The 65-year-old American film director is known to anyone who has even a passing interest in films. He has been that successful over the course of his career that has spanned four decades. Spielberg has won three Oscar Awards, been awarded a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Directors Guild of America and his films have grossed over $8.5 billion worldwide. Empire Magazine in 2005 proclaimed him the greatest director of all time.
Besides directing films he has also acted (The Blues Brothers, Vanilla Sky, Austin Powers in Goldmember) and produced (An American Tail, Men in Black, Flags of Our Fathers, Distrubia, Transformers, etc). Spielberg was also one of the three owners (Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen) of DreamWorks film studio. DreamWorks is responsible for films like Antz, American Beauty, A Beautiful Mind, Shrek, and Gladiator.
Spielberg has shaped and molded the course of science fiction and action films. Blockbuster films and the way they look owe much to this man. So spectacular has been his career that his influence can be felt all over the films of younger directors as J.J. Abrams, Paul Thomas Anderson and David Fincher.
Though it might be debated which of his 26 feature length films are his best I have compiled a list of his ten best:
1) Schindler’s List – Year: 1993. Based on the true story of Oskar Schindler. Schindler was a man who risked his own life to save the lives of around 1,100 Jews during World War II. The film did very well at the box office. Spielberg won his first Best Director Oscar for the film. It also won Best Picture. The American Film Institute has listed it as the 7th best American film ever made.
2) The Color Purple – Year: 1985. The book was passed on to Spielberg. He read it and was deeply moved by it. There was some criticism because he was a white director telling a black story. He definitely softened certain aspects of the book, a Pulitzer Prize winner by Alice Walker. It is about female empowerment in the time of the Depression in the United States. The Color Purple starred Whoopie Goldberg and Oprah Winfrey. Was Spielberg’s first foray into the “serious” film genre. It was a box office smash and the critics were flattering. Roger Ebert even went so far as to saying it was the best film of the year. It got eleven Academy Award nominations though shockingly, Spielberg was not nominated for Best Director.
3) Saving Private Ryan – Year: 1998. The film had the effect of “unlocking” a lot of veterans of World War II. About a group of U.S. soldiers under the command of Tom Hanks who are charged with locating a soldier whose three older brothers all died over the course of the last day of fighting in France. The film grossed almost $500 million dollars and was the biggest at the box office that year in North America. Spielberg won his second Best Director Oscar. A film filled with harrowing and graphic combat scenes.
4) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial – Year: 1982. E.T. was his biggest success up to that point. Originally called Night Skies. Devised the story for E.T. on the set of Raiders of the Lost Ark. About an alien creature who is so far away from home. Story of an alien so ugly he is cute and the boy he befriends. The alien has been accidentally left behind on Earth and is trying to get back home. Became the highest grossing film of all time at the time and was nominated for nine Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Director.
5) War Horse – Year: 2011. Film is based on a novel and a Tony Award winning play. Beautiful and abstract portrayal of loss. The film is about World War I and a relationship between a horse and the humans that the horse comes in contact with. Was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture.
6) Munich – Year: 2005. An interesting look at terrorism and the fight against it. Movie covers the time when Israel responded to the murder of their athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. We see how these men in the field behave. Spielberg wanted conversation to spring out of film. Critics loved the film but it did not do great business at the box office. One of Spielberg’s most controversial films. It got five Oscar Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Director.
7) Raiders of the Lost Ark – Year: 1981. The first of the Indiana Jones films. Harrison Ford played the archaeologist/adventurer lead character. The biggest film at the box office of 1981. It was nominated for Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director. Considered to be the grandfather of present action-adventure films.
8) Jurassic Park – Year: 1993. Originally wanted Harrison Ford to play Sam Neill’s role. Ford refused the role. An adventure film based on the Michael Crichton novel. It is about a theme park that features genetically engineered dinosaurs. Featured great special effects provided by a company owned by Spielberg’s friend, George Lucas. Was the third film of Spielberg’s that would become the biggest film at the box office ever. Earned almost $1 billion dollars worldwide.
9) Close Encounters of the Third Kind – Year: 1977. This is one of the rare films that was both written and directed by Spielberg. His second of three times he has worked with Richard Dreyfuss. Was a critical and box office success. Garnered the first Best Director Academy Award nomination for Spielberg. Won two Oscars for Cinematography and Special Effects Editing. He says he would not shoot the same ending today.
10) Jaws – Year: 1975. A film that kept people out of the water. Several decades later and people are still frightened by the famous John Williams’ music and the images from the film. Based on the Peter Brenchley novel about a huge killer shark. You might be surprised to learn that Spielberg was in danger of being fired due to budget. Ultimately the film was hugely successful as it set the then record for box office in the United States. The film won three Academy Awards for Editing, Original Score and Sound.