The Films of Steven Spielberg

Film Feature by Callum Ewing and James Learoyd

Trying to choose the best Steven Spielberg film is nearly an impossible task. The great man himself has changed the cinematic landscape on multiple occasions creating classic after classic. From creating the modern-day Summer blockbuster with Jaws, to reinventing the sci-fi genre with Close Encounters of the Third Kind to revolutionising CGI and animatronics with Jurassic Park, Spielberg has a fair few films to pick from.

However, I would offer two different answers to the question of what Steven Spielberg’s best film is. On one hand I would say my favourite film of Spielberg’s is Raiders of the Lost Ark – a film that again changed the action-adventure genre and has become an absolute classic. Raiders of the Lost Ark with its sweeping John Williams score, thrilling set pieces and quintessential action hero ushered in a new type of film.

Despite my love for Raiders of the Lost Ark, I cannot commit to saying it is Spielberg’s best film when Schindler’s List exists. The only Spielberg film that has won Best Picture and a film that transcends the genre. The film redefined education on the Holocaust with the events becoming more aware in the public consciousness. No longer did people have to read out of history books to learn about the tragic events. The most important part about the film and its legacy is the creation of the USC Shoah Foundation, where Spielberg has established an archive at the University of Southern California that preserves testimonies from the Holocaust, Armenian, Cambodian, and Rwandan genocides. These archives are used in global education. Perhaps that is why I consider Schindler’s List his best film, not because of its extraordinary filmmaking and winning best picture but because of its legacy outside of Hollywood.

Honourable mentions to: Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, E.T, Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan, Catch Me If You Can, Minority Report and Lincoln.

For James, Jaws and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial both mark the pinnacle of Spielberg as a populist filmmaker and a technical master. Each film becoming the highest-grossing releases up till that point in time respectively, there’s a reason why these works captured the public consciousness – beyond their ability to entertain with spectacle and feeling. What modern-day studio people seem to forget when they’re attempting to emulate the success of Jaws is just how elemental a masterpiece it is. In terms of both scenario and form, it’s a movie that’s completely stripped to the bone. Outside of the less-is-more score for the film (which requires no discussion), this idea is illustrated by the classic’s legendary final hour. It’s just three people in one unchanging location (a boat at sea), one objective (shark), and a series of practical factors that are either going

right or going wrong. The elegance is in its simplicity, and it truly feels like you, the viewer, are out there with them.

E.T. is different but operating on the same level. Instead of a thriller-based cat-and-mouse setup, we have an emotional bond that goes beyond the norm. The filmmaking then, in turn, needs to match the feelings of the central relationship (between boy and alien); and so we get one of the most awe-inspiring scores of all time from Williams, and some of Spielberg’s most effortlessly poetic imagery and long-lasting iconography. In many ways, it could be defined as the ultimate Steven Spielberg film: empathy-based science-fiction from a child’s perspective, elevated by inimitable cinematics.

Honourable mentions for Best Film: Jurassic Park, Close Encounters, Catch Me If You Can, Lincoln

Despite being one of the greatest directors of all time and a filmmaker that as mentioned before has changed the landscape of cinema even Steven Spielberg has had a couple of bad days at the office. Given the size and quality of Steven Spielberg’s filmography, his hit rate is remarkable, but a few films either disappointed or failed to live up to expectations. One would could easily point fingers to his sequels to his two biggest franchises: Jurassic Park and Indiana Jones. Both the Lost World and Kingdom of the Crystal Skull failed to meet the lofty expectations set by their predecessors, but I do not consider these two films to be bad, and both are fun to watch. However, they pale in comparison to the originals with poor scripts letting the films down.

Another recent disappointment could be Disclosure Day which was one of my most anticipated of 2026 and unfortunately did not quite have the thrills or wonder that the trailers promised. This is despite an outstanding performance by Emily Blunt and some masterful directing in the film. However, my pick for my least favourite Spielberg film is his attempt at the screwball comedy with 1941. A film that came quickly after both Jaws and Close Encounters and contained a star-studded cast but for me does not make me laugh. The film has its strengths, including striking visuals, impressive set design and the occasional funny moment, but it is often too loud and chaotic, and too many of its jokes fail to land for me.

