There are certain people who are instantly tied to their profession when you hear their name. When you think about your favorite memories at the cinema, Steven Spielberg is as synonymous with success as Michael Jordan is with basketball. The visionary director of such classics as Jaws, Indiana Jones, and E.T., Spielberg is quite possibly the most popular and influential filmmaker since the dawn of contemporary American cinema.
Born in 1946, Spielberg was always fascinated by cinema and the magic it creates. From a very young age, he was creating short films and imagining grand set designs for his ideas. In 1969, he got his first real chance with a seven-year contract as a director, and he was the youngest director to be signed to a major Hollywood company. Due to his dedication and hard work, Spielberg rose to national acclaim just eight years later with the release of Jaws.
Being so popular and successful comes a long way, but it helps to have the assistance of so many other talents on your side. Spielberg has worked with many who made his film resume that much stronger, some of which include George Lucas, Richard Dreyfuss, Kathleen Kennedy, Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford, and most notably, composer John Williams.
Spielberg and Williams have worked together in 27 films over 40 years — Spielberg stating that Williams has been “… {B}reathing life into every movie we have made.” The two have always worked together to create movie magic for decades, sharing a vision and seeing it through to the sometimes bitter end. For Spielberg, one is not without the other, as Spielberg once said, “… if movies are like lightning, then the musical score for me is like thunder. It can shake things up for years.” Due to this, I had to dedicate this to Williams as well.
So now, without further ado, let’s rank the top 10 Steven Spielberg movies and show you his directorial history.
11. The Color Purple (1985)
10. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
9. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
8. Minority Report (2002)
Staying in the sci-fi genre, Spielberg teams up with action superstar Tom Cruise for a futuristic action drama that blows audiences away. Set in futuristic 2054 Washington D.C., the police force employs psychic technology to see and stop crime before it even happens. By this time Spielberg has been making cinema magic for almost 20 years, so this sci-fi story with a $100 million budget allowed for much more technological freedom in special effects. As such, the visual effects were astoundingly on point, matching with its theater-shaking sound editing and another epic score from John Williams. Any fan of sci-fi should check this movie out if you also enjoy seeing Tom Cruise kick some ass and do all his own stunts, mixed with the smooth sci-fi visual effects that make it into a spectacle for its time.
7. Catch Me If You Can (2002)
6. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
4. Jurassic Park (1993)
3. Schindler's List (1993)
2. Jaws (1975)
1. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
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