Best Steven Spielberg Movies

Here, the Arts and Entertainment Department lists their favorite Steven Spielberg movies.

“Jaws” (1975)

“Jaws'' is a classic thriller film and one of Steven Spielberg's greatest movies. The movie is set on Amity Island, a small beach town, and follows the hunt for a killer shark terrorizing the island.

After a young girl falls victim to the shark, Martin Brody (Roy Shielder), Amity Island’s police chief, rules her death as a shark attack and tries to close down the beach. The mayor hears this and stops Brody from doing so in fear that they’ll lose summer business.

Marine biologist Matt Hooper (Richard Dreyfuss) and shark expert Quint (Robert Shaw) are also interested in catching the shark responsible for the killings.

Despite the continued killings and efforts to convince the mayor to close the beach, he continues to refuse, as he believes a shark is not responsible for the deaths. It is not until Brody's son is attacked in front of the mayor that he is convinced to pay Quint money to kill the shark. Quint, Brody and Hooper band together to kill the shark in a bloody and dramatic final battle.

The film's remarkable score, along with its excellent cinematography, helps build suspense and tension making it a thrilling watch. The performances from all actors are incredible and the characters are well crafted.

The movie's successful release influenced the revolution of summer blockbusters and left a remarkable impact on the film industry. “Jaws” is one of the six horror movies nominated for Best Picture. Despite not winning its nomination, the film won Oscars for Best Original Music Score, Film Editing and Sound Mixing.

The thrill factor, iconic soundtrack and cinematic influence truly make “Jaws” a timeless masterpiece. - Lailah Acuña

“Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark”

Spielberg kicked off the first movie in the epic adventure franchise, “Indiana Jones” and truly made the films blockbuster hits.

The 1981 film stars Harrison Ford as the titular Jones, a professor by day and archaeologist once the clock hits 5 p.m. He goes to Egypt to uncover the Lost Ark to keep it out of Nazi hands.

“Raiders” is the pinnacle of what an adventure movie should be, and Spielberg gets it right. A lot of the directorial decisions make the viewer on the edge of their seat, for example, the iconic boulder chase that kicks off the movie or Jones fighting off a Nazi under a moving BV-38.

This is a Spielberg classic that doesn’t lose touch with a George Lucas idea, with Ford as the star and John Williams as the composer.

Spielberg’s vision helped build an everlasting cinematic legacy. - Adrianna Gallucci

“Jurassic Park” (1993)

Based on the bestselling novel by Michael Crichton, Steven Spielberg’s “Jurassic Park” explores the concept of what if dinosaurs still roamed our planet today.

Paleontologists Alan Grant (played by Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) are invited by John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) to certify Jurassic Park, a theme park Hammond intends to open that has live dinosaurs as its attraction.

Hammond and his team developed a system involving DNA extraction and modification to clone a number of both herbivorous and carnivorous dinosaurs.

Grant and Sattler are stunned upon arriving on the island and seeing live dinosaurs. They begin a tour around the island, where to their disappointment, many of the dinosaurs were no-shows.

One of Hammond’s workers was bribed by Hammond’s top rival to steal dinosaur embryos so he could open his dinosaur theme park. The worker proceeds to shut down the security system, which also shuts down the self-driving cars that the tour was in and the electric fences that kept the dinosaurs caged off.

The tour stopped right in front of the Tyrannosaurus Rex cage. Due to the electric fences being shut off, the Tyrannosaurus Rex escaped and proceeded to attack the group.

The rest of the movie involves the group on the tour, including Grant, Sattler, Chaotician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) and Hammond’s grandchildren attempting to survive and escape an island dominated by Earth’s prehistoric rulers.

Upon release, “Jurassic Park” became the highest-grossing film in the world, surpassing “E.T.," another Spielberg directorial.

Multiple sequels were released after the success of the first one, with Spielberg directing the second film “The Lost World: Jurassic Park." After “Jurassic Park III” was released in 2001, the series took a 14-year break before rebooting in 2015 with the “Jurassic World” trilogy. - Alex Perez

“Schindler’s List” (1993)

This Academy Award-winning picture follows German businessman Oskar Schindler as he saves over a thousand Jewish refugees by employing them in his factories during the Holocaust.

Filmed almost entirely in black and white, this cinematic piece documents the vehement poison of pain and the thrashful hand of cruelty.

It was an impactful directorial choice for Spielberg considering at the time most of his work was heavily based within the scope of sci-fi and the fantasy of the unknown.

As a Jewish man himself, Spielberg found this film to be extremely vital in addressing antisemitism and its perpetual invasiveness in society.

Before the debut of this 1993 film, much of Spielberg’s pictures followed similar climatic storylines of adventure concluding in victory. And while “Schindler’s List” ends with a sense of accomplishment, the characters weren’t conjuring dinosaurs or extraterrestrial creatures but instead the actualities of the world.

The opening scene of a Jewish family observing Shabbat lapsing to the desolate abandonment of the candles evokes the true horror that was this moment in history. Symbolically demonstrating the drainage of hope and dwindling of Jewish presence as the genocide embarks.

Taking on this project elevated Spielberg’s name and versatility in the industry as it became apparent he could create harrowing films with such raw, heavy storylines. - Brooke Dougherty

“E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982)

The perfect encapsulation of youthfulness, “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial” truly was a staple film as a child.

With classic performances by young Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore, Spielberg strategically works to portray the magic of childhood friendship and the unconditional kindness of adolescents.

Receiving nine Academy Award nominations, the 1982 film follows a newly fostered camaraderie between a stranded alien and a young boy, Elliott.

The playful dynamic of these characters is extractable through the screen as they build their relationship and battle opposing forces.

Accompanied by the enchanting musical composition of John Williams, Spielberg brings to life the fascination of the extra-terrestrial.

There is an array of iconic moments from this film including that of Elliott pedaling on his bike with E.T. in his basket as they attempt to lose the government officials.

And of course, who can forget the famed finger touching of “E.T. phone home?"

Offering a plethora of lessons from accepting others for who they are to family being more than blood, Spielberg portrays the true power of affection in his production of “E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial”. - Brooke Dougherty

Lailah Acuña is a first-year majoring in communications. To contact her, email lza5309@psu.edu

Adrianna Gallucci is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact her, please email amg7989@psu.edu.

Alex Perez is a 2nd-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email app5877@psu.edu.

Brooke Dougherty is a first-year majoring in Broadcast Journalism. To contact her, email bcd5364@psu.edu