The Film Steven Spielberg Has Watched More Than Any Other

In this bonus scene from Stephen Colbert’s interview with Steven Spielberg, the legendary director calls “Lawrence of Arabia” one of the most audacious films he’s ever seen.

#Colbert #StevenSpielberg #Spielberg #TheFabelmans #LawrenceofArabia

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Watch The Late Show with Stephen Colbert weeknights at 11:35 PM ET/10:35 PM CT. Only on CBS.

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Stephen Colbert brings his signature satire and comedy to THE LATE SHOW with STEPHEN COLBERT, the #1 show in late night, where he talks with an eclectic mix of guests about what is new and relevant in the worlds of politics, entertainment, business, music, technology and more. Featuring bandleader Louis Cato and “THE LATE SHOW band,” the Peabody Award-winning and Emmy Award-nominated show is broadcast from the historic Ed Sullivan Theater. Stephen Colbert took over as host, executive producer and writer of THE LATE SHOW on Sept. 8, 2015.

[MadiBendy]

I could listen to Stephen interview Steven Spielberg for the rest of time. The Man is sooo talented.

[vars]

Before clicking I knew it’s going to be Lawrence of Arabia. Spielberg has spoken before how that movie inspired him to become a filmmaker.

[PatrickWDunne]

I remember hearing that Lawrence of Arabia was the movie that got Steven into filmmaking.

Thank you David Lean for not only giving us many masterpieces but inspiring more filmmakers to make further masterpieces.

[slamdunk]

Spielberg is right, the greatest thing about human beings compared to any other species is our capacity to create stories. Spielberg has always considered himself as a storyteller before being a filmmaker.

[spencernielsen]

First watched Lawrence of Arabia after Dune and Dune: Part Two. When Lawrence says “nothing is written, ” I shot up in my seat and gasped. We cannot help but retell stories, and that is a beautiful thing in itself.

[wideawake]

I loved this interview. As a cross discipline artist, arts educator, and arts minister I often encountered people who thought they were not creative. I told them that's impossible. We are made in the image of a creative God. You might be a creative cook, a creative gardener, a creative lover...I also helped them discover that they were also artistically creative. I've seen grown people weep at that discovery about themselves.
I was a girl of eight when my parents took me to the Fox theater in Detroit to see the new epic film Lawrence of Arabia. I was spellbound. It was what I would come to call a perfect film. A rare thing. By perfect I mean it seemed to have been birthed of a piece. The photography, acting, writing, and score were absolutely cohesive and could not be teased apart. That theme stuck with me for the rest of my life. I could hear it in my head like it was fresh and real. It was always accompanied by those sweeping dune shots that it so effectively mirrored. Eventually as an adult I watched it multiple times more.
Upon returning from the theater I wrote my first poem. It was a lengthy thing called Ode To The Desert and it yielded my first accusation of plaigerism. I was mortified.
As a teen I read his biography. Fascinating.
I still love that film.

[kimmer]

I am impressed with Stephen’s probing of Steven’s motivations and the underlying themes of Lawrence of Arabia. Really great interview

[MadMovieMakers]

Was thinking it was gonna be Citizen Kane, Stagecoach, or The Shining but Lawrence of Arabia is a great pick

[eaglerabbit]

I have always loved Spielberg because he has been involved in all genres of film as a director and producer. I think that's cool.

[PhantomLAM]

I'm glad Steven steered the convo back to the wider appreciation of the capability of creativity as a whole when he referred to sketching on a piece of paper. Stephen was trying to stroke an ego that clearly doesn't exist within THE BERG.

[MarkMiremont]

“Lawrence of Arabia” is, indeed, a timeless masterpiece (even in 2023).

[estebancomulet]

Saw Lawrence at the IMAX in London and to this day it's the best ever time I've spent in the cinema.

[kathleenclark]

What an interesting film for Spielberg to choose. My favourite scene from that film is the one when he and the young man make it across the desert…. Miles of nothing but sand and suddenly you see the top of the ship in the canal seemingly floating through that very sand and they realize that they have made it. And … the next scenes where Lawrence insists that the young man is “Allowed” into the Officers’ Mess or the officers’ club, whatever, when they deny him a glass of water. O’Toole is amazing in that scene and, let’s face it, in that film.

[abdiver]

I have always greatly admired Spielberg's humility no matter how big and successful he got - something many great directors are not known for. He had it as a young man on the set of Jaws in the 70's and he still has it today. I wish more people were like him.

[codyleslie]

Laurence of Arabia is the first film I saw that made me realise that Movies weren't just for entertainment but rather a piece of art!
To hear him say that makes me very happy!

[sebastianalegria]

For any interviewer, it's a truly privilege to interview a genius like Spielberg, and if you ask me about the film I've watched more than once, I'll likely tell ya "The Irishman" by Scorsese, I hope this Scorsese's movie has the respect that deserves as time goes by.

[solidsnake]

I am so glad I waited to see LoA for the first time on a big screen. All my life it’s been referred to as this great film, but I grew up seeing clips on 20 inch tube TVs. When I finally saw a print I was awestruck by the scale and scope. I was also surprised at how entertaining the darn thing was … and that they shot a battle scene as big as anything in Lord of the Rings with real people on horseback.

[davebartosh]

I recently rewatched Lawrence of Arabia. It's truly epic.

[slate]

I purchased the Middle Earth 4k Collection and there wasn’t much extras/supplements on it; I was disappointed by the lack of extras on such a huge boxset..BUT! Stephen Colbert made up for my disappointment. When I watched his interview w/the actors, it was blown away! His contribution to this boxset changed everything for me. No more gripping about having a lack of material. SC made the set complete and epic because of the way he interviewed the cast. With that said, he did the same deep dive with Steven Spielberg and we as viewers got to benefit from the wisdom for the interview. I tell ya, we need more of these interviews from Stephen Colbert outside of his late night show. I would LOVE to see his interviews in the way we saw with Barbara Walters growing up. Colbert pulls emotion and all these other elements that just doesn’t come across from many others who do interviews. Many great journalist and awesome folks who do these kind of interviews, but there is just something about his style..now that I’m thinking about it-I think Colbert ask questions from a fans point of view-a true fan of who he interviews. Maybe that’s the magic of it. Colbert must be a fan; an admire of who he interviews-that’s gotta be the key to the success of these few interviews outside of his talk show.

[stevehood]

I love Lawrence of Arabia! I've seen it many times. It is gorgeous and fascinating and a (somewhat) accurate history lesson. Great acting, directing, music, etc.