It was a seminal film for one of the director's greatest works, but Spielberg wasn't very happy with it.
Steven Spielberg He has made many great films throughout his career, but there is no denying that his name is particularly associated with science fiction cinema. After all, he is the person most responsible for such memorable titles as “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”, “ET the Extra-Terrestrial” or “Jurassic Park”. However, in his filmography there is a contribution to the genre, the existence of which many do not even know. Well, or that it existed at the time, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.
young prodigy
Spielberg's passion for cinema came when he was very young, something he addressed himself in The Fabelmans, and he made several home movies when he was younger. Of all of these, the most ambitious was “firelight”It is a 140-minute science fiction film that she produced with only $500 invested by her father.
Spielberg himself composed the soundtrack, was in charge of editing and cinematography, and wrote the screenplay. clearly, Held the position of Director Of the same, and relying on the help of other members of his family. For example, his sister Nancy was one of the main characters.
The story of “Firelight” takes place in a fictional city in Arizona called Freeport, which is being monitored by a group of scientists. Strange lights in the sky before a series of mysterious disappearancesBehind all this are three aliens who want to kidnap the entire city in order to create a human zoo on their home planet.
After filming mainly over weekends and some free afternoons—let's not forget that its lead director was barely 16 when he began work on it—Spielberg had Firelight ready to go. It was released on March 24, 1964 at the Phoenix Theatre.. 500 people went to see it, but one of them paid double, so the movie ended up being a giveaway. Earn $1because it was never publicly shown again.
Lost forever?
Not long after, Spielberg. He went to Hollywood hoping to get a chance to make his debut in the Mecca of cinema..For this two of Main pulleys from “Firelight” and gave it to the producer so he could test his skills behind the camera. Unfortunately, his production company went bankrupt after just one week and Spielberg was never able to get back the material he had delivered for his film.
Fortunately, Spielberg soon got his break, first with the 1968 short film “Amblin” and then working on television productions such as “Night Gallery” Or “Columbo”. Already in 1971, he directed The Devil on Wheels and his career took off definitively.
As for Firelight, the film was never recovered, and the most the rest of the audience got to see was Only 3 minutes long clip Which you can see a little further down in this same article. About it Steven Spielberg participated in the program “Inside the Actors Studio” that aired in 1999, where content the next:
“Firelight” was undoubtedly the spark that ignited “Close Encounters of the Third Kind.”
I'm very afraid the rest of us will never get to see it, as so many years have passed without the lost material resurfacing, and a single copy is in the hands of a bankrupt production company… It's a real shame. Of course, I don't think Spielberg was too hurt by its loss, even saying that it was “One of the five worst movies in historyIn a book Joseph McBride Steven Spielberg: A Biography.
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