The Terminal is Spielberg’s least functional movie in James’ eyes; however, here he argues that Amistad is the most significant misapplication of the Spielberg style (perhaps a far greater sin than a flimsy feel-good misfire). The latter of his two 1997 releases recounts the court case of the uprising on the slave ship Amistad, and its ultimate relevance to slavery and the slow, politically motivated progressions relating to human rights (a topic that Spielberg revisits far more adeptly in 2012’s Lincoln).

Despite a phenomenal opening depicting said uprising – executed with visual viscera without the use of dialogue – the rest of the picture can’t help but adopt the glossy, Hollywood approach that the director is so used to. Whilst this courtroom drama is indeed broken up by flashbacks to the most horrific sequences of torture against the captive Amistad slaves, the rest is decidedly by-the-books. A jarring dramatisation that lacks a required ruthlessness and probing political perspective; something that’s also notably absent from many of Spielberg’s most lacklustre historic pieces.

Given the size of Steven Spielberg’s filmography and the lasting reputation of many of his films, several titles could qualify as underrated or overlooked. One option is 2017’s The Post, which, despite marking the first collaboration between Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks and earning a Best Picture nomination, is rarely discussed among Spielberg’s major works. The film whist not one of his masterpieces is still a great film about the Washington Post deciding to publish the Pentagon Papers.

I could also highlight The Fablemans and West Side Story two of his most recent films that were also nominated for Best Picture and were critical successes, but both did not make much of an impression at the box office. War of the Worlds is another pick for an overlooked film despite its critical and box office success as the film does seem to get lost in conversation due to its bleak tone compared to Spielberg’s other sci fi or adventure films.

However, my pick for his most underrated/overlooked is his very first film released in 1971 – Duel. A film that has a simple premise of a massive semi- truck chasing down a traveling salesman called David Mann for about 90 minutes and yet is so effective at making a thrilling film. Made on a budget of $450,000 and as a TV movie the film is a great way to see a young Spielberg already laying down the foundations and traits that could be seen in his later films. The film follows an “everyman” hero who is an ordinary man in an extraordinary situation and has gone through some sort of cathartic change by the end of the film. Duel also showcases long tracking shots, the now-famous “Spielberg face” of dread or wonder, and careful use of shots and sound to make the semi-truck feel enormous and threatening.

Honourable mentions to: The Colour Purple, Empire of the Sun, the Last Crusade and A.I.

James feels it should be mentioned that The Sugarland Express is criminally underseen. The directorial confidence and production on display in the 1974 film, especially for only his second (or even first) theatrical piece, couldn’t be more striking. Such a handsome-looking movie should be discussed in tandem with some of its 70s contemporaries. Malick’s Badlands is an easy comparison, for example – both for its crime-centred road trip narrative, and its shimmering, sunset aesthetic.

James argues that this and Close Encounters are his two best-looking movies and stands by it. Yet in terms of more contemporary Spielberg that already feels as if it’s been left behind, you can’t get much better than his outstanding Bridge of Spies which boasts one of the most deserved Best Supporting Actor wins in recent memory in the case of Mark Rylance.

But it’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence that’s James’ personal favourite Spielberg film and also fits nicely in the ‘most underrated’ category. Where to start… What if E.T. was severely messed up? What if this is our future? What if a robot boy named David had the capacity to love, didn’t know what to do with that horrific feeling, and was willing to bend the very fabric of lived reality because of some inventor’s whim? In A.I., the very language of Spielberg’s cinema is being deconstructed before you. It’s unpleasant, it’s gorgeous, it’s Pinocchio on acid by way of 2001.

Speaking of which, many viewers take issue with the common complaint that the style is an amalgamation of Kubrick’s original conceit and Spielberg’s realisation; that the tones don’t quite match. But for me, that’s what sets this apart from the rest of his filmography. It should be viewed as its own beast, with its own self-contained style and tone. Spielberg’s camera treats David’s distress and yearning with the same level of emotional import as some of his more explicitly ‘upsetting’ efforts, and it’s one of the most affecting movies of all time because of it.

Underrated: West Side Story, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Adventures of Tintin

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark

4. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

1. A.I. Artificial Intelligence

3. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

4. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Now listen to James and Callum in Part 1 of their special podcast episode of The Films of Steven Spielberg