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Steven Spielberg has made no secret of the fact that one of his most influential filmmaking idols is Alfred Hitchcock , who is unremarkably nicknamed “ the Master of Suspense . ” Whether he ’s making a moving picture aboutthe wrath of a 25 - pes great white sharkor a before long - to - be - opened dinosaur - infested musical theme park , Spielberg always takes full advantage of the endless possibilities provided by motion-picture photography , editing , and medicine to create as much suspense as potential .
This has made him one of the most striking and popular theatre director go in Hollywood over the past 50 years . So , here are the 10 most nail-biting sequence from Spielberg ’s filmography .
Voting On The Thirteenth Amendment (Lincoln)
Steven Spielberg is such a masterful film maker that even when the outcome of a fit is a well - known historic fact , he can still keep you on the edge of your seat .
And even when a scene essentially boils down to each U.S. state voting “ yes ” or “ no ” on whether or not an amendment to the Constitution will hand , it ’s riveting . So much is at wager — the end of both the Civil War and thrall in the United States — that the vote is a nail - barbed succession .
The Truck Chase (Duel)
Steven Spielberg get the gig directingJaws , a picture show about a shark ’s unrelenting hunt , after Universal executives saw his made - for - TV movieDuel , about a hand truck ’s relentless hunt .
Throughout the movie , David Mann is follow up on by a mystical Peterbilt 281 tank driver motortruck . The flick culminates in a terrifying chase in which the truck unmercifully fare after Mann .
The UFOs Surround The House (Close Encounters Of The Third Kind)
When the UFO surround the house inClose Encounters of the Third Kind , there ’s a bright , celestial , orangish light radiate through the window and the keyhole in the front door . While Jillian madly locks the doors and cowers in the kitchen , her three - year - old son Barry curiously approach the front threshold , and open up it to invite in the alien visitant .
This setting exemplifies Spielberg ’s ongoing cinematic portrait of the artlessness of tike . The light of the flying saucer could mean danger , or it could stand for something marvellous . The grownup only see the risk of peril , whereas the child has a horse sense of wonder .
The Mine Cart Chase (Indiana Jones And The Temple Of Doom)
TheIndiana Jonesteam had in the beginning conceived the mine cart pursuit set piece forRaiders of the Lost Ark , but they could n’t find a place for it , so they saved it for the sequel .
The sequence is breathtakingly cinematic , with mine cart zip around the rails at breakneck speeding , and seesaw over pits of lava on every sharp bend .
The Rome Assassination (Munich)
Steven Spielberg does n’t often make gritty , violent movies , but when he does , the violence is brilliantly tear . This can be seen inMunich , Spielberg ’s dramatization of the Israeli authorities ’s answer to the 1972 Summer Olympics massacre .
When one of the massacre ’s conspirator is tracked down to Rome , where he ’s living as a poet , Avner Kaufman and his team guide down there to pop him . The build - up to the scene is intense , as we jazz what ’s number , and the final end gust is so straight-from-the-shoulder and brutal .
Celie Shaves Mister (The Color Purple)
Celie ab initio does n’t hear Mister ’s calls to trim him because she ’s swept up in a book . He outsmart her before handing her a straight razor and forcing her to plane his font . Mister tells Celie , “ You cut me and I ’ll kill you , ” but we can see in her eyes that she ’s seriously considering slitting his throat with the razor and end the ill-usage .
The audience is on the border of their posterior through the whole tantrum . Shug manages to stop Celie from bolt down Mister , but she stands up to him in a belated scene rather .
The Prisoner Exchange (Bridge Of Spies)
The captive exchange is the completion ofBridge of Spies ’ struggle . The U.S. authorities has capture Soviet spy Rudolf Abel , and the Soviets have beguile CIA pilot Gary Powers . American lawyer James Donovan travels to Berlin to broker the rally , and it ’s fantastically tense .
The picture was really flash on the Glienicke Bridge — whose nickname , “ Bridge of Spies , ” provide the deed of conveyance for the movie — where the captive exchange really happen in 1962 .
Indy Escapes From The Temple (Raiders Of The Lost Ark)
In the opening chronological sequence ofRaiders of the Lost Ark , we ’re introduced to Indiana Jones — one of the cracking ikon in the history of film — in the most nail-biting , activity - packed way potential . Indy infiltrates an ancient temple , steal an artifact , cogitate he ’s gotten away with it Scotchman free … before the synagogue get to founder .
Indy outrun the dummy traps , but fall into a chasm as he tries to leap across it . The vine he reserve onto starts to split up , and the only door out of there is promptly closing . Indy manage to escape at the last second , and thena bowlder starts tumbling towards him .
“Get Out Of The Water!” (Jaws)
As a whole , Jawsisa masterclass in Hitchcockian suspense - construction , but it ’s most prominent in the beach scene . When Mayor Vaughn refuses to exit the beach in the wake of a shark attack , Chief Brody watches the shoring , nervous that something terrible will materialise .
Spielberg make prominent utilization of in - television camera techniques like a split dioptre shoot to ramp up the tension . And then , when the shark finally strikes , we get that iconic dolly rapid growth on Brody ’s face , exemplifying his terrified response .
Raptors In The Kitchen (Jurassic Park)
There are some extremely tense set pieces inJurassic Park , but none are more awful than the scene in which Lex and Tim are hunted through the kitchen by a bunch of velociraptors . The ocular effects inJurassic Parkhold up surprisingly well today , considering how primitive the technology was , and this peculiar fit is sate with imaginative camera angle .
For example , the shot of Lex desperately trying to shut the cabinet she ’s hiding in as a raptorial bird charges at it , though it turn out to have been charging at a reflection .
NEXT:10 Unrealized Steven Spielberg Projects We Want To See