by... our team here at TFE!
West Side Story, now in theaters. is Steven Spielberg's 32nd motion picture. Though he directed one self-financed "feature" at 17 (shown at one movie theater), Duel (1971) a made for television movie was his first Hollywood gig. His movie career proper began with the spring release of The Sugarland Express in 1974. By the end of the following summer, due to Jaws, he was globally famous and a bankable A list director, lists he'd never fall off of. To celebrate Spielberg's 75th birthday (today, December 18th) we recently polled the team about the work of America's most beloved auteur: his best, worst, and most underappreciated.
It was fascinating to be reminded how widely viewed Spielberg's filmography is. Of his 31 pictures prior to West Side Story, not a single one of them went unmentioned in the answers to our three-part poll which 23 members of our team participated in. That said the least often cited for any reason (so probably the least seen?) were Sugarland Express and 1941. Of Spielberg's blockbusters Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and War of the Worlds were the two that had the weakest turn out under any section of the polling.
In the end we opted not to focus on the Worst as that isn't celebratory and, what's more, there was not a clear consensus but if you're curious Ready Player One, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, The Terminal, The BFG, and Lost World Jurassic Park all sprung up regularly. Hey you can't win them all but Spielberg has won more than most. Ready for the Best of List? Enjoy...
Honorable Mentions
Minority Report and Saving Private Ryan, in nearly a dead heat, just missed the top ten. Munich and The Post also had pockets of support but, instead, we'd like to draw your attention to these next two pictures. Why? Well, they easily topped our "Most Underrated Spielberg" poll leaving little room for other movies and came in at 16th and 13th, respectively, in the overall "Ten Best" poll. They were...
ADVENTURES OF TINTIN (2011)
We already knew Spielberg could pull off gorgeous silver screen adventures. Nevertheless, it was surprising to witness how well he mastered the complete toolbox to bring an animated film to life, as if he were a veteran of the form. With its fun globetrotting approach, TinTin is almost an interation of Indiana Jones while remaining faithful to the spirit of the original character created by Hergé. Spielberg brough together an amazing group of writers (Edgar Wright, Steven Moffat, and Joe Cornish) for the best possible adaptation with multiple stories from the original comics combined fluidly. The film is ten years old now but feels like both an out-of-time classic animated feature and a fresh, new approach to the genre. It's only a matter of time before it receives its proper recognition. - Elisa Giudici
EMPIRE OF THE SUN (1987)
Spielberg’s second attempt at serious filmmaking for adult audiences, two years after The Color Purple's critical and popular success, has always struggled for attention: it’s one of the director’s few projects from the 20th Century to have been a box office disappointment, for starters. But despite its small profile, this is one of his most emotionally nuanced and resonant works. 13-year-old Christian Bale, appearing in only his second feature, perfectly embodies Spielberg’s most complicated avatar of boyhood adventure, entering the chaos and devastation of World War II as a pie-eyed enthusiast and leaving a scarred old man in an adolescent’s body. Initially, Speiberg was merely going to produce, with the legend David Lean directing, and the older filmmaker’s ambivalence and psychological opacity echo in this film’s uncertain view of wartime heroism and the dying British colonial project. But the thorny depiction of childhood, and the forcible, almost painful rejection of sentiment could only come from a director trying to directly challenge his own ideas of the transporting quality of fantasy and childhood innocence. A perfect combination of Spielberg’s family-friendly instincts with the clarity he sometimes struggled to bring to his “grown-up” work. - Tim Brayton
Will it make "Best Spielberg" lists when the dust settles?
WEST SIDE STORY (2021)
We opted not to include the newest film in our polling because not everyone has seen it yet and the recency bias would be enormous. Spielberg remake of 1961's Best Picture Oscar winner or a new adaptation of the 1957 Tony nominee, depending on your agenda when discussing it (it's both), may have you asking the question "what took him so long?". The movie musical is the most transporting of all cinematic genres, and Spielberg proves a natural since his movies are always lifting off anyway, head in the clouds, even without the aid of a dancer in body flight. Spielberg's third collaboration with the genius playwright Tony Kushner (at first they seemed such an odd fit!) takes bold chances with the material and most of them pay off in fascinating ways. "Revivals" is the word they use on Broadway for new versions of old properties and it's a more flattering than remakes. The word Revival also has spiritual connections which is fitting; Bernstein's score was truly touched by the gods. This time there's no dubbing and the fresh cast sing like angels.
- Nathaniel R
Runner up
11 MINORITY REPORT (2002) (39 pts)
Philip K. Dick is one of the definitive science fiction writers, and in Spielberg’s capable hands, his short story serves as the inspiration for a truly gripping trip to the future. The immersion of technology into everyday life is subtle and mesmerizing, and it’s featured in a way that isn’t flashy or distracting but rather drives the action. The same goes for the visual effects, and all the other technical elements of the film come together to create a haunting cautionary tale about dependence on technology without accounting for the human manipulation of it. Tom Cruise, Samantha Morton, and Max von Sydow lead a cast that is performing at a level far above what this type of fare typically demands. It functions simultaneously as an enduring, well-constructed film and a terrific piece of popcorn entertainment. - Abe Fried Tanzer
Top Ten List
Each team member was asked to turn in a top ten list, ranked. Ballots were weighted and each #1 received ten points, #2 nine points, and so on.
