44 Steven Spielberg Movies & TV Shows, Ranked Best to Worst

Based on the true story of German industrialist Oskar Schindler, this Academy Award-winning film depicts his arrival in German-occupied Poland during World War II to make a fortune from his factories, which he staffs with cheap Jewish laborers. However, upon witnessing Nazi brutality, he provides shelter to hundreds of his workers, saving them from the Holocaust.

After three of the Ryan brothers are killed in combat, Captain John Miller receives orders to find the last sibling, paratrooper James Francis Ryan, who is fighting somewhere in Normandy, and bring him back to his mother. Without knowing if he is still alive, Miller leads eight men behind enemy lines in a heroic show of courage.

The first of the four films in the Indiana Jones franchise, the movie has an archaeologist and adventurer–Indiana Jones–as its central character. He is assigned the task of finding The Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis, and his own rival Rene Belloq can take it. He is aided in his mission by his former lover, Marion Ravenwood.

Dr Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler are amongst the group of expert invited by John Hammond to visit his theme park where cloned dinosaurs are the highlight. However, the tour goes wrong when a storms sets in and an employee shuts down the power leaving the man eating dinosaurs to roam around freely. Alan has to ensure a safe return for himself and Hammond’s two grandchildren.

After his father goes missing while searching for the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones embarks on a journey to find his father and teams up with Austrian archaeologist Elsa Schneider, who has questionable loyalty. Once he rescues his father from the clutches of the Nazis, they must retrieve the Grail before the Nazis get to it.

A biographical crime film directed by Steven Spielberg, Catch Me If You Can follows the life of Frank Abagnale who, even before turning 19, successfully carries out cons worth millions of dollars. He has posed as a pilot, a doctor and a lawyer in process. He is chased and caught by Carl Hanratty who eventually convinces him to help FBI catch other check forgers.

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is adapted from the popular 1974 novel by Peter Benchley. When a killer shark attacks a vacationer at the Amity Island, police chief Martin Brody wants to close down the beaches but Mayor Vaughn is against it. However, with the shark continuing its killing spree, Brody teams up with a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter to hunt down the beast.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is the heartwarming adventure of a friendly alien dubbed E.T. who becomes stranded on earth and befriends a young boy Elliott, his brother, and his little sister. Elliott forms a psychic connection with the alien. Both of them falling ill and government intervention complicates things. Elliott recovers to help E.T. return to his home planet. 

Loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s 1954 short story, the movie is set in 2054 Washington where specialised police arrests murderers before they actually kill someone. Helping the police are three psychics or precogs who can predict these murders. John Anderton works for this special police force but when one day, he is identified as a future killer, he is forced to escape to prove his innocence.

Schoolboy Jamie Graham gets separated from his wealthy British family in Shanghai after the Japanese army begins occupying China during WWII and struggles to overcome hunger on the streets until being taken to a POW camp. He remains upbeat despite witnessing the horrors of war firsthand and survives with the help of several strangers whom he befriends.

The Color Purple tells the story of a black woman growing up in the early 1900s, who was impregnated by her own father at the age of 14. The film explores her hardships and struggles over the next 30 years. 

David is a businessman who is driving his car through California, on his way to meet a client. However, on the way he finds himself chased and terrorized by a psychopath on a tanker truck.

In 1957, Russian spy Rudolf Abel is arrested in New York City and is defended by principled lawyer James B. Donovan. Meanwhile, Francis Powers’ U-2 spy plane is shot down in the USSR and he is imprisoned. Ultimately, with great risk to his own life, Donovan facilitates the exchange of Abel and Powers at the Glienicke Bridge. 

Electric lineman Roy Neary and single mother Jillian Guiler are among several people who have sighted UFOs and are obsessed with finding a unique mountain they have visions about. Meanwhile, government researchers led by scientist Claude Lacombe discover lost WWII-era Flight 19 squadron and are preparing for a close encounter of the third kind: contact with the aliens.

