Discovering Steven Spielberg's All-Time Favorite Movie, Made 78 Years Ago: Could Even 2001: A Space Odyssey Measure Up?

Culture news Steven Spielberg's Favorite Movie Was Made 78 Years Ago: Even 2001: A Space Odyssey Can't Compete

Published on 05/19/2024 at 8:35 p.m.

What do you think is Steven Spielberg's favorite film? Imagine that the famous director has already followed up on this question. The answer will surprise you. We'll explain it all to you right here.

Knowing the favorite feature films of great directors is always interesting… It allows you to have an idea of how their cinema – their sense of image – was forged. Do you want to know what it's like for Steven Spielberg, the famous filmmaker behind Jaws, ET, or Indiana Jones? Well, don't move! The magazine Far Out brings us his 20 favorite films.

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Evidence and some surprises

Here, below, are the 20 greatest “greatest feature films of all time” according to Spielberg. Of course, the list contains some classics, like The Godfather by Francis Ford Coppola, released in 72; Alfred Hitchcock's terrifying Psycho; 2001, Stanley Kubrick's Space Odyssey, or even The 7 Samurai by Akira Kurosawa… Names ultimately rather far from the director's register, except for another timeless one: Lawrence of Arabia by David Lean, the adventure film par excellence, which will undoubtedly inspire dear Steven when it comes to creating the treasure hunter Indiana Jones. John Ford, leading western filmmaker, is also cited. The man even appears in The Fablemans, Spielberg's latest film (a story that pays homage to his parents and his love of cinema)!

Steven Spielberg's 20 greatest “greatest films of all time”:

1. It's a Wonderful Life – Frank Capra (1946)
2. The Godfather – Francis Ford Coppola (1972)
3. Fantasia -Walt Disney (1940)
4. A Guy Named Joe – Victor Fleming (1943)
5. Guardians of the Galaxy – James Gunn (2014)
6. War of the Worlds – Byron Haskin (1953)
7. Psycho – Alfred Hitchcock (1960)
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Stanley Kubrick (1968)
9. Lawrence of Arabia – David Lean (1962)
10. Untouchable – Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano (2011)
11. The Dark Knight – Christopher Nolan (2008)
12. The 400 Blows – François Truffaut (1959)
13. Day for Night – François Truffaut (1973)
14. Citizen Kane – Orson Welles (1941)
15. Captains Courageous – Victor Fleming (1937)
16. The Best Years of Our Lives – William Wyler (1946)
17. The Searchers – John Ford (1956)
18. Tootsie – Sydney Pollack (1982)
19. Seven Samurai – Akira Kurosawa (1954)
20. Dumbo – Walt Disney (1941)

A first place that questions

For the rest of the list, aside from a few Disney films (and a Guardians of the Galaxy in 5th position), the one at the top asks: Life is Beautiful, directed by Frank Capra – and released in 1946 ! It's a “Christmas movie” where a man, who has dedicated his life to helping others, thinks about ending his life, the day before the end of year holidays… As he prepares to move on to the act, a guardian angel comes out of nowhere and reminds him how much he changed the lives of others. For CBR, this choice is explained by the fact that Spielberg and Capra are two humanists. “Their works tend to reflect the strong values of ordinary people, and the way individuals rise when called.”

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