Spielberg’s 10 Best Films Ranked: From ‘The Fablemans’ Back to the Classics That Made Him a Legend

Steven Spielberg has spent more than five decades redefining what it means to make movies for the masses. With an average Rotten Tomatoes score of 80 percent across his entire filmography, critics have only handed him a “Rotten” score on four of his films, a stat that speaks volumes about the consistency and craft behind his work. His newest sci-fi thriller, ‘Disclosure Day’, arrived in theaters on June 12 and immediately joined the conversation about the finest work of his career.

What makes a Spielberg film tick, and where does his newest entry land among his most celebrated titles? Using the Tomatometer as the measuring stick, here is a look at the ten best-reviewed films from one of cinema’s greatest living storytellers, counted down from ten to one.

#10: ‘Close Encounters of the Third Kind’ (94%)

Close Encounters of the Third Kind scored 91 percent, placing it among Spielberg’s highest-scoring movies, all of which were released before 2002. The film’s depiction of humanity’s first peaceful contact with an alien civilization remains one of the most poetic visions of the unknown ever committed to celluloid.

Reviewer David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter noted that ‘Disclosure Day’ shares DNA that can easily be traced to ‘Close Encounters’ and ‘E.T.’, underlining just how foundational this film has been to everything Spielberg has created in the alien-encounter space since.

#9: ‘Jurassic Park’ (91%)

The RT critics consensus for ‘Jurassic Park’ calls it a spectacle of special effects and life-like animatronics, featuring some of Spielberg’s best sequences of sustained awe and sheer terror since ‘Jaws’. Few blockbusters in history have delivered that combination of wonder and genuine menace as effectively as this one did.

‘Jurassic Park’ earned a 92 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes upon its release in 1993, cementing it as one of the most critically celebrated adventure films ever made. Its impact on practical and digital effects storytelling is still felt across the industry today.

#8: ‘West Side Story’ (91%)

The RT critics consensus for ‘West Side Story’ states that Spielberg’s take presents a new look at the classic musical that lives up to its beloved forebear and in some respects might even surpass it. It was a bold swing for a director who had never made a full musical before, and the critical community rewarded his ambition generously.

Both ‘West Side Story’ and ‘The Fabelmans’ scored 91 percent, giving the 2020s an average of 91 percent for Spielberg, his best average of any decade. For a filmmaker already in his mid-seventies, that kind of late-career momentum is genuinely remarkable.

#7: ‘The Fabelmans’ (92%)

The critics consensus for ‘The Fabelmans’ describes it as part memoir and part ode to the power of the movies, finding Spielberg digging at the family roots that helped make him a beloved filmmaker and proving he hasn’t lost his magic touch. Gabriel LaBelle stars as the young stand-in for Spielberg himself, with Michelle Williams earning particular praise alongside him.

Despite Spielberg’s high Rotten Tomatoes average for the 2020s, his eight highest-scoring movies were all released before 2002, which makes ‘The Fabelmans’ cracking the top tier of his career all the more impressive as a late-period achievement.

#6: ‘Saving Private Ryan’ (94%)

The critics consensus for ‘Saving Private Ryan’ describes it as anchored by another winning performance from Tom Hanks, with Spielberg’s unflinchingly realistic war film virtually redefining the genre. The film’s brutal opening D-Day sequence alone changed the language of war cinema permanently.

‘Saving Private Ryan’ follows Tom Hanks’s Captain John Miller and his remaining squad as they are tasked with tracking down the sole surviving Ryan brother after the US Department of War learns that his three brothers have been killed in action. With a budget of between 65 and 70 million dollars, the film ultimately earned 482.3 million dollars at the global box office.

#5: ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ (94%)

Matching ‘Saving Private Ryan’ point for point on the Tomatometer, ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ earned a 94 percent score, making it one of the most beloved adventure films in critical history. Harrison Ford’s Indiana Jones is arguably the most iconic character Spielberg has ever placed at the center of a film.

‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ stars Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, Ronald Lacey, John Rhys-Davies, and Denholm Elliott, assembling an ensemble that crackles with chemistry from the first frame. The film essentially invented the modern adventure blockbuster and still hasn’t been topped in its own genre.

#4: ‘Catch Me If You Can’ (96%)

The critics consensus for ‘Catch Me If You Can’ credits a strong performance by Leonardo DiCaprio as real-life con artist Frank Abagnale and describes the film as stylish, breezily entertaining, and surprisingly sweet. It is perhaps the most effortlessly enjoyable film in Spielberg’s entire catalogue.

‘Catch Me If You Can’ scored 96 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, tying it with ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ and making both films among the most acclaimed work Spielberg has ever put to screen. The film’s playful tone and DiCaprio’s magnetic turn remain irresistible on every rewatch.

#3: ‘Jaws’ (97%)

The critics consensus for ‘Jaws’ states that compelling, well-crafted storytelling and a judicious sense of terror ensure it has remained a benchmark in the art of delivering modern blockbuster thrills. It is the film that essentially created the summer blockbuster as a cultural phenomenon, and no shark movie has come close to matching it since.

‘Jaws’ stars Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, and Lorraine Gary, with the tension between these characters generating as much dread as the mechanical shark ever could. The fact that it scores this high despite its technical production challenges speaks to the sheer force of Spielberg’s filmmaking instincts.

#2: ‘Schindler’s List’ (98%)

The critics consensus for ‘Schindler’s List’ states that it blends the abject horror of the Holocaust with Spielberg’s signature tender humanism to create the director’s dramatic masterpiece. Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, and Ralph Fiennes deliver performances that have only grown in stature over the decades.

The film tells the story of businessman Oskar Schindler arriving in Kraków in 1939, ready to make his fortune from World War II, which has just started. What unfolds is one of the most devastating and morally complex portraits of humanity under extreme duress that cinema has ever produced.

#1: ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ (99%)

The critics consensus for ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ describes it as playing as both an exciting sci-fi adventure and a remarkable portrait of childhood, with Spielberg’s touching tale of a homesick alien remaining a piece of movie magic for young and old. There is a reason this film sits at the very pinnacle of his career.

Spielberg himself considers ‘E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial’ to be his only perfect film, and it commands a 99 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. With ‘Disclosure Day’ now firmly etched into his legacy and fans already debating whether Emily Blunt’s performance deserves awards recognition, it is a wonderful moment to ask: which Spielberg film holds the most special place for you, and does ‘Disclosure Day’ have what it takes to one day challenge these all-time classics?