1. War of the Worlds
   Super 8
2. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
   Balto

Like many movies of the '80s, "E.T." was reissued several times on VHS and DVD. During one of the restorations, Spielberg caved to pressure from some parent groups and allowed the guns being carried by FBI agents to be digitally transformed into radios, to make them less frightening. He later regretted that decision.

1. Schindler's List
   Flags of Our Fathers
2. Medal of Honor
   Munich

This searing depiction of life in the Jewish community when the Nazi pogroms began and the death camps opened is a hard one to watch, but it should be required viewing. Liam Neeson is outstanding as Oskar Schindler, and the entire cast live their roles.

1. The Color Purple
   Lincoln
2. Amistad
   Flags of our Fathers

There may never have been a bigger lock for the Oscar for best actor than Daniel Day-Lewis in this title role. In his usual fashion, he became his character, even speaking as Lincoln off-camera.

1. I Wanna Hold Your Hand
   Jaws
2. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
   Hook

I was a kid in 1975 when I saw this movie. The next summer, we went on a beach vacation. I remember building a lot of sand castles while keeping an eye out for dorsal fins.

1. Back to the Future
   The Goonies
2. The Blues Brothers
   Young Sherlock Holmes

To call this movie a classic is to understate the case. Michael J. Fox gets sent back in time, courtesy of mad scientist Christopher Lloyd's time-traveling DeLorean, and ends up having to make sure his parents hook up or he will have never been.

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
   Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
2. The Goonies
   Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull

This most recent in the Indy series featured Shia LeBoeuf as the son of Indy and longtime flame Marion Ravenwood. Cate Blanchett hammed it up as a Russian spy.

1. Back to the Future
   The Goonies
2. The Adventures of Tintin
   An American Tail

This film is a technological marvel, using 3-D motion capture to bring an animated adventure to an almost-creepy-at-times life. It's based on a series of beloved cartoons by Belgian cartoonist Herge.

1. We're Back! A Dinosaur Story
   Jurassic World
2. Jurassic Park
   The Lost World: Jurassic Park

Everyone has a favorite scene in this movie, be it the T. rex fighting the velociraptors or Samuel L. Jackson trying to break into the park system. My personal pick is the T. rex eating the lawyer while he's sitting on the toilet after abandoning the kids.

1. Twister
   The Mask of Zorro
2. The Goonies
   Hook

Could there be a more perfect casting than Robin Williams as The Boy Who Never Grew Up, Peter Pan? Watching him play off Dustin Hoffman's title character makes you miss him all the more.

1. Bridge of Spies
   Saving Private Ryan
2. 1941
   Flags of Our Fathers

The first half-hour of this movie, which depicts in detail the D-Day landing on Omaha Beach, is incredibly harrowing. The hunt for Matt Damon's title character almost seems like a break after that.

1. Batteries Not Included
   E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
2. War of the Worlds
   Close Encounters of the Third Kind

As a result of this movie, I still can't eat mashed potatoes without trying to sculpt them into Devils Tower first. "Star Wars" was all the rage at the time, but this brought the idea of aliens "out there" right down to earth with special effects that, for the time, were eyeball-meltingly amazing.

1. Letter from Iwo Jima
   Flags of our Fathers
2. War Horse
   Joe Versus the Volcano

This moving film provides a look at the horrors of war, using the title character's career on both sides of the fight as a vehicle. Joey the horse begins on the British side of the brutality that was World War I, and ends up on the German side and among the civilians devastated by the conflict.

1. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
   E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
2. Minority Report
   Super 8

Haley Joel Osment, the creepy kid from "The Sixth Sense," played David, the title character. David was an android programmed with the ability to love, which causes trouble when his host couple's son returns home after being cured of an illness.

1. Bridge of Spies
   Munich
2. Flags of Our Fathers
   Schindler's List

If you've ever wondered what the world was like around the time the Berlin Wall went up, this film is a chilling slice of life. There was some consternation when Mark Rylance beat out Sylvester Stallone ("Creed") for the Best Supporting Actor Oscar.

1. Gremlins II: The New Batch
   The Goonies
2. Gremlins
   E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

If you're thinking of renting or buying this one for a kids' movie night, you might want to think twice. If there are any mischief-makers in the audience, they might pick up some handy tips from Spike and company.

1. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
   Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Jurassic World
   Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

Remember the famous fight scene where an attacker pulls out swords and Indy, after first considering his whip, pulls out his pistol and just shoots the guy? The story goes that Harrison Ford was supposed to have a long fight scene, but he was suffering from dysentery and decided on the spot to cut the scene short. True or not, it created one of the most memorable scenes in action movie history.

1. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
   Cowboys & Aliens
2. Minority Report
   Real Steel

Every director who does science fiction is required by law to adapt at least one Philip K. Dick story, and this was Spielberg's. Tom Cruise stars as a cop who's fingered for a murder he hasn't yet committed, but will. (Just wait. The headache will pass.)

1. Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade
   The Goonies
2. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
   Raiders of the Lost Ark

When you think of a Spielberg film, you don't usually think of violence being a major part of it. However, this one got widespread criticism for its level of violence, and even the Man himself has said in later years he wished he'd toned it down a bit.

1. Schindler's List
   Munich
2. Flags of our Fathers
   Bridge of Spies

After the massacre of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the Israeli secret service, Mossad, went after those believed responsible. This movie tells the story of the globe-spanning, relentless, remorseless pursuit of the terrorists and their leaders.

1. Poltergeist
   The Goonies
2. Super 8
   Innerspace

This J.J. Abrams creation was an homage to Spielberg's earlier kid-centered flicks. Spielberg came aboard as executive producer and provided Abrams a chance to work with one of his idols.

1. Vanilla Sky
   The Terminal
2. Catch Me If You Can
   Minority Report

Just as in Cast Away, Tom Hanks pretty much carries this movie by himself. This time, however, he's playing a man denied entry into the United States who also can't return to his home country because of a military coup. The relation to current events is unmistakable.

1. Gremlins
   Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Always
   The Goonies

Just like with "Gremlins," be careful what sort of kids you show this to. Seriously, though, failure to let your kids see this movie at some point may be considered bad parenting in some jurisdictions.

1. Fievel Goes West
   Who Framed Roger Rabbit
2. Casper
   Wakko's Wish

We'd seen humans interact with cartoon characters since the early days of Disney, but never with the seamless perfection on display here. When hapless Roger Rabbit grabs Bob Hoskins' gumshoe, begging him to prove his innocence, it's hard to tell Bob's not being accosted by flesh and blood.

1. The Flintstones
   Balto
2. The BFG
   The Land Before Time

This Spielberg adaptation of a beloved Roald Dahl story was a flop at the box office, but it's a charming movie. What kid doesn't imagine having a friendly giant to turn to in times of trouble?

1. The Terminal
   Catch Me if You Can
2. Continental Divide
   Room 666

Spielberg gets to work with Tom Hanks again, this time with Leonardo DiCaprio in the mix. DiCaprio plays real-life crook Frank Abagnale, whose well-chronicled criminal career is brought to an end by Hanks' character.

1. The Lost World: Jurassic Park
   Jurassic Park
2. The Land Before Time
   Jurassic World

Most of the action in this movie takes place on Isla Sorna, where a team has been sent to capture some dinosaurs to bring back to the U.S. My favorite part, however, happens when a T. rex gets loose in San Diego and does a great Godzilla impersonation before being recaptured.

1. The Color Purple
   Empire of the Sun
2. Amistad
   Cape Fear

The cast alone of this movie should make you want to give it a watch. How often do you get star power like Anthony Hopkins, Djimon Hounsou (in an early role), Matthew McConaughey and Morgan Freeman all in the same flick? Well, it helps when Spielberg's the one making the invites.

1. Batteries Not Included
   Back to the Future Part II
2. Back to the Future
   Hook

The time travel flies hot and heavy in this second "BTTF" film, with Doc and Marty first traveling to the future to save Marty's kids, then back to 1955 to stop villain Biff from altering history. It was filmed back-to-back with the third movie, and in fact segues directly into that film.

1. Wakko's Wish
   An American Tail
2. Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
   Innerspace

A Russian mouse family emigrates to the U.S., but Fievel, the son, gets separated from his family. They left Russia because of rumors that there were no cats in America. My dog wishes they had been right.

1. Men in Black
   The Money Pit
2. Vanilla Sky
   The Terminal

If you've ever owned a house, you'll want to watch this movie. It reminded me strongly of Dave Barry's book, "Homes and Other Black Holes." Tom Hanks and Shelley Long are '80s comedy gold.

1. Innerspace
   E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
2. A.I.: Artificial Intelligence
   War of the Worlds

Tom Cruise played the lead in this remake of the sci-fi classic. It was greeted with dubious critical reaction, but turned out to be a gripping thrill ride of a movie.

