Every Steven Spielberg Movie, Ranked
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Steven Spielberg is not just one of the most influential living filmmakers—he's firmly in the conversation of the greatest of all time. His 1975 breakthrough feature, Jaws, changed the way movies are made (and released). Hell, you could argue that Spielberg singlehandedly created the summer blockbuster. And while he has made his fair share of those—ever hear of a little film called Jurassic Park, or even Indiana Jones?—his thoughtful, serious dramas are on par with his more populist works. Look no further than Schindler's List and Lincoln.
Most recently, Spielberg spearheaded The Fabelmans, a deeply sentimental film that was largely inspired by his childhood, showing us what compelled him to pick up a camera those many decades ago. To celebrate his latest triumph—as well as the return of Indiana Jones to the big screen this weekend—we looked back at Spielberg's filmography, ranking all 35 of his feature-length directorial efforts from worst to best.
35. The Terminal (2004)
Viktor Navorski's home country collapses amid a civil war just before he arrives in New York, leaving his passport invalid. Once he's a citizen of no country, he's forced to live at JFK. If you love airports and duty-free shops, this movie is for you.
34. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)
If there's one thing Hollywood loves, it's milking a franchise until it's dead. Even Spielberg isn't immune to taking on a bad sequel, and The Lost World is proof that the great director can indeed deliver a misfire.
33. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
By far the weakest link in the Indiana Jones franchise, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull one showed a 66-year-old Harrison Ford fighting Soviets... who were on the hunt for extraterrestrial crystal skulls.
32. 1941 (1979)
This madcap comedy about the infamous (and mysterious) Battle of Los Angeles following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor features an ensemble cast of comedy titans including Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Candy, and John Belushi.
31. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
Spielberg's installment in this sci-fi/horror anthology sees the elderly residents of Sunnyvale Retirement Home revisiting their childhood—experiencing the joy and burdens of youth—when a mysterious resident named Mr. Bloom moves in.
30. Always (1989)
In Always, Richard Dreyfuss stars as an aerial firefighter who, after getting killed on the job, returns as a spirit to mentor another young pilot (Brad Johnson). The plot gets a little (read: a lot) more complicated when the younger pilot falls for the elder pilot's widow (Holly Hunter).
29. The Adventures of Tintin (2011)
The beloved Belgian boy-hero gets the big-screen treatment in this motion-capture film, with Jamie Bell as the adventurous roving reporter who seeks out on a hunt for a lost, sunken ship with the help of a cantankerous sea captain.
28. Ready Player One (2018)
Spielberg offers up an onslaught of '80s pop-culture references in his adaptation of Ernest Cline's dystopian novel, in which the distant future sees all of humanity finding salvation in a virtual reality universe called the OASIS.
27. The BFG (2016)
Oscar-winner Mark Rylance steps into the role of Roald Dahl's big, friendly giant, proving that he can perfectly disappear into any performance (especially if he's playing a computer-generated character).
26. War of the Worlds (2005)
Spielberg brings his usual flash and vision to another extra-terrestrial tale—a passable adaptation of H. G. Wells's sci-fi classic—this time giving Earth's celestial guests deadly motives as they pummel our world.
25. War Horse (2011)
Perhaps one of the most non-traditional war epics, War Horse examines World War I through the eyes of a Thoroughbred horse who joins the ranks of the British army.
24. The Surgarland Express (1974)
Spielberg made his theatrical feature debut with this crime drama that stars Goldie Hawn as a woman that helps her husband escape from jail in order to spring their son out of foster care. It's an impressive first feature—which announced a major cinematic talent.
23. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
Temple of Doom has the notorious distinction of being so bloody and scary that it basically initiated the creation of the PG-13 rating. Unfortunately, it doesn't totally hold up today.
22. Empire of the Sun (1987)
Christian Bale's breakthrough performance is the shining light of this war drama, in which an upper-class British boy living in Shanghai sees his life turned upside-down during the Japanese occupation in World War II.
21. Amistad (1997)
This historical drama follows the slave uprising on the ship La Amistad and the subsequent legal battle that ensued once the Mende tribesmen were captured by an American ship.
