When asked during an interview if he did anything special to prepare for a directing project, Spielberg was quoted as saying, "Before I go off and direct a movie, I always look at four films. They tend to be: Seven Samurai, Lawrence of Arabia, It's A Wonderful Life, and The Searchers. It is interesting that Spielberg is so influenced with films that are considered story-driven films. In each of the examples that Spielberg mentions, the directors allow the scope of the story to drive the cinematic style that they use to bring the story alive on film. Spielberg does the same with E.T. Realizing that the majority of the story is told from the point of view of Elliott and E.T., Spielberg decides to let the camera give his audience the experience.....
