Ranking: Speilberg Films

Steven Speilberg is one of the greatest directors working today, but that doesn't mean his career has been all hits and misses. Largely, however, he's a fantastic talent who knows how to create a crowd-pleasing funfest like no other.

With his The BFG coming soon (I can't wait), let's look at all the films of his (I've seen, anyway) and see which are his best and not-so-best works (you can probably guess which film's at the topic, I'm just like everyone else when it comes to getting back in the sea).

Haven't seen: Duel, The Sugarland Express, The Color Purple, Always

23. The Lost World (2/5)

I could rant on, and on, about the flaws of this film. Using the best comic relief character of the original as a straight man, ruining all the excellent child characterization of the original for a terrible example of the 'annoying unrealistically talented child' trope, re-hashing the original's action sequences in a far more uninspired fashion, and a whole third act that just wears it welcome a few seconds into New York-based T-Rex and chill. I really do hate this film because it's such a bad example of Speilberg as a director.

22. Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2/5)

I did derive some sort of entertainment value from this fourth installment in the Indy franchise, a lot of it from the sheer ridiculousness of it (the fridge, Cate Blanchett, Shia LaBoeuf doing his Tarzan audition), also I don't think all its bad elements are all that terrible, Shia's not really that bad it's more his character's positinoed in a very obnoxious way that opposes Harrison Ford. Its failure to make use of both Ray Winstone and John Hurt is pretty terrible though. The plot going into high science-fiction territory is laughable. It's technically quite well made but on a plot and character level it fails almost entirely.

21. War Horse (2.5/5)

Some of War Horse is downright terrible. I feel a bit uncomfortable saying that because a lot of the scenes I'm referring to have good intentions and possibly work much better onstage or in the written word, but just come across as incredibly wet and soppy onscreen. The first half is very dull and drab, the second half picks up a bit but still has the occasional daft moment or two, whether it be some poor supporting acting, unrealistic cheesiness, or too much horsing around predictable outcomes. There are some pretty good scenes though, like the German/British exchange through barbed wires and the two German soldiers who try to escape the horrors of war. Pity the rest of it is a bit rubbish.

20. War of the Worlds (3/5)

Guilty confession: I've never read the original War of the Worlds. I really should at some point because this is the only film adaptation version I've seen and by all accounts it's far removed from the book's original content. The film is a very standard, basic sort of action movie affair, never bad but never all that good either. I really don't have much to say about it really. I think Michael Bay could've directed this and it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Speilberg's work here isn't bad it's just incredibly undistinctive, and far from reflecting his strengths as a director since any emotional attachement we have in the story purely comes from Tom Cruise's attempts.

19. The Temple of Doom (3/5)

I don't hate this film at all. Unlike some I find it a decent reprisal of the Indiana Jones character, the storyline this time round is a bit more convoluted and less straightforward/interesting, the love interest is not as charming and a bit grating, but I don't mind all the other criticized elements all that much. I guess it doesn't make that much of an impression, in that I don't really remember all that much about specific details. Jonathan Ke Quan is not nearly as likable here as he was in Goonies but Short Round is not as annoying as some people have made him out to be, although it's curious as to where he went in the sequels. I don't mind this film at all, it's strangely violent and some of the second act meanders but overall it still contains many of the elements of the great Indiana Jones films in a poor man's fashion.

19. Amistad (3/5)

I hate to call a film boring, but Amistad is really a bit of a bore at certain points, as well as having several painfully thin characters (hello, Morgan Freeman, oh bye again). Speilberg fails to fully realize the potential of a fascinating real-life story by focusing too much on exploiting every single potential sentimental plot point, and also the courtroom scenes lack life despite the best efforts of a fairly impressive Anthony Hopkins to liven things up. However, the scenes depicting the slave rebellion on the ships, and Djimon Hounsou's performance, are actually very compelling, and help kept me interested enough in the film despite wanting to skip/fall asleep through certain interludes.