20. Hook (1991)
The boy who would never grow up did, in fact, grow up—at least that's what Hook presupposes. Robin Williams plays an uptight, workaholic corporate lawyer whose children are kidnapped by a long-lost enemy: Dustin Hoffman's Captain James Hook.
19. Duel (1971)
This TV movie marked Spielberg's directorial debut—one so successful that it received a theatrical release. It follows a traveling salesman who is stalked on a two-lane desert highway by an unseen driver manning a tanker truck.
18. West Side Story (2021)
Maybe it was the COVID-19 pandemic, or maybe audiences just don't enjoy a good movie musical like they used to, but West Side Story was criminally underappreciated when it debuted. Directing the likes of Rachel Zegler and Rita Moreno was clearly a blast for Spielberg—and it shows.
17. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Spielberg famously took on this film project from Stanley Kubrick following the acclaimed auteur's death in 1999. The result is a Spielberg-Kubrick fusion: a Pinocchio-inspired morality tale about a child robot.
16. The Post (2017)
Spielberg's timely political drama looks back at Washington Post publisher Kay Graham and editor Ben Bradlee as they prepare to go up against the Nixon White House to publish the infamous Pentagon Papers in 1971.
15. Minority Report (2002)
Set in the distant future, a specialized police force known as the PreCrime unit arrests criminals before they can commit their illegal acts. When the head of the unit is identified as a possible criminal, however, he must outsmart his colleagues as he searches for the truth.
14. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Leonardo DiCaprio dazzles in this comic caper about the real-life Frank Abagnale—a professional con man who poses as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor, and a prosecutor—and the beleaguered FBI agent who is desperate to apprehend him.
13. Bridge of Spies (2015)
Mark Rylance won an Oscar for playing a KGB spy who is traded for an American pilot—who was shot down over the Soviet Union!—in Spielberg's slightly slow (but handsomely filmed) Cold War drama.
12. Munich (2005)
In this complex political thriller, Eric Bana stars as a Mossad agent chosen to lead Operation Wrath of God, an assassination mission targeting the Palestine Liberation Organization's massacre at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
11. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
In his third outing as Indiana Jones, Harrison Ford once again battles Nazis on his quest to find his father (played by Sean Connery), who has disappeared on an archeological quest for the Holy Grail.
10. Lincoln (2012)
Spielberg's Lincoln is a feast for fans and history buffs alike. It features an incredible performance from Daniel Day-Lewis (who earned his third Oscar for his portrayal of the 16th president)—as well as a starry ensemble of supporting players.
9. The Color Purple (1985)
Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel served as material for Spielberg's first serious drama, which saw both Whoopi Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey making their film debuts (and earning Oscar nominations for their performances).
8. The Fabelmans (2022)
As just about every critic has written about Spielberg's pseudo-autobiography, The Fabelmans may very well be the director's most personal film to date. But it's much more than that. Dig a little deeper and you'll find a surprisingly painful rumination on what it truly means to pursue your dreams—and the relationships you'll lose because of it.
7. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Spielberg's epic depicts the extremities of war, offering a brutal and violent depiction of the Allied invasion of Normandy on D-Day in 1944.
6. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Spielberg and Richard Dreyfuss reteam for this celestial drama in which everyday Americans see their lives changed after UFO sightings. Notably, Close Encounters of the Third Kind earned Spielberg his first Oscar nomination for Best Director.
5. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Spielberg essentially created the cuddly-alien-bonds-with-human-boy genre with this iconic and acclaimed blockbuster about a creature who is very, very far away from home.
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Spielberg joined forces with George Lucas to launch one of the greatest action-adventure franchises in film history, with Harrison Ford's first outing as Indiana Jones remaining the series' best installment.
3. Jaws (1975)
Spielberg's big break came from this scrappy film production that would go on to be a box office behemoth and change Hollywood—and moviemaking at large—forever.
2. Jurassic Park (1993)
A quarter of a century later, Jurassic Park remains one of the greatest adventure films ever made. It features dazzling special effects, brilliant moments of wonder, and some honest-to-goodness scares along the way.
1. Schindler's List (1993)
Schindler's List is Spielberg's magnum opus: a film about the Holocaust that centers on one German businessman's efforts to reconcile his own morality against the face of true evil. The film was Spielberg's first to earn both Best Picture and Best Director—and it remains his personal best.
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