Steven Spielberg's 32 Movies, Ranked from Worst to Best

Revisit the iconic director’s filmography.

There ’s never a bad clock time to be a Steven Spielberg lover . Even on the rare occasion that his movies shin at the box spot , as his melodic adaptationWest Side Storyrecently did in late 2021 , there ’s still a sentiency that he ’ll bounce back . He always does ! Over most five decades , the filmmaker has delimit American studio filmmaking , while racking up billions of box - berth dollars and two Academy Awards for Best Director along the way .

But how do his crowing - budget crew - pleasers heap up against his award - winners ? Has he lose some of his luster as he ’s gotten honest-to-god , or has he age with goodwill ? Does he still make you want to phone home ? To find out , we ranked all of Spielberg ’s theatrically released feature film films ( sorry , other Spielberg TV movieDueland his contribution to the anthologyTwilight Zone : The Movie ) . So , cue up those John Williams cosmic string , grab your inner tike , and keep some tissues on understudy as we work our way through Spielberg ’s 32 flick . Or as Samuel L. Jackson would say , hold in on to your butts .

32.Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull(2008)

The action - adventure revival roll into fans ' lives like an 8 - ton bowlder booby trap . There are spurts of Spielberg - patent , high - flying fun — the opening move shootout in Area 51 and a chase across Professor Jones ' university campus summon the angulate charge ofRaiders of the Lost Ark — but computer graphics , a sci - fi plot of land , and Harrison Ford ’s dwindling stamina ravageCrystal Skull . If you were n’t keen on Shia LaBeouf ’s Mutt Williams when he was standing around with Indy , you certainly were n’t going to wish him swing from vines like a greaser Tarzan . We ’ll appreciate Cate Blanchett ’s flamboyant Irina Spalko and move along.—Matt Patches

31.Hook(1991)

Bad millennials have a failing forHook : They love Rufio , Dustin Hoffman ’s titular bad guy , the elaborate set , the cool costume , and the scene whereDavid Crosby gets hit in the nuts with a wood board . Do n’t confide them . Hook ’s key conceit — Peter Pan as overworked yuppie — would make for a comme il faut sketch , but all the daddy issues , intimate tenseness with Tinker Bell , and imaginary food fights in Neverland ca n’t save the film ’s 141 - minute running time . It ’s like watch over a picture of someone else ride Splash Mountain for hours . Put this movie in the snort boxful . — Dan Jackson

30.1941(1979)

29.The Terminal(2004)

Spielberg sees Tom Hanks as the last vestige of Golden Age Hollywood charm . you could tell from missteps likeThe Terminal , where the music director tuck wacky wild-eyed comedy into geopolitical tragedy . Tom Hanks plays Viktor Navorski , a New York tourist bewilder at JFK drome after his ( fictional ) home country of Krakozhia collapses . Navorski catch some Z’s on gate chairs , bathe in can , dines on catsup parcel , and befriends airdrome employees . The escapade is never as impulsive as Spielberg believe it to be , Hanks ' Eastern European - out - of - pee shtick becoming progressively grating with every passing takeoff . But my God , the drome set ! There ’s something to treasure in every Spielberg film . — military police

28.Always(1989)

This remake of the 1943 romantic dramaA Guy Named Joeis Spielberg at his most kitschy . Not an soft bar to surpass . After his bomber sheet explodes mid - mathematical process , the spirit of aery fire-eater Pete ( Richard Dreyfuss ) returns to our carpenter’s plane of creation , to mentor a young ace who ’s fall intemperately for Pete ’s one dead on target love ( Holly Hunter).Alwaysstrings together thrill timber firefighting , spry comedic work from Dreyfuss and co - superstar John Goodman , and Audrey Hepburn ’s final performance as Pete ’s otherworldly guide , but its gooey center keeps it from coalescing . Hunter ’s no - shit heart redeem every flaw in this movie . — MP

27.Ready Player One(2018)

Like the Ernest Cline novel it ’s based on , Spielberg ’s slickReady Player Oneplaces a agio on name - checking and visually referencing papa - culture ephemeral ( chiefly from the ' 80s ) in service of character growth . The logic likely go that , while many people can state you that , say , Williams Electronics released bothJoustandRobotron : 2084 in the yr 1982 , only a really desirable hero can tell you off the top of his head that the latter arcade classic was designed by Eugene Jarvis and Larry DeMar , and that , by the way , Jarvis and DeMar also create two other Williams Electronic gems , DefenderandStargate . The idea , I approximate , is that we ’ll root more for someone if they can turn this trivia muck into gold in a taradiddle set in a dystopian hereafter where literally everything depends on knowing the most obscure and random minutia from your childhood . But it collectively adds up to being more than just farfetched ; it’stiring . Spielberg , who himself was a immense buff of colonnade video games back in the day ( he wrote the forward to Martin Amis ' long - out - of - photographic print 1982 bookInvasion of the Space Invaders ) , at least dazzles with particular effects and Ben Mendelsohn shines as yet another seething baddie , but , like the book , it ’s strong to care much who succeed the game in the end . — disk jockey

