Top Steven Spielberg Movies

He’s had two movies open over the holidays and while neither broke any records, he’s still Steven Spielberg, the man behind such classics as Jaws, E.T., Jurassic Park or Indiana Jones.

Winner of three Oscars over the course of more than 38 years of directing, writing, producing and even starring, Steven Spielberg is nothing short of a legend. This list of the top Steven Spielberg Movies is all about the films he directed and because it’s impossible to accurately adjust for inflation international grosses (considering his long career), I’m gonna have to stick to North America only here.

10. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) $350.6 million – Not exactly a favorite of the fans, this 4th Indiana Jones film received good reviews (77% on Rotten Tomatoes, the lowest of the series) but was never quite up there with the standards set by the much older previous entries.

9. Saving Private Ryan (1998) $363.2 million – Shakespeare in Love was a good flick, no doubt about it but the Best Picture award in 1999 was pretty much stolen from Saving Private Ryan, the better film that year. I still remember watching the Oscars that night, thinking Steven Spielberg’s film was a shoe-in, yet it lost ending the awards ceremony with five trophies. If you haven’t seen this yet then shame on you.

8. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) $392.3 million – My favorite of the Indy films, The Last Crusade works so well mainly thanks to the great chemistry between stars Sir Sean Connery and Harrison Ford playing father and son (even though there are only 12 years between the two).

7. The Lost World: Jurassic Park (1997) $396.2 million – Arguably the weakest film in this top 10, The Lost World isn’t a bad movie as much as it’s extremely mediocre and forgettable, something unusual for Steven Spielberg. So the dinosaurs are back this time on a different island, unfortunately the magic was all gone.

6. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984) $425 million – Out of the old Indy flicks, this one did not age well at all. It’s fun but just way to over the top most of the time. As an added bonus you get to see Steven Spielberg’s real-life wife in here, namely Kate Capshaw playing the female lead. And yes, after more than 20 years they are still together.

5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) $441.2 million – One of my childhood favorites, I always dreamed about replicating that volcano in my living room, just like the one made by Richard Dreyfuss. A groundbreaking movie at the time, still a must see today.

4. Jurassic Park (1993) $684.4 million – This is where CGI in movies really took off and even today those dinosaurs still look great. Seeing Jurassic Park as a child was something incredible for me and while I’ve seen it many many times since then, I still remember that first time, the magic.

3. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) $699.8 million – Coming after two Star Wars movies, Raiders of the Lost Ark raised Harrison Ford to superstardom and made Indiana Jones into one of the most recognized and beloved fictional characters of all time.

2. Jaws (1975) $1,016.9 million – How about this for a second big screen movie. One of the highest grossing films of all time, Jaws inspired many more sequel, parodies and imitators. Haven’t seen this one in many years yet I still remember just about every important scene, a testament to the greatness of Jaws. But then again, how many other films had a huge shark while at the same time a compelling story with characters you care about?

1. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) $1,126.3 million – One of the all time classics, E.T. is more than just a movie. In short this is about a boy that finds an alien and tries to help him get back home. This year is the 30th anniversary so it’s hard to believe Universal could miss the opportunity to re-release this in 3D one way or another.

In this last part I usually mention a great movie that missed the top 10 but in Spielberg’s case there are so many. Since I don’t want to forget any (yet I will) I’ll just list what I think are some of his best movies that deserve to be mentioned here in no particular order: Empire of the Sun, Munich, The Terminal, A.I. Artificial Intelligence, Minority Report, Schindler’s List, The Color Purple, Catch Me if You Can as well as his last two movies, The Adventures of Tintin (winner of a Golden Globe) and War Horse, both of which will probably go into my Steven Spielberg collection when out on Blu-ray or DVD.

What is your top Steven Spielberg Movie?

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Last years winner was The Golden Compass

As well as announcing Hugh Jackman as the new host for next February’s Oscars, the Academy have revealed the 15 movies in the running for the 2008 visual effects Oscar.

Here is the list in alphabetical order:
Australia
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Cloverfield
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Hancock
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
The Incredible Hulk
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Quantum of Solace
The Spiderwick Chronicles

This award is probably the one people care about the most, seeing as though this category contains movies people actually see.

In early January the list will be narrowed down to 7, then on January 15th members of the visual effects branch will watch excerpts from the movies, and the list will be narrowed down to 3.

Which movie do you think deserves the Oscar?

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The BBC is reporting that Members of the Russian Communist party have called for the new Indiana Jones film to be banned in the county because they say it distorts history.

Moscow Communist official Andrei Andreyev said:

“It is very disturbing if talented directors want to provoke a new Cold War.”

Steven Spielberg starting a new Cold War!? I think someone is over-reacting just a tad!

He said many Russian cinemagoers were teenagers who would be “completely unaware of what happened in 1957″, when the film is set.

“They will go to the cinema and will be sure that in 1957 we made trouble for the United States and almost started a nuclear war.

“It’s rubbish… In 1957 the communists did not run with crystal skulls throughout the US.”

I can remember when Iran got their panties in a bunch when 300 was released last year. Some people just need to remember that they are watching a movie. They are not making factual documentaries, they are making entertainment.

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In a new interview, George Lucas said that “it’s more than a strong possibility there will be a fifth Indiana Jones,” [and] says that “he and director Steven Spielberg have left the door open for a sequel to Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.”

Interesting! What would Indy & Co. be up to this fifth time around?

“I haven’t even told Steven or Harrison this,” Lucas said. “But I have an idea to make Shia [LaBeouf] the lead character next time and have Harrison [Ford] come back like Sean Connery did in the last movie. I can see it working out.

“And it’s not like Harrison is even old,” he said, backpedaling fast. “I mean, he’s 65 and he did everything in this movie. The old chemistry is there, and it’s not like he’s an old man. He’s incredibly agile; he looks even better than he did 20 years ago, if you ask me.”

So it looks like young LaBeouf could be taking over for a generation of younger fans!

Is it just me, or does anyone else wish that they were Shia right now? Not only does he have Steven Spielberg in his back pocket, but now George Lucas, too! And, with Transformers 2 set to begin filming in June, he couldn’t be riding a higher wave!

Props, LaBeouf! Just make sure to start away from those convenient stores and everything will BE OKAY.

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According to one analyst, upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull could pull in as much as $162-$172 MILLION over next week’s 5-day Memorial Day weekend opening! WOW.

Considering that there have been some not-so-nice reviews going around lately, this is some good news for Paramount!

But, then again, Speed Racer didn’t have the built in audience that Indiana Jones does. Anyone who suggests that Indy is going to bomb needs to have their head checked (or wipe the white powder off their nose). I mean, you all saw Revenge of the Sith, right? THAT still managed to make $380 mil domestic, so I’ve got faith in Steve & Co.

I’ll definitely be there.  That’s $11 right there!

Read similar posts to Indy To Make BANK! on Filmonic

The second and final trailer for Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has appeared online.

Only 18 days to go!

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Yahoo! has posted some new pics from the upcoming Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull movie.

Cate Blanchett looks FIERCE. But I’m not really digging Shia’s new hair!

I guess I’m going to have to watch the first three movies again soon! Gonna need a refresher come May!

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If you want to see Cate Blanchett speaking with a Russian accent then you have come to the right place!

Yuh Vill Fiend it!

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