#5
Here, Spielberg creates a truly heart warming film based on an interesting, yet familiar concept: A man out of his element. Tom Hanks plays Viktor Navorski, a man who travels to New York City from Krakozhia (a fictional country) in order to take care of some family matters. After landing in New York, his trip hits a little snag when a revolution erupts in his home country. The government is overthrown and his home country ceases to exist, rendering his passport completely void. The airport can't release him without a passport from his home country, and even if he wanted to fly back to a war torn country, he'd need a working passport to do so. So, essentially, Viktor is stuck in JFK International Airport. Hanks brings an incredible sense of reality to the character, even when he's playing for laughs. The pure innocence and boy-like charm Tom Hanks gives to his character of Viktor is a sight to behold. Believe it or not, this film is based on a true story where a man was forced to live at an airport in Paris for years after a mixup occurred with his passport.
#4
By the time Jurassic Park was released, Spielberg had already managed to solidify himself as the ultimate director of adventure films. So, people had pretty high expectations for this dinosaur packed flick. But what they got, blew them out of the proverbial water. Steven Spielberg was known as a progressive director, but with this film Spielberg became one of the pioneers (along with Terminator 2 and Abyss director James Cameron) of Computer Generated Imagery in movies. The convincing and realistic CGI dinosaurs in Jurassic Park (that still hold up pretty well today) revolutionized the industry overnight and won the oscar for best visual effects in 1994. Oh and it helps that the story is well told, the parts are well acted, and the action is thrilling and completely bad ass.
#3
This WWII film grabs you from the very beginning with it's incredible depiction of the storming of Omaha Beach at Normandy. The movie doesn't let go as you follow a squad led by Captain Miller (played to perfection by Tom Hanks) as they trek across the war torn country. Their mission is to search for the last surviving brother of the Ryan family who has a free ticket home after his other 3 brothers were killed in combat. Spielberg is at his best here. He fills the picture with grain and washed out sepia colors that has come to define many war films since (imitation is flattery afterall). Spielberg captures the violence and tragedy of war with gritty realism and an obvious amount of great respect. The nature of the film fills you with a sense of pride as you watch these men give all they had for their country and for each other. If you don't walk out of that theater with a patriotic tear in your eye, you just don't have a heart, man.
#2
The ultimate adventure movie wrapped in one of the most thrilling packages movie goers had ever seen, Raiders is an amazing feat in cinematic entertainment. Exciting, scary, funny, and action packed, Spielberg handles the story of archeologist Indiana Jones (from the mind of George Lucas) with a half serious, half light-hearted tone that blends together to create one hell of a fun ride. Harrison Ford is, of course, amazing in one of his most famous roles of all time. The film finds the gruff, tough Dr. Henry Jones racing against the Nazi's to find and dig up the famous religious artifact in the movie's title. From amazing action set pieces, to quiet character moments, to frightening chills, Spielberg navigates the film with a cerain grace and never loses the tone of the film. It's pure adventure from start to finish and damn proud of it!
#1
That's right. It's the original summer blockbuster film that made everyone scared to go in the water. Now, I have to admit the shark special effects (while amazing at the time of the film's release) are dated; in the end it really doesn't matter. What makes Jaws great is it's captivating story that director Steven Spielberg is able to capture on celluloid so perfectly. Spielberg, a young up-and-coming director in hollywood at the time, was smart enough to surround himself with 3 amazing actors (Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, and Roy Scheider) and make cinema magic. Despite a notoriously unreliable robotic shark (nicknamed "Bruce" by the filmmakers), a hectic shooting schedule, and the burden of shooting on the water, Spielberg manages to craft one of the finest examples of thriller-horror to date.
So, there it is! My top 5 Steven Spielberg movies. Now, I can hear some of you already... "Where's E.T.?" "I can't believe he didn't include Close Encounters!"... Look, if this were a top 10 list, I can guarantee you those would be on there. I can also guarantee you that War Horse would not be on there. But, this is a top 5. Why? Because a top 10 list is too easy. Making a top 5 forces me to make tough cuts and thus, more interesting. What are your favorite Spielberg movies? Sound off below!
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