfect world, ALL of Spielberg's best movies would be released on one set or even three sets. But there's no such thing as a perfect world and these Internet fans need to get over it. If it makes you feel better, write your complaints on a piece of paper and then throw it out. Trust me, you'll feel better.