Steven Spielberg's 10 Best Movies Ranked

Celebrating Hollywood’s Cincinnati Kid for his 77th Birthday

Cases can be made that there are greater directors than Steven Spielberg, but there is less of a case to argue that there is a better filmmaker.

From his first feature-length project, 1971’s Duel, to his latest, the 2022 Oscar-nominated memory play The Fablemans, Hollywood’s own Cincinnati kid has reshaped the movie industry in his image. (I’ll leave it to you to decide whether that's good or bad.)

Along the way, Spielberg has directed some of the most critically and commercially successful pictures across various genres—including drama, comedy, science fiction, political thriller, adventure, and musical.

Celebrating the Master’s 77th birthday, Cinemantics is excited to rank Spielberg’s ten greatest movies. The initial plan was to rank all 34 of his pictures, but why focus on the bad (there’s plenty of that) when you can celebrate the good?

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Runner Ups:

20-A.I.-Artificial Intelligence; 19-Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom; 18-War of the Worlds; 17-The Color Purple*; 16-Empire of the Sun; 15-Munich*; 14-Saving Private Ryan**; 13-Bridge of Spies*; 12-The Fabelmans*; 11-Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Possibly his best (and funniest) final shot: 2022’s The Fabelmans. (Universal Pictures)

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10 — E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial* (1982)

It’s impossible not to include this classic sci-fi fable in the top ten. A bonafide success when first released, E.T. wears its heart on its sleeves. But don’t mistake sincerity for saccharine. Spielberg wisely shot the film chronologically to help the child actors develop a genuine attachment to the animatronic alien. The result? Pure magic— and held the title of the most successful movie ever for nine years.

9 — Minority Report (2002)

Spielberg’s adaption of the Phillip K. Dick short story is bleak, slick, and one hell of a thrill ride. After his turn into dramatic territory in the late 90s, Spielberg re-establishes his position as King of the Blockbuster with this Tom Cruise-starring dystopian thriller about a future where the law can predict crimes before they occur.

8 — West Side Story* (2021)

If anyone knows Spielberg’s filmography, then you know his love of musicals. It only takes rewatching the opening to Temple of Doom to be reminded of it. It should be no surprise then that, when given the canvas of America’s greatest musical, Spielberg uses every tool to create a visually resplendent and emotionally resonant movie that stands proudly on its own next to the Oscar-winning 60’s version.

West Side Story was tragically released during the COVID-19 pandemic when musical audiences still weren’t coming to theaters. Still, history will be kind to Spielberg’s bold new take on the material, which feels like the perfect blend of old Hollywood craftsmanship and modern sensibilities.

7 — Catch Me If You Can (2002)

Made with style and flair, Catch Me If You Can features the iconic pairing of Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks engaged in this brisk and witty transcontinental cat-and-mouse chase. It is effortlessly charming. There are few movies like this in Spileberg’s career— and the fact that this one was released the same year as Minority Report is just another example of his versatility.

6 — Lincoln* (2012)

America’s greatest movie about democracy, Lincoln is a poignant exploration of statesmanship and political institutions. Anchored by a commanding Daniel Day-Lewis, the film navigates the sixteenth president’s efforts to shepherd the Thirteenth Amendment through the House of Representatives. Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner chip away at the marble edifice to find the beautiful, broken soul at its center. You can find some thoughts I had on Lincoln here.

5 — Close Encounters of the Third Kind* (1977)

Cold and distant, Close Encounters of the Third Kind is nonetheless beautiful and rich. Yes, there are the trademark moments of “awe,” but its protagonist is a vain, damaged man who unapologetically abandons his family to seek the truth of his extraterrestrial encounters. Spielberg, young and angry at the time, admits he would do things differently with the film now. Nevertheless, each viewing poses new questions and offers new answers.

4 — Jurrasic Park (1993)

The biggest movie of all time upon release, Jurassic Park defined Spielberg's magic for a new decade and a new generation. Thirty years later, you still find yourself in awe of the computer-generated dinosaurs, but, more importantly, you are invested in the all-too-human characters. It’s not the technical wizardry but the human actors and an all-time classic theme that make you believe dinosaurs roam the earth once more.

3 — Schindler’s List** (1993)

While other films tried, this is the film where Spielberg graduated from popcorn fare to genuine drama. And, boy, did he graduate at the top of his class. Hoffiric, unflinching but ultimately hopeful, Schindler’s List tells the story of a Nazi businessman (Liam Nesson) and his efforts to save the lives of 1200 Jewish refugees during the Holocaust. It’s not an easy watch, but an essential one.

A box office success, Spielberg deservedly won the first two of his three Academy Awards for his work on the film. But the acclaim of Schindler’s List resulted in something much more meaningful than gold trophies. In 1994, Spielberg partnered with USC to create the Shoah Foundation, an ongoing effort to capture the stories of Holocaust survivors to be heard for generations to come. In the past thirty years, the Shoah Foundation has recorded over 3,000 testimonies.

2 — Jaws (1973)

Lean, mean, and incomparably shot, Jaws redefined what it means to be a hit in Hollywood. A legendarily difficult production—it was scheduled to be shot in 55 days but ballooned to 159—forced Spielberg and company to hide that they had no working shark. The result? A phenomenon that no one in Hollywood, Spielberg included, could have predicted. It became the highest-grossing picture in history—the first of three Spielberg movies to hold the title—and, subsequently, was the first blockbuster.

You come for the scares and John William’s iconic theme, but you stay for Quinn’s U.S.S. Indianapolis monologue. There’s a reason why this held the title of the most successful movie of all time for four years and why Tarantino claims this is “the greatest movie ever made.”

1 — Raiders of the Lost Ark* (1981)

If you know me, there was only one movie I would ever put at the top of the list. Spielberg’s composition and pacing is at its best here in this tale of a secular, world-weary archeologist (an all-time great Harrison Ford) who must battle Nazis to find the mythic Ark of the Covenant. Each scene is beautifully staged, each performance rich and lived-in, and every action set piece raised the bar even higher for the next five decades of imitators.

This globe-trotting adventure turned pulp entertainment into high art — and Spielberg into a legend. Four decades and four sequels later, Raiders of the Lost Ark still stands at the pinnacle of moviemaking.

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Reader, do you see a movie on the list that you think should be higher? What’s your favorite Steven Spielberg movie? Let us know in the comments below!

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