1. Young Sherlock Holmes
   Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Jurassic Park
   The Goonies

It would be interesting to see how this movie would have done during the "Harry Potter" Era, when smart kids ruled. When it came out in the late '80s, it was a box office bomb that barely made back its cost.

1. The Goonies
   Transformers: Dark of the Moon
2. Poltergeist
   Casper

This holds the distinction of being the only movie to ever give me nightmares, and I'm sure I'm not alone. Whether you're afraid of clowns, ghosts, cemeteries, swimming pools or things that go bump in the night, Spielberg dipped deeply into your id. And don't even get me started about monsters under the bed!

1. Amistad
   Vanilla Sky
2. Lincoln
   The Color Purple

This film, a wrenching story of a black woman who undergoes every sort of persecution and misfortune imaginable in early 20th-century Georgia, was nominated for 11 Academy Awards. In a stunning turn, it didn't win a single award. Especially stinging was the loss of Whoopi Goldberg, nominated for best actress for her portrayal of Celie, the heroine.

1. An American Tail
   We're Back! A Dinosaur Story
2. A Wish for Wings That Work
   The Land Before Time

This animated dinosaur tale deals with some pretty heavy themes: the death of a parent, racial strife and bullying, in a way that's digestible for even the youngest kids. It's evolved into something of a media goliath, with many sequels.

1. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
   Always
2. Young Sherlock Holmes
   Raiders of the Lost Ark

Sean Connery was a welcome addition to the cast of this installment, playing Indy's father. The interplay between the two of them is hilarious, if the plot itself is a bit meandering.

1. Duel
   Super 8
2. True Grit
   The Sugarland Express

If you've ever had a road-rage incident, this movie will make your skin crawl. Dennis Weaver plays a traveling salesman who is pursued by a mysterious old tanker truck until he tricks the driver into going over a cliff.

1. Something Evil
   Poltergeist
2. Twilight Zone: The Movie
   Gremlins

This TV movie stars Darren McGavin as the father of a family who moves into a possessed house. McGavin had experience with such things, having starred in Chris Carter's favorite series, "Kolchak: The Night Stalker."

1. Duel
   Used Cars
2. The Sugarland Express
   Fandango

While the movie itself is a middling true-crime tale, it is notable for two things. It's one of Goldie Hawn's earliest starring roles and it marks the first collaboration of Spielberg and John Williams, whose movie music has filled soundtracks for more than a generation.

1. Saving Private Ryan
   Flags of Our Fathers
2. Letters from Iwo Jima
   1941

Think of this as "Animal House" for the WWII generation. There's plane theft, uniform misappropriation and all manner of foolishness. Oh, and don't forget the Japanese sub crew trying to capture Hollywood!

1. Saving Private Ryan
   Munich
2. Schindler's List
   Bridge of Spies

This is not a movie you'll find in many people's personal collections of favorites. It's such a searing experience, it's difficult to watch a second time ... but you should.

1. Innerspace
   Batteries Not Included
2. Gremlins
   Dad

This comic sci-fi movie is a re-imagining of the 1966 classic, "Fantastic Voyage," in which a crew and their ship are miniaturized, this time to be injected into a rabbit. Thieves attack, the syringe holding the ship is swiped and the ship ends up inside Martin Short. Hilarity ensues.

1. Batteries Not Included
   Gremlins
2. Twister
   Hook

One of Spielberg's recurring themes ("War of the Worlds" not included) is benevolent alien species. The small Fix-It robots in this one manage to rescue a combination cafe and apartment building from greedy developers, repairing the residents' lives in the process.

1. Twilight Zone: The Movie
   Room 666
2. Poltergeist
   Super 8

This is a great movie, with four talented directors each taking one story and running with it. It was unfortunately overshadowed by the tragic deaths of Vic Morrow and two young actors in a helicopter crash during the filming.

1. Dreams
   Always
2. Joe Versus the Volcano
   Cape Fear

This is one of the few three-hankie films in Spielberg's canon, a sentimental love story that also features Audrey Hepburn in her last film role. Spielberg works again with "Jaws" star Richard Dreyfuss, who plays a risk-taking firefighting pilot whose daring ways lead to his untimely death.

1. Empire of the Sun
   Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
2. Dreams
   Letters From Iwo Jima

Christian Bale, proving he had intense acting chops even as a young man, plays a privileged British boy living in China who is separated from his parents and caught up in turmoil when the Japanese invade China during World War II. John Malkovich and Miranda Richardson costar, and if you look carefully you can see a young Ben Stiller in the cast as well.