Firelight (1964 film)
Firelight | |
---|---|
Directed by | Steven Spielberg |
Written by | Steven Spielberg |
Produced by | Arnold Spielberg Leah Spielberg |
Starring | Clark Lohr Carolyn Owen |
Cinematography | Steven Spielberg |
Edited by | Steven Spielberg (uncredited) |
Music by | Steven Spielberg (composer) Arcadia High School Band (performer) |
Production company | American Artist Productions |
Distributed by | Phoenix Theatre |
Release date |
|
Running time | 135 minutes |
Country | United States |
Budget | $500[1] |
Box office | $501[2] |
Firelight is a 1964 American science fiction adventure film written and directed by Steven Spielberg at the age of 17.[3][4] Made on a budget of $500, the film was shown at a local cinema and generated a profit of $1.[4] "I counted the receipts that night", Spielberg has recalled, "And we charged a dollar a ticket. Five hundred people came to the movie and I think somebody probably paid two dollars, because we made one dollar profit that night, and that was it."[5][6]
Only three minutes and forty seconds of footage has been made public, about 3% of the original length. Spielberg returned to its subject matter for his third major film, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977).
Plot
Firelight follows a group of scientists — particularly Tony Karcher and
Cast
Many of the cast for Firelight were from the
- Clark Lohr as Howard Richards
- Carolyn Owen as Lisa's Mother
- Robert Robyn as Tony Karcher
- Nancy Spielberg as Lisa
- Beth Weber as Debbie
- Margaret Peyou as Helen Richards
- Warner Marshall as Soldier
- Dede Pisani as Lover
- Tina Lanser as Maid
- Chuck Case as Teenage Boy
Production and music
Spielberg composed the music for Firelight, his first original score, on his clarinet. Spielberg's mother, a former pianist, transposed the score to piano and then to sheet music. The Arcadia High School band then performed the score for the film.
The film was shot on weekends and evenings. Many scenes were shot at the Spielberg home and near the garage. Outside shots were filmed in scrub land near Spielberg's home and school.
Release and analysis
Firelight premiered on March 24, 1964, at Spielberg's local cinema, the
Excerpts of Firelight show a distinct Spielberg visual style and his use of tracking shots. Firelight came to form a basis of Spielberg's later hit movie Close Encounters of the Third Kind.
References
- ^ Fox, Jesse David (21 March 2014). "Watch a Clip From Spielberg's Early Lost Film Firelight". Vulture. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
- ^ "Steven Spielberg's Micro-Budget 1st Feature Film: Firelight". Filmtrepreneur. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
- ^ Freer, Ian (2001). The Complete Spielberg. Virgin. pp. 5–8.
- ^ a b c Bose, Swapnil. "The heartwarming story behind Steven Spielberg's first cinematic successm". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ Inside the Actors Studio, with James Lipton interviewing Steven Spielberg.
- ^ The profit of $1 would be equivalent to around $10 in 2024 when adjusted for inflation
- ^ Morrow, Justin. "Check Out 'Firelight', a 17-Year-Old Steven Spielberg's Lost First Feature Film". No Film School. Retrieved 25 April 2021.
External links
- Firelight at IMDb
- Firelight clips on YouTube