10 A.I. ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (2001) (44 pts)
Among the Team Experience, A.I. Artificial Intelligence proved to be the most divisive Spielberg movie, even getting a couple of votes as the worst in the director's career. Maybe that disconnect comes from the fact it didn't start life as a Spielberg project. Stanley Kubrick fell in love with a twisted sci-fi reimagining of Pinocchio but didn't live long enough to film it. Taking over the reins, Spielberg created a film that works both as a continuation of his friend's vision as well as an elegy to a fallen master of cinema. The result is a chimeric beast, the rocky marriage of innocence and cruelty, the sentimentalism of one director holding hands with the coldness of another. As it follows Haley Joel Osment's David on a Quixotic pursuit of the Blue Fairy, Spielberg's camera captures a hopeless vision of the future. Like its protagonist, the film tries to find warmth in glacial nihilism, understand what's beyond its grasp, and always search for the impossible. Some may call it messy, but A.I. Artificial Intelligence's brilliance lies in this web of shattered contradictions. It lives in those grand philosophical gambits and heartbreaking conclusions. - Cláudio Alves
09 CATCH ME IF YOU CAN (2002) (45 pts)
2002 saw another double-feature-in-a-year-effort by Steven Spielberg. After a bout with sci-fi in the summer with Minority Report, he delivered Catch me If You Can, a movie that had him working for the first (and still only) time with Leonardo DiCaprio and back with his Saving Private Ryan lead Tom Hanks. Far from being the typical biopic with an inspiring message, this film opts for adventurous fun with all its cat and mouse glory. As he tells the story of a con boy living out his James Bond fantasies, Spielberg keeps the audience on their toes, pouring absurd charm into the movie from the dynamic opening credits sequence through to the last frame. It doesn't hurt that Leo and Tom's chemistry is the driving force. That particular scene where Hanks's character gets played by his prey in a hotel room is a mixture of Spielberg and Janusz Kaminski having fun with the audience and a testament to the talent of DiCaprio, who goes from confident to fearful in a matter of seconds, making us feel the same sympathy that helps his young criminal get away with the con artistry. - Camila Henriques
08 LINCOLN (2012) (57 pts... the highest ranking picture that received no #1 votes)
Lincoln is a stately picture, in the best sense of the word. Spielberg brings a majesty to it, a kind of fascination with the time period that mirrors his wonderment at childhood, but now applied to adult history. He sometimes leans on his old tricks in an attempt to move us too much, but keeps the film centered and immediate. He gets out of Daniel Day-Lewis' way to slyly and smartly highlight the actor's blissful virtuosity, and he gets corny but satisfying old school movie star performances out of Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones; they aren't subtle but they really deliver. With Lincoln, Spielberg gives us a true feeling for what our country might have been like back then, and how ideas begat ideals, which begat a humanism long forgotten. - Eric Blume
07 THE COLOR PURPLE (1985) (59 pts)
It is true that Spielberg’s adaptation of The Color Purple sees the director struggle as he attempts to make Walker’s sprawling, masterful ode to Black women’s agency fit into the trappings of an uplifting, sanitized Hollywood family saga. Yet, over 35 years after its release, The Color Purple remains one of Spielberg’s most superbly acted movies, showcasing his impeccable gifts with brilliant actors to create indelible screen moments. Whoopi Golgberg, in a breakthrough star turn for the ages, infuses Celie with a simmering, restrained sense of dignity and defiance for most of the movie, with the actress carefully tracing Celie’s emotional journey at every stage. In turn, the climatic scene in which Goldberg unleashes years of pent-up trauma as Celie places a curse on her abusive husband (played by the memorable Danny Glover) and joyfully declares “I am here!” feels deeply earned in a way that transcends Spielberg’s most saccharine, earnest instincts. In supporting roles, Oprah Winfrey and Margaret Avery similarly give superlative, award-worthy performances that work against the intrusive score and weird tonal shifts to create characters that feel simultaneously grounded and larger-than-life. -Gabriel Mayora
06 CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977) (84 pts)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a beautiful movie that's unashamed to be awestruck. Awe is an under-utilized emotion in movies (outside of Spielberg's filmography). Close Encounter's secret weapon is its exquisite juxtaposition of small and large. It’s a mass of people in India. It’s a guy with a pile of potatoes. It’s a giant ship. It’s a little kid. The beautiful flow back and forth between macro and micro is one of the truly singular achievements of this marvel. - Deborah Lipp
05 JURASSIC PARK (1993) (98 pts)