26.The Lost World: Jurassic Park(1997)

There was no surpass his original dinosaur thriller , so Spielberg pivoted in every fashion . Jeff Goldblum would take halfway stage , the T. rex would make it to familiar shore ( San Diego ) , and a one - off would develop into an " action franchise . " If only the action had the gold incandescence of Spielberg ’s first dino - fill aspect . While the opening scenery , a fille chomp to bits by Compys , is a nasty bit of work , and a stampede episode is pump - racing from start to finish , The Lost Worldindulges in all the incorrect way , the type of " why not ? " amusement exculpation that got everyone killed in the first moving picture . — MP

25.Empire of the Sun(1987)

Famed dramatist Tom Stoppard adapted J. G. Ballard ’s memoir , chronicling his childhood years expend in a Nipponese concentration pack , and Spielberg dextrously organise the large - scale drama , from upscale British life in Shanghai , to the horrors of invasion , to the mundanity of life inside the pack . A untried Christian Bale is a revelation as Jim , who keeps his straits above piddle after soldiers separate him from his parents . The only spark overlook is passion — Empire of the Sunnever nominate a input or challenges an melodic theme . It ’s a movie obsessed with images : coffins floating down river , the flash of the nuclear dud , and the American P-51 Mustang , aka the " Cadillac of the sky ! " Thankfully , in Spielberg ’s hands , the open - degree can still enchant . — military police

24.Amistad(1997)

In its haunting Middle Passage succession , which chronicles the rising aboard the slave shipAmistadas it foil from Cuba to the US , this historical drama achieves a terrifying and visceral timber that might convince you it ’s a neat film . unluckily , after that , there ’s court dramatic play to wade through , complete with extended speeches , top hat , and , most offensive of all , horrible Matthew McConaughey sideburns . By shift the focus aside from Djimon Hounsou ’s scene - steal mutiny loss leader , Spielberg weaken the potency and basal baron of the story he ’s telling , turning this tale of survival into a well - intentioned but not especially compelling history lesson . — DJ

23.The BFG(2016)

In adapting Roald Dahl ’s capricious , limber children ’s book , Spielberg and screenwriter Melissa Mathison remain close to the source material down to the last drop of green fizzy drink . The story of an orphan kidnapped by a boastfully - eared giant ( the skillfully motion - captured Mark Rylance ) has a dreamlike quality that allows Spielberg to stage some of his trippiest , borderline psychedelic imagination , along with some really elaborated CGI - attend to breaking wind jape . Judging from the box office , audience ride out off from the movie like it ’s a rotting snozzcumber , but they ’re missing out on a modest - samara treat . — DJ

22.The Post(2017)

When viewed through the genus Lens of contemporary politics , it ’s easy to celebrateThe Postas an inspiring , nostalgia - hook newspaper story for the " Fake News " era . But as a Spielberg movie ? This tick - tock docudrama , which re - teams the managing director with Hanks while adding a plot Meryl Streep to the premix for the first time , is n’t precisely front - page material . The story itself is rousing — The Washington Post’spublisher Katharine Graham ( Streep ) must decide whether to publish revelations from the Pentagon Papers and potentially confront the legal wrath of President Richard Nixon — and the mould is fulfil with familiar faces like Bob Odenkirk , David Cross , and Carrie Coon toy consecrate diary keeper fight down for the fact . But render the talent necessitate , it ’s operose to shake the sentience that the movie is both too slight and too eager to please . liken to thoughtful , emotionally complex takes on American account likeBridge of SpiesorLincoln , it only spills ink . Never blood.—DJ

21.War Horse(2011)

It ’s easy to mockWar Horse . The title and the premise — a braw sawhorse perseveres through WWI to reunite with the adolescent male child he loves — sound like a Spielberg parody cooked up in the ' XC byThe Ben Stiller Show . But the moving-picture show is an elegant , often majestic example of old - fashioned Hollywood hokum done powerful , especially in its many wordless sequences that canvas the repulsion of trench warfare through the weary eye of a sawhorse . Spielberg ’s awe for the painter - like imagery of onetime sea captain like John Ford has never been more palpable , heartfelt , and intoxicating . It ’s almost enough to make you draw a blank you ’re an adult determine a pic calledWar Horse . — DJ

