The best Steven Spielberg Movies of All Time
Jun 24 '05
The Bottom Line Steven Spielberg is the man when it comes to making movies, and this is a list of his best work.
Steven Spielberg is a great asset to the motion picture industry, who has given us film after film that has wowed the senses. Through his many years, he has been involved with films in many different aspects, and these are what I feel were the 10 best films which he was involved in. In no particular order, here are the 10 films which I felt were his best to date:
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) -- Indiana Jones took the stage in 1981 with the help of Spielberg and George Lucas. With Harrison Ford at the helm, the movie was a smashing success. Depicting a character you would encounter in a dime novel, and taking the persona of a Bond-Like character, Indiana Jones was the every-man taking on the Nazi empire before WWII. In the first of would become a trilogy of films, Jones (Ford) seeks the Ark of the Covenant, which is believed to hold the fabled 10 commandments that Moses once possessed. Surely a treasure of immense value to whomever has control of it, and Jones wants to make sure it ends up in a museum where everyone can enjoy it. An action packed film, it makes being an archaeologist seem cool, while providing non-stop excitement.
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) -- Steven Spielberg wrote and Directed this Sci-Fi movie about humans coming into contact with aliens. Richard Dreyfuss stars as a man who has experienced a close encounter by having a UFO come into direct contact with him. For every day after that, he feels urges to do specific things, and ultimately to go to a certain place. UFO's are appearing everywhere, and nobody has an idea why the increase in activity is taking place. Our main character knows he plays a vital part in it all though, and we are taken through a very intellectual film that explores just what first contact will/would really be like with an alien species. The movie took huge steps in exploring a topic that was comical before, and turned it into a reality, by presenting it in a format that we could all see ourselves being involved with.
Jaws (1975) -- A police chief (Roy Scheider), a scientist (Richard Dreyfuss), and a an old salt of the sea (Robert Shaw) take on the most terrifying animal of the ocean, a great white shark. For some reason, this shark has taken a liking to killing people, and must be stopped. It is up to this band of three men to go after it, find it, and destroy it at all costs. Having only seen the aftermath of its attacks, they are in for the biggest surprise of their lives when they come across the shark out on its home ground. All of the three main actors are great in their parts, and this truly is one of those films that can scare you without having to rely on horror. This film really made people afraid to go in the water, and Jaws soon became the most successful movie of all time.
Duel (1971) -- In his first real effort at directing with a budget, Spielberg presented us with a dramatic film that really worked at our sub-conscious. Duel is about a man traveling cross-country in a little automobile, who comes across something he cannot explain. A truck driver has taken to disliking him, and begins stalking him at every turn. He can't escape the truck, he can't outrun the truck, and the most dramatic part of the film, is that he can't see into the truck. We are left to ponder who is driving, what he wants, and why he is after our protagonist. The fear and tension of the film builds all the way up to a great ending, as we are taken on a thrill-ride that really works on the psyche of our minds to bring its full effect. The movie was simple to say the least, but that is why it is so good, because we are left to ponder, and not spoon-fed an idea.
Back to the Future (1985) (executive producer) -- Steven Spielberg played a huge role in bringing this set of three movies to the big screen. Back to the Future was created with the intent that it would be more than one film, and it was astounding how well the idea of the movie was presented. Michael J. Fox plays the lead as a character working for a mad-scientist (Christopher Lloyd). The scientist has developed what he believes to be the ability to to go to another place in time. By going into the past, he can see events that have happened, or even alter the way that things will turn out. The delicate fabric of time becomes a character of its own, as we soon realize that anything you do in the past creates consequences for our future. The movie takes time-travel to a whole new level, and gives a great story behind why we should be happy with our own lives, and not be so obsessed with changing the mistakes we have made. This was a great film, and Fox puts in a great performance.
Poltergeist (1982) (producer) -- While working on his own pet project of ET, Spielberg put a hand in, and produced another super-natural thriller that would scare audiences for years to come. Dealing with a family of 4 that has moved into a new house, we have characters coming face-to-face with spirits, ghosts, and unexplainable entities. The tactics of the film are purely to scare the pants off of you, and the movie does a really great job of doing just that. When weird things start happening around the house, we start to have visions of exactly what could go wrong in this situation. Being a film about a family, nearly all of us can put ourselves into the lives of these characters, and that is what makes it that much more scary. The best thing about the film, is that the brand of scare-tactics used in this film work just as well today, and the film still scares viewers both young and old.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) -- What would you do if you woke up to find an alien in your backyard? If you are Elliott (played here by Henry Thomas) you take him in as one of your family, and give him the nickname of E.T. Taking his "Close Encounters" one step further, Spielberg has an alien come to Earth and interact directly with one particular family. Elliott and E.T. become quick friends, and with the help of his sister Gertie (played by Drew Barrymore) he attempts to hide the fact that he has an alien in his bedroom. With the Government looking for E.T., and the little alien trying to figure out a way to get home, we are taken on a magical ride that touches your heart by the time it is done. E.T. is a great film that runs the gauntlet between scary and heart-warming, and seems to only get better with age.
Empire of The Sun (1987) -- WWII is breaking out, and the world is being thrown into a turmoil. As a result, countries all over the world, are being forced to alter their way of life. China is no different, and a British family is caught in the middle, as Japan begins to mobilize its troops in Chinese territory. Christian Bale plays the role of the young son of the English couple, who is separated from his parents as they attempt to flee the country. Everything he has known, is blowing up around him, and he soon finds himself lost in a world he knows nothing about. Always living in high-society before this, he is forced to learn how to survive on his own, while learning life lessons at every turn. John Malkovich also plays an important role in the film as someone he looks up to, and ultimately takes him under his wing. Empire of The Sun of truly a great film, that shows just what can happen during war, and how it effects those people who are caught behind enemy lines not by their own choosing. The film follows the boy through the duration of the war, and as the world matures around him, so does he.
Schindler's List (1993) -- Depicting the plight of the Jewish people during WWII, Spielberg is at his best showing a story within a story. Liam Neeson plays Oskar Schindler, who uses uses Jews to start a factory in Poland during the war. Witnessing first hand what is being done to these people, he shows compassion by becoming a crusader for them. It is a slow process, and he cannot save everyone, but he attempts to be the difference between life and death for thousands. The film goes very deep in showing exactly what took place during the war, and all of the horrors that were happening. It doesn't pull any punches either, instead showing things exactly as they were documented to have happened, and giving us first hand viewing of everything from the gas chambers to the mass graves. It is a scary film, simply because we know that it happened, and because of the cord it strikes in all of us. The great story-telling, along with great direction, and an even better use of color, makes this film one of the finest Spielberg has ever made.
Jurassic Park (1993) -- Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Michael Crichton, this story brought dinosaurs in the CGI world of today. Using technological advances, this movie was a masterpiece for special effects of the 20th century. Though the story left a little to be desired, the dinosaurs more than made up for the story by coming to life and jumping right off the screen. This movie has already spawned 2 sequels with a 3rd in the works. It remastered how we see dinosaurs in the movies, and has now set the standard. For dinosaurs in Hollywood, the time periods are now before Jurassic Park, and after Jurassic Park.
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