Much like Jaws two decades earlier, Steven Spielberg’s predatory adventure flick Jurassic Park gave audiences something that felt genuinely new and genuinely groundbreaking. Unlike some billion-dollar grossing hits since, it’s very easy to understand what people saw in Jurassic Park that turned it into a phenomenon. But for all the (rightfully) Oscar-winning visual effects and the (bizarrely) Oscar-snubbed John Williams music, one part of Jurassic Park’s success that doesn’t get the attention it deserves is the casting. Kudos to Janet Hirshenson and Jane Jenkins for populating a mega-expensive sci-fi dinosaur movie with arthouse icons like Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, plus top tier character actors such as B.D. Wong, Samuel L. Jackson and Wayne Knight. The dinos were the stars, so why not fill out your cast with likable-but-not-distracting actors like that? Today, it’s something the likes of Marvel and D.C. are getting better at doing (albeit with less successful material). But here? In this moment? Perfection. (And then just because we love cats even more than dinosaurs, there is also this: Jurassic Park but with a cat) - Glenn Dunks
04 E.T. THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL (1982) (100 pts)
The hugeness of E.T.’s cultural impact belies the delicacy of its achievements. True it builds to a climax of John Williams induced euphoria so overwhelming you might well accuse the film of bombast but it earns that crescendo with the accumulation of thousands of perfect observations. Spielberg’s ability to tap into childhood on elemental level goes way beyond dropping the camera down to kid’s height. It’s a film that gets into the mindset of a child more successfully than maybe any other film. The resulting emotion E.T. summons is so potent that the final movement very nearly does away with dialogue altogether, telling the story in powerful, direct images. - Michael Cusumano
03 JAWS (1975) (118 pts... most #1 placements!)
It's long been said that Spielberg made people afraid to go to the beach the same way Hitchcock made people afraid to take showers, but I'm gonna have to hand it to Steve on this one -- I don't know anybody who's ever actually been afraid of taking a shower but I know plenty of people who've spoken eloquently, with real fear in their eyes, of that sensation of a strange something skirting past their leg under the water. For a movie that, give or take a Star Wars, changed the entire movie industry the real shock is when you go back and watch Jaws now and see how simply and skillfully it tells its tale, with world-class characters inhabited by actors never more iconic than they are here, under Spielberg's eye. And that sound. You know the one. Those gut-stirring little notes. Close your eyes and I bet you can hear them now, and maybe you'll feel something brush past your leg as you do... - Jason Adams
02 SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) (122 pts)
Films featuring disturbing subject matter are nothing new, but Spielberg's magic is making it so damn captivating. Knowing this wouldn't be an easy watch, Spielberg employed some of the most charismatic actors to distract us from the horrors. Liam Neeson is perfectly cast as a morally fluid businessman who ends up being an unexpected savior. Ralph Fiennes was one of the greatest discoveries of that decade. The British thespian plays a psychotic SS officer who longs to be good, but can't deny his nature. Spielberg never once shies away from the wretched horrors of the Holocaust, but also never veers towards exploitation. Despite a three hour and fifteen minute running time, Schindler's List never feels overlong and no scene is superfluous. Shot like a documentary, every little detail matters. Spielberg takes a small bit of the horrors of the holocaust and makes it watchable, which is a feat in and of itself. - Ben Miller
01 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981) (124 pts)
Jaws and Close Encounters, introduced and then cemented Spielberg's reputation as a The Greatest Showman among auteurs. In this particular regard his apotheosis, give or take Jurassic Park, was his homage to the adventure serials of Hollywood's golden years. And though it's a film for the whole family, it's also arguably Spielberg's sexiest movie, with Harrison Ford and Karen Allen effortlessly conjuring Old Hollywood screen chemistry sizzle. Indiana Jones's first adventure begins with a setpiece so inspired that the director's blockbuster instincts find literal embodiment in a colossal rolling boulder coming right at the audience. It's so bluntly perfect that you want to cry and laugh and squeal all at once. It's Movie-Movie as Amusement Park Ride long before that combination became an ugly Hollywood calculation. And that was just the prologue! The hits keep on coming for nearly two hours: A clandestine secret message on a student's eyelids, "Why did it have to be snakes?", a drinking challenge, the sword fight that wasn't, sunlight as treasure map key, melting Nazi faces, 'kissing it better', and more. Each indelible moment provides a pop fix so pure and ecstatic that audiences and Hollywood and Indiana Jones himself (in subsequent lesser pictures) have been chasing the high ever since, for better and worse. - Nathaniel R
WHAT'S NEXT?
Spielberg has always been prolific and he's already wrapped filming The Fabelman (2022). It's a semi-autobiographical drama inspired by his own childhood. Michelle Williams and Paul Dano are playing the parents, Seth Rogen the uncle, and Julia Butterman (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) is playing the sister. Young Gabriel LaBelle is tasked with playing "Sammy" modelled after Spielberg himself. Tony Kushner is on screenplay duties again but this time Spielberg is co-writing.
Care to rank your top ten Spielberg in the comments? Tell us what you think of our collective list.