The director James Cameron called “the sensei we all learn from”
The work of James Cameron has shaped the entire concept of the modern action-adventure movie. Throughout his time in the spotlight, the director has been known to take his viewers on a wild ride through every landscape he can think of, whether it’s the lavish ecosystem of Avatar’s Pandora or the dystopias of the various Terminator movies. While Cameron has carved out his niche as an auteur, he is indebted to the work of the king of action films.
When looking through his filmography, Cameron had a few trademark elements from the beginning. From his short time working on projects like Alien 3, Cameron was known for making movies about the larger aspects of life, focusing on the dangers of technology or the decay of nature. Regardless of the message behind the movie, there was always heart in everything Cameron brought to the table, making you relate to the characters before any kind of message.
Before Cameron had stood behind the camera for the first time, though, action movies had already been going through their reinvention. Thanks to the advent of the movie blockbuster, many directors were coming to the forefront trying to make films that would either unnerve audiences or make them cheer in their seats. Despite the massive directors that came before him, many were just living in the shadow of Steven Spielberg.
Since starting at the bottom of the food chain, Spielberg wanted to make movies that could get audiences to react however he wanted. Throughout his time behind the camera, Spielberg has been known for making films that were both haunting and heartwarming in equal measure, from getting young kids to cheer for creations like Indiana Jones to making grown men cry watching Saving Private Ryan.
When talking about Spielberg’s influence on him, Cameron would go on to say that the director was the almighty teacher for every director after him, telling Directors Guild of America, “Steven is the master. He’s the sensei we all learn from, and he’s continuously reinventing himself so we can continuously learn from him.”
That’s not to say that Cameron doesn’t have some criticisms regarding Spielberg’s directing style. When editing his films, Cameron was shocked that Spielberg was not always up to date on the latest technological advances, explaining, “However the technology of moviemaking evolves, I want to be at the cutting edge. I want to be riding the wave. I don’t want the wave to wash over me and be looking at it from the backside heading toward the shore with everybody else riding it. I happen to enjoy that part of it a great deal.”
While Spielberg has been known to work outside the box, his eventual adoption of different technology has also led him to make movies that rely more on the graphics than the story, like in Ready Player One. Even though the practical angle might look dated by comparison, Spielberg’s way of weaving in real effects is more of a power move from the old guard. Instead of filling the edit with different technical advancements, Spielberg can accomplish magic by only using the bare essentials.