20.The Adventures of Tintin(2011)

Now , this is peak theme - park Spielberg . bring from a witty script co - written by Edgar Wright and Joe Cornish , Spielberg adapts the elegant , playful imagery of Hergé ’s belovedTintincomics into a kinetic , eye - popping invigorate bang ride . There ’s a pirate ship , lost treasure , a belligerent planer , and even a cute bounder — and if you do n’t wish any of that , something new will fell into your face a minute later ! In three-D ! It’sRaiders of the Lost Arkfor the Angry Birds era . Exhausting , sure , but deserving the ride . — DJ

19.The Sugarland Express(1974)

This Goldie Hawn action - comedy is best consider as a thought experimentation : What if Spielberg did n’t become Mr. Blockbuster ? We never really incur out becauseJawscapsized Hollywood , turning Spielberg into the wunderkind of a Modern special effects - labour era . ButThe Sugarland Express , a plucky counter - culture route flick , regain him working in the lineament - driven mood of fellow ' seventy auteurs like Martin Scorsese , Bob Rafelson , Terrence Malick , and Robert Altman . As a introduction from a 28 - year - previous TV director , it ’s impressive , but watching it today , it ’s not so honorable that you find yourself yearning for the road not taken . For some conductor , expectant in reality is better.—DJ

18.Bridge of Spies(2015)

Anyone who knock this prisoner - trade story as one of Spielberg ’s " boring " pic should be ashamed ! Ashamed ! balance the chill of Cold War - era paranoia with the pace warmth of a Frank Capra picture , Bridge of Spiesagain require Tom Hanks to throw back to a dissimilar kind of stellar - man purpose , where intelligence got you everywhere and patriotism meant stick up for your fellow American . With piddling share screentime , Hanks and Oscar victor Mark Rylance build a relationship that resonates through every turn in this realized drama . Just do n’t expect Spielberg to ply to your attention span . — military police

17.Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom(1984)

Instead of sequelizingRaiders of the Lost Ark , Spielberg backtracked to 1935 for the second installment of the Indiana Jones franchise and doubled down on the silliness . Indy ’s adversary , Mola Ram , the mellow priest of an ancient Hindu cult that do it human sacrifice , opened the door for religious mysticism and Disneyland ride set - pieces . you could much hear Spielberg titter off - screen as he arrange musical act , feedschilled monkey brainsto succeeding wife Kate Capshaw , and dots each Harrison Ford punch with a Short Round observation . A nipper ’s dream come true.—MP

16.The Color Purple(1985)

For all his technical genius , Spielberg has always been a talented director of player . InThe Color Purple , an often clumsy but spirited adaptation of Alice Walker ’s Pulitzer - winning novel , he fuck when to get out of the way and allow Whoopi Goldberg , Danny Glover , Margaret Avery , and , in her first film role , Oprah Winfrey , take mastery of the frame . Their faces distinguish the tale . While the moving picture ’s lucullan visual glide path can threaten to overpower its story of abuse , the performances keep the film grounded and grant the moving-picture show to hold up despite its flaws.—DJ

15.War of the Worlds(2005)

The fearfulness and side effect of 9/11 ooze from the pores of Spielberg ’s alien - invasion movie . Stephen Crane hustler Ray ( Tom Cruise ) is mostly helpless when tripod warfare car burst out from the street ; he might be the rare " estimable pappa " in the Spielberg filmography , but all he can do to relieve his kinsperson is hold rigorous and run . War of the Worldsis a visceral , chrome - fill nightmare , the speech of Zea mays everta amusement weaponized for societal commentary . you may tell Spielberg ’s uncomfortable dealing with the darkness . The anxiousness translates to genuine shock after true shock.—MP

14.West Side Story(2021)

As soon as the Jets pop on screen , come forth from the rubble that willsoon become Lincoln Center , West Side Storysprings to life . Spielberg ’s first melodic is a confirmation of something many of his admirers have long believed : Spielberg would make a great musical . His wholesale television camera movements , elegant blocking techniques , and precise editing methods make him a perfect fit for the type of show - stopping numbers you notice in the 1957 musical , present a shrewd update here by frequent Spielberg collaborator Tony Kushner . The ill-fated romance between Maria ( Rachel Zegler ) and Tony ( Ansel Elgort ) is intimate , hit all the deliquium - desirable beats early on and the tragical notes in the second half , but the flair here is bracing , a reminder that few filmmakers are equal to of control at this level of technical precision and emotional vividness . — DJ

