Steven Spielberg’s Best Movie For Every Decade Of His Career

Steven Spielberg is one of Hollywood’s most successful directors, consistently earning Oscar recognition for his films. He began his career in television before gaining attention with the TV movie Duel. He then directed the crime drama The Sugarland Express, but achieved widespread fame with the blockbuster hit Jaws.

As a lifelong movie fan, I’ve followed Spielberg’s career closely, and while he’s had a couple of films that didn’t quite land – things like 1941 and Hook come to mind – the sheer number of his successes really stands out. The Academy clearly agrees! His films have been nominated for an incredible 147 Oscars, and he’s actually won 25 of those. He’s been nominated nine times for Best Director, and took home the award for both Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan – truly deserving wins, in my opinion.

Throughout his 54-year filmmaking career, Steven Spielberg has been nominated for an Academy Award in each decade, starting with Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977 and most recently with The Fabelmans in 2022. Here’s a look at some of his best films from every decade.

1970s – Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)

Steven Spielberg first gained attention in the 1970s with his TV movie debut, Duel. He quickly became a major filmmaker with the hugely successful horror film Jaws, which helped define the modern summer blockbuster. But many consider his next film, released after Jaws, to be his finest work of the decade.

As a huge film buff, I always come back to Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind from 1977. It’s a really compelling drama, and it was cool to see Richard Dreyfuss and Spielberg team up again after Jaws. Dreyfuss plays a man who becomes totally consumed by the idea of aliens, to the point where he risks everything – even his family – to uncover what’s really out there.

Instead of depicting an alien invasion, the movie centers on aliens making contact with Earth and potentially wanting to share knowledge. This film is part of a trend in Steven Spielberg’s work where he explores encounters with extraterrestrials – he later portrayed friendly aliens in E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and a hostile invasion in War of the Worlds.

Many consider Close Encounters of the Third Kind to be Spielberg’s best science fiction film. The movie let him create an intelligent sci-fi story while also examining family issues like feeling abandoned – a topic he often returns to in his work. It was highly regarded, and Spielberg even convinced the famous director François Truffaut to make a brief appearance in it.

Steven Spielberg received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Director with Close Encounters of the Third Kind, following the surprising omission of his film Jaws the previous year. The movie garnered a total of nine Oscar nominations and ultimately won the award for Best Cinematography. In 2007, it was also selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

1980s – Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Following the disappointing performance of his 1979 comedy, 1941, Steven Spielberg created one of the greatest adventure films of all time. Inspired by the action-packed serials he enjoyed as a child and the sweeping scale of films like Lawrence of Arabia, Spielberg directed Raiders of the Lost Ark.

The first Indiana Jones film is a classic for a reason. It kicks off with a thrilling, unforgettable action sequence, then follows Indy on a quest for the Ark of the Covenant. Along the way, he faces off against the Nazis – truly iconic villains – and the film delivers some of the most exciting and memorable scenes ever filmed.

The original movie was a huge hit and led to several sequels, released in 1984 and 1989, and then again in 2008 and 2023. While Steven Spielberg didn’t direct the most recent film, none of the sequels quite lived up to the first, Raiders of the Lost Ark. However, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade came the closest to matching its success.

Steven Spielberg continued to create fantastic films throughout the 1980s, but none quite reached the level of his 1981 hit, Raiders of the Lost Ark. His 1982 film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, came the closest. He also released the first two sequels to his popular Indiana Jones series during that decade.

The 1980s also marked a turning point in Steven Spielberg’s career, as he began directing more dramatic films. In 1985, he directed The Color Purple, adapted from Alice Walker’s important novel. He then followed that with Empire of the Sun, a war movie based on the book by J.G. Ballard.

During the 1980s, Steven Spielberg was nominated for Best Director twice: once for Raiders of the Lost Ark and again for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. E.T. also marked his first nomination for Best Picture, followed by The Color Purple. Despite these successes, Raiders of the Lost Ark ultimately proved to be the most influential film in shaping Spielberg’s career.

Raiders of the Lost Ark received nine Academy Award nominations and ultimately won four Oscars: for Best Art Direction, Best Sound, Best Film Editing, and a special award recognizing its Sound Effects Editing.

