Steven Spielberg, from ET to Schindler’s List: 20 masterpieces of the genius of cinema. PHOTO

Steven Spielberg turns 75. The director was born in Cincinnati on December 18, 1946. One of the most appreciated author of all time, he revolutionized Hollywood with his cinema. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Director (Schindler’s List and Saving Private Ryan) and has made films that have captivated generations of audiences. Here are his masterpieces

WATCH THE VIDEO: West Side Story, the first clip from Steven Spielberg’s film

DUEL – Spielberg’s first feature film, a television film, is from 1971. Based on the short story of the same name by Richard Matheson, it became a cult and launched the director’s career. The plot revolves around traveling salesman David Mann, whose car journey turns into a nightmare due to a tanker truck chasing him.

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THE SHARK – Jaws is the film that in 1975 introduced the then 28-year-old Spielberg to the world. Based on the novel by Peter Benchley, it is seen as a watershed blockbuster for the history of cinema, for the use of music and editing. Won three Oscars and hit the box office (at the time it became the highest grossing of all time)

“Jaws” Finds Home, from Spielberg’s film at the Los Angeles Museum

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND – The 1977 sci-fi film tells of a hypothetical first meeting between humans and an extraterrestrial civilization. It won two Oscars out of 9 nominations and was a huge success with the public

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THE PREDATORS OF THE LOST ARK – In 1981 Spielberg launched the first film in the Indiana Jones saga, the iconic archaeologist played by Harrison Ford. This first chapter won 5 Oscars. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008) followed.

Indiana Jones, 40 years ago “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was released: 10 curiosities. PHOTO

ET THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL – The film was released in 1982 and the story of the friendship between little Elliott and an alien stranded on Earth moves everyone. Unforgettable the work of Carlo Rambaldi to create ET (he also won the Oscar for special effects). In all, he took home 4 statuettes and became a global success

“Jaws” Finds Home, from Spielberg’s film at the Los Angeles Museum

THE PURPLE COLOR – In 1985 Spielberg is inspired by the novel of the same name by Alice Walker to make a film set in the South of the USA, narrating themes such as domestic violence, racism, sexual abuse. Whoopi Goldberg’s great performance did not win her the Oscar. In all he obtained 11 nominations but did not triumph in any category

HOOK – CAPTAIN HOOK – The return to the fantasy genre takes place in 1991 with a story that incorporates the characters of Peter Pan and Captain Hook (played by Robin Williams and Dustin Hoffman). The hero has grown up but when his two sons are kidnapped by his rival he is forced to return to Neverland

West Side Story, Italian trailer of the 2nd adaptation of the musical, directed by Steven Spielberg

JURASSIC PARK – In 1993 the director, inspired by the book by Michael Crichton (of which he had bought the rights), brought the adventure of the dinosaurs brought back to life to the big screen to make it a theme park. It became the highest grossing ever (then surpassed 4 years later by Titanic) and won three Oscars. It will also be the progenitor of a franchise of which Spielberg only directed the second film (The Lost World, in ’97)

Jurassic Park, curiosities about Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece

SCHINDLER’S LIST – The same year Spielberg achieves one of his artistic peaks with the unforgettable black and white with which he tells the Holocaust and the stratagem devised by Oskar Schindler to save as many Jews as possible from concentration camps. He won 7 Oscars out of 12 nominations. Spielberg finally got his first statuette for best director in addition to that for best picture

SAVE SOLDIER RYAN – Spielberg returns to tell the story of the Second World War in 1998 with another of his masterpieces. The plot follows the story of a mission by a team of US soldiers after the landing in Normandy to recover a soldier whose 3 brothers died in combat. He won 5 Oscars out of 11 nominations and Spielberg again won the statuette for best director

AI – ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE – In 2001 Spielberg returned to science fiction by bringing an old Kubrick project to the screen. The film, based on a short story by Brian Aldiss, is set in 2125 with the Earth devastated by the greenhouse effect and populated by robots like humans, one of which has the features of a child and would be the first capable of feeling of true love

MINORITY REPORT – 2002 film starring Tom Cruise. The film is inspired by a short story by Philip K. Dick and is set in 2054, when the city of Washington eliminated the murders thanks to a system based on the premonitions of three individuals with extrasensory powers. With these, the police are able to prevent crimes before they happen by arresting the “future” perpetrators

TRY TO CATCH ME – In 2002 it is the turn of the adaptation of the autobiographical novel by Frank Abagnale Jr. He tells of his sensational and brilliant scams and of how the FBI agent Carl Hanratty, specialist in banking fraud, tries to stop him. The two protagonists are played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks

THE TERMINAL – This is the story of Viktor Navorski (played by Tom Hanks), a citizen of an imaginary Eastern European country who, as soon as he lands in New York, discovers that a coup has occurred in his homeland and his passport is no longer valid. He is therefore forced to remain in the airport and live there

WAR OF THE WORLDS – The return to science fiction takes place in 2005 with the blockbuster starring Tom Cruise in the adaptation of the novel by HGWells. He had an excellent result at the box office and even critics praised him. He was nominated for 3 Oscars without winning any

MUNICH – The same year Spielberg made a historical film based on the novel Vendetta by George Jonas. After the Black September terrorist attack at the 1972 Munich Olympics, Israel decided to take revenge with the “Wrath of God” operation with the aim of killing 11 senior Palestinian terrorists who believe themselves to be somehow implicated in the attack as organizers and principals

LINCOLN – In 2012 Spielberg returns to the historical film with the portrait of the last months of the life of President Lincoln, played by Daniel Day Lewis who won the Oscar for this role

THE BRIDGE OF SPIES – 2015 film set during the Cold War, tells the arrest and trial of a Soviet spy, whose fate is intertwined in an exchange of prisoners with a pilot of a downed US spy plane. The film was nominated for 6 Oscars, winning Best Supporting Actor (Mark Rylance)

THE POST – In 2017 Spielberg brought to the screen the story of the Pentagon Papers, top secret documents of the US Department of Defense, published in 1971 by the NYT and the Washington Post. In the cast stand out Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks

WEST SIDE STORY – Spielberg’s latest effort, in 2021, is the film based on the musical by Bernstein, Sondheim and Laurents. This is the second film adaptation after that of 1961. Set in New York in the 1950s, it tells the story of the clash between two rival gangs