When I was a teenager my brothers used to call me “Spielgeek.” Normally when someone uses the word “geek” it’s most likely meant to offend. I had a different reaction though. You see growing up I loved films. I love watching films. I loved making films. And there is no higher compliment that can be given to a 12 year-old boy running around with a camera than comparing him to Steven Spielberg. I might have grown up since then and I might not be a big-time movie producer, but my feelings toward Spielberg haven’t changed. Well, recently they may have changed a little.
A few months ago I decided to embark on a journey; a “Spielbergian” journey, if you will. My plan was to watch every one of Spielberg’s films as if I were watching them for the first time. This list of movies consisted of films I have seen at least a dozen times (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Jurassic Park, Hook, The Terminal), a few I’ve seen once (Jaws, Catch Me if You Can, Saving Private Ryan), and even some I had ashamedly never viewed (Schindler’s List, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Munich), as well as a handful of others.
As the months passed I was at a constant pace of one to two movies a week (also known as the amount of time it takes Netflix to send me another film in the mail). This week I completed the journey by viewing The Adventures of Tintin and War Horse in theaters. When I began this challenge, I didn’t think that my respect for Spielberg could get any bigger than the admiration I had for him as a kid. I was wrong. As the weeks progressed, I literally became the essence of my teenage nickname, “Spielgeek.” I consumed every piece of literature on the man as well as watched as many behind the scenes features as possible. What perplexes me a great deal about Spielberg is the fact that the man can’t make a bad movie. Sure, not every one of his projects is a Citizen Kane, but each of them provided me with some level of enjoyment in one way or another.
Rotten Tomatoes, a website devoted to aggregating film reviews from critics all over the world to determine whether a movie is “fresh” or “rotten,” gives us a clear perspective of Spielberg’s talent. According to Rotten Tomatoes, a film is considered “fresh” if at least 60% of the critics collected give it a positive review. Out of Spielberg’s 27 films (this includes only films that were solely directed by Spielberg and saw at least some form of theatrical release) only 3 were given a “rotten” rating. These films are, 1941 (33%), Hook (29%), and The Lost World – Jurassic Park (52%). Every other film was given at least a 60% rating or above. I will admit that, in my opinion, 1941 bombed (pun intended), but it’s hard for me to hate on Hook and The Lost World simply because I have so many fond memories of those films as a child. Even more so, if you were to look at the average score of all 27 of Spielberg’s films, including the stinkers, it comes out to just under 79%! It would be nearly impossible to find very many, if any, individuals who have directed close to that many films and yet still produced consistently high quality art.
What makes this number so incredible is the wide array of films that Spielberg has produced over his career. With genres such as science-fiction, comedy, action-adventure, drama, romance, historical epics, and more recently animation, Spielberg is one of the most versatile directors of our age. After building his name with films like Jaws, E.T., and Raiders of the Lost Ark, Spielberg took a sharp turn into dramatic features beginning with The Color Purple in 1985. There was much debate over whether the popular director could or should be helming a work that dealt with the very real struggles of African-Americans during the first half of the 20th century. Spielberg proved his critics wrong with a film that is both tender and engaging. Over the next 10 years Spielberg demonstrated that he could move freely from serious to light with such films as Jurassic Park and ultimately his masterpiece, Schindler’s List. Yet even as Spielberg hopped from one genre of filmmaking to another, a sense of coherency remained. You can tell a film is a Spielberg film even if you miss the opening credits. This comes from what some might call, “Spielberg Magic.”
I often use the phrase “Spielberg Magic” to describe the overall sense of wonder, amazement, and emotion embedded in each of Spielberg’s films. It’s hard to put a finger on what makes “Spielberg Magic” exactly “Spielberg Magic.” Yet when you watch his films, it’s just there. It’s completely and utterly Spielberg. It’s that moment when the line between audience and actor is blurred. The scene when Elliot and E.T. fly through the forest on a bicycle and eventually end up silhouetting the moon. The ripple in the water as John William’s score comes alive in Jaws. The moment when Indiana Jones shoots that guy with the sword (you know what scene I’m talking about). The words of Oskar Schindler when he wishes he would have “saved one more.” These images are forever embedded into our culture and our lives as individuals. We might leave a Spielberg film, but the emotion of a Spielberg film doesn’t leave us.
After watching all his films I realized what makes me value Spielberg above all else. His commitment to optimism. In a season when most “good” movies leave the audience with feelings of hopelessness and despair, Spielberg highlights the idea that even though the world is an imperfect place, there is always a glimmer of light behind the darkest of despair. When I watch a Spielberg film I see someone who is chasing the sunrise, rather than following the sunset. Hope not hopelessness. Private Ryan was worth saving. The great white shark was killed. E.T. phoned home. The Nazis couldn’t steal the Ark of the Covenant. Love overcomes evil. The good guys win.
You might not have seen every Steven Spielberg film like I have, but odds are you’ve at least seen a handful. You probably grew up watching the same old VHS of Indiana Jones or E.T. over and over again. You might even remember where you were the first time you saw the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park or the sound of children shouting, “Ruf-i-ooo!” as the images of Hook glowed off the television screen. I guess when you think about it, in that way we’re probably all “Spielgeeks.”
Below I rank all of Spielberg’s 27 films. I have only included feature films that were solely directed by Spielberg and saw some form of theatrical release. Duel (1971) was originally a TV movie, but it later had a limited release in theaters so I included it with this list. Putting this together was especially difficult, given that there are so many good movies. The truth is I will probably have a different list tomorrow. I’m sure Spielberg’s next film, Lincoln, will be placed high on the list in the near future as well. I also understand that with all movies, especially Spielberg’s, one can be biased towards one film or another based on the circumstances and time frame at which they were first viewed.
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial
- Jurassic Park
- Schindler’s List
- Jaws
- Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
- Saving Private Ryan
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- War Horse
- Amistad
- The Terminal
- Catch Me if You Can
- Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
- Hook
- The Color Purple
- Minority Report
- War of the Worlds
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
- The Adventures of Tintin
- Munich
- Empire of the Sun
- The Sugarland Express
- The Lost World – Jurassic Park
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence
- Duel
- Always
- 1941
What are your favorite Spielberg films?
