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Steven Spielberg has been making movies for over 50 years. That’s five decades! It’s one of the most-impressive filmographies ever, a mixture of the biggest hits of all time and Oscar winners. There have been ups and down, but Spielberg has never lost his fastball. As such, we decided to travel through the decades to name the director’s best film in all his decades of activity.
1970s: Jaws
This came down to Jaws or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Hey, it wasn’t going to be 1941! Jaws, though, invented the summer blockbuster. It made people afraid of sharks. The first is not perfect, but once Brody, Hooper, and Quint get on the Orca and head out, it becomes a stellar, thrilling film.
1980s: Raiders of the Lost Ark
There were three Indiana Jones films in the 1980s. Two of them are quite good! That being said, Raiders of the Lost Ark is the best of the bunch. The first film is fresh and alive. Harrison Ford is great. Karen Allen is great. The giant boulder is great. What a classic action film.
1990s: Saving Private Ryan
In 1993, Spielberg released both the biggest blockbuster in the world Jurassic Park and the Best Picture winner Schindler’s List. Both would have been fine choices, but we are going with another film. Saving Private Ryan is perhaps the best war movie ever made. It’s harrowing and emotional in equal measures. Led by a killer cast, Saving Private Ryan is unsparing, but in a way that really works.
2000s: Catch Me If You Can
The 2000s was a step down from the 1990s for Spielberg. In 2002, though, Catch Me If You Can and Minority Report both came out. They are the two best films he made in the decade. In the end, we’re going with the traditional drama over the sci-fi epic. Also, back-to-back Tom Hanks films! That guy has had a pretty good career, huh?
2010s: Lincoln
Daniel Day-Lewis won Best Actor at the Academy Awards for his turn as Abraham Lincoln. This is a fairly-traditional historical biopic, but one of the best examples of that. Spielberg does action great, but he can make a more-staid drama hum as well. Just looking at this list of films, you can see all of what the director is capable of, and why he’s perhaps the most-successful director ever.
