The Best Steven Spielberg Movies Ranked And Where to Watch them

If you're looking for the best Steven Spielberg movies of all time then here is a definitive list. We rank every movie directed by Steven Spielberg based on their popularity score from IMDB from best to worst. Click on the ‘see more’ button to find out where to watch them in Australia covering all streaming services. In April 2024 there are 35 films in this list.

List of the Best Movies Directed by Steven Spielberg In Order of Popularity

  1. Schindler's List
  2. Saving Private Ryan
  3. Raiders of the Lost Ark
  4. Jurassic Park
  5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  6. Catch Me If You Can
  7. Jaws
  8. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
  9. Empire of the Sun
  10. The Color Purple
  11. Duel
  12. Bridge of Spies
  13. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
  14. Minority Report
  15. Munich
  16. The Fabelmans
  17. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
  18. The Terminal
  19. Ready Player One
  20. The Adventures of Tintin
  21. Amistad
  22. Lincoln
  23. West Side Story
  24. The Post
  25. War Horse
  26. A.I. Artificial Intelligence
  27. Hook
  28. The Sugarland Express
  29. War of the Worlds
  30. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
  31. Always
  32. The BFG
  33. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
  34. 1941
  35. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Stream the top 35 Movies directed by Steven Spielberg

1. Schindler's List

Rated: R

9/10

The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

2. Saving Private Ryan

Rated: R

8.6/10

As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark

Rated: PG

8.4/10

When Dr. Indiana Jones – the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist – is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he finds himself up against the entire Nazi regime.

4. Jurassic Park

Rated: PG-13

8.2/10

A wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious investors. However, the park is anything but amusing as the security systems go off-line and the dinosaurs escape.

5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Rated: PG-13

8.2/10

When Dr. Henry Jones Sr. suddenly goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, eminent archaeologist Indiana must team up with Marcus Brody, Sallah and Elsa Schneider to follow in his father's footsteps and stop the Nazis from recovering the power of eternal life.

6. Catch Me If You Can

Rated: PG-13

8.1/10

A true story about Frank Abagnale Jr. who, before his 19th birthday, successfully conned millions of dollars worth of checks as a Pan Am pilot, doctor, and legal prosecutor. An FBI agent makes it his mission to put him behind bars. But Frank not only eludes capture, he revels in the pursuit.

7. Jaws

Rated: PG

8.1/10

When an insatiable great white shark terrorizes the townspeople of Amity Island, the police chief, an oceanographer and a grizzled shark hunter seek to destroy the blood-thirsty beast.

8. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Rated: PG

7.9/10

After a gentle alien becomes stranded on Earth, the being is discovered and befriended by a young boy named Elliott. Bringing the extraterrestrial into his suburban California house, Elliott introduces E.T., as the alien is dubbed, to his brother and his little sister, Gertie, and the children decide to keep its existence a secret. Soon, however, E.T. falls ill, resulting in government intervention and a dire situation for both Elliott and the alien.

9. Empire of the Sun

Rated: PG

7.7/10

Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirits, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.

10. The Color Purple

Rated: PG-13

7.7/10

An epic tale spanning forty years in the life of Celie, an African-American woman living in the South who survives incredible abuse and bigotry. After Celie's abusive father marries her off to the equally debasing 'Mister' Albert Johnson, things go from bad to worse, leaving Celie to find companionship anywhere she can. She perseveres, holding on to her dream of one day being reunited with her sister in Africa.

11. Duel

Rated: PG

7.6/10

Traveling businessman David Mann angers the driver of a rusty tanker while crossing the California desert. A simple trip turns deadly, as Mann struggles to stay on the road while the tanker plays cat and mouse with his life.

12. Bridge of Spies

Rated: PG-13

7.6/10

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel, the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court.

13. Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Rated: PG

7.6/10

After an encounter with UFOs, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.

14. Minority Report

Rated: PG-13

7.6/10

John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.

15. Munich

Rated: R

7.5/10

During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes are taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. In retaliation, the Israeli government recruits a group of Mossad agents to track down and execute those responsible for the attack.

16. The Fabelmans

Rated: M

7.5/10

Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

17. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom

Rated: PG

7.5/10

After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees – and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace.

18. The Terminal

Rated: PG-13

7.4/10

Viktor Navorski is a man without a country; his plane took off just as a coup d'etat exploded in his homeland, leaving it in shambles, and now he's stranded at Kennedy Airport, where he's holding a passport that nobody recognizes. While quarantined in the transit lounge until authorities can figure out what to do with him, Viktor simply goes on living – and courts romance with a beautiful flight attendant.

19. Ready Player One

Rated: PG-13

7.4/10

In 2045, the creator of a virtual reality universe dies and leaves his fortune to the first person to discover a digital Easter egg. Soon, young Wade Watts finds himself in a reality-bending treasure hunt through the mysterious and fantastical world.

