Oscars: Every Steven Spielberg Best Director Nomination, Ranked By IMDb

The iconic Steven Spielberg is currently the most commercially successful director of all time. Since his start in the 1960s, Steven Spielberg has been a part of at least 150 movies either writing, directing, producing, or consulting on some aspect of the creative process.

Spielberg has received numerous accolades for his films, including eight Academy Award nods for Best Director. His most recent movie West Side Story was nominated for Best Director at the 94th Academy Awards, and although Jane Campion received the Oscar for her work on The Power of The Dog, Spielberg’s film was a worthy contender. But where does it rank amongst every other Steven Spielberg film that was nominated for Best Director?

8 Lincoln (2012) – 7.3

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Steven Spielberg has made several great historical dramas. Lincoln was nominated for a total of 12 Academy Awards in 2013, winning two, which showcases how great it was.

The movie was based on the 2005 book Team of Rivals by Doris Kearns Goodwin, which is a biographical look at some of Abraham Lincoln’s career. While some were disappointed that the movie was more of a look at Abraham Lincoln’s push for the 13th amendment rather than a biography of the man himself, many agree that the movie was excellent. Lincoln is gritty but remarkably beautiful, receiving critical acclaim. Spielberg didn’t receive the Oscar for Best Director, but his work on Lincoln is widely considered to be the reason for the movie’s success.

7 West Side Story (2021) – 7.4

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West Side Story was Spielberg’s most recent Best Director nomination. The musical received seven Academy Award nominations this year and won one, which was for Best Supporting Actress. West Side Story was Steven Spielberg’s first musical and was overall a great success.

The movie is the second feature film adaptation of the 1957 musical of the same name. Many were apprehensive when posed with the idea of Steven Spielberg directing a musical, even more so when finding out is a remake of an already popular film adaptation. Despite the worry, Spielberg delivered a great coming-of-age musical with beautiful visuals and the classic broadway musical feel.

6 Munich (2005) – 7.5

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The 2005 historical drama Munich is often considered to be Speilberg’s best since Saving Private Ryan. Munich is also regarded as one of Steven Spielberg’s best films of the 21st century. The film was overall well-received and was nominated for five Academy Awards.

The movie is based on the book Vengence by George Jonas, detailing the Israeli assassination campaign following the Munich Olympics massacre in 1972. This film has received some mixed reviews due to the overall coldness of the movie as well as the ending. Spielberg makes a point of not wrapping up the story with a happy ending and for some, that was a mistake but for many, it is what makes this story so compelling.

5 Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977) – 7.6

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The sci-fi great Close Encounters of the Third Kind came out the same year as George Lucas’ Star Wars, helping push the resurgence of the genre in the film industry. The movie won two Academy Awards and was nominated for a further seven.

Spielberg brings the inquisitiveness behind UFOs and extra-terrestrials to the screen through two stories of close encounters. While many agree that the film starts off rather slow, the climax leaves viewers hooked and does not disappoint. Despite being released in the 1970s, the visual effects are beyond many films of the same time period and overall the movie is beautiful.

4 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) – 7.9

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The sci-fi genre of films slowed down greatly in the 1960s, but following the success of Star Wars in the 1970s, it made a resurgence in the film industry. Steven Spielberg was no stranger to sci-fi and hopped on the bandwagon in 1982, creating one of the most notable films of all time: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial.

The film received a total of nine Acadamy Award nominations, accepting four wins. While Spielberg did not receive the Best Director Oscar for this film, E.T. is still one of the greatest movies of all time and has received a number of other accolades. The balance of heart-warming friendship and well-placed jokes makes this stand the test of time.

3 Indiana Jones And The Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981) – 8.4

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Raiders of the Lost Ark was the first movie in the Indiana Jones franchise. It currently has four movies, with a fifth in the works, which will be the first of the franchise to be produced by Spielberg and not directed by him. The action-adventure movie won five Academy Awards and was nominated for a further four.

The action-packed adventure is the highest-ranking on IMDb of the Indiana Jones franchise and received the most accolades. Fans of Indiana Jones watch the movies to be perched on the edge of their seat as Indy escapes the grips of deadly booby-traps and battles formidable enemies. Spielberg delivers the spine-tingling thrills Indiana jones fans have come to love, gaining an immediate and loyal following.

2 Saving Private Ryan (1998) – 8.6

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1998 brought a war drama from Steven Spielberg. Saving Private Ryan was nominated for a total of 11 Academy Awards in 1999, winning five of them including Best Director.

After the critical acclaim of his previous war drama, Spielberg used those skills for Saving Private Ryan to harness the raw emotion that made Schindler’s List so powerful. Steven Spielberg’s historical epic is brutal and gruesome, but that is what made it captivating for so many people. Spielberg didn’t hold back on the blood and violence of war, and while those things aren’t for everyone, they made the movie that much more compelling.

1 Schindler’s List (1993) – 9.0

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At the top of the list is Steven Spielbergs 1993 historical drama Schindler’s List, which was nominated for a total of 12 Academy Awards in 1994, winning seven of them, including Best Director.

The legendary Schindler’s List is a tear-jerking period drama based on the novel Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally. With a subject matter such as the Holocaust, the film was a surprise crossing Steven Spielberg’s path as his previous work was a lot of action and sci-fi. A film with this heavy of a topic was new to Spielberg, but the critical acclaim the film received proved that Spielberg is an excellent director in more than just a couple of genres.

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