Steven Spielberg is among the most powerful and influential people to have ever worked in Hollywood. The famed director has entertained countless viewers in his nearly half-century-long career, and he's got a new film out right now -- Disclosure Day.
But what are his greatest movies ever? It's a highly subjective topic, of course, but we've done our best to put together what we think are the 10 films that represent his best work as a director.
These are our picks for the 10 best Steven Spielberg movies of all time.
Munich is arguably the most mature and unsentimental movie Spielberg has ever made. Hewing far closer to political potboilers like The Conformist than the director's own portrayals of historical events, Spielberg crafts a daringly ambiguous and dramatically credible rendition of events that took place following the murder of eight athletes in Munich during the 1972 Olympic games. His mastery as a showman and purveyor of spectacle is the stuff of Hollywood legend, which is why the sophistication and intelligence of Munich is all the more impressive. Where even his previous forays into starkly dramatic material occasionally veered into shameless sentiment, here Spielberg approaches his subject with deadly-serious gravitas, never taking some position of moral justification to elevate the Israeli agents above their victims, nor reducing them to bloodthirsty murderers out for vengeance.
Foregoing the conventional “greatest hits” biopic route in favor of focusing on the final few months of Lincoln’s life, Spielberg’s film tells the story of the president's quest to pass the 13th Amendment that will abolish slavery as the bloody Civil War draws to a close. This is President Lincoln at his most world-weary and yet most powerful, as he must use every political favor, ruse, and tactic he and his team can muster to get the amendment passed. The film is an engaging, albeit stagebound drama that finds the heart and humor in Abraham Lincoln as he led the Union during its bleakest days, and it succeeds most as a showcase for all the amazing acting talent involved, particularly the incomparable Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role. It’s one of Steven Spielberg’s finest films.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars in this serio-comic film based on the autobiography of Frank Abagnale, Jr., one of the world's greatest con men and among the youngest individuals ever placed on the FBI's Most Wanted List. The film features a familiar "Spielbergian" theme of a kid from a broken home, only Frank reacts to his parent's divorce by running off and becoming an impostor airline pilot, forging checks, and spending years avoiding capture. Things never really get dark or foreboding, as they could in different hands, but instead Spielberg keeps the pace up and the tone light. After Spielberg spent so much time with serious films like A.I. and Amistad, Catch Me If You Can came as a welcome change of pace.
You know why this movie still works, 25 years after it unleashed the power of CG everything on audiences? Because when Alan Grant first looks up to see that veggiesaurus get on its hind legs to eat some tree leaves, we still, even now, mouth "wow" every time. It's that sense of awe and wonder that only a Spielberg movie can provide. We still get geek goosebumps when Hammond says, "Welcome to Jurassic Park." And while the story about dino experts forced to survive a hellish Disneyland-esque ride is merely a clothesline by which Spielberg can hang big set-pieces on, it does deliver plenty of emotion and character work to elevate the film above simple popcorn entertainment. In fact, it makes it one of the genre's best examples of popcorn fare, a sci-fi tale that reminds man for the millionth time that he should never play God.
Saving Private Ryan was a vastly different type of World War II film when compared to Spielberg's Schindler's List. Depicting the invasion of Normandy Beach and several bloody conflicts that followed, Private Ryan drew in viewers with the tragic quest of Tom Hanks and his squad to track down the last surviving brother in a family of soldiers. In between the explosions and ground skirmishes, Ryan explores the toll of war. The film works best when the mission detours into the messiness of human conflict, like when Spielberg turns a set piece inside a bomb-ravaged village into a tense game of cat and mouse that practically plays out in real time, with our boys' best sniper (the underrated Barry Pepper) blessing his rifle before pulling the trigger on his Nazi counterpart. We still scratch our heads as to why this movie lost the Best Picture Oscar to Shakespeare in Love.
Spielberg's first alien-centric blockbuster forever set the tone for the director's unique brand of Hollywood filmmaking, that of grounding the extraordinary within the perspective of a working-class family with "real" interactions and problems, a trope the director would revisit in such films as E.T. and 2005's War of the Worlds. Moreover, the movie shows us that not all aliens are malevolent; some just want to show off their musical Lite Brite skills and make with the trust falls. The script was written by Spielberg, which is pretty rare for the director, and the result is a classic that reminds us that sci-fi doesn't have to have explosions or aliens murdering people – it just has to be good, and that's enough.
This is quintessential Steven Spielberg. Henry Thomas' Elliott, a lonely young boy living with his single mom and siblings, finds some direction and meaning in his life when he stumbles upon a lovable alien critter who he dubs E.T. Stranded on Earth and trying to phone home, E.T. forms a bond with Elliott that rivals some of cinema's greatest teams. The animatronic alien is and was unique and convincing, the performances from a mostly young cast are superb, and best of all, the film's exploration of the mysteries of childhood is thoughtful, sensitive, and at the same time often fun. Also sad… but in a good way!
Recoiling from the commercial and critical failure of the WWII comedy 1941, Spielberg partnered with George Lucas to create what would eventually become one of his most enduring films -- and franchises. The Indiana Jones series launched in 1981 with this unforgettable action classic. Inspired by 1930s movie serials, this adventure opens with one of cinema's most unforgettable sequences -- Indy's nimble victory over a booby-trapped temple -- and never stops until the bad guys have (literally) melted away and the hero gets the girl. A triumph of writing, directing, and acting, Raiders perseveres today as perhaps the thrill ride by which all others are judged, and confirms Spielberg's status as the greatest of all living mainstream directors.
The first blockbuster ever and the scariest movie (maybe even the best one?) Spielberg's ever made, Jaws is equal parts monster movie and character piece, centered on an island called Amity that's preyed upon by something that leaves teeth the size of shot glasses in the hulls of boats and turns their owners into decapitated flotsam. Roy Scheider gives a career-defining performance as Chief Brody, the local sheriff with a fear of water, who's put in charge of taking down the shark of the title. Joining him are Richard Dreyfuss' Hooper and Robert "Find 'im for 3, Catch 'im and Kill 'im for 10" Shaw as Quint. But you already know that. Jaws is made out of the type of movie magic that warrants repeat viewings and lots of praise using words like "perfect" and "classic."
Playboy industrialist Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) never aspired to be a hero. He was a capitalist, pure and simple. He took over a confiscated enamelware plant in Krakow, Poland, thanks to help from some Nazi connections, with the hopes of making a quick buck supporting the war. But along the way his attitude changed. The conscience-stricken Schindler ends up broke, but helps save over a thousand Jews along the way. Spielberg never preaches, pontificates or engages in contrivances designed to manipulate our emotions with this movie. He puts Schindler and the Nazis and Jews out there for the people they are and let's us figure it out. The result is a deeply moving and powerful human drama, and an example of filmmaking at its best.
What's your favorite Steven Spielberg movie? Vote in our poll and let's discuss in the comments!
Note: This story was updated on June 15, 2026.
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