The second movie in the Indiana Jones film series is set in 1935 British India. Indiana Jones and his associates arrive in the village of Mayapore and are requested by the residents to find a mystical stone and their missing children. Their investigation leads them to an underground temple and a secret cult practicing black magic and human sacrifice. 

Eleven Israeli athletes are abducted and massacred by a Palestinian terrorist group during Munich Olympic Games. Hence, the Israeli government begins a covert operation and assigns a team of Mossad agents headed by Avner Kaufman to find and kill those responsible. The team starts its mission and along the way learns that there is a very thin line that separates their enemies and friends.

Partially inspired by a true story, The Terminal follows the predicament of an Eastern European man who gets stuck in New York's John F. Kennedy Airport terminal due to unusual circumstances. It received mixed reviews but was a commercial success. 

This Steven Spielberg’s science-fiction and action-adventure film, set in 2045, revolves around a contest devised to find an heir by the eccentric genius James Halliday, the creator of virtual reality universe, OASIS. When young Wade Watts takes up the challenge to hunt that digital Easter Egg, he finds himself facing terrifying dangers and enigmatic discoveries in an incredible universe.

Steven Spielberg's Lincoln takes you back in time to watch the making of a historic moment as the US President gets the House of Representatives to pass the Thirteenth Amendment to the US Constitution which abolished slavery.

Unexpected and supernatural incidents start happening to the Freeling family in their house at Cuesta Verde, when ghosts start communicating with them through the TV set. Things take a turn for worse when the initially friendly spirits turn malevolent and kidnap the youngest daughter Carol. The Freelings must find a way to bring her back. 

Based on true events of 1839, the film depicts the slave revolt led by Mende tribal chief, Cinque aboard, the Spanish slave-ship, La Amistad, traveling from Cuba to US. The chained African slaves take over the ship but reach US shore. A formerly-freed slave fights in the court for their freedom, while ex-president, John Quincy Adams, represents them in the Supreme Court.  

David Swinton is a mecha—highly advanced robot—programmed to experience love. He lives with Henry and Monica as their son because the couple’s real son, Martin, is in a comatose condition. David’s life is good but when Martin returns, the couple abandon him. David now wants to become real so that his human mother can love him.

Young farm-boy Albert is heartbroken when his father sells his beloved horse Joey to the army after Britain enters WWI, and eventually enlists in the army four years later. He is temporarily blinded while fighting in no man's land in France, and while recuperating, learns about a unique horse recovered from the Germans.

Focusing on the life of newspaper heiress and publisher Katharine Graham, this historical political thriller film highlights the challenges she has to face after the deaths of her husband and her father. The film was chosen by the National Board of Review as the best film of 2017. 

Tony falls for Maria after spotting her a high school dance. Their romance worsens the war between the two rival gangs – the Jets and the Sharks.  

Peter Pan has grown up and forgotten all about his childhood. He is now Peter Banning, a successful and workaholic lawyer who lives with his wife and two children. When Captain Hook, his arch-enemy, kidnaps his children, Peter returns to Neverland to save them. The journey brings back his memories and transforms him.

This short Western is one of Steven Spielberg’s early works - apparently his first movie which he made when he was only a teenager. The short film is about a teenager boy who is orphaned when his parents are killed by a bandit. The boy sets out to avenge the killings of his parents. 

This crime drama film tells the story of Lou-Jean, who wishes to reunite her family, and therefore convinces and aids her husband to escape from prison. They decide to kidnap their child next, from his foster home. But things don’t go as planned, and hell breaks loose, after they are forced to take a cop hostage.

A Steven Spielberg thriller based on an H.G. Wells novel of the same name, War of the Worlds, stars Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning, who try to survive an alien invasion. As extraterrestrial tripods hunt human beings for their blood and tissue, a divorced father faces numerous obstacles as he tries to reach the safety of his ex-wife’s parents’ home.

A research team comprising Dr Ian Malcolm and Sarah Harding arrives at Isla Sorna to study the dinosaurs in their natural environment. There is another team from InGen that wants to take dinosaurs to mainland San Diego. When the dinosaurs wreak havoc and the situation becomes dangerous, the two team are forced to work together to survive.