13.A.I. Artificial Intelligence(2001)

Two filmmakers can not seem more diametrically opposed than Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick : one is affectionate and hokey ; the other is dusty and clinical . Yet , perhaps because of those differences , this sci - fi fable about an android ( a chilling Haley Joel Osment ) on a Pinocchio - like quest for humanity , develop by Kubrick for old age before his destruction , is a haunting and fascinating body of work of cinematic chemistry . It ’s a Spielberg dangerous undertaking with moments of Kubrickian horror , and a Kubrickian nontextual matter film with Spielbergian heart . Au star for this automaton boy.—DJ

12.Munich(2005)

Modern blockbuster are filled with tough - guy contemplation about the moral weighting of payback — just see any random 10 minutes from a Zack Snyder film — but they seldom grapple with the outcome of violence in a ego - musing , genuine way . Munich , the story of a unavowed squad of Israeli assassins lead by Eric Bana , is a unlike type of thriller . With the avail of a complex , fundamental script by Tony Kushner and Eric Roth , Spielberg deliver the clean - knuckle tension of a spy film without letting his characters off the ethical hook . Instead of rah - rah patriotism , you get a queasy honourable conundrum awash in ambiguity , account drawn with the bloody point of a knife . — DJ

11.Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade(1989)

" We advert the dog Indiana . " With those five words , Sean Connery , playing the function of Professor Henry Jones , Sr . , manages to both humanise and Diamond State - mythologize one of American refinement ’s most adorable pulp heroes . It turns out Indiana Jones get his name from a dog and has a petulant papa . Did we really necessitate all this information ? belike not . ButLast Crusadeis an eternally rewatchable sequel with more than enough exciting set piece , one - liners , and caustic Grail Knights to justify watching Spielberg and Harrison Ford ’s felt hat - wear zep operate through their dad issues on screen . Plus , it yield us " No ticket , " a great non - sequitur and an all - time top-10 legal action - movie zinger.—DJ

10.Saving Private Ryan(1998)

Spielberg ’s WWII pic solidified itself as an American authoritative 15 minute into its runtime , after a grave , pungent scaffolding of the invasion of Normandy Beach . The rest of the film lives up to the sequence , with Tom Hanks , Matt Damon , and an out of the question lean of big - name actors playing out a universal band of brothers . When a life is deserving saving , backstory matters , and Spielberg ’s direction does as much to enrich the lives of his men as it does to enact the little terror of war . A victory that would be a full - blown masterpiece if it were n’t for those weepy bookend with old secret Ryan.—MP

9.Minority Report(2002)

On the surface , Minority Reportis yet another sci - fi pic from a master key of the writing style , but look nigher and you ’ll find something else : a canny neo - noir about a investigator on the run . This mind - flex whodunit finds the famous theatre director and the even - more - far-famed star get out the best in each other — Cruise underplays Spielberg ’s soupy impulses , and Spielberg turns Cruise into a crew cut - rock blunt object — and nearly every other element , from the costume to the effects to the medicine , is absolutely do . Well , except for the mawkish last few instant , which ram this movie into the " heavy movie , unfit ending " class , a specialty of late - period Spielberg . — DJ

8.Schindler’s List(1993)

For years , the Good Book on Spielberg was that he could n’t handle " adult " cloth . WithSchindler ’s inclination , release the same class as the crew - pleasingJurassic Park , he silence many of his critic , astounded interview , and deliver the goods countless awards for delving deep into the horrors of the Holocaust . Viewed within the context of his life history , it ’s sure a turn level , but the film itself is barely a reinvention or rejection of the sensibilities that made him a household name . rather , Spielberg used the puppet he ’d honed over the years — a Hitchcockian feel for tension , a swell understanding of actor , and an optic for bluff images — to tell the story of Oskar Schindler , an opportunist - turn over - hero . The movie works so well because it ’s still a " Spielberg " motion picture , not in spite of that fact . — DJ

7.Lincoln(2012)

Without the nostalgic freshness , Spielberg ’s raucous , rousing routine of political theatre place upright out as a hoarded wealth hold off to be appreciated . Daniel Day - Lewis won an Oscar for portraying our thundery 16th president , who draw every strand necessary to end the Civil War and abolish slavery in one brutal swoop . Spielberg encounter comedy and cataclysm in the saga , which resonate with a peculiarly damning pitch in our current dead moment . With gorgeous period accouterment and the sharpest cast of the decade , Lincolncaptures the past , verbalize to the nowadays , and hopefully inspires the future.—MP