20. The Adventures of Tintin

Rated: PG

7.3/10

Intrepid young reporter, Tintin, and his loyal dog, Snowy, are thrust into a world of high adventure when they discover a ship carrying an explosive secret. As Tintin is drawn into a centuries-old mystery, Ivan Ivanovitch Sakharine suspects him of stealing a priceless treasure. Tintin and Snowy, with the help of salty, cantankerous Captain Haddock and bumbling detectives, Thompson and Thomson, travel half the world, one step ahead of their enemies, as Tintin endeavors to find the Unicorn, a sunken ship that may hold a vast fortune, but also an ancient curse.

21. Amistad

Rated: R

7.3/10

In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams also becomes an ally.

22. Lincoln

Rated: PG-13

7.3/10

The revealing story of the 16th US President's tumultuous final months in office. In a nation divided by war and the strong winds of change, Lincoln pursues a course of action designed to end the war, unite the country and abolish slavery. With the moral courage and fierce determination to succeed, his choices during this critical moment will change the fate of generations to come.

23. West Side Story

Rated: M

7.2/10

Two youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.

24. The Post

Rated: PG-13

7.2/10

A cover-up that spanned four U.S. Presidents pushed the country's first female newspaper publisher and a hard-driving editor to join an unprecedented battle between journalist and government. Inspired by true events.

25. War Horse

Rated: PG-13

7.2/10

Follows a young man named Albert and his horse, Joey, and how their bond is broken when Joey is sold to the cavalry and sent to the trenches of World War One. Despite being too young to enlist, Albert heads to France to save his friend.

26. A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Rated: PG-13

7.2/10

David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circumstances make this life impossible for David. Without final acceptance by humans or machines, David embarks on a journey to discover where he truly belongs, uncovering a world in which the line between robot and machine is both vast and profoundly thin.

27. Hook

Rated: PG

6.8/10

The boy who wasn't supposed grow up—Peter Pan—does just that, becoming a soulless corporate lawyer whose workaholism could cost him his wife and kids. During his trip to see Granny Wendy in London, the vengeful Capt. Hook kidnaps Peter's kids and forces Peter to return to Neverland.

28. The Sugarland Express

Rated: PG

6.7/10

Married small-time crooks Lou-Jean and Clovis Poplin lose their baby to the state of Texas and resolve to do whatever it takes to get him back. Lou-Jean gets Clovis out of jail, and the two steal their son from his foster home, in addition to taking a highway patrolman hostage. As a massive dragnet starts to pursue them across Texas, the couple become unlikely folk heroes and even start to bond with the captive policeman.

29. War of the Worlds

Rated: PG-13

6.5/10

Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop off his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.

30. The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Rated: PG-13

6.5/10

Four years after Jurassic Park's genetically bred dinosaurs ran amok, multimillionaire John Hammond shocks chaos theorist Ian Malcolm by revealing that he has been breeding more beasties at a secret location. Malcolm, his paleontologist ladylove and a wildlife videographer join an expedition to document the lethal lizards' natural behavior in this action-packed thriller.

31. Always

Rated: PG

6.4/10

Pete Sandich is a reckless fire-fighting pilot who is killed in what was to have been his final mission. Ascending to Heaven, Pete is introduced to business-like angel who instructs the spectral Pete to pass on his aviation knowledge to his young successor. While doing so, Pete also smoothes the course of romance for his earthly girlfriend who, after several months of grieving, finally falls in love with another man.

32. The BFG

Rated: PG

6.3/10

The BFG is no ordinary bone-crunching giant. He is far too nice and jumbly. It's lucky for Sophie that he is. Had she been carried off in the middle of the night by the Bloodbottler, or any of the other giants—rather than the BFG—she would have soon become breakfast. When Sophie hears that the giants are flush-bunking off to England to swollomp a few nice little chiddlers, she decides she must stop them once and for all. And the BFG is going to help her!

33. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

Rated: PG-13

6.2/10

Set during the Cold War, the Soviets—led by sword-wielding Irina Spalko—are in search of a crystal skull which has supernatural powers related to a mystical Lost City of Gold. Indy is coerced to head to Peru at the behest of a young man whose friend—and Indy's colleague—Professor Oxley has been captured for his knowledge of the skull's whereabouts.

34. 1941

Rated: PG

5.8/10

In the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, panic grips California, where a military officer leads a mob chasing a Japanese sub.

35. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Rated: PG

/10

The year is 1936. An archeology professor named Indiana Jones is venturing in the jungles of South America searching for a golden statue. Unfortunately, he sets off a deadly trap but miraculously escapes. Then, Jones hears from a museum curator named Marcus Brody about a biblical artifact called The Ark of the Covenant, which can hold the key to humanly existence. Jones has to venture to vast places such as Nepal and Egypt to find this artifact. However, he will have to fight his enemy Rene Belloq and a band of Nazis in order to reach it.