17. Minority Report (3.5/5)

I'm waiting on a great Tom Cruise-Speilberg collaboration as they seem like two artists who are particularly attuned to the styles of one another, maybe an older greying Cruise might be able to take on some of Speilberg's heftier dramatic projects. Anyway, I like Minority Report, it's a well-made, fairly intelligent science-fiction thriller with an invested Cruise in the lead role. It takes its concepts of 'crime prevision' and plays with them in quite an interesting manner, but I never feel it goes to full length of its potential, I'd love to see a darker R-rated version of the same story. Also, I just didn't feel like Max Von Sydow as the villain was utilized as well as he could've been. I nitpick too much though, it's a good film, and a re-watch might bump it up.

16. Hook (3.5/5)

Most certainly lesser Speilberg, of a very messy variety, and his work in 1993 would show how he'd grow as a director later on, but I enjoy it nevertheless. It has a funny enough Robin Williams as its lead, a fine cast of British actors cropping up in supporting parts (Bob Hoskins is a delight as Smee, Maggie Smith does her 21st Century Maggie Smith snarky routine a decade in advance), the child actors are much better than usual for this sort of film (although there is the questionable overuse of fat jokes for one of them), and I've always had a bit of a soft spot for the set design and of course, Dustin Hoffman as Hook who really does disappear into the role, and is enjoyably uncouth and fairly menacing. I like it well enough and Speilberg's enthusiasm for his material does come through quite well, although it's definitely of a much lower standard than his other 1990's fare.

15. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (4/5)

First off, hats off whoever thought of casting Jude Law as a good-looking android named Gigolo Joe. It's just the perfect role for him. Jokes aside this is another very messy effort from Speilberg, not necesarily all his fault since it was passed onto him by Stanley Kubrick who in terms of the emotional spectrum was essentially the complete opposite of Speilberg. This results in a film which sometimes oddly veers between the heartfelt warmth of a Speilberg science-fiction buddy adventure film, complete with a talking teddy named Teddy, at others there's a robot circus reminiscent to something out of A Clockwork Orange in its dystopian vision and an ending that's pretty Kubricky sort of bleak. Anyway maybe I'm overthinking in my criticism of the film, it's far from perfect and the third act could've had a second draft, but it's daring in its vision, makes its fairytale parallels fairly effective and has two strong performances from Law and Hayley Joel Osment as the robot child looking for the love of his human mum by becoming a 'real boy'.

14. The Adventures of Tintin (4/5)

To be frank I only really I have one nitpick about this film: why not make it live action? Jamie Bell and Andy Serkis are PERFECT for Tintin and Captain Haddock in terms of their real-life appearances. The 3D motion-capture isn't bad but just not utilized all that more than a live-action film would've done, besides maybe allowing Simon Pegg and Nick Frost to play twins. Anyway this is a good adaptation (sorta) of the Tintin series that though not completely capturing the spirit and joy of the originals like the fantastic television series did, is a fun enough watch and engaging throughout.

13. Saving Private Ryan (4.5/5)

A flawed film that is chock-full of war film cliches, and ultimately very predictable (COMPLETELY called which of the characters would survive before even the first one had died), and also Speilberg's style is particularly overbearing here, especially in the bookend scenes and some of the musical choices. I mention all of these faults but despite them all, I find Saving Private Ryan an intense, involving and powerful motion picture experience. It does not have the nuance and subtlety of The Thin Red Line and hits the emotional notes far too hard at times, but when it does things right it does them very right. The cast outside of Edward Burns (who is dreadful) are all good, with Giovani Ribisi, Matt Damon, Vin Diesel and of course, Tom Hanks in particular excelling with their fairly one-note characters. Most importantly, its war battle sequences are all flawlessly handled, whether it be the sniping segments or the opening, devestating D-Day sequence.

12. The Terminal (4.5/5)

Tom Hanks puts on a funny foreign accent and infuses a whole lot of charm, to play a true fish out of water in The Terminal, a sweet little romantic comedy about a man whose home country, ravaged by war, and his expired visa means that he has to reside in the New York JFK terminal. The film is notable for having a good Cathetine Zeta-Jones performance, an excellent sense of place and time generated by Speilberg's casual and affectionate direction, and a very unique ending that is incredibly bittersweet and requires re-watches to properly appreciate it.

11. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (4.5/5)

I have only one quibble about this film, in that it's almost TOO slow at certain points. I get the whole deal about buildup to the finale and everything, but there's certain scenes, for example the family dysfunction in Roy Neary's (Richard Dreyfuss) household, which just feel a bit out of place and don't contribute well to the flow of the film. Now this quibble is what holds it off from a pefect 5, but don't let that put you off the film. It's otherwise a very sensitively made piece of subtle science-fiction which tells its simple story well, has some very good performances, and the aforementioned finale is truly worth the wait. 

10. Bridge of Spies (5/5)

The best thing about Bridge of Spies is what it won an Oscar for, but don't let that mask the other merits of the film. It may go on a tad bit too long but Speilberg's latest effort, a Cold War thriller about an American insurance lawyer, James Donovan (Tom Hanks) brought in to defend an accused Soviet spy Rudolf Abel (Mark Rylance). The setting and story is incredibly low-key for Speilberg standards, which allows for such an interesting, detailed exploration of the finer details. Each frame is done with such period-perfect perfection. The script is both thoroughly, concisely detailed about the situation at hand and also packs quite the riveting emotional punch, as is of course the norm for Speilberg. A fantastic film that deserved all the accolades it got.

9. Empire of the Sun (5/5)

Speilberg not only made a magnificent find in a very, very young Christian Bale to take on the lead role of his wartime childhood epic, he also found just about the perfect source material for his talents. Empire of the Sun is a thrilling, emotionally taut masterpiece about a young spoilt British boy who finds himself lost among the turmoils of warfare, left to fend for himself in successive prison camps and in transitioning from boy to man, experiencing the loss of innocence. Bale is great but so are various other elements of the film, like the breathtaking cinematography, and also the wise decision to never villain-ize the Japanese, staying faithful to J.G. Ballard's vision of the tragic two-sided coin of war and its losses.

8. Catch Me If You Can (5/5)

Leonardo DiCaprio gives his second-greatest performance in this enjoyable, heartwarming crime film (of sorts). As Frank Abangale Jr., one of the master conmen in American history who tricked and feigned his way in and out of various professions and escaped from authorities with an array of forgeries and masterful disguises, he's at his boyish, charismatic best, trolling the likes of Tom Hanks' increasingly baffled FBI agent and sharing some incredible scenes with his father (played to tragic perfection by Christopher Walken). The morality of the film could've been questionable but Speilberg wisely tempers the idealism and allure of Abangale Jr.'s lifestyle with some hard-hitting scenes depicting his inadequacies and desire to go back to how things were back in the happy past. It's possibly Speilberg's most personal-feeling film, and I loved it for that.

7. Lincoln (5/5)

Held together by a brilliant lead performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, who is a marvel to behold as arguably the greatest President of the United States, this biopic wisely eschews usual conventions of trying to tell an individual's whole life within the unwieldy limitations of a film, but instead focuses specifically on the efforts of Abraham Lincoln to have the 13th Amendment passed. Playwright Tony Kushner crafts a sublime screenplay out of the intriguing, diverging and converging storylines in the North and South regarding this crucial political junction in America's history, and is equally compelling in depicting the behind-the-scenes shennanigans that are quite entertaining to watch, and the more human factors exemplified by Lincoln's personal life and the worls outside the White House. 

6. Jurassic Park (5/5)

First and foremost I think the Jurassic Park soundtrack is my favourite of all Speilberg films. Even if the film had shite SFX it would still be saved by merit of its music which conveys such a sense of grandeur and wonder all on its own. Beyond the tunes, it's a great film. Look past its dreadful sequels and you'll find a film of true ingenuity and creativity brimming from every corner. The dinosaurs are great not only in their visual representation, which is obviously amazing, but also the ways they are utilized as both animals to marvel at and fear depending on the sequence. The film is added to superbly by some great, likable characters (very different from the original Michael Crichton variety of less savoury protagonists), in particular Jeff Goldblum's wacky chaos theorist and Richard Attenborough's kindly multimillionaire. The focus of course is on the prehistoric beasts and the film that surrounds them is great.