The anthology film is based on the landmark supernatural TV series of the same name (1959-1964), and comprises of remake of three episodes of the original series and one new story, each directed by different stalwart directors. The film’s horror and science-fiction segments, portraying eerie, unsettling situations, include-- prologue, ‘Time Out,’ ‘Kick the Can,’ ‘It’s a good Life,’ ‘Nightmare at 20,000 Feet,’ and epilogue.

Pete Sandich, a daredevil aerial forest-fire fighter, uses WWII-vintage plane to put out forest fires. His risk-taking worries fiancée Dorinda, who urges Pete to opt for the training job. On his last flight, he takes precarious dive and saves his friend Al, but loses own life. Pete then faces the challenge of helping Dorinda get over her grief and guiding Ted, who has fallen for her

Fighter Squad is a war short film which revolves around Shaun and his friends, who face horrifying situations during the Second World War.

The movie with no spoken dialogue follows a young man hitchhiking with a closely guarded guitar case. He meets a free-spirited young woman, and the two fall in love along the way until the woman opens the case and starts questioning her lover’s free-spiritedness. 

10 years old orphan Sophie is in for the adventure of her life when she is captured by the Big Friendly Giant or BFG and taken to his home. But man eating giants like the Fleshlumpeater, the Bloodbottler, and others discover Sophie’s presence. Now Sophie and the BFG return to convince Queen Elizabeth II to stop the evil giants.  

Set in 1957, pitting Indiana Jones against Soviet agents, the film—the fourth installment in the Indiana Jones series—became one of the highest-grossing films of 2008. It was praised for its visual effects, performances, and action scenes.

Directed by Steven Spielberg, who was also the co-writer, this short film was about bicycle racers, but the movie remained unfinished.

After the Pearl Harbor attack, California, which is feared to be the next target of the Japanese, is gripped in a panic wave. As hysteria spreads after spotting a Japanese sub off the California coast, varied groups of Californians set their own defense actions in motion. Major-General Joseph Stilwell, sent to compose the paranoid public, tries to make sense of the goings-on. 

Residents of a town in Arizona start disappearing one by one after they see a series of colored lights appearing in the sky. A group of scientists start a series of investigations, and soon come to know that aliens may be behind this.    

This war short film revolves around a battle in East Africa during the Second World War. A group of soldiers are ambushed in such a way that no one is able to escape.

The Blues Brothers is a musical-comedy that revoles around two brothers—one of whom is a criminal—who embark on a mission to save their childhood school from shutting down. Brothers, Jake and Elwood Blues, played by John Belushi and John Aykroyd, reunite with their band and meet noted music artists to raise money while evading the police and other enemies.

This short Western is one of Steven Spielberg’s early works - apparently his first movie which he made when he was only a teenager. The short film is about a teenager boy who is orphaned when his parents are killed by a bandit. The boy sets out to avenge the killings of his parents. 

The movie starts with super spy Austin Powers arresting Dr. Evil and foiling his plan to bring back the evil Goldmember. But when his father Nigel Powers is kidnapped, Austin travels back in time and teams up with Foxxy Cleopatra to stop Goldmember and Dr. Evil’s son Scott from destroying the world and save his father. 

Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is adapted from the popular 1974 novel by Peter Benchley. When a killer shark attacks a vacationer at the Amity Island, police chief Martin Brody wants to close down the beaches but Mayor Vaughn is against it. However, with the shark continuing its killing spree, Brody teams up with a marine biologist and a professional shark hunter to hunt down the beast.

British comic book enthusiasts Graeme Willy and Clive Gollings take a trip through America's UFO heartland and meet Paul, an alien attempting to flee Earth after 60 years of imprisonment. While helping Paul reach his spaceship at Area 51 avoiding FBI Special Agent Zoil, the nerd duo inadvertently abducts a religious woman whose father is also hunting them.