1990s – Schindler’s List (1993)

It’s incredibly difficult to choose the best Steven Spielberg film from the 1990s. He created three truly exceptional movies during that decade: Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List in 1993, and Saving Private Ryan in 1998. All three are considered among the greatest films ever made.

Jurassic Park is a popular film that launched a successful series, and it was groundbreaking for its use of computer-generated imagery to bring dinosaurs to life. However, when compared to critically acclaimed films like Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan, it doesn’t quite reach the same level of artistic significance or widespread recognition as a cinematic masterpiece.

When it comes to the best Steven Spielberg movie of the 1990s, Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan are both top contenders. If I had to pick just one, though, Schindler’s List would win out because it earned Best Picture, while Spielberg only won Best Director for both films. Though Saving Private Ryan was arguably better than Shakespeare in Love, that film actually won the Best Picture award.

Both Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan depicted World War II. Schindler’s List told the true story of a man who saved many Jewish people from the Nazis, while Saving Private Ryan was a gritty and intense portrayal of soldiers on a mission to rescue a single American soldier. These films cemented Steven Spielberg’s reputation as a leading director of the 1990s.

2000s – Minority Report (2002)

The 2000s began with an unusual film for Steven Spielberg: A.I. Artificial Intelligence, a movie originally started by Stanley Kubrick, which Spielberg completed after Kubrick’s passing. But it was Spielberg’s next science fiction film, Minority Report, that truly defined the decade and is now considered one of the best films of the 21st century.

Minority Report is a thrilling, futuristic movie based on a novel by Philip K. Dick. It takes place in a world where the police can foresee crimes and arrest potential criminals before they happen, thanks to the help of people with psychic abilities. The film explores questions about whether people truly have free will, or if their actions are predetermined, and it’s a classic example of the themes found in Dick’s work.

Tom Cruise’s presence elevated the film, and he teamed up with Spielberg once more three years later for War of the Worlds. The decade also saw Spielberg consistently collaborate with Tom Hanks on films such as Catch Me If You Can and The Terminal.

In 2006, Steven Spielberg received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture and Best Director for Munich, and another Best Picture nomination as a producer of Letters from Iwo Jima. Despite these accolades, many consider Minority Report to be his strongest film of the 2000s.

2010s – Lincoln (2012)

The 2010s were a diverse period for director Steven Spielberg. He moved between lighthearted, family-friendly films and weighty, historical dramas, and generally found success with both. He created magical adventures like The BFG and The Adventures of Tintin, tapped into pop culture with Ready Player One, and explored wartime stories in films like Bridge of Spies and War Horse.

Spielberg directed two standout films in the 2010s: the historical drama The Post, which tells the story of the Washington Post’s publication of the Pentagon Papers, and the epic Lincoln. While both films were nominated for Best Picture, Lincoln also earned Spielberg a nomination for Best Director.

The movie Lincoln depicts the last four months of Abraham Lincoln’s life, focusing on his efforts to end slavery. It received 12 Academy Award nominations, with Daniel Day-Lewis winning Best Actor and the film also taking home the award for Best Production Design.

2020s – West Side Story (2021)

So far in the 2020s, Steven Spielberg has directed just two films, and they’re both excellent. His 2022 film, The Fabelmans, is a personal story based on his own childhood and upbringing in a family facing difficulties, and how his passion for movies helped him cope. It received seven Academy Award nominations, including for Best Picture and Best Director.

Despite directing many acclaimed films, Steven Spielberg’s standout movie of the 2020s is arguably his 2021 remake of West Side Story. Remarkably, this was Spielberg’s first time directing a musical, and he approached it with a natural talent. The film’s dance sequences, songs, and overall choreography were all exceptionally well done.

Beyond simply retelling the classic story, Spielberg thoughtfully updated it, making the portrayal of the Puerto Rican gang more respectful and ensuring all the characters felt authentic and relatable, rather than falling into tired stereotypes. The result was a fantastic improvement on an already beloved musical.

The film West Side Story received seven Academy Award nominations, and Ariana DeBose won the award for Best Supporting Actress. It was also recognized for its direction, cinematography, and as a contender for Best Picture. While West Side Story might not be considered one of Steven Spielberg’s very best films, it remains a strong addition to his impressive body of work and compares favorably to films by other directors.

2025-11-08 06:53