5. The Last Crusade (5/5)

4. Raiders of the Lost Ark (5/5)

I essentially have the same thoughts about both Indiana Jones films: a rollicking good time. I don't really prefer one over the other, they both have incredible strengths worth noting. Raiders of the Lost Ark is a great showcase for Harrison Ford's talents as both an action bad-ass and endearing comedian, rolling along to a wonderfully simple script on a quest to overtake the Nazis in finding the Ark of Covenant. The Last Crusade has an even bigger scope, including a brilliant prologue intro with River Phoenix as a young Indy and of course Sean Connery as Henry Jones. Each film follows the format of a James Bond film, sorta, although I would say both these films are miles better than any James Bond film I've ever seen. Each little adventure, set-piece, and character moment is wonderfully done, making these two of the finest action adventure films of all-time. For the time-being I'll give a slight edge to Raiders of the Lost Ark since I find it just SLIGHTLY more entertaining, though that's not saying much they're all awfully entertaining. (It also has a great soundtrack. I have to mention it even though Speilberg + John Williams is pretty much a given for greatness)

3. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (5/5)

A fantastic children's film about the titular extraterrestrial, and how E.T. influences the life of Elliot (an excellent Henry Thomas) and his family. I hate to put Schindler's List below this as I think both films are just about equally as great, the only reason I have to put this one above is I guess its timeless quality and appeal for family viewing. It's such a simple film with such a simple storyline, told well by a superb script by Melissa Mathison (RIP), but within this simplicity lies its beauty. It takes everything you love about Speilberg's feel-good, sentimental and heartfelt filmmaking soul. and merges it into an extremely charming, sweet and incredibly touching (the ending is a huge emotional punch) masterpiece. You really feel like you've spent a great deal of time with the ups and downs of Elliot and his new friend that is drawn so well through how it, Edward Scissorhands-esque influences its loved ones. Speilberg never shies away from the heartwrenching bits which make the heartwarming ones work all the better. Also the costume work for the E.T. is incredible, and so far ahead of its time, more convincing than a great many of the CGI characters nowadays. It is both a great crowd-pleaser and a great example of science-fiction suburbia, pulled off to perfection.

2. Schindler's List (5/5)

Where the greatest WWII Holocaust film of all-time, The Pianist, opted for a small-scale, intimate human perspective to depict the horrors that the Jewish community suffered at the time, Speilberg's Best Picture-winning masterpiece opts for an extreme, overwhelming style, from the stark B&W cinematography, to the unsparing depiction of the prison camps and of course Amon Göth (Ralph Fiennes), the Nazis and their unsparing and casual approaches to murder, woven powerfully by the script and direction into such a harrowing depiction of wartime cruelty. Speilberg does well to also weave in glints of hope, largely in the actions of Oskar Schindler's (Liam Neeson) attempts to save as many Polish-Jewish refugees as he can by means of employment and bribery. The parallels between the domineering darkness and the fleeting but defiant sparks of light are what, alongside John Williams' brilliant score, makes for a tremendous, emotionally draining and sad but ultimately an empowering portrayal of the human spirit through the medium of cinema.

1. Jaws (5/5)

Easily the greatest of all of Speilberg's films, and one of the greatest films of all-time. I simply love the combination of suspense thriller, and adventure film, into one incredible package as Speilberg handles both elements so well, bringing out all the humour and character, terror and tension that this mix allows for. It's one of those films where even the supposed deficiencies - the shark wasn't working properly throughout filming, budget was limited, actors in particular Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw were at each other's throats - helped propel it to further greatness. The horror of the shark isn't by shoving it in our faces like many modern-day horrors deem it necessary to do, but rather through the power of suspense and implication; brief spurts of visceral horror do so much to add to the palatable fear of the shark.

Beyond that, the script by Peter Benchley and Carl Gottlieb brilliantly eschews a great deal of the original source material novel's (written by Benchley) extraneous material, and adds in some superb stuff like Robert Shaw's Quint's Indianapolis monologue, one of the most breathtaking speeches in cinematic history. The acting is superlative across the board, with Shaw being the obvious standout as the unforgettable shark hunter who's a true man of the sea, but Richard Dreyfuss and Roy Scheider are also great at being, respectively, the nebbish neurotic oceanology researcher (a massive improvement from the , and the unsassuming but assertive cop.

I haven't even mentioned the spectacular soundtrack, or the great use of cinematography particularly in the beach scene, which exudes such strong emotions in the viewer without even a glimpse of the vicious murders perpetrated. If you haven't seen Jaws, check it out. Easily the best presentation of Speilberg's talents at their high, high height.