Grumpy ogre Shrek's blissful solitude is interrupted when a host of fairy creatures, including a talkative Donkey, are banished to his swamp by the diminutive Lord Farquaad. As Shrek attempts to complain, Farquaad, a scheming ruler planning to become a king, assigns him to rescue Princess Fiona from a tower guarded by a fire-breathing dragon.

Set in a world where humans and cartoons co-exist, a toon superstar Roger Rabbit suspects his wife of having an affair with Marvin and hires private detective Eddie to investigate. However, Marvin is soon found murdered and Roger Rabbit becomes the prime suspect. It is now up to Eddie, a toon hater, to find the real culprit and save Roger Rabbit.

When young orphaned Brontosaurus Littlefoot is left to fend for himself, he sets out of find the fabled Great Valley, where, according to his mother’s last words, he’ll find friendly dinosaurs. As he meets young Cera, Spike, Ducky and Petrie, they continue their quest together. When they face petrifying challenges and ferocious predators, the friends learn to survive by helping each other.  

The animated movie is based on three volumes of Tintin, including The Crab with the Golden Claws, The Secret of the Unicorn, and Red Rackham's Treasure. It follows young reporter Tintin in his quest for Red Rackham’s treasure with the help of Captain Haddock while trying to outwit the villainous Sakharine.  

An elderly woman tells her granddaughter the story of Balto, a wolf-dog hybrid, in Nome, Alaska in 1925, who saves the town from a deadly epidemic. The British-American live-action animated adventure film is loosely based on the true story of a dog of the same name.

An American Tail is an animated adventure comedy film which tells the story of Fieval, a young Russian mouse, who gets separated from his family during their migration trip to America. Despite being completely new to the country, he attempts to trace his family.

A teenage, DJ Walters, along with his friends Chowder and Jenny try to tell others that the neighbourhood house of Mr. Nebbercracker is suspicious and everything that lands on the property is either confiscated by its elderly owner or consumed by the house. When they fail in their endeavour, they decide to destroy the heart of the house so as to kill it.

This animated adventure musical film tells the story of a family of mice who is lured by the false promises of a smooth-talking cat, after which they set out on a journey towards the West.

A scientist who has figured out time-travel goes back to prehistoric times, and feeds dinosaurs a magic cereal which can improve their intelligence. He hopes that this will help them survive, and his kids at the present time will be able to witness these creatures.

Over a period of five decades, three different families experience alien abductions, which leave them with many questions but no answers.

The second movie in the Indiana Jones film series is set in 1935 British India. Indiana Jones and his associates arrive in the village of Mayapore and are requested by the residents to find a mystical stone and their missing children. Their investigation leads them to an underground temple and a secret cult practicing black magic and human sacrifice. 

Agent K recruits an NYPD officer, codenamed Agent J, into the super-secretive government agency, Men in Black, which polices aliens secretly living amongst humans and safeguards earth from extraterrestrial threats. Upon investigating a crash-landing, the duo uncover a vicious plot by an intergalactic terrorist Bug to steal a powerful jewel that houses an entire galaxy.

Billy Peltzer’s father gives him a unique furry little ‘Mogwai’ as Christmas present, but warns to strictly follow three basic rules of looking after the pet. As Billy fails to observe the rules, nasty offspring of ‘Gizmo’ swarm his house, and soon their small town of Kingston Falls in under attack from the horrible Gremlins. How do they fight this menace?

A rich playboy David meets and falls in love with Sofia. His ex-lover Julie is jealous and ends up killing herself and severely disfiguring David’s face in a car accident. Medical help and Sofia’s love appear to heal David but there are strange incidences happening which David cannot understand. Difference between reality and dream becomes difficult to discern.

A research team comprising Dr Ian Malcolm and Sarah Harding arrives at Isla Sorna to study the dinosaurs in their natural environment. There is another team from InGen that wants to take dinosaurs to mainland San Diego. When the dinosaurs wreak havoc and the situation becomes dangerous, the two team are forced to work together to survive.