Spielberg on Spielberg

Hard to believe, but even Steven Spielberg cannot hold one's interest, entirely on his own, for 90 minutes.

The Richard Schickel documentary on Spielberg that was broadcast earlier this week on TCM just goes to show you that even a person of remarkable talent and imagination needs more film clips and comments from colleagues, friends and family to break up what can only be called the monotony of listening to one voice for an hour and a half.

It's likely that Schickel thought that that kind of documentary is a dime a dozen and that fans of Spielberg's most want to hear how he made his creative decisions. That is true, but the show cried out for another perspective, say, Tom Hanks commenting on Spielberg's casting him in a non-traditional role in "Saving Private Ryan" and how they worked out the nuances of Hanks' character in "The Terminal.''

If the show is rebroadcast, be prepared for what is essentially an honors' class in filmmaking, which probably is what Spielberg and Schickel intended anyway.