Top 5 Steven Spielberg Movies

Spielberg is the best director alive today (sorry Nolan but he has you by a few decades).  He has been the brilliant mind behind so many of Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters and is still going strong.  Although it’s quite early, he is already the favorite to win Best Director at next year’s Oscars for a movie about the Cold War that hasn’t even come out yet (and it’s the favorite for best picture).  Here is a list of the best Spielberg movies in existence.

 

#5:  E.T the Extra Terrestrial (1982)

Wow, you know it’s a great list if E.T is bumped all the way down to number five.  This classic movie is perfect for the family to sit down and watch while ordering a pizza.  E.T is an alien that accidentally lands on Earth and is trying to make his way back home.  He joins a couple of kids and the group goes through adventure after adventure in an effort to get him back home. You will be hard-pressed to find a child who hasn’t seen this movie.

 

#4:  Jaws (1975)

This movie created the concept of a summer blockbuster.  Again, it’s crazy that a movie like this could only be number four on the list.  Audiences watch a crew go out and try to find a killer shark that has been terrorizing a beach.  Jaws is the reason that the summer movie season exists.  Plus, we were also given some of the best soundtrack music ever from the movie.

 

#3:  Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

The first movie in the Indiana Jones trilogy (I like to pretend Crystal Skull doesn’t exist), Raiders of the Lost Ark was another successful notch in Spielberg’s belt that has made him the director he is today.  Without him, there would be no Indiana Jones.  Spielberg was smart and decided to cast Harrison Ford at the height of the Star Wars craze in the early 80s and make the movie even more popular.

 

#2:  Jurassic Park (1993)

This movie changed cinema.  Jurassic Park was the first movie to utilize CGI.  It has now become a staple in Hollywood that would have never become what it was without Spielberg.  He has helped shaped the industry into what it is today. Imagine the movie technology of the early 90s and then watch this:  http://bit.ly/1jtNViK

 

Honorable Mention

Lincoln (2012)

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Munich (2005)

Minority Report (2002)

 

#1:  Schindler’s List (1993)

1993 must have been a great year to be Steven Spielberg.  With the success of Jurassic Park and Schindler’s List, Spielberg had one of the best year’s for a director ever.  Many of you have heard me talk about how great Schindler’s List is and I even included it in my list for the top 10 movies of all-time (http://bit.ly/1CcueTd).  Liam Neeson and Spielberg were able to work together to bring a movie about an extremely dark spot in human history to light while keeping a serious tone. If you haven’t seen it by now, you really have to.

 

What is your favorite Steven Spielberg movie?  Which other directors do you want to see with top five lists?  Make sure to let me know!

Top 5 Movie Soundtrack Composers of All-Time

Movie soundtracks can be one of the most underrated parts of a movie.  Few people realize the difference a good soundtrack can make a movie versus a bad one (imagine watching the fellowship march through the mountains in Lord of the Rings without that epic music).  I decided to show my appreciation of these unsung heroes with a list of the top 5 composers in movie history.

#5: Howard Shore

Best Known For:  Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Speaking of that epic Lord of the Rings Music, Shore was slingshot into the mainstream after his work with Peter Jackson to create one of the most memorable soundtracks of all-time.  Along with the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit franchises, Shore has composed the music for The Aviator and Ed Wood, two other movies known for their great soundtracks.  Although he has been working on movies since the 1970s, he is finally getting the recognition he deserves here in the 2000s.

#4: Bernard Herrmann

Best Known For:  Psycho

The man behind the Twilight Zone theme and Taxi Driver, Herrmann has helped create some of the most haunting recognizable scores.  Not to mention, who doesn’t imagine the shower scene in Psycho every time they hear that high pitch horror track.  Alfred Hitchcock originally wanted the famous shower scene without music before he heard Herrmann’s track.  He launched himself to popularity with his first soundtrack–Citizen Kane.  Considered one of the greatest movies every created, Citizen Kane‘s soundtrack is one of the many great aspects of the movie.

#3: Alan Silvestri

Best Known For:  Back to the Future

Silvestri’s accomplishments stretch far beyond the Back to the Future trilogy.  Forrest Gump, The A-Team, The Polar Express, and multiple movies from the Avengers Marvel Cinematic Universe are only some of the musical masterpieces penned by Silvestri.  He has shown his broad diversity covering all genres of movies.  Silvestri is definitely one of the best musical composers of all-time.  Starting his career in the 1970s, Silvestri continues to compose great soundtracks to this day.

#2:  Hans Zimmer

Best Known For:  The Dark Knight

Considered the best modern musical composer, Zimmer has created a plethora of great scores.  Pairing up with Christopher Nolan, Zimmer has created the scores for The Dark Knight trilogy, Insterstellar, Inception, and The Prestige.  He has experienced great success outside of Nolan as well.  He won an Oscar for his work on The Lion King and has been behind the scenes for many great movies:  Gladiator, Castaway, Man of Steel, Black Hawk Down, Pirates of the Caribbean, The Bee Movie, and Sherlock Holmes.  He started his musical career assisting the The Buggles with the first MTV music video “Video Killed the Radio Star” and his career has shot off from there.  He is by far currently the best in the business.

#1: John Williams

Best Known For: Star Wars

Williams has been at the helm of some of the greatest movie franchises to ever be produced.  Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park , Harry Potter, Jaws, Superman, and Schindler’s List are just the tip of the iceberg.  Williams has been creating music for movies since the mid-1950s.  While he has slowed down his pace, Williams is far and away the greatest composer ever.  His work is unrivaled.  Almost anybody could hear some of his work and immediately recognize the movie.  It will be a long time before somebody tops Williams as the greatest of all-time.