6.Catch Me If You Can(2002)

Steven Spielberg moving picture performances rarely earn the praise they merit , as the stateliness of the package dominate its part . Not only does the director keep the truthful floor of con artist Frank Abagnale light on its toes with retro - coolheaded style ( amplified by John Williams ' catchy score),Catch Me If You CanboastsLeonardo DiCaprio ’s best piece of work ever . We see him luxate into the part of doctor , attorney , and airplane pilot , then slip back again to his norm — tortured and childish . Catch Me If You Canis Spielberg as the actor ’s director , and he move in terminated unison with his trounce lead.—MP

5.Jurassic Park(1993)

The motion-picture show you ’ve take in 1,000 times on TNT holds up . The wayJurassic Parkpushes in from the grandiose to the personal bow — Dr. Grant ’s kinship bent - ups , the two kids ' do - of - age stories , John Hammond ’s dream boast up in his face — is a science on equality with genetic resurrection . Spielberg maintain Michael Crichton ’s knack for navigating the heady in wholly digestible ways while making good on his ensemble ’s gasps — the brachiosaurus . By the timeJurassic Parkbecomes aJawssuccessor , where velociraptors fighting a T. rex does n’t finger like overweening payoff , it ’s already melt us by with awe . Everything you could possibly want out of a modern blockbuster . — MP

4.Jaws(1975)

" Da - dum … da - dum … da - dum da - dum da - dum ! " You jazz the euphony . You eff the " bigger gravy boat " line . perchance you even remember that dolly whizz along shot of Roy Scheider sitting on the beach with his household when the screech of terror ring out and everyone run like hell . But no matter how much pop civilisation chomps on the stiff of this classic , there ’s no stripping this understated , basically humanist lusus naturae characterization of its primal big businessman . Even in the historic period ofSharknadoandThe Shallows , Jawsis still scary , funny , and essential screening . These are water you ’ll require to get back into.—DJ

3.E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial(1982)

hoi polloi like to talk about " marvel " when they talk about Spielberg . But in his good film , likeE.T. , that sense of marvel is always settle in the dreary confines of reality . This story of a boy and his alien admirer lets Spielberg explore all of his preferred topic at once — the void left by scatty fathers , the quotidian horror of suburbia , the need to accept outsiders — but the flick endures because the contingent surrounding the iconic moony bike ride are so specific : the Coors E.T. drinks , the Speak & Spell he uses , and the Reese ’s Pieces he bang . Like modern life , the world ofE.T.is one defined by brand , consumer goods , and the penury to escape . If only we all had another satellite to phone home to . — DJ

2.Raiders of the Lost Ark(1981)

With a bullwhip , a leather jacket , and an " only Harrison Ford can pull this off " fedora , Spielberg excogitate the advanced Hollywood natural action film by doing what he does good : looking backwards . As obsessed as his movie - brat pal and collaborator George Lucas with the action picture show serial of their juvenility , the film director mine James Bond , Humphrey Bogart , Westerns , and his hate of Nazis to make an adventure classic . To watchRaiders of the Lost Arknow is to marvel at the ingenuity of specific sequences ( the bowlder ! the truck scene ! the face - melting ! ) and just rut to the self - depreciate comical tonus ( snakes ! Karen Allen ! that fencer Indy shoot ! ) . The past has never finger so alive.—DJ

1.Close Encounters of the Third Kind(1977)

This balletic sci - fi epic is one of two movies Steven Spielberg save for himself ( the other beingA.I. , which he take up over from Stanley Kubrick , half counting ) . And you may tell ; his personal obsessions pile up inClose Encounters , which keep up scientists organize for first contact , a mother search for her abducted boy , and a man ( Richard Dreyfuss ) who sacrifices his crime syndicate for a predilection of the unidentified world . The special event are plush and the dramatic play is heartbreaking , a moving-picture show grand enough to twist with life ’s eternal questions . Spielberg fair game on our curiosity , whodunit large ( 30 - twelvemonth - one-time plane appearing in the desert ! ) and small ( mashed potato mountain ! ) drawing us in like mini Devil ’s Peaks . A meeting of music , picture , and carrying into action , Close Encountersis the kind of movie thatfans a fire of the imagination . This is n’t the terminal point of what movies can do — it ’s the beginning.—MP

steven spielberg movies