35 Steven Spielberg Movies, Ranked from Best to Worst
Skip to Content

Every Steven Spielberg Movie, Ranked From Worst to Best

The three-time Oscar winner is one of the greatest living American filmmakers.

Headshot of Esquire EditorsBy Esquire Editors
preview for The Fabelmans - Official Trailer (eOne)

Every product was carefully curated by an Esquire editor. We may earn a commission from these links.

Steven Spielberg is not just one of the most influential living filmmakers—he's firmly in the conversation of the greatest of all time. His 1975 breakthrough feature, Jaws, changed the way movies are made (and released). Hell, you could argue that Spielberg singlehandedly created the summer blockbuster. And while he has made his fair share of those—ever hear of a little film called Jurassic Park, or even Indiana Jones?—his thoughtful, serious dramas are on par with his more populist works. Look no further than Schindler's List and Lincoln.

Most recently, Spielberg spearheaded The Fabelmans, a deeply sentimental film that was largely inspired by his childhood, showing us what compelled him to pick up a camera those many decades ago. To celebrate his latest triumph—as well as the return of Indiana Jones to the big screen this weekend—we looked back at Spielberg's filmography, ranking all 35 of his feature-length directorial efforts from worst to best.

35. The Terminal (2004)

Job, White-collar worker, Engineering, Gesture, Employment,
Paramount Pictures

Viktor Navorski's home country collapses amid a civil war just before he arrives in New York, leaving his passport invalid. Once he's a citizen of no country, he's forced to live at JFK. If you love airports and duty-free shops, this movie is for you.

Amazon Apple TV

34. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997)

Tree, Terrestrial animal, Adaptation, Wildlife, Jungle, Woodland, Dinosaur, Forest, Plant, Old-growth forest,
Universal Pictures

If there's one thing Hollywood loves, it's milking a franchise until it's dead. Even Spielberg isn't immune to taking on a bad sequel, and The Lost World is proof that the great director can indeed deliver a misfire.

Amazon Apple TV

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

Military uniform, Soldier, Army, Uniform, Military, Gesture, Movie, Military organization, Non-commissioned officer,
Paramount Pictures

By far the weakest link in the Indiana Jones franchise, Kingdom of the Crystal Skull one showed a 66-year-old Harrison Ford fighting Soviets... who were on the hunt for extraterrestrial crystal skulls.

Amazon Apple TV

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

32. 1941 (1979)

Photography, Headgear, Selfie, Cloud, Landscape, Fighter pilot, Travel, Adventure, Air force,
Universal Pictures

This madcap comedy about the infamous (and mysterious) Battle of Los Angeles following the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor features an ensemble cast of comedy titans including Dan Aykroyd, Ned Beatty, John Candy, and John Belushi.

Amazon Apple TV

31. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)

Event, Conversation, Audience,
Warner Bros.

Spielberg's installment in this sci-fi/horror anthology sees the elderly residents of Sunnyvale Retirement Home revisiting their childhood—experiencing the joy and burdens of youth—when a mysterious resident named Mr. Bloom moves in.

Amazon Apple TV

30. Always (1989)

Alcohol, Fun, Drinking, Drink,
Universal Pictures

In Always, Richard Dreyfuss stars as an aerial firefighter who, after getting killed on the job, returns as a spirit to mentor another young pilot (Brad Johnson). The plot gets a little (read: a lot) more complicated when the younger pilot falls for the elder pilot's widow (Holly Hunter).

Amazon Apple TV

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

29. The Adventures of Tintin (2011)

Sky, Photography, Human, Interaction, Romance, Flash photography, Hand, Sitting, Gesture, Vacation,
Paramount Pictures

The beloved Belgian boy-hero gets the big-screen treatment in this motion-capture film, with Jamie Bell as the adventurous roving reporter who seeks out on a hunt for a lost, sunken ship with the help of a cantankerous sea captain.

Amazon Apple TV

28. Ready Player One (2018)

Denim, Textile, Jacket, Jeans, Screenshot, Games, City,
Warner Bros.

Spielberg offers up an onslaught of '80s pop-culture references in his adaptation of Ernest Cline's dystopian novel, in which the distant future sees all of humanity finding salvation in a virtual reality universe called the OASIS.

Amazon Apple TV

27. The BFG (2016)

Human, Sky, Screenshot, Highland, Happy, Mountain, Photography, Adaptation, Landscape, Mountain range,
Touchstone Pictures

Oscar-winner Mark Rylance steps into the role of Roald Dahl's big, friendly giant, proving that he can perfectly disappear into any performance (especially if he's playing a computer-generated character).

Amazon Apple TV

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

26. War of the Worlds (2005)

People, Crowd, Fun, Event, Vehicle, Photography, Fictional character,
DreamWorks Pictures

Spielberg brings his usual flash and vision to another extra-terrestrial tale—a passable adaptation of H. G. Wells's sci-fi classic—this time giving Earth's celestial guests deadly motives as they pummel our world.

Amazon Apple TV

25. War Horse (2011)

Horse, Pack animal, Uniform, Working animal, Adaptation, Rein, Riding instructor, Stallion, Mare,
Touchstone Pictures

Perhaps one of the most non-traditional war epics, War Horse examines World War I through the eyes of a Thoroughbred horse who joins the ranks of the British army.

Amazon Apple TV

24. The Surgarland Express (1974)

Blond, Human, Fun, Mouth, Conversation, Gesture, Glasses, Photography, Ear,
Universal Pictures

Spielberg made his theatrical feature debut with this crime drama that stars Goldie Hawn as a woman that helps her husband escape from jail in order to spring their son out of foster care. It's an impressive first feature—which announced a major cinematic talent.

Amazon Apple TV

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

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

Fun, Adaptation, Smile, Caving,
Paramount Pictures

Temple of Doom has the notorious distinction of being so bloody and scary that it basically initiated the creation of the PG-13 rating. Unfortunately, it doesn't totally hold up today.

Amazon Apple TV

22. Empire of the Sun (1987)

Performance, Suit, Event, Formal wear, Performing arts, Music artist, Gesture, Portrait,
Warner Bros.

Christian Bale's breakthrough performance is the shining light of this war drama, in which an upper-class British boy living in Shanghai sees his life turned upside-down during the Japanese occupation in World War II.

Amazon Apple TV

21. Amistad (1997)

Forehead, Human, Adaptation, Movie, Facial hair,
DreamWorks Pictures

This historical drama follows the slave uprising on the ship La Amistad and the subsequent legal battle that ensued once the Mende tribesmen were captured by an American ship.

Amazon Apple TV

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

20. Hook (1991)

People, Crowd, Event, Zombie, Human, Fun, Street, Fictional character, Performance, Flesh,
TriStar Pictures

The boy who would never grow up did, in fact, grow up—at least that's what Hook presupposes. Robin Williams plays an uptight, workaholic corporate lawyer whose children are kidnapped by a long-lost enemy: Dustin Hoffman's Captain James Hook.

Amazon Apple TV

19. Duel (1971)

Road, Asphalt, Highway, Infrastructure, Road trip, Landscape, Human, Ecoregion, Sky, Line,
Universal Pictures

This TV movie marked Spielberg's directorial debut—one so successful that it received a theatrical release. It follows a traveling salesman who is stalked on a two-lane desert highway by an unseen driver manning a tanker truck.

Amazon Apple TV

18. West Side Story (2021)

west side story
20th Century Fox

Maybe it was the COVID-19 pandemic, or maybe audiences just don't enjoy a good movie musical like they used to, but West Side Story was criminally underappreciated when it debuted. Directing the likes of Rachel Zegler and Rita Moreno was clearly a blast for Spielberg—and it shows.

Amazon Apple TV

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

17. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Face, Head, Eye, Cheek, Human, Child, Iris, Flash photography, Smile, Darkness,
Warner Bros.

Spielberg famously took on this film project from Stanley Kubrick following the acclaimed auteur's death in 1999. The result is a Spielberg-Kubrick fusion: a Pinocchio-inspired morality tale about a child robot.

Amazon Apple TV

16. The Post (2017)

Conversation, White-collar worker, Event,
20th Century Fox

Spielberg's timely political drama looks back at Washington Post publisher Kay Graham and editor Ben Bradlee as they prepare to go up against the Nixon White House to publish the infamous Pentagon Papers in 1971.

Amazon Apple TV

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below

Entertainment

a person in a uniform

‘Under the Bridge’ Is Coming Soon

shogun episode 9

‘Shōgun’ E9 Is the Best TV Episode of the Year

lily gladstone, under the bridge trailer

‘Under the Bridge’: TV’s Next True Crime Sensation

shogun mariko

The Incredible Life of Mariko’s Shōgun Counterpart

Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Advertisement - Continue Reading Below
Logo
tiktok
youtube
facebook
instagram
pinterest
Hearst Men's and Enthusiast Media Group - A Part of Hearst Digital Media

A Part of Hearst Digital Media

We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back.

©2024 Hearst Magazine Media, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Privacy NoticeCA Notice at CollectionYour CA Privacy Rights/Shine the LightDAA Industry Opt OutTerms of UseSite Map