BIOGRAPHY (from Wikipedia)

Steven Allan Spielberg is an American filmmaker, considered one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood era and one of the most popular directors in film history. Spielberg started in Hollywood directing television and several minor theatrical releases. He became a household name as the director of Jaws, which was critically and commercially successful and is considered the first summer blockbuster. His subsequent releases focused typically on science fiction and adventure films such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and Jurassic Park, which became archetypes of modern Hollywood escapist filmmaking. The director later transitioned into addressing more serious issues in his work with films including The Color Purple, Schindler’s List, Saving Private Ryan and Lincoln.

He co-founded Amblin Entertainment and DreamWorks Studios, where he has served as a producer or executive producer for several successful film franchises including the Gremlins, Back to the Future, Men in Black, and the Transformers series. He later transitioned into producing several video games.

Most of Spielberg’s films deal with ordinary characters searching for or coming in contact with extraordinary beings or finding themselves in extraordinary circumstances. A strong consistent theme in his family-friendly work is a childlike sense of wonder and faith, with these theme portrayed through the use of low height camera tracking shots, which have become one of his directing trademarks.

The most persistent theme throughout his films is tension in parent-child relationships. This is arguably the most autobiographical aspect of his films, since Spielberg himself was affected by his parents’ divorce as a child and by the absence of his father. Most of his films are generally optimistic in nature, and while some critics accuse his films of being overly sentimental, the director feels it is fine as long as it is disguised.

Spielberg is one of the American film industry’s most critically successful filmmakers, with praise for his directing talent and versatility, and he has won the Academy Award for Best Director twice. Some of his movies are also among the highest-grossing films ever made, while his total work makes him the highest-grossing film director in history.

DIRECTOGRAPHY

Reviews

Poster	Movie	Year	Comments	Rating	Reviewer
	Duel	1971	Spielberg's debut is so self assured you would think he was an old pro as he delivers a murder weapon in the shape of a 40 ton truck! A fantastic thrill ride that hasn't aged a day.	8	Gordon
	The Sugarland Express	1974	Spielberg follows up Duel with another road movie, but this one is a lot lighter in tone. Drags a bit in the middle but has a funny start with some hilarious incidental characters and a tense ending. Goldie Hawn is great.	7	Gordon
	Jaws	1975	The shark may look a bit cheap these days, but with jump scares aplenty, an action-packed final showdown and John Williams’ masterful score, this film still has the ability to jangle your nerves. A genuine classic.	9	Mat
	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	1977	A really intriguing film, good effects for the time and the slow build up to the final encounter is atmospheric and encapsulating. I heartily recommend this Spielberg classic.	8	Simon
	Raiders of the Lost Ark	1981	Raiders turns a university Professor of Archaeology into an action hero and cemented Harrison Ford as one of the biggest stars of the 80s. A great tale of good and evil with comedy and action in equal measure.	8	Gordon
	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	1982	The seminal family movie, thoroughly engaging with a great story, good effects and a weep-fest at the end. What more could you want?	8	Simon
	Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom	1984	Whilst it contains some of the most exciting action sequences of the series, an over-reliance on gross-out scenes and the grim, Occult-themed story make this the worst of the 80s Indy films.	6	Mat
	Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom	1984	With a forgettable script, forced comedy and poor action sequences, this is almost a complete no show by today’s standards. If it wasn’t for the great mine cart scene I think Indy may have been saying goodnight after just two films.	5	Gordon
	Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade	1989	It may not be much different to its predecessors in terms of story, but the addition of Sean Connery as Indy's dad brings a new dynamic to the main characters and more humour, making this my favourite of the series.	9	Mat
	Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade	1989	With an engaging story and a great cast, Last Crusade gets the humour just right and closes what we thought was a trilogy pretty perfectly.	8	Gordon
	Jurassic Park	1993	The dinosaur effects have aged surprisingly well, and upstage the generally mediocre human actors in most cases. The film blends the feelings of wonder and terror perfectly however, and is one of the best technical achievements in cinematic history.	8	Mat
	The Lost World: Jurassic Park	1997	The sense of wonder and tension from the first film is replaced by a bunch of idiotic or despicable characters that you're just waiting to get eaten. A grim, depressing sequel that is marginally redeemed by the climactic T-Rex rampage.	5	Mat
	Catch Me If You Can	2002	Perhaps not one of Spielberg’s more notable movies, but the lack of expectation helps make this gripping chase story all the more impressive. DiCaprio is fantastic and Hanks plays his part well, but it's the unbelievable true story that makes the film.	8	Mat
	Minority Report	2002	One of Tom Cruise's better attempts at Sci Fi and a thrilling ride as we get a great glimpse into a possible future and its moral dilemmas.	8	Gordon
	Munich	2005	Possibly Spielberg's grittiest film, with some brilliant acting and cinematography and bags of tension, but the endless attrition between the different parties is exhausting and nobody comes out of the story with any sense of achievement or honour.	7	Mat
	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	2008	After an enjoyable opening 20 minutes, it just gets worse and worse with some awful acting, bad CGI and tiresome action sequences, before a dreadful finale. That said, it wasn't as bad as I remembered!	5	Mat
	Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull	2008	An unnecessary and unworthy follow up suffers from the same issues as Lucas’ return to the Star Wars world. Spielberg relies too much on CGI and tries to turn Shia LaBeouf into James Dean (failing spectacularly).	4	Gordon
	The Adventures of Tintin	2011	The animation is excellent, though the characters are somewhat unnerving in their realism. Story-wise it's rather haphazard, but at its best it is reminiscent of the early Indy movies, not least thanks to the John Williams score.	6	Mat
	Bridge of Spies	2015	A little too 'Spielbergy' for my liking, but a great performance from Rylance and an interesting and unusual spy story.	7	Gordon
	The BFG	2016	Steven Spielberg adapts Roald Dahl's beloved story and somehow contrives to make it incredibly dull, with an annoying lead actress and unconvincing CGI characters. Probably proves that the story only works for children.	4	Mat
	Ready Player One	2018	A rather childish interpretation of the nostalgia-soaked book appears to be aimed at people too young to get the references and comes off a little dumbed down. I'd have loved it 20 years ago however!	6	Gordon
	Ready Player One	2018	The story is even more simplistic than the book and the action sequences are mostly soulless, but despite that you can't help but smile at the onslaught of pop-culture references and thrilling world that Spielberg has brought to the screen.	7	Mat

For more detailed analysis of some of Spielberg’s work, please check out our Film Club podcast on Duel and our boxset review of the Indiana Jones saga.

The Verdict

DIRECTORS LEAGUE

This page will be updated as we watch more Steven Spielberg films and therefore his overall rating will change over time. You can see where Spielberg sits in the Directors League here.