This Is the Mount Rushmore of Steven Spielberg Movies

3 weeks ago 20

Published Mar 7, 2026, 9:42 AM EST

Diego Pineda has been a devout storyteller his whole life. He has self-published a fantasy novel and a book of short stories, and is actively working on publishing his second novel.

A lifelong fan of watching movies and talking about them endlessly, he writes reviews and analyses on his Instagram page dedicated to cinema, and occasionally on his blog. His favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin. He loves modern Mexican cinema and thinks it's tragically underappreciated.

Other interests of Diego's include reading, gaming, roller coasters, writing reviews on his Letterboxd account (username: DPP_reviews), and going down rabbit holes of whatever topic he's interested in at any given point.

Starting with the made-for-television film Duel, Steven Spielberg burst onto the scene and quickly established himself as one of the founding pioneers of the New Hollywood film movement. Father of the very idea of blockbusters, the mind behind some of the best-made and most entertaining escapist movies in history (as well as some excellent prestige films here and there), and one of the most powerful men in Hollywood, he's a legend whose reputation precedes him. His filmography mostly consists of banger after banger, so narrowing it down to his biggest masterpieces is no easy task. But coming up with a Steven Spielberg Mount Rushmore isn't just about the quality of the movies, but also their importance, their level of influence, their iconicity, and their legacy. But Spielberg is such an exceptional filmmaker that, even with that set of characteristics in mind, it's still complicated to come up with his four biggest cinematic achievements.

Complicated, sure; but by no means impossible. You don't need to do a deep-dive into the director's filmography in order to find the films of his that have left the biggest marks on not just Hollywood, but the entirety of the film industry. From the movie that birthed the concept of summer blockbusters to the one that has become the face of the entire adventure movie genre; and from the film that proved Spielberg could be a serious contender for the industry's biggest awards to the one that revolutionized visual effects forever, the four movies most worthy of being chiseled on the side of a mountain have all aged like fine wine. They're among the greatest films ever made, and that's a statement that the vast majority of cinephiles agree with.

4 'Jurassic Park' (1993)

The T-Rex roaring after breaking out of its enclosure between two vehicles in Jurassic Park.

Studios were fighting each other over the rights to Michael Crichton's sci-fi novel Jurassic Park since before it even came out, but it was Spielberg himself (with Universal's backing) who ended up acquiring the rights for a million and a half dollars. It was an instant hit that soon became the highest-grossing film of all time until the release of Titanic four years later, and it remains Spielberg's highest-rated science fiction film on IMDb. It's one of the most culturally significant movies in the history of modern Hollywood, a spectacle of genre filmmaking that demonstrates Spielberg's unparalleled ability to craft edge-of-your-seat set pieces in its full splendor.

But Jurassic Park wasn't only commercially successful and thoroughly entertaining: It was also one of the most revolutionary movies of all time, at least technically. For one, it used groundbreaking surround sound design. But perhaps most importantly, it made pioneering use of CGI in a way generally considered to have paved the way for the special effects practices of modern cinema. The huge, spectacular, entertainment-driven blockbusters of the modern age tend to rely greatly on visual effects, and that industry would never have gotten to where it is today without Jurassic Park. Spielberg has never been concerned with only entertainment. Rather, he has always also been a trailblazer passionate about innovation and pushing the envelope.

3 'Schindler's List' (1993)

Oskar Schindler looking intently ahead while smoking a cigarrette in Schindler's List

Not many directors are talented or skillful enough to make two movies in a single year; and certainly not many directors are so immensely gifted in their craft that when they do make two films in a single year, both of those films are among the greatest ever made. Jurassic Park was already one of the greatest films of 1993 when it came out in June of that year, but six months later, Spielberg managed to top the gold standard he himself had set when he released what remains his magnum opus to date: the epic war biopic Schindler's List, the only Spielberg-directed movie that has won the Best Picture Oscar.

The movie won another six Academy Awards as well, and each one of them was more than well-deserved. It's far and away one of Spielberg's greatest masterpieces, a tremendously gut-wrenching yet surprisingly hopeful study of the Holocaust and of a complicated figure who did everything in his power to save as many people as he could from its horrors. Despite its 195-minute runtime and its vast scope, it is, at its core, an intimate character study led by a powerhouse Liam Neeson and an equally stunning supporting ensemble cast. Add to that John Williams' haunting score and Steven Zaillian's extraordinary screenplay, and you get one of the most exceptional masterpieces of the '90s.

2 'Raiders of the Lost Ark' (1981)

If adventure has a name, it truly must be Indiana Jones. The iconic archaeologist and adventurer played by Harrison Ford is the face of not just Spielberg's filmography, but the entire adventure film genre. As such, no Spielberg Mount Rushmore could ever be complete without Ford in a fedora chiseled on the side of the mountain. But while there are those who would rightfully point to the third installment in the series, Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, as the best adventure film Spielberg has thus far made, it would be silly to deny that the original is the Indy film that's far and away the most groundbreaking, iconic, and culturally significant. Raiders of the Lost Ark is easily one of the director's most entertaining movies, if not his single most fun outing.

There's virtually nothing to complain about with this pulpy Hollywood masterpiece inspired by the fast-paced '30s and '40s action serials that Spielberg grew up with. It's perfectly paced, full of iconic performances and memorable characters, composed of fun set piece after fun set piece, and complete with some of the most thrilling action sequences of the entire action-adventure genre. Entertainment cinema would simply not be what it is today without Indiana Jones, and logically, Indiana Jones wouldn't even exist without the gem that is Raiders. It's pure, exciting, ambitious blockbuster entertainment that all those who love cinema should check out at least once in their lives. It's proof that popcorn cinema can be entertaining without sacrificing a single ounce of artistic merit.

1 'Jaws' (1975)

Roy Scheider turning around while the shark looms in the background in Jaws

The term "blockbuster" was coined around the '40s by film industry publicists and media people, referring to films with immense commercial potential and wide audience appeal. Experts, film scholars, and film historians, however, generally agree that it's Steven Spielberg that's the father of the modern concept of a blockbuster—certainly of summer blockbusters—, and it was all thanks to his horror adventure masterpiece Jaws. It's one of those horror masterpieces so great that they became the blueprint, a masterpiece built on the simple premise of a great white shark terrorizing a small seaside community. It was only Spielberg's third-ever feature effort, and only his second-ever theatrical film, which makes it all the more stunning that he was able to achieve something of this tremendous and timeless of a caliber.

Jaws is masterfully suspenseful, largely thanks to John Williams' simple but forever terrifying score. Add to that some groundbreaking camerawork, revolutionary use of practical effects, and a Hitchockian approach to both horror and suspense, and you get a cinematic gem that's as much of a classic creature feature as it is an artistically outstanding masterpiece. The film saw an unprecedentedly wide release tied to some of the most extensive marketing of any movie of the era, making it the prototypical summer blockbuster. It was the highest-grossing film of all time when it released (until Star Wars took the record two years later), and it's not hard to see why. Every element of this masterclass in horror filmmaking has aged like fine wine, and as a pioneer in establishing the modern Hollywood business model, Jaws is the single most essential element of a Spielberg